Join us every Saturday at 9-10AM for a donation-based Qigong class inside our office at Fire Rabbit Community Acupuncture. Zachary Krebs started his studies of Taijiquan and Qigong in 2006 with his teacher Michael Vasquez. After spending a decade with him as a live-in student, he branched out and began teaching classes at community centers in Eugene, OR. He specializes in making Qigong simple to understand and gain benefits from, sharing both traditional and modern interpretations of the theory and purpose of practice. Since 2018, Zachary began studying Yizong Gao style Baguazhang from his coach Ed Hines and infuses and continually re-updates his teachings based on his continuing education.
While he is interested in lineages and styles, he doesn’t seek to create a cult, or a group of elite warriors, but instead wishes to show everyday people the benefits of committing to a regular practice. He credits his internal arts practices for helping with his recovery from a serious disease and brain surgery, alongside acupuncture and of course the Western medical system.
Register for Class Here
Some press coverage from Eugene, OR class
Benefits of Qigong:
- Enhanced mental clarity and ease of motion
- Meditative benefits from stillness, movement and breathing practice with whole body awareness
- Restorative and gentle exercise for musculoskeletal disorders and adjunctive rehab for chronic and acute injuries
Why Qigong or Yoga or whatever else?
- Every movement art serves a different purpose. Cross-training is wise as the body craves a variety of movements in different environments. For complete beginners, it might be wise to learn the fundamentals of one art before beginning cross-training. There are people in the field of Qigong who believe you shouldn’t train with weights or do various other things while practicing Qigong or “soft” style arts. Zachary’s opinion is that those theories are garbage, and there’s nothing wrong with gaining proprioceptive ability, mental health benefits, and a strong physique simultaneously.
- A variety of Qigong methods have evidence for influencing health conditions positively. Some of the more well known conditions of anxiety, depression, and hypertension have studies supporting Qigong’s efficacy. Zachary’s view will always be to try to understand the traditional supporting evidence and compare it to modern research. Ultimately, if you practice Qigong and feel better, that can be felt and sensed and relied upon as a metric for your own inner state, a foundation to be built on as you gain experience and take notes. The goal is not to learn how to be a clone of your teacher, but instead to explore various opportunities to reshape your experience of inhabiting your body and environment.
What should I wear to class?
- Loose fitting clothing that doesn’t constrict movements in an excessive way. However, it’s also fine to train in your day-to-day work attire, as the goal is to be able to train whenever and however you’d like, without worrying about perfection or smaller details such as attire.
What if I have questions about attending?
- Feel free to email info@firerabbitacupuncture.com to discuss.