STUDIO RASA (www.studiorasa.org)
This lovely studio nearly hidden in a converted warehouse West of San Pablo Avenue in the East Bay is noteable in that its core classes are yoga but its founders are devoted to expanding their repatory of classes and events to various physical arts, such as aikido, qigong, Taiji, and even playful movement. Most classes are well-attended and the community loves the school. Andrew Sherman teaches Qigong here on Tuesdays from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM.
BREATH OF THE DAO HOLISTIC MEDICINE (www.daoclinic.org)
This site is home to a San Francisco clinic where it's Director, Dr. Suzanne Friedman, Doctor of Medical Qigong Therapy, licensed acupuncturist, nationally certified herbalist and specialist in Medical Qigong Oncology sees and heals patients. A fun, capable and qualified teacher, Dr. Friedman taught and certified both Jacob Chinn and Andrew Sherman in Medical Qigong Therapy, as well as in teaching Guigen Qigong. Find links to her text books and videos here.
HEALTH TIPS ON LONGEVITY TREE (www.longevitytree.com/healthtips/)
This well maintained blog is regularly updated by Dr. Suzanne Friedman with concise, fun health tips close on the heals of the release of current clinical research. This is a great site as a school teacher's tool, or just a conscientious person's regular reading must see.
SEA OF QI (www.seaofqi.org)
This site is the home of a private practice in Medical Qigong, Tui Na, Sound Therapy and Qigong instruction headed by Willow Lune, MQP. In this site you'll find some helpful definitions as to what these therapies consist of and their potential health benefits.
ACUPUNCTURE & INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE COLLEGE, BERKELEY (aimc.edu)
This college (AIMC) is where both Jacob Chinn and Andrew Sherman were trained in Medical Qigong. The program is one of only a few in the country that certifies Medical Qigong Practitioners. It's main focus though is on Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine undergraduate and graduate degrees. This is a great school with a great student body of dedicated professionals. If you're interested in studying to become a physician or healer, check out their program here.
ENERGY ARTS (www.energyarts.com)
The most significant influence in my own development is this site's main subject, Bruce K. Frantzis, who as far as I know is the only Westerner to become a lineage holder in an internal martial art. Frantzis, as a Westerner, is able to write books that clearly elucidate the principles and details of Taoism, Qigong, Neigong, Taiji, Bagua, Hsingyi and internal martial arts in general. I would recommend his books and classes to anyone seriously trying to study any of these subjects. In the escalation of students to higher and higher teachers as they become proficient, Frantzis is the highest level I would be able to recommend anyone to.
I-CHING WITH CLARITY (www.onlineclarity.co.uk)
This simple site has extensive content, including not only a primer in i-ching use and divination, but also an ongoing blog with each hexagram as its own subject, so that the meanings of each are debated and contributed to heavily by those who use the i-ching around the world. For a fuller understanding of a hexagram, check out this site.
IN MOTION (www.stillnessinmotion.com)
This site represents one of the few schools I know of locally that teach all three of the traditional internal martial arts, Taiji, Bagua, and Hsingyi. Additionally, they teach an Israelli system of fighting called Pentak Silat Serak and a weapons-based martial art from the Phillipines called Visayan Eskrima. If you're looking to build qi power in your body in general, the internal martial arts are definitive methods for doing so.
JANE YAO NEO KIMG (www.sifuyao.com)
Jane Yao is one of the few female masters of the internal martial arts available to teach in this area, or in the U.S. for that matter. Beside's being wholly worth the time of any student who wishes to learn Wu Style Taiji to check out, women, the more infirm and people of smaller physical frames might particularly benefit from learning from Yao, who is, herself, a woman of respectable veneration and of small stature. Those who've mastered the art from within certain physical situations can be particularly suited to teach others with the same physical circumstances.
HSING-I MARTIAL ARTS INSTITUTE (www.hsing-i.com)
WARNING - this site uses a little script with an asian woman that talks loudly, announcing what's on the site and what you should expect to find. She appears in several sub-sections also, so don't click this link until you're not concerned about the sounding of your speakers. Once you get past that, though, this is a comprehensive resource site for anyone who wishes to explore the internal martial art of Hsingyi. Of particular interest to me were a host of video clips that illucidate the basics of Hsingyi that the site generously makes available assuming that they will better sell their full videos if you can see what quality of instruction is on them. It worked, as I've purchased several videos from them, now, and I'm notoriously stingy about videos and dvds online, because so many turn out to be poorly designed, with almost no useful information.
WEN WU SCHOOL OF MARTIAL ARTS (www.wenwuschool.com)
This is another local school that teaches, among other things, Qigong (wild goose), Ping Yang Style Taiji, Hsingyi, Baqua and Chinese Art and Calligraphy. Chinese Calligraphy is a little known branch of Taoism the study of which is believed to be fully capable of producing the same enlightenment achievable via other better known paths. The teachers are mainly a married couple, and represent a valuable resource of culture and teachings.
LAETUS IN PRAESENS (www.laetusinpraesens.org/docs/devching.php)
This group is attempting to define the interrelationships between problems and solutions in the approach to Sustainable Development from the perspective of all participating entities, such as industry development, commerce, agriculture or government using the 64 hexagrams of the i-ching. It's an ongoing project, but a very interesting one; worth keeping your eye on.
