By Cathy Miller

It was Health and Wellness Day at the Washington Borough Farmers’ Market on July 18. In addition to a fresh-picked selection of summer’s bounty, two local certificated practitioners, Stan Cohen and Josephine Noone, offered 30 minute sessions in Qigong and Yoga which promote health, well-being and stress reduction (“calming the monkey mind,” as Stan often says).

Monkey Mind
Noun

A Buddhist term meaning unsettled, restless, confused

Both are ancient and deeply-revered modalities. Yoga dates back approximately 5,000 years. Qigong goes back anywhere from 3,500 to 5,000 years and actually predates Tai Chi. Stan explained, “The Shaolin Monks were taught Qigong by a master who came to their temple. They took the internal energy work and mindset of Qigong and applied it to their self defense arts, creating Shaolin Kung Fu (Tai Chi).”

Stan

A Port Murray resident and founder of Chi For Living, Stan said, “I got into Tai Chi and Qigong totally by chance. I tend to look back and think it found me. My first sensei (teacher) was part of a string of events that led me down the path fo finding something to calm my inner demons and my own variety of monkey mind.”

A practitioner for nearly 25 years, the modality came naturally to him. Stan marveled, “This is the longest I’ve stuck with anything in my life, so I know it’s a good fit. I’m obsessed with it – not so much the science side, but the movements themselves.”

He began teaching almost immediately, explaining after class how he interpreted and internalized the movements so they made sense. Professionally, Stan is in his 14th year of teaching, certified by several organizations for five years, including the American Tai Chi and Qigong Association. He now holds a level 2, or over 5000 hours of teaching, and is also certified to teach Dr. Paul Lam’s Tai Chi for Arthritis.

When comparing Qigong to Yoga, Stan noted both modalities work on internal and external health. “Yoga is about posture, holding and relaxing into the poses. Qigong, although it does have some static pose work, is about the flow between postures, creating an internal constant ebb and flow of energy and body movement. They both seem to want to get you to internalize, to feel the body and become one unit of mental and physical connectivity,” Stan explained, adding, “There are some movements which aren’t necessarily crossovers, but similar in form – like getting to the same place from different paths.”  

Qigong can be started by anyone, in any condition, and carried to whatever level they choose, making it the perfect modality. It is a lifelong journey of self-discovery, health and wellness for quality of life. Does it extend life? Stan didn’t hesitate, “Perhaps. I think so. More importantly, it works at improving the life you have – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It is the least understood and best overall fitness modality that most people are unaware of and are not doing!”

Visit Stan’s website, www.chiforliving.com, for classes, or email him at chiman@chiforliving.com to be added to class notifications.

Josephine

Josephine Noone has lived in Washington since 1994. She initially was drawn to Yoga after she tore her ACL and underwent surgery. She explained, “My left knee became very stiff and Yoga helped me regain my flexibility.” She’s been practicing Yoga for 20 years, beginning with classes at Gibson’s Gym.

Fast forward to 2020, and Josephine is a newly certified Yoga teacher. “I recently retired after 25 years as a teacher, principal, and Director of Curriculum in the New Jersey public schools. I finally had time to earn my 200-hour RYS (Registered Yoga School) Teacher Certification through Honor Yoga in Washington. I’m now a Yoga Alliance Certified Teacher and looking forward to teaching Yoga as a second career.

She’s very excited to begin teaching Yoga classes. She leads a free outdoor class every Monday at 7:00 p.m. at the Jewish Center of Northwest NJ in Washington, as well as a short Yoga class every Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at the Washington Borough Farmers’ Market (standing poses only, no mat required). Josephine added, “I hope to teach at Honor Yoga Washington once they’re able to add more classes back into their schedule.”

How would Josephine compare Yoga to Qigong? “Yoga originated in India and Qigong originated in China,” she began, continuing, “The physical practices of Yoga and Qigong both focus on harmonizing the mind, body, and breath to enhance health and well-being. Both Yoga and Qigong improve flexibility and reduce stress. In Qigong the focus is more on smooth flowing movement, similar to a Yoga Flow class. But in Yoga, we often hold postures for longer periods of time.”

Josephine manages the Farmers’ Market, a collaboration between the Washington Borough Green Team and the Washington Business Improvement District. All of the Green Team members volunteer time to assist at the Farmers’ Market as a service to the community. She is also a Councilwoman in Washington Borough.

For now, Josephine is available to teach Yoga one-to-one or groups in outdoor spaces only. Contact her with inquiries at noonejosephine@gmail.com.

In closing, a recent post from Stan picturesquely sums up the benefits of these ancient arts, “Qigong, Yoga, meditation, or any form of internal health and healing modality helps with quieting the ‘noise’.” He added, “The internal focus on movement and breathing calms the monkey mind, the hamster wheel churning of thoughts, through redirection, giving it another job to do.”

To your health!

The Washington Borough Farmers’ Market runs every Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. through October and is located at 44 East Washington Avenue, in the big parking lot by the Pocket Park. Follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/washingtonboroughfarmersmarket/