Integral Qigong and Tai Chi™ Certification Overview

The Institute of Integral Qigong & Tai Chi (IIQTC) offers several levels of Qigong, Tai Chi and Medical Qigong certification:

Enthusiastic Citizen

This is not a certification, but a unique approach to sharing Qigong with others. If you are enthusiastic about Qigong and the Healer Within concept, have read books, attended lectures or workshops, or are simply inspired to spontaneously begin sharing with others, then you qualify as an Enthusiastic Citizen. This activity is founded in the virtues of compassion and community service, it is usually done for little or no compensation. The Enthusiastic Citizen works with others to help create a culture of health self-reliance in her or his community. People who help launch and sustain the practice of Qigong in their community are heroes.

Visit HealerWithin.com which helps to coordinate The Nationwide Network of Community Practice.

Tai Chi Easy™ Practice Leader

Tai Chi Easy™ Practice Leader Training is 25 hour training that empowers motivated individuals to share the self-care practices of Qigong and Tai Chi in a widely diverse variety of environments and institutions. Many social agencies, educational institutions and corporations are seeking this very type of program for wellness programming - including social service agencies, YMCAs, schools, churches, spas, fitness centers, seniors centers.

Recently, the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and the National Emphysema/COPD Association (NECA) have become proponents of widespread implementation of Tai Chi Easy™. In the new era of complementary and mind/body medicine, Tai Chi and Qigong are rapidly ascending to the status of wellness power tools. The material learned in the Tai Chi Easy™ curriculum is a subset of the 200-hour teacher certification program.

Tai Chi Easy™ is especially suited for those whose primary career is set but who wish to add Tai Chi Easy™ to the skills they bring to their work already -- teachers, senior activities coordinators, fitness coaches, yoga teachers, social workers, occupational therapists, faith based health ministry coordinators, nurses, wellness coordinators, spa fitness coaches, wellness coordinators, health promotion professionals, and life coaches.

It is not unusual for a Tai Chi Easy™ Practice Leader to continue training to become an Integral Qigong™ Community Qigong Practice Leader, and ultimately a Certified Integral Qigong and Tai Chi Teacher.

200 Hour Integral Qigong and Tai Chi Teacher Certification

This certification program consists of the completion of three 7 day, 60 hour intensives (IIQTC Levels 1, 2, and 3) plus 30 hours of self-study and completion of all written assignments. This certification path satisfies the Professional Membership level for the National Qigong Association (NQA). Each student will demonstrate proficiency as a teacher before certification is awarded. Participants will gain three powerful benefits from completion of this training:

• Ability to teach Integral Qigong and Tai Chi safely, confidently, and effectively
• Deepen personal practice
• Collaboration with a growing community of Qigong and Tai Chi practitioners dedicated to fostering healing and empowerment

A graduate of the 200 hour Integral Qigong and Tai Chi Teacher Training program is automatically considered a Tai Chi Easy™ Practice Leader as well.

Level 1 – Community Qigong Practice Leader Certification - Integral Qigong™

This is a 60-hour certification program consisting of a thorough introduction to Qigong and Tai Chi, an investigation of the origins, the rationale for and practice of the Qi cultivation. View curriculum. This certification is useful for people who wish to lead Qigong practice sessions at YMCAs, community recreation centers, senior programs, etc.

The essence of the Integral Qigong™ approach is the Three Treasures - DNA (Jing), Qi (life force) and Shen (spirit), the Three Domains of practice - body Earth mind HeartMind, and spirit Heaven and the nine phases of cultivation and mastery. The key texts are The Healer Within (Enhance Vitality Method- Bu Zheng Qigong) and The Healing Promise of Qi: Creating Supreme Wellness through Qigong and Tai Chi classic texts of Qi cultivation in the West and the award winning DVD Qigong-Chi Kung: Awakening the Medicine Within. To review please click here.

Level 2 – Integral Tai Chi Facilitator™

Level 2 is primarily focused on Tai Chi while reviewing the material for Level 1 . In most communities the largest demand will be for approaches to Tai Chi that are accessible to a wide variety of learners -- including many who are rehabilitating from injury, neutralizing the effects of stress, hoping to maximize energy and productivity or delay the effects of aging. We work with Integral Tai Chi ™ which is not simply a Tai Chi form, but a Tai Chi teaching method that is assured to sustain student enthusiasm.

In the Integral Tai Chi™ framework we work with Tai Chi Qigong, a simplified approach wherein the complexity of the footwork is postponed for ease of leaning - followed by Tai Chi Easy ™ (noted above), Tai Chi Chair ™ and Tai Chi Mirror ™ which are all carefully and respectfully simplified forms of Tai Chi which create a great deal of positive effect including enthusiasm. The traditional principles of Tai Chi and Qigong are the heart of the Integral Tai Chi ™ program.

Level 3 – Advanced Integral Qi Cultivation

Level 3 takes Qi cultivation, Integral Qigong™ and Integral Tai Chi™ to the advanced level called in the ancient tradition Inner Alchemy. The focus is maximizing the potential of Qi cultivation, healing and empowerment. We review all former material, accelerate teaching skills, optimize the ability to attain advanced Qigong states and teach advanced cultivation skills with a focus on Shen Gong (Spiritual Qigong - understanding and revealing the eternal self).

On completion of level three graduates will have 30+ hours of actual experience in teaching others - communicating principles, descriptions of methods, demonstrating methods, making corrections, presenting visualizations and meditations.

Advanced Qi Cultivation Retreats

Prerequisite: 200 hour program or demonstration of enough study to qualify for admission.

Retreats and workshops on advanced Qi cultivation and inner alchemy topics. Often these are continuing education events for IIQTC alumni only.

Medical Qigong Prescription and Clinical Qigong Therapeutics Certification

Prerequisite: 200 Hour Qigong and Tai Chi Teacher Certification or equivalent.

The focus of this training is to refine the healing aspect of Qigong as it is applied to medical conditions. In the prerequisite course we cover Qigong for healing and transmission practices for general healing. In this training we penetrate even deeper into both self-cultivation Qigong practices for specific medical diagnoses and Transmission of Qi of Qi with specific therapeutic focus.

The curriculum, in addition to the 200 hour Teacher Certification, includes 160 hours of didactic Medical Qigong, 100 hours of traditional Asian medical theory, 70+ hours of documented prescriptive and clinical practicum plus 90 hours of anatomy and physiology, energy channel and point location and business and ethics. Additionally, each student must demonstrate proficiency before certification is awarded.

With satisfactory completion, the graduate is eligible to sit for the Medical Qigong exam from the National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM).

Integral Qigong and Tai Chi Instructor

Prerequisite: Medical Qigong Prescription and Clinical Qigong Therapeutics Certification

Upon the further completion of a required amount of public teaching activity, numerous appointments as a Training Assistant for the 200 hour Teacher Curriculum and/or training Tai Chi Easy™ Practice Leaders, plus the fulfillment of the necessary additional criterion for teaching teachers, an applicant may be eligible to become an Instructor -- that is to train Teachers.

Integral Qigong Physician

Prerequisite: Diploma from accredited College of Oriental Medicine

For those who have graduated from qualified Oriental Medicine schools. This coursework is to investigate certain topics more thoroughly and work therapeutically with patients using Qigong. The key curriculum is the 160 hours of Medical Qigong from the Medical Qigong Prescription and Clinical Qigong Therapeutics Certification.

Additional Courses

Weekend workshops or intensive retreats are available to study topics more deeply.

Qigong Teacher Training Curriculum | Qigong | Taiji | Chi Kung | Tai Chi