Beautiful Hjälmareds Folkhögskola just outside Alingsås was the place for the relaunch of our 9-day Summer Course after the long pandemic break. Many had longed for a long time to have the opportunity to learn directly from Dongyue Su and train in our special and strong Summer Course qi-field. Likewise, to meet their Qigong friends again and socialize, laugh, and enjoy themselves together. The atmosphere is special at our Summer Courses, something that can always be understood from the course evaluations. The change of location to Hjälmareds Folkhögskola also gave the opportunity to choose other rooms than dormitory, which was appreciated by many.
Over 120 people were with us during the nine days. From the comments we received after the course, we guess that many will return next year and that we will be even more then. The summer course is the very best we can offer and something similar is likely difficult to find. During the course, we also arranged a Qi Comb course which was much appreciated.
On our half day off, most visited Alingsås with its cafés. Not to mention the cabaret our participants organized in the evening thereafter. The atmosphere is always good during our cabaret and so also this year, full of warmth, laughter, and happy smiles.
After the course, all participants answered anonymously to a questionnaire with several questions. You were given options 1 – 7 where one was very bad and 7 very good. For the course overall, the average result was 6.60. Our new course location averaged over 6 on all the questions asked – accommodation, food, and how the place had served as a course location.
Below are statements from participants after the course:
Loving atmosphere
“Thank you! Very nicely arranged, we got very good food and accommodation (in double room) for the price. I appreciate the soft and loving atmosphere and the lectures.”
Lovely in the qi-field
“Wonderful summer course, wonderful with training in the qi-field. Thank you all amazing teachers for all you did to make the course happen and everything you did during the course. Thank you, Su Dongyue for being so positive, encouraging and caring to us.”
Boost
“This is my first summer course and it has been very rewarding. I feel energized and have had a real boost, a super positive start to the autumn.”
Result
“1. Howling loud tone in my ears since one year back disappeared on day one. 2. Heartburn disappeared completely. 3. I could read on the mobile and book without glasses during the course. I have refractive error and far-sightedness with glasses. 4. Got rid of one year pain in my left thigh. 5. I got rid of two swollen pillows in front of my heel due to longer walks and overweight. 6. Reduced five kg in weight on the course. 7.I mproved deep sleep from 6-11% to 20% on average. I brought a sleep monitor with me.”
More qi
“Mentally calmer and stronger, less stressed. More mobile, agile and stronger in my body. I feel like I’ve got a little more qi.”
Great course
“Thank you for a great course. The location of the course was wonderful! Such a beautiful and peaceful place. Fun to meet new and old Qigongers. Incredibly good food. So nice to stay at the manor. What I already know is that I have become physically stronger from the course. Above all, my arms and hands have become stronger. I feel that I see better.”
Thoughts
“Have gained increased ability to manage thoughts, increased understanding of how negative thoughts are as poison that takes qi and the importance of positive thinking.”
All good
“You guys are incredible to get it all together so well. Thank you so much!”
Not obvious
“So many things are taken for granted. It’s just been like this: “should I go on a summer course”. Then, there was no summer course. It has been a revelation to realize how much that is important in life is taken for granted. It makes it easier to prioritise, I believe. Because it’s so wonderful to be here. To get all this help. Much of it, I wouldn’t have come close to at home. I have also been on sick leave since 2021. I’ve been working 25%. I’ve struggled with it. I have chronic migraines and fatigue. There’s really no proper help available. It’s just through Qigong that I can get some energy and not be as sensitive to pain. It’s been so great to meet everyone.”
Enjoyed the training
“A calm and harmonious summer course. Enjoyed the training. Was able to absorb the lectures in a better way than before. Appreciated the emphasis on feeling from the heart, both in terms of training and how we behave in society and in relationships.”
Cabaret
“The cabaret is really a great way to feel joy and community!!”
Deeply grateful
“I am very happy that I participated in the summer course and am deeply grateful for Dongyue’s teaching, which was fantastic. All the motivational talks about how to think, presence, relaxation, and training details have entered me in a new way and taken my training to a completely new level. I now increase my qi so much more by practising. Now, it’s up to me to use the tools. Also, I received very good help and valuable feedback from the teachers. I want to thank for the great work they do that made everything flow so well for us participants. I am deeply impressed to be 120 people with such tranquility in the group. Also, that we are so many who have trained for so long and extensively makes me so happy. Hjälmared Folkhögskola was an excellent course location and I hope there will be more courses there. Now I am saving up so that I can attend more courses; I am looking forward to it!”
Covid
“After Covid, I’ve been coughing every evening. This morning, I realized that I haven’t been at all during the course.”
Peace and quiet
“So grateful for this place and everyone who worked to organize the course. Great place. It’s so beautiful and brings peace and tranquility. We noticed that external things in society can be quite disruptive when we had our free afternoon and were in Alingsås. We had coffee and enjoyed ourselves. But then we felt it was too much; we wanted to go home, and home was here. Thank you very much, it was very nice. Many thanks to all of you who are here and making the course possible.”
Friendly atmosphere
“Thank you for the friendly atmosphere here, it does one good.”
Insomnia
“I think it’s been a great course. I suffer from severe sleep problems. They have got a little better the last six months and here on the course I have been able to sleep very well the last six nights. I am so grateful for that, to be able to sleep well is so wonderful.”
Softer
“It started working a lot for me on the winter course, with both my head and body. It has continued here now during the course. And it feels like they’re following each other, both the body and the mind. My entire skeleton has been rearranged. My pelvis and spine, which were stiff and in the wrong place after my pregnancies. Very tense shoulders, very stiff in the neck. They have also become much softer.”
Strong qi
“I have never felt such a strong qi-field from day one and all exercises have become so much better and easier to perform: both arm training and even La Qi! It went so well that for the first time, I preferred to lie down and rest, and even fell asleep several times on the chair during La Qi! I hope and think that this has improved me both physically and mentally. I sleep much better!”
Mental backpack
“I came to the course with a very ‘heavy mental backpack’. My greatest wish was to have it emptied. It was 100% fulfilled!!!”
Brain fatigue
“For several years I have had menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and sweating, especially at night, but during the last year also during daytime. Even though I have been able to handle it well, it has of course still been hard to wake up 5-6 times a night. Now it has almost ceased completely! The last night of the course I slept well and had no hot flashes. After I got home, it has persisted, with at most one hot flash per night and an occasional one during the day. So nice! During the course I have become much more mobile in my shoulders, neck and hips. Tension has disappeared and I have gained a much better posture which makes me walk and stand differently, it feels very good. I can also perform the movements better, which makes a significant difference in my training. The brain fatigue that I have had for many years is much better. I have regained my ability to think and concentrate and during the course I have, for example, been able to participate in conversations with several people at the same time. Thank you for a nice course!”
Top class
“The course itself was, as usual, top class! No complaints at all! Big, BIG thanks!”
Hopefulness
“I have been ill for a long time. After the summer course, I feel a strong sense of hope that everything will be fine. My eyesight has improved after the course. When I train at home, I think that I train in the big qi-field. I can finally feel qi now, and it feels like practicing at home is more rewarding. I notice that I’m physically stronger after the course; for example, I can hold a pot again with one hand. I can do things faster, everything seems to work better, and I have much better endurance. After the course, I’ve been able to stop taking a sleeping pill I’ve had to take for years to be able to fall asleep. I haven’t been able to reduce the dosage of the pill at all before.”
Better vision
“My eyesight has improved and I’ve got a lot more energy. I’m glad I participated in course!”
The body stabilized
“For a few years, I’ve been suffering from an unstable pelvic floor, which has led to chronic pain in my lower back and sciatic pain in my left leg. I have also been very tired mentally and had reduced muscle strength in my body and pain in many joints. During the course, I felt how my back stabilized, muscle strength came back throughout my body, many joint pains subsided, and also the sciatica pain is disappearing after training at home the days after the course. In addition, I sleep better, and my eyesight has improved noticeably. Thank you for a fantastic course and for all the great teachers who help you deal with strong bodily pain.”
Happier
”I’ve felt incredibly grateful for being here during this course and I’ve felt very happy in the qi-field. The qi-field makes me happy, happier. The training has been unusually soft and calm, I must say. Even if my body is not good in every way, it feels soft, and it feels soft and loving to be here. Even though I don’t come down completely, my body feels soft when I make movements. A pleasant feeling, a pleasant way of being. So, it’s like always moving upwards.”
Security
“I have attended many summer courses, and my training results have come gradually. One significant result I’ve achieved is a new sense of security. I’ve been anxious ever since I was a child, but now I feel a sense of security within myself, and it’s fantastic.”
Fine motor skills
“The arm training has improved my fine motor skills in my hand, where I previously had problems due to excessive mobile phone use. During this course, I’ve felt a calmness, something I need more of.”
Better balance
“A cyst in my head affects my leg, foot, and balance. It’s been wonderful that I have been able to train here in a different way. And I’ve noticed that my balance is better. I often used to lean to the left, needing to keep my eyes open. I’ve had that here too, but I’ve also been able to keep my eyes closed. And I thank you all.”
Inner peace
“During the pandemic years, I practised online, and it gave me an inner peace I hadn’t felt before. My well-being benefit from practising Qigong. Many thanks for a fantastic course at this lovely place”
Important to me
“When I couldn’t attend these courses because of the pandemic, I understood how important they are to me. I need Qigong to stay in shape, to function, actually.”
Teacher:
Dongyue Su