Name: Ben Rosen
Location: Portland, OR, USA
Occupations: Massage Therapist, Qigong instructor, Clinical Qigong practitioner, Herbal consultant, author/writer
Did you practice any other spiritual/energetic philosophies or techniques before you encountered the Stillness-Movement System? If so, what were they?
I began my curiosity and pursuit of spiritual/energetic teachings and philosophies at a very early age. I feel fortunate that I was raised in a household where spiritual traditions from around the world were openly shared and talked about from both of my parents, exposing me to many different spiritual wisdom traditions as part of my upbringing. I was raised culturally Jewish from my Dad and Catholic from my mom. Both parents as well exposed me to the teachings and philosophies of Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, Celtic Paganism, Japanese Shintoism, Ancient Egyptian religion, Indigenous peoples traditions such as the Lakota Sioux nation and Mexican Huichol people.
It was in fourth grade that I read my first several hundred page book on power/spirit animals. I began first having experiences of connecting with faeries/nature spirits around that age as well. I remember shutting down my spiritual part of me in middle school to live a “normal life”. In high school however I started fully getting back into meditation again and started also exploring the energy healing of crystals. This reignited my drive for seeking a spiritual pathway I that wanted to explore further. I tried different forms of meditation, but none seemed to click or stick with me. All of that changed when I found and discovered qigong in my life at age 17.
How did you hear of the Stillness-Movement System, and what prompted you to attend your first workshop with Michael Lomax? What was it like?
At age 17 I had been looking for the right kind of meditation for me that felt right and worthy of practicing. Many forms of meditation just did not click with me. It was in this time during senior year of High School that I stumbled online about qigong. After briefly reading about the practice and history of qigong on the internet, I immediately knew that it was something I had to go experience for myself. I was living in Los Angeles at the time and I found a local qigong teacher to begin practicing with. After just 3 days of practicing the form I was taught, for the first time in my life I began to feel Qi energy, an experience that would forever shape and change my life moving forward.
The more qigong I practiced the more my energy sensitivity for experiencing Qi energy grew and developed. It was after several weeks of studying with this first teacher that I came to the realization that this teacher was not the right fit for me and it was time to begin my search for the style of qigong that really spoke to me on a deeper level. After years of dabbling in different spiritual/energetic traditions, I had finally found my guiding compass with qigong as the tradition I wanted to dedicate my life towards in deepening with.
After a year of searching and trying out well over a dozen different qigong styles that were each not the right fit for me, I came across Michael Lomax’s Stillness Movement qigong on a Taoist online forum. Everything shared about the style of Stillness Movement immediately spoke to me on a deep level, so I ordered Michael’s Gift of the Tao DVD. It was right away clear from my first time practicing Gift of the Tao movements that this form of qigong felt different and deeper than any other qigong I had come across in my over year long search. I knew that my long search was over and I had found the style of qigong I wanted to commit myself to. I continued practicing Gift of the Tao qigong for several months and then that upcoming summer I attended my very first in person Stillness Movement workshop with Michael Lomax. That workshop was life changing and fully confirmed for me that I had found the right qigong for me to fully dedicate myself to. The high level of energetics at the workshop were so tangible and the quality of inner stillness achieved was beyond anything I had ever experienced before. I’ve continued taking workshops ever since and have attended the majority of ones that have happened since my very first one 15 years ago. I very much look forward to attending the next in person workshop when it happens again. Each workshop is a priceless experience of energetic activation, learning of in depth concepts for qigong movements and clinical applications for healing others with qi energy that are worth their weight in far more than gold.
How long have you been practicing the Stillness-Movement System?
My first workshop was in 2011 so I have been practicing for 15 years now.
Describe an example of how Stillness-Movement System has impacted your life.
It is difficult to share just one example for how Stillness Movement System qigong has impacted my life. This is because Stillness Movement has so radically and positively shifted my entire consciousness, health and inner peace that in many ways Stillness Movement System has forever transformed all aspects of my life for the better. I can say that the biggest ways Stillness Movement has impacted my life is one being personal health and wellness. I get sick far less often since I started practicing qigong and when. I do get sick I recovery much quicker. My physical stamina, strength and mental clarity have all been greatly improved since practicing Stillness Movement. While I am still human and feel the full spectrum range of emotions, Stillness Movement has given me such a pillar of inner peace and ability to shift into true calmness even when I find myself off balance. The art of Stillness Movement qigong always supports me in coming back to greater harmony within myself every time I practice it. Finally the clinical qigong applications for being able to support others in need whether that be friends, family, and animals in my life has been truly a priceless gift to be able to relieve someone’s pain or help make a difference for someone else’s health is a miracle worth celebrating.
Do you use Clinical Qigong (Waiqi Liaofa / Taoist Neuro-energetic Therapy) to heal others? Describe some of your results.
Yes, I have been practicing Clinical Qigong (Waiqi Liaofa/Taoist Neuro-energetic therapy) for 15 years since I first started learning Stillness Movement System qigong. I am a practicing massage therapist and have included Clinical Qigong as one of my professional offerings I give to clients. I also of course offer Clinical Qigong to friends, family and animal companion pets in my life. I have truly seen time and time again truly miraculous results with the Clinical Qigong. Most recently I worked on a massage client’s ankle with chronic pain. She had been experiencing a 6-7 out 10 range pain in her ankle for the past 6 months, after just one session of Clinical Qigong energy healing and Qigong joint stretching on her ankle she achieved a full 100 percent recovery of no more perceived pain and a full return of range of motion. She was absolutely amazed and called it an act of magic. She had been receiving physical therapy for her ankle for months with close to no results and in one session of Clinical Qigong had a full recovery, truly beyond words amazing. I have years of case studies of similar miraculous results with Clinical Qigong working on both humans and animals. Working with animals is always so special as they have no possibility for placebo effect, they are fully authentic and true with their symptoms being improved and addressed. The Clinical Qigong is such a profound aspect to this Stillness Movement System, it is with great heartfelt compassion in service to other beings to be able offer such a profound healing methodology to those in need. I have found that Clinical Qigong almost always makes a positive difference for those receiving. It is an honor to be able to offer this service to others to help make a difference in their lives.
What’s a fun fact we should know about you?
A fun fact to know about me is that I am very much into experiencing the qi energetics of tea and herbs. I am a practicing herbalist and great connoisseur of fine tea. Very high quality tea from old growth trees and herbs picked from wild remote places in the world carry very special and healing energy to experience. There is a special frequency of qi found in herbs, tea and food found deep in wild environments of forest, mountain, desert and jungle that can be so profound to experience on a health and wellness level. The energetic vibrancy of these herbal plants or mushrooms can be so extraordinary in their healing effects to experience. The energy sensitivity I have cultivated and developed through my many years of qigong practice has allowed me to become extra perceptive to the qi of herbal healing plants. It is fun, nourishing and rewarding for me to experience and connect with healing herbs from around the world that each offer unique and special health benefits. I will also say that I have grown a love for gardening . Both herbs and food grown with loving intention in ones own garden is also equally special as finding wild ones in the forest and will be infused with one’s own qi energy that is put into the growing process. Growing a garden of food and herbs at home is a hobby passion of mine that has only deepened in appreciation from my years of qigong practice allowing me to experience the higher level of qi in home grown food and herbs compared to store bought. I encourage everyone to build a relationship with experiencing healing herbal plants and the joys of growing ones own qi nourishing food at home. Future home food crafting projects I wish to begin next is learning to bake my own bread, brew my own beer and tend a beehive to produce my own honey.