Martha's Teaching Schedule
Tuesday 12:00pm - 1:30pm Ongoing Qigong Practice Session
Tuesday 7:15pm - 8:45pm Level One Qigong or Qigong Practice Session
Thursday 2:00pm - 3:30pm Level One Practice Session (fall & winter)
Thursday 2:00pm - 4:00pm Level One Qigong (seasonally)
Weekend Workshop Level One Qigong (three times/year)
Contact Martha; register for a class; check Martha's Qigong Workshops
Martha Hurwitz came to qigong reluctantly. Drawn to the form's preventive promise while as struggled through cancer diagnosis and treatment, Martha was wary of qigong's energetic basis and spiritual tilt. As treatments subsided and her life allowed for more reflection and normalcy, Martha noticed that of all the alternative modalities and treatment antidotes she benefitted from, qigong was the one, mysteriously, that held an enduring interest.
Over the years of practice, then as she began teaching and witnessing her students' experiences, the mystery became more clear. Since her teen years, Martha has felt a deep and fortifying connection with the natural world. She's spent many months living and teaching in wilderness and mountainous settings, and still find her greatest peace in the outdoors. The system of Chinese Medicine and the ways of Daoist philosophy--both of which serve as the foundation to qigong--are similiarly rooted in the patterns and cycles of nature.
Never one to endure a sitting meditation, Martha found her first route into meditation through the movements in Soaring Crane Qigong. Now able to meditate (and sit) regularly, Martha is enjoying the calmness, clarity and intuitive access her practice brings. Her practice has opened the way to a spiritual exploration and the study of subtle arts. She's noticed intriguing shifts in her longtime creative pursuits of writing and teaching and now features some of her own techniques in qigong workshops.
Martha would like to extend a ocean-full of gratitude to those teachers and spiritual advisors from whom she has gathered so much instruction, guidance and influence: her first SCQ teacher Kris Caldwell; her current teacher, the SCQ lineage holder Teri Applegate; Tao FaWu Qigong and subtle arts mentor Heidi M. Hawkins; Five-Element acupuncturist David Martin and bodyworker extraordinaire Julie Jacobs.
Martha lives near Two Dog with her husband Eric and their two kids, Arlo and Vera. She's a co-founder of The Clearwater School and fan of Sudbury schools world-wide. Contact Martha.
Martha is so very approachable, and provides clear and precise instruction. She has
carefully crafted the beginning series to allow us each time to explore the movements and
ideas, learn the vocabulary, and ask our questions. I find her very intuitive in providing just the
bit of information I am needing to move my practice along from month to month.
— Carol Hartley
From "Meet the Instructors: Martha Hurwitz", September 2008 Two Dog e-Newsletter:
Hello Two Dog Community
It's been one year now that I've been teaching Soaring Crane Qigong at Two Dog Yoga. I'm so glad to officially be part of this community. I've known Two Dog through Annie: during mutual pregnancies while in a Little Two Dog class and in mom/baby groups while Annie built Big Two Dog. Annie's family was generous and supportive during my months of cancer treatment; Two Dog hosted a prevention presentation I gave in 2005. By the time I completed a qigong teacher training, Annie was hoping to add more health-based offerings at Two Dog. The timing was perfect.
Soaring Crane Qigong, the form I teach, is Chinese in origin. Using acupoints, meridians and qi, it works like a self-administered acupuncture treatment. Gentle, slow movements flow like tai-chi, with the gracefulness of fine choreography. Designed to bring health to all realms of being--physical, emotional, spiritual--Soaring Crane Qigong is more a form of meditation than exercise.
Qigong's preventive promise initially lured me to the form. Fear of cancer's return kept me taking classes and building a home practice--but over time, the effects of my practice became their own, healthier motivation. Now I practice for the evenness of mood and energy that mark my days, for the alleviation of physical symptoms of stress, for the ease of sleep, for the way I feel more brave, tolerant, patient, and more connected to the world around me, both physically and spiritually.
The Qigong community at Two Dog is vibrant, with beginning classes on evenings, weekends and daytimes, practice sessions twice a week, solstice potlucks, and free weekend park practices. Each season features a special-interest half-day workshop, such as Qigong for Therapists, or Qigong for Body Workers. As the Two Dog community grows, so do the Qigong offerings.
I'm happy to talk with anyone who might have questions about the form itself, or its fit for you personally. Thanks to Annie, and thanks to Two Dog!
best,
-Martha
