[From The Editor]
Welcome to the March-April issue of Yang-Sheng Magazine! This issue’s theme is Meditation vs Exercises, and as many of our fine and informative articles point out, this is an area of life where balance between passive and active practices is frequently the “best medicine.”
Beginning with this issue, I am happy and honored to be able to serve you and the wellness community as the new Editor in Chief of Yang-Sheng.
Since 2006 I have been involved with this wonderful, supportive online community beginning as a columnist writing the “Illuminating the Dao” columns for Yang Sheng’s precursor, the former Qi Dao Newsletter also published by Kevin Chen in conjunction with WISH, the World Institute for Self Healing. In 2011 and 2012, I also served Yang Sheng as an Associate Editor. I am fortunate in that I have seen this community grow into a vibrant, international resource for mind-body wellness! We promise to continue this trend as we expand both our online network, and explore additional avenues of communication such as the recent addition of a print edition of Yang Sheng in both English and Chinese. It is our sincere desire to fulfill our purpose, providing information and value to help you “Cultivate Qi for Body, Mind and Spirit.”
My personal interest in body-mind-spirit wellness started in 1995 when I began my qigong practice and the study of herbal medicine. Many people whose interest perks in these fields do so due to health issues. I did not have any health complaints at that time, and continue to enjoy excellent health now, I was simply interested in the holistic and integrated nature of life, exploring the path to harmony with and within my physical, mental, and spiritual environment. At about the same time, I returned to the workforce beginning a second career as an educator where for several years I team-taught Grammar at the middle-school and high-school levels.
In 2005 I departed the school environment to pursue a career in holistic wellness, first earning a Holistic Relaxation Therapist degree from Natural Health Institutes for the body, and in 2011 becoming an ordained minister in the (original) Universal Live Church for the spirit.
From 2007 to 2012, I worked with clients privately as well as teaching qigong and meditation classes through Central Oregon Community College, and meditation classes for St. Charles Medical Center, both in Bend, Oregon. Also during this time, I worked as a free-lance editor and proofreader, helping other writers break into the market to publish both books and articles..
Today, as well as serving you as the Editor in Chief of Yang Sheng Magazine, I am writing my own book describing my pilgrimage to India where I traveled alone from October through December of 2012. Please visit my website: Michelle K Wood.com http://michellekwood.com Thank you!
Namaste,
Michelle Wood
Editor-in-Chief