Friday, May 5, 2017

Classes & Dances


Qigong with Trees ~ Earthgym! 
Wednesdays, 4-5 p.m., Green Lake Park


Step into your Joy and Vitality! This class is a unique practice combining the fundamental and powerful practices of Qigong 气功 with barefooting, staff dancing and stretching, stone-toning and tree weaving.
Trees, rivers, mountains, wildlife, and Nature are naturally Exuberant. Their strength is interwoven with all life and grounded in our Earth's massive Qi. And Qi - our vital energy - is in some languages also translated as JOY!

Rememb
er, recover, and restore your natural strength and vitality - come train and be prepared to laugh and smile!

Join us for an invigorating and profound practice with the Big Trees at Green Lake! 

When: Wednesdays, 4-5 p.m. Note: Our next series ends May 31, 2017.



Where: Green Lake Park (by the Bathhouse Theater on the NW side of the lake)
Tuition: $10/class

Please RSVP with Karen beforehand (206-713-5147 or by email; no one turned away for lack of funds)
If you have kids and would like to bring them, contact me beforehand.)




Here's some additional resources to view and listen to:
Much of this practice is inspired by my wilderness and movement training with Mick, also known as the Barefoot Sensei. You can view a youtube clip of some sample movements from this practice. Here’s another link to a training I did with him in Tahoe.Among many things, this class will help you:

  • Step outside and play;
  • Access your natural body wisdom;
  • Restore your strength and vitality; and
  • Establish your healthy connection with the Earth.

Here’s an article on Earthgym (formerly called Walking Mountain). Enjoy!

Hammer Dance at Earthgym workshop at Dance Camp NW!!


Earthgym on the Eastside!


When: 
If you have a group of 4 or more students who would like a series of Earthgym classes on the Eastside, contact me! :) We can arrange a class at a local park. I've done several at Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park and Tolt MacDonald Park.

I'm also available for private sessions.
Here's a description of some of the things do :)

Our Earth is naturally healthy. From Her, everything grows! Let's grow our own strength, aliveness, creativity and vitality from getting outside! This class is a fun blend of qigong and Earthgym training! Qigong (pronounced Chee-gong) is a Chinese form of breath meditation and movement. It's where Chinese Medicine,
TaiChi and other martial arts come from, and its origin is Nature. Earthgym uses natural tools from our Earth -- staffs, stones, ropes in trees, sacks and even hammers -- to stretch our bones, tone and tune our muscles, and weave and unwind our tissues. You will learn simple techniques, tools and methods to touch into the infinite internal and external discoveries, power and regained health and joy we gain when outside in Nature! Our mantra is "Follow your feet and the Earth will teach"!




ZY Qigong Level 1 - 中原气功
Wednesdays, 5:15-6:45 p.m. 
Fall 2017 classes:
Sept 20 - Oct 28, 2017.

Beginners and returning students are welcome!! :)

Classes are held at Green Lake Community Center
7201 North Greenlake Dr., Seattle, WA 

To register, call the community center at 206-684-0780, or online at Seattle Parks and Recreation registration.

ZY Qigong: a Simple Life Science Cultivating Joy & Vitality! :-)

ZY Qigong is one of the world's most ancient and complete healing and self-development systems, a practice combining movement, breath, and the meditative mind to store and focus energy for personal transformation and healing. Distinguished both by its simplicity, and by its mature lineage, this practice draws on the accumulated energy and consciousness of generations of masters, with Grandmaster Mingtang Xu being the current lineage holder. 


During this ZY Qigong practices, you will learn to: activate your energy center and system; absorb, generate, and move energy; increase your energy level and vitality, reach a deep relaxed state, balance and improve your immune and digestive systems, and feel more present in your daily life. And…have fun!!

ZY Qigong Level 2 - 中原气功


Wednesdays, 5:15-6:45 p.m. at Green Lake Community Center 
7201 North Greenlake Dr., Seattle, WA
8-week series, Spring 2017, April 12 - May 31, 2017 

To register, call the community center at 206-684-0780, or online at Seattle Parks and Recreation registration.

ZY Qigong Level 2 works with our Middle Dan Tian, developing Heart wisdom and inner knowing and confidence. We also build our Central Channel, learn 4 types of Body Breathing and gain the tools of two beautiful exercises, Reaching Between Heaven and Earth and Embracing the Yin Yang Ball.




















A Gift of Qi with Glee! :)
Free Qigong Video ~ Try it at home

This is a short, refreshing less than 10 min video qigong practice you can do anywhere (and we can practice together! :-D)! It offers 2 very simple and powerful practices for cleansing and balancing your energy/qi, and opening your channels. It is an energetic "reset" for your body/spirit/being AND it's Fun too! Fun and enjoyment are key to any practice. :) YAY! 

This was filmed outside and I encourage you to practice outside if you can, or you can enjoy the nature beauty in the video :) 

A whole video series, the Joy of Qigong, is available for purchase. See below.

(See, even the pic here let's you know this is a "fun" practice! :-D!)


Joy of Qigong Video Series!
I'm excited to offer a series of 9 foundational Qigong video lessons entitled, The Joy of Qigong!  These videos, shot in various beautiful locations, feature a wonderful set of easy-to-integrate Qigong lessons. Here are some details:
  • Each qigong video offers a ~10 minute lesson. 
  • Together the video series provides you with a complete set of exercises called The Eight Brocades, or in Chinese, Ba Duan Jin 八段錦. It also provides a qigong warm up, two other powerful Qi gathering exercises, and two compilation videos to practice along with after going through all the lessons. 
  • I chose to highlight the Eight Brocades practice as it is a set I love and have been practicing for over 9 years. It is very accessible and people immediately feel its positive effects. It is cleansing and nourishing to all the organ systems, tissues, tendons, qi and blood, and will likely leave you feeling refreshed, relaxed and happy! :)
  • If you or someone you know is interested in this set of Qigong videos, please email me, and/or send a payment of $81 to my PayPal account (using my email address karen.dancingqi@gmail.com). I will then forward you the links to all the videos. You can then access them any time, and I just ask that you keep these links private. Note: the videos are available for  at a special rate of $55 until Jan 6, 2017! :-)
As I've shared in many of my blogs over the years, Qigong offers tools that have and continue to increase, strengthen and maintain my health and vitality AND is the foundation of my wellbeing and Joy. It is truly a "Joy Cultivation" practice, a powerful method of self cultivation and of learning from and giving back to one of our greatest teachers, Mother Earth. 

In these precarious, critical times of both darkness and great awakenings, I continually ask how I can best be of service. One of the ways is to share. And that is why I am sharing tools that uplift, nourish and guide me and that also benefit all Life. 


These are just a couple thumbnail shots of 2 of the videos to give you a glimpse that they are fun and joyful :-)...along with lots of good info and instruction :-)


Our Dancing Village~ Family Dance Jam
We're dancing on the 2nd Saturday mornings from 10:15 - 11:45 a.m. at the Northgate Community Center. Our Dancing Village is joining forces in JOY with Jon and Grace's Free Form Dance Dance (F2D2)...so I guess you could say we're F3D3 on Family Dance and Free Form Dance Dance days! :-D

When: 2nd Saturdays, from 10:15-11:45 a.m. 
Where: Northgate Community Center, 10510 5th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA
Cost: $10 with kids 12 and under FREE! :)
Info: see freeformdancedance.com

See a front page news article on our family dancers! Dance is changing our world!
What: This is a Family Dance JAM for kids of all ages – families, kids, moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, sisters, brothers, friends – all people who love to play and dance and who desire to support and co-create healthy and happy families in our community! Whether you have kids or not, come dance!
We start with a fun warm-up and circle and then provide a space for freestyle dancing, hula hooping and ecstatic free-form movement along to kid-friendly adult music from around the world. We’ll end with a time of community sharing.
Created by the vision of having our Village to raise our healthy families, we start by coming together to dance, play and be our own Dancing Village. All are welcome. Come dance and play!

Back to QiDancing.com

Qi Dancing with Women!



Next Seattle area dance is TBA!

Wahoo! This is an ecstatically fun women's only DANCE! Come dance with your girlfriends, meet new friends, free your mind, and let your spirit soar and your body EXPRESS!

Partially facilitated and partially free-form, we'll enjoy a shaking qigong warm-up and then dance, dance, dance to a delicious array of bootie-shaking music.

Come join your Sisters! Move and be Moved and have a most Fabulous evening.

Cost: $10 – goes to support Women of Wisdom Foundation.

Qi Dancing ½ - Day Workshops
This is a highly experiential, fun class. Grounded in the ancient wisdom and practice of Qigong, you will gain the tools and experience in cultivating, strengthening and expressing your Qi - your Vital Life Energy - through an integration of traditional qigong practices and dance. Format includes foundational qigong exercises – combining breath, movement and meditation - with a variety of music/dance vibrations. Exercises include traditional and experimental qigong/movement.


Back to QiDancing.com

Events & Workshops



CHINA Qigong & Wilderness Trekking Trips!





Szu-ting and I are super excited to be offering another Qigong and Wilderness trekking trip in Western China next fall. Below is the link for our most recent trip last November. New info on upcoming trips will be posted soon! :)


Here is a video of me practicing qigong in the Genyen mountains of the Tibetan Plateau from our September 2012 trip. You can taste a bit of the immense majesty of this land, the beauty of 700+ y/o Tibetan Lengu Monastery, and the kindness and joy of the monks through this short film!



Glimpse of 3 days on the High Grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau (last 3 days of 15-day trek)
Take a peak of the last 3 days of our epic 15-day trek in the Tibetan Plateau! It was such an auspicious one. So much to share from our journeys from Chengdu to the highlands of this vast plateau, our 6 days of trekking in the Genyen Massiff, our visits with monks, nuns and many pilgrims coming to these grand, sacred mountains, our learnings with 2 monks in a high meditation cave that's been used for 1,000+ years, surprises of waking up in the middle of the night with a huge yak chewing grass and snorting in my ear(!!!), powerful shamanic ceremonies and qigong sessions in the high backcountry -- along with yak, rainbows and monks(!!! :-)), a massive both terrifying and thrilling thunder and lightening storm among 17,000, 18,000 and 20,000 foot granite peaks, and much much more!! This video below by David Anderson gives a glimpse into the last 3 days of our 15-day journey. We left the city of Litang (4000m) and drove north through the massive grasslands that contain thousands of yaks. Hundreds of families still live a traditional Tibetan lifestyle in this area (the beautiful woman in the video is so amazing and generous!! She invited us into her modest yet warm and cozy yak tent home. She's 37 and has SEVEN beautiful kids!! :)). We all enjoyed practicing Qigong (a practice of aligning the body, breath, and mind for health and meditation) through the whole trip and on these vast grasslands. And then continued to the border of TAR, soaked in hot springs and endured a bone jarring ride to the spectacular Cuopo Lake and the Jarjinjabo Massif. I have many more pics, stories, etc soon on my blog (www.qidancer.blogspot.com)

Thank you all for such an amazing journey -- one that I will remember, treasure and one that will nourish me and my Soul for all of my days!!

Qigong & Wilderness Adventures
Come to CHINA!
Szu-ting Yi and I co-lead amazing qigong and trekking trips in Western China! Here are links to trips we have led in 2012, 2014 and 2016. If you have a group of at least 4-6 people committed to such a journey, let us know and we can make it happen! 
Here is a video of me practicing qigong in the Genyen mountains of the Tibetan Plateau from our September 2012 trip. You can taste a bit of the immense majesty of this land, the beauty of 700+ y/o Tibetan Lengu Monastery, and the kindness and joy of the monks through this short film!


All our trips are active journeys fostering true connections with the people and the land. They immerse you in the local cultural and culinary flavors, and the flora, fauna, and majesty of these mountain wilderness terrains. Each trip includes great adventure, trekking and qigong practice and instruction.

Qigong, an ancient Chinese form of breath, meditation and movement, is a powerful way to cultivate our own health and vitality, as well as develop our spirit and soul. It offers tools to receive Qi - energy and information - from our environment. China is the home of many healing and mystical arts, such as Chinese Medicine, Qigong and Daoism, all of which have been born from its Lands and channeled through its people. Qigong offers a profound way to tap into these teachings from its very source. 

Join us for a journey of a lifetime!

Plus the food in China is FABULOUS!!! :) –And you’ll have both Szu-ting and me to be your interpreters!

We only take up to 10-12 people on each trip. Contact us if you'd like to co-create an amazing journey of a lifetime with you and your family and friends. 

See more information at LittlePo.com



Back to QiDancing.com

Qigong & Wilderness Photo Blog



Greetings Friends! (July 27, 2014)
I just returned from a solo backpacking trip on the Northern Loop of Mt. Rainer and am filled and overflowing with this amazing Mountain’s Brilliant Qi! YAY!! As I hiked out and came down from this Mother Mountain yesterday, I was in a state of immense Love and so desire to share it with you! This mountain is enormous, her glaciers glistening in the golden and pink rays of evening light, clouds – vapors of the Goddess rising, stretching, creating formless misty veils that silently appear, drift and again disappear –  sometimes covering the Mountain’s crown, other times dissolving as she re-appears in all her glory. At the end of my 2-day, 22 miles of touching in to her Lands on foot, I stood on a peak 7,100+ ft high, able to see the vast Grand Park meadow I traversed with a wandering bear, the mountain sides of tall trees I had wandered in with sun rays turning the hanging moss into a shimmering golden green, the winding, clear and crisp glacial waters flowing through fairy-like green meadows of bright, perky grasses and a magnificent myriad of glowing wild flowers.  From the tiny, high mountain path where I stood, 2 mountain goats I had watched from the valley as I hiked up and up and up earlier in the day, now hiked up towards me in the golden evening light and continued up to the ridge where a mama, papa and baby goat wandered and chewed delicious shrubs.



Wildness Lives Within
Gosh!! I have so many feelings well up inside of me, so much gratitude. and really it all comes to LOVE. This Mountain is amazing!!! I feel Her in my Being. All the magnificent wilderness lands I visit and experience with my body become an integrated part of me…through immersion, training, meditation, qigong and pure presence, these wild lands are a conscious, living, growing part of my Being. All of Earth and life here on our Planet is a part of all of us – as we are of the Earth and her wild places. We are all made up of the elements and this wilderness lives inside and can grow in each of us. Yet sometimes our awareness of this inner wildness can be dormant, like a seed.  I find that going into the wilderness is like receiving the Dharma. For example, when listening to a Dharma talk from a wise teacher, hearing old wisdom teachings that resonate so true, it’s like my being has always known these truths, and when I hear them aloud and listen deeply, I consciously remember and awaken even more to the truth of who I Am. Going to the wilderness is similar. Our wild lands provide a similar awakening, remembering, restoring and returning to our true Nature. This is one of Nature’s gifts to us, and our deep Love, Appreciation, Gratitude and stewardship are our gifts back to Her. John Muir, beloved writer and father of our National Park system so eloquently says, ““I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”
Mt Rainer & Tantric Dance of the Goddess
Mt Rainer and feeling my reverence for Her has been strongly present in my qigong practice this summer. In one of our Level 1 ZY Qigong preparation exercises, Little Buddha Prays to Big Buddha, one element of the practice is to hold an image in your mind’s eye, in your heart that naturally evokes a deep sense of reverence, gratitude and love as you do the movements. I love holding Mt Rainer’s image and energy in my heart as I do this practice. Also, at Dance Camp Northwest (so AWESOME!!! I highly, highly recommend this to anyone who LOVES to dance!! :)), one of the mornings a woman, Sandy, led all of the women in a most powerful experience Tantric Dance, the dance of the Divine Feminine, the Goddess. She demonstrated and guided us on how to listen and let the energy of Goddess arise from our womb, rise into our body – into our heart and up into the 3rd eye and allow this rising, the Goddess Herself to move our body in a powerful tantric dance. We counted off into 3 groups, each group surrounded by a circle of the rest of us women as witnesses and the dancing group having the space to experience our own dance/movements of the Goddess. The music was powerful and subtle, each group given a piece of music about 6 minutes long. I didn’t know what to expect, as I don’t often talk of “the Goddess” and hadn’t before felt a strong connection with that word, yet when it was my turn, and I stood in the middle of the room with some of the other women dancing with me, I closed my eyes and connected in a way I realized I do know the Goddess. I connected to my Love of our Earth, our beautiful Mother Earth and our wild lands. Almost instantly I could see Mt. Rainer, radiating, glowing before me. I felt such Awe and Love and Reverence. Then, as the music played and I inwardly connected with our Earth Mother, I felt a stirring in my womb. It was subtle, misty and snake-like. And then, as I listened and remained an open vessel, this stirring rose, up through my body, both like volcanic steam, and like mist from our Misty Mountains. I felt the stirring of this rising energy of the Goddess radiate through my womb, moving my hips and rising into my heart, into my arms and hands and illuminating in my mind and heart mind. I felt and danced the Goddess through my connection with Mt. Rainer. I was moved to tears by this experience, and knew it was time to go to this Mother Mountain and touch in deeply with my own 2 feet, my breathing and loving body and soul.

Meditation? Or…Buzz, Buzz, Buzz! What to do? :-)
Below is link to a photo journal of my 2-day 22 mile journey on this amazing mountain. You’ll see one spot on my trail journey where you can see the Mountain fully, with the powerful, winding White River flowing down from her glaciers into the valleys far below. Standing there – (such a perfect spot for Qigong and meditation!! …well, that’s what I thought until the buzz buzz buzz of mosquitoes found me!! Oh dear! How do they always seem to know where I am?!! :))…so yes, standing there, I could viscerally feel and visually see how this grand mountain is a Mother of us All. She is giving Life through her glacial waters, and fertile soils and weather she creates on her lands. I just Love the grand, vast views she provides while traversing her peaks and valleys, and also treasure the same grandeur appearing in the “small” views --- such as watching the wings of a blue and orange butterfly air-bobbing by, or the tree in front of me that seems to be excitedly waving her soft blue/green needled branches, or walking through a field of tall, white bulbous wildflowers that glow, lean over to absorb the sun and as if to say “HELLO!!!!! :)”, or the stand of 5 Douglas fir and cedar trees that lovingly surrounded my solo camp. (Haha!! Their presence was so palpable. I delightedly greeted, hugged and smelled each one- burying my nose in their bark. And one, the tree right in front of the little altar someone had made that this backcountry camp site – was so loving! When I buried my nose in her bark, she smelled of high mountain air! So refreshing!! So distinct!!) And I love the softness of the bright green moss that I love touching and resting my face against. Each patch of moss is like a mini forest of soft green fuzzy awesomeness! :-D And at night, I had a owl come visit and share her calls in a tree right above me as I crawled in my tent to sleep. :)

Also, on this walkabout, while I had found several most idyllic spots to meditate and practice qigong (as I had quite a busy mind when starting this trip…and really wanted to quiet it down!!) as I mentioned, the mosquitoes always seemed to find me so fast! I was walking so much and felt meditation and practice would be such a good rest….and did attempt this at several spots along the trail…but nature had a different plan. Walking and being on the move created a perfect moving meditation. The more tired I got, the more my mind quieted. And, as my mind quieted, Nature rushed in and I was renewed and completely invigorated and filled to the Brim with this Mountain’s Qi.


YAY!!! Come join me on my journey to the magical lands of Mt. Rainer!!! If you view the album as a slideshow (click on the small linked photo below), my comments will take you through the journey :) - Make sure to view it in Picasa :).
Solo Backpacking Walkabout on Mt. Rainer!
Thank you so much for this gift of sharing with you. Thank you, and many, many bright and wild Blessings to you!
Much Love,
KarenJoy




La Crosse & Hart Lakes Olympic Mts Backpacking

8-Day 55+ Mile Backpacking Adventure to La Crosse & Hart Lakes, Olympic Mts National Park (August 2013)


I’m so excited to share with you about a transformational 8-day backpacking journey 55+ miles into the heart of the Olympic Mountains with my dear friends, Heike and Heather. While I got my pics together fairly quickly, I also wanted to write some about this amazing, transformative experience, as all 3 of us did walk out of these Forests and Mountains as changed Beings. Our Wilderness is so AWESOME! We had many unforeseen challenges, 4 days with rain, a major storm, putting up our tent in ridiculous rain, wind and darkness (more than once!!) and instead of frustration, we all laughed! (what else is there to do?!) And on our biggest mileage day, it had stormed all night the night before and poured ALL day...BUT it was soooo fantastically beautiful!!! The waterfalls were overflowing as we hiked along the O'Neil Pass ridge overlooking the Enchanted Valley (a valley with 3,000 ft cliffs and 1,000 waterfalls!) And the rivers Roared (including one river we needed to ford as the log we crossed over on on the way in, was completely submerged! :-(!!) We also saw bears and 2 large herds of wild elk! 

I so LOVE my time in the wilderness! I notice the more I’m in Her Forests and Mountains, the more I desire to be in them. I am so present, so alive, so living on and with Mother Nature when drinking water directly from her rivers and lakes, sleeping under her stars, using my healthy body I’ve been given to explore each day and learn on our Earth. I just love how alive the Forest is! And how being in Nature calls me to be fully present to the exquisite beauty of each fern, each pine-flavored blueberry, each alpine meadow flower and mossy tree. And I love being delightfully startled by the bugling of the elk herds in the valley below!!, and also to notice the subtle changes in the clouds, the taste and smell of the air, sensing if/when rain is coming, a storm is coming. I love noticing the changes in light at dawn and approaching dusk, listening for the sound of meadow springs or rivers around the next bend to drink from. I love feeling my deep breaths fill and energize my body with clean, vibrant, qi-filled Mountain air as I climb over a pass or scramble up a ridge to look down into the long beautiful Enchanted Valley we had just hiked up and to gaze down upon beautiful La Crosse Lake. The clouds rise like steam, great steam rising from the valley, up and over the ridge top and mountains seen from where my feet stand. I feel so full of Love! So full of gratitude! I am so AMAZED at Nature’s Beauty! Heaven truly is here on Earth and we have our bodies to give us the means to deeply and fully experience Her and Her glorious creatures – Her Stones, Her Mountains and craggily Peaks, Her Waters, Her Trees and Plants, Mosses and Flowers, and her many Creatures. I get tears in my eyes as I re-live my sacred experiences in Nature. Our bodies are vessels to help our Souls grow and expand. Using our bodies to travel into, touch deeply into Mother Nature is one sure way to grow and expand our Spirit and Soul in ever-expanding Love. 

Above is a link to a photo album of our amazing 8-day journey into the Olympic National Park. When you click on the link, look for the option to view it in Picasa and in the slideshow. I share some funny stories and will personally take you with us on our journey into the heart of the Olympics! :-) 

I’m so excited to share these with you. If you feel so inspired, please join me in listening to your Heart in acting on any and all ways we can together love, respect, protect and honor our magnificent Wild Lands. Everyone’s expression as a Steward of our Planet is different, but I sincerely believe that the more time we have in and experiencing Nature, the great Love we deeply feel and receive from Nature will inspire us in our true calling on Earth.
So much LOVE,
KarenJoy
--
Karen Joy Fletcher, MPH

Golden Horn ~ Snowy Lakes Backpacking Adventure



Golden Horn Mountain & Snowy Lakes Backpacking Adventure on the PCT!

I'm excited to share some pics with you from my recent backpack trip to the North Cascades. It was AMAZING!!!! We were on the Pacific Crest Trail and went to Golden Horn Mt. and camped by upper Snowy Lake. So so so beautiful!! One night we were even visited by 3 dancing, silent owls flying, swooping and circling us and the surrounding trees as the last of the dusk light faded from the sky and turned to night. They were so so amazing! One owl circled us many times, turning her beautiful head and looking us right in the eyes....and not in an aggressive way...a very silent, and magical way. :)

And we actually had to leave the backcountry early. When ~12 miles in, the weather changed unexpectedly and dramatically in the late afternoon. We had to hike the 12 miles out in a thunder and lightening storm, traversing 2 passes. Once we crested the 2nd pass, it started hailing the size of blueberries!!! Ouch!!! Luckily we all had wide-brimmed hats and a good sense of humor to keep us going! Stella was such a trouper too! We hiked the last 5 miles at record speed (for me!) and made it out by 8:20p.m. and drove to my friend Danielle's home in Snohomish where we all crashed for a very good, dry, warm night's sleep. So thankful we all made it out safely, and so thankful for yet another epic, blessed experience in our wild lands!

Enjoy the pictures and our journey :)


Alpine Lakes Wilderness Backpack ~ Rachel & Lila Lakes


Backpacking in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness!!


I'm excited to share these pics with you from a truly exquisite adventure in Washington's Alpine Lake Wilderness!! 
love being out in our wild lands and summer time reveals a true "Heaven on Earth" right here. I, my friend, Heike, and our dear furry friend, Stella were all blessed in many ways, ...with an unexpected sunset hike up to Rampart Ridge and magical, fairy-land like Rampart Lakes (and waterfalls!), an opportunity to see a majestic moonrise over Rachel Lake, and an amazing day hike to Lila Lakes - a most precious treasure. We were also blessed with so much sweet solitude and a ton of naked swimming! :) May the Beauty and Magic of these Wild Lands bless you, your heart and all Life.

A Twin Adventure: Hiking in Joshua Tree National Park!

I'm so excited to share these pictures with you! My twin sister, Lynn, and I are together for the 1st time in one year and she surprised me with organizing a great camping and hiking trip in Joshua Tree National Park! 

I love being in the high desert, and immediately understood why I've so often been told the high desert is a spiritual place, one visited by seekers, people doing vision quests, etc. The energy is so beautiful. While life here is challenging, the beauty and aliveness is immense. There is also a palpable stillness and silence. And I have a sense that the veils between worlds/dimensions are so thin here. Faces, mystical creatures and animals often show themselves through images in the stones and plants...And the silent hum, buzz of the desert is almost mesmerizing...I can see how it would be easy to get lost in the desert, as each sandy path through the rock formations, and peaking pinyon and oak trees growing out of the stone formations or the forests of amazing joshua trees just entice you to come further and further in to explore and wander and....

Backpacking in the Goat Rocks Wilderness!


Backpacking in the Goat Rocks Wilderness!
What a most amazing, magical adventure! I am continually awe-inspired, eternally grateful and filled with the musings, Mystery, Wonder and LOVE of our magnificent Wild Lands. I just returned from another 4-day trek in our Goat Rocks Wilderness, southeast of Mt. Rainer (Tahoma) with two of my dear friends, Samantha and my furry 4-legged friend, Stella. We shared how many remark that the Ascended Masters convene in these Sacred Mountain Lands of Adams, St. Helens, Tahoma....and in these pictures, you'll feel and experience the truth of these tales :). The Beauty, wild flowers and sheer majesty of these high Alpine meadows, mountains, rivers and peaks open our love, aliveness and senses in grand ways. I even had 11 humming birds fly up and show themselves to me...a rare spotting to see one...they seemed to delight in finding me this time! :) Enjoy these pics and may your seeds of adventure, of love for our Wild Lands and desire to touch into them deeply be eternally sparked.

Glacier Peak Wilderness Backpack - Kodak Peak, White Pass


Glacier Peak Wilderness Backpack ~ Kodak Peak, White Pass

What an amazing, amazing journey into a world of snow-capped mountains, fields of vibrant colored wild flowers, crisp, clear and cold mountain water streams, marmots, elk, birds and vast, vast expanse of glorious wilderness! Enjoy! View this as a slideshow and I'll narrate you through this adventure I took with my dear friend Samantha and dear furry friend Stella.  :-)

Marmot Pass Backpacking with Lynn!

Backpacking Adventure at Marmot Pass with my twin sister Lynn!

What a fabulous adventure with my sister! Marmot Pass in the Buckhorn Wilderness is one of the many gems of the Olympic Mountains. Aptly named, the Pass has dozens of marmots whistling, tumbling over each other, bounding through the meadows, popping up (like toast!) from their many holes, and generally having a grand ball in their brief summer and few months of awakeness before slumbering another 8 months. And the mountain goats...! We saw 2 and 1 was huge! I love seeing them casually and non-chalantly climb such precarious, steep, rocky mountain cliffs, only to stand on what appears to be a tiny rock on a giant precipice and calmly peer over the entire world! :)

The mountains are magnificent and you'll see many astounding views and meadows -- much like abiding, exploring in the Swiss Alps! And I took lots of pics of our dog, Stella -- what a Sweetie! She is so at home in the wilderness. Upon reaching our first patch of snow, she excitedly bounded on top, rolled on her back and slide down! Lynn and I just laughed and laughed. And then she got up and did it again on her tummy! Ha!

Enjoy our adventure and may these images ignite your flame to go out and touch, soak in the treasures Mother Earth so generously offers in her Wild Places.

Much Love,

KarenJoy


HohRainforest Running Quest! YAY!

I returned last night (7/5/11) from a magical running quest in the heart of the Hoh Rainforest - one of the wettest places on Earth with over 210 inches of rain per year. Yet, we (my friend Summer Linnea and our beloved friend and guide, Mick Dodge, known as Barefoot Sensei) had 5 glorious days of sunshine, blue skies and ultimate summer Beauty in these Hoh forest lands. This was after 6 months of clouds and rain! While I LOVE my wilderness backpacking adventures and seeing and playing in as much wilderness majesty as my two feet will carry me to, this was my first running quest, and barefoot running at that. While I had sandals (though moccosins would be best) to put on at times, this was my first time to run and touch intimately into the forest with my own two barefeet. And what a surprise!! What I previously thought would be prickly, "impossible" barefoot running surfaces, in fact turned out to be delightful. The breathing forest floor is, in most places, soft, moist and almost spongy and touching into it with my natural spring gave me so much pleasure and JOY!

Also, as I stepped in and ran, my body naturally lifted my head and eyes to look out, not down. And to my amazement, when I did that, my feet landed softly and with ease. When I got concerned and looked down is often when ---"Ouch!" -- I'd step on something awkwardly or something prickly. :-)

And this forest, Master OG (for Old Growth as Barefoot Sensei calls it) is sacred. On the 2nd day of questing in these trees, towards the end of the day as Summer and I were making our way towards camp, we happened upon a little grassy clearing with clumps of radiant golden green ferns reaching joyfully up and out and waving ever so gracefully in the evening breeze. (These ferns were "golden" due to the evening sun rays showering through the trees onto them.) About 100 feet away from us was the remaining stump of an old growth spruce tree that had fallen in a storm long ago. The wood too was golden colored and smooth from years of so much rain-- the bark was long gone. And in the middle center of this stump was a natural carving. It looked much like a buddha or tree/forest spirit. Everything was silent as the sun shone down in this sacred meditative meadow. We wondered how the animals of the forest used this meadow.....and then carried on with our journey.

And then, just a bit further down the path, a cute, cute, so round and fluffly baby wren (? oh phooey, now I forget exactly what kind of bird it was!) flew down on the path right infront of my barefeet and peeped. :)! And then it peeped and hopped cheerfully in front of me. I was sooooo happy and overjoyed by it's greeting and it's CUTENESS! (Did I mention this bird was super cute?!) At one point I thought it best for me to keep going, so I attempted to walk past it while saying good bye....but no, it then flew in front of me again and continued peeping and hopping along :). By this time Summer was with me and also equally overjoyed. The little bird then flew onto a fern next to us (I have pics of this in my album) and peeped some more. Summer and I giggled and talked to the bird. And then...gosh, it started to look sleepy. It was closing it's eyes for a couple seconds, then opening them again....closing them, and then...oh dear! It started to wobbled and was falling backwards! Yikes! Summer and I both gasped at the same time, so intent we were with this little darling, and reached out our hands to catch it should it tumble. Alas, however, the little one opened it's eyes with a start just in time to reaffirm it's grasp on the delicate fern and it continued to bob around and peep. Oh sooo cute!!

The forest is full of places to play and explore. One day I ran and then as the forest and trees called, I stopped, climbed and hung from their roots, lay my belly on their branches, and buried my nose in to smell their beautiful earthy moss. I heard the river call, ran through a meadow and found a hidden beach to have my first COLD glacial water dip of the day! And another day I felt the trees urging me to run, run, run. "Focus on your run, Sister. This is a new way to touch into the magic of our lands. A new way to listen. A new way to touch in and receive some of our teachings," - is what I heard the forest say. Wow! I am so grateful to Master OG and my dear friend Barefoot Sensei to leading me to this sacred "training hall". I feel as a baby, just walking through a new gateway with so so so much more to explore, discover, listen, touch in to and receive.

May you enjoy these pics. I took most of my forest pics in one day of training and didn't take many on some of my other days. Summer and I also trained with the beach waters and beach running and I have a few pics from that as well.

Our Earth Gym is Glorious!! My desire is for more and more people of all ages to come out and play. Come experience and touch into our forests, mountains, rivers, lakes, and ocean treasures. The more people feel in their bones, body, flesh....which starts with their feet :)...their intimate connection with our Earth, then protecting, loving, caretaking of our lands, waters, wilderness and each other comes naturally.

This is one reason is why I teach Qigong with Trees ~ Explore Your Earth Gym,have Earth Gym play dates, and why I'm leading Qigong and Wilderness hikes and backpacking events. And it's so much fun! :)

And I love sharing. Thank you for reading and viewing the pics. I desire to share deeply what I'm receiving in our pristine wild lands.

Much love to you all.

LOVE,
KarenJoy

Karen Joy Fletcher, MPH
www.QiDancing.com
206-713-5147



Royal Lake Backpack/Quest


Royal Lake Backpack/Quest, Olympic Mountains

I LOVE our Wilderness!! Washington abounds with such pristine Wild places and the forests, alpine meadow flowers and marmots, and bounding, robust blue, silver green waters have so much to share! (And drinking the water-Wow! - our Mountain and Glacier waters - some of which is tens of thousands of years old - fill me with life and new transforming information). Here are pics of some of the exquisite Beauty I experienced on my backpacking/questing through the Olympic National Forest up to Royal Lake. May you enjoy the Beauty, Vitality and Love in these images! Let me know if you'd like to join me on one of my next adventures! :)

Lake Chelan to Stehekin Backpacking Trip - July 2010


Lake Chelan to Stehekin Backpacking Trip!

What splendid and magnificent BEAUTY Lake Chelan (meaning deep waters) and her mountains, trees, flowers, rivers and creatures hold. I just returned from a 3-day backpacking trip along the Lakeshore Trail with 10 kindred spirits, and we had a most fabulous time. May the Beauty, Sunshine and Love of our Wilderness be a source of inspiration for you to visit and experience our pristine wild places (and let me know when you go -- I'll go with you!! :))


Lake Ingalls Backpack 9.09


Lake Ingalls Backpack! 

This is a magical 2-day backpack I did with my good friend Yaniv. We were so amazed and in awe of the red rock beauty, the fall colors --brilliant yellow of larch trees, flaming red blueberry leaves and yellow and orange alpine meadow grasses. We were also blessed with visit from several mountain goats -- and their young!! They are such beautiful animals with bright white fur coats. They came right up to us, looked deeply into us and brought such loving, kind energy. When I awoke in the morning and poked my head outside to see if it was a clear day, one mama goat was standing on the red rock above me looking down -- her presence so calm, still, loving and vast. And while using the 'back country' toilet, both she and her little one happened to pop over the rock edge to peek as well!! Mt. Stuart was towering above us--it's granite stone jetting straight up from the valley floor beneath us. So strong and magestic! And...then Lake Ingalls on day 2-what a beautiful pristine land &water!!

Enchanted Valley Backpack7.09


Dosewallip River, Anderson Pass, Enchanted Valley Backpack, Olympic National Park

These are pictures of my 4-day, 44 mile backpacking journey by the Dosewallip River, over Anderson Pass, and down into the Enchanted Valley with 1,000s of waterfalls streaming down a 3,000 foot mountain wall, glacier caves, silver-blue rushing white water rivers, singing marmots, woodland sculptures for the imaginative mind, wild flowers galor (some that even looked like they were sticking out their puckered lips to kiss those passing by), dancing trees (some clothed in thick rainforest moss), and lots of laughs, shaking qigong to rejuvenate our tired bodies (there were 8 of us journeying together) and bathing in the rivers at sunset.