Elinwood - Qigong Basics

A S A NATIONALLY KNOWN teacher and theorist of the mind/ body connection, Ellae Elinwood has drawn upon a background rich in varied experience to conceive her current work. For many years she was an instructor of hatha yoga and t'ai chi, both privately and at colleges, universities, and fitness spas throughout Southern California. She pioneered a program teaching yoga to the elderly in convalescent homes, with remarkable results. She has also been a teacher of shiatsu, "Touch for Health," applied kinesiology, and stress management, and continues as a student of qigong.

A student of psychology, she has trained in the past with body-based therapies, including Bioenergetics and the revolutionary "BodyNamics" works of Lisbeth Marcher.

Through her studies of yoga, Chinese wisdom, and facial exercise, and her investigation into the effects of energy systems and emotions on the face, Ellae developed her book Timeless Face, her comprehensive facial toning exercise program (St. Martin's Press).

She has recently had books published on t'ai chi and qigong, The Everything T'ai Chi and Qigong Book (Adams Media, 2002) and Stay Young with T'ai Chi (Tuttle Publishing, December 2003), as well as numerology, The Everything Numerology Book (Adams Media, 2003), and now Qigong Basics (Tuttle Publishing, 2004). As an outgrowth of her extensive background, she teaches "Growing Older, Growing Better," a class dedicated to the concept that we are meant to improve as we mature... in all ways.

Ellae speaks and gives seminars at universities, colleges, junior colleges, conferences, and massage schools and spas, as well as doing private sessions throughout the United States and Canada.

Ellae now resides with her family in Ashland, Oregon.

Contact Information:
Transformation Through Reflection, Inc.
119 Oak Meadows Place
Ashland, Oregon 97520
Phone: 541-488-4983
E-mail: elinwood@aol.com
Web site: www.ellaeelinwood.com

Lillibet Gillespie

Your for the Shaolin Si sequence in this book, Lillibet Gillespie, has been trained in the Shaolin Si tradition. Lillibet has been teaching t'ai chi ch'uan for twelve years and qigong for seven years. She was born in South Africa and lived most of her adult life in Cape Thwn, South Africa, where she was introduced to t'ai chi. Her teacher (sifu) was Leslie James Reed of South Africa.

Leslie Sifu was director of the International Taijiquan and Shao1in Wushu Association, headquartered in England. This international association was formed more than three decades ago in Leicester, England, by Association president Derek Frearson Sifu. Today this association is represented in Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Hungary, Hong Kong, and the United States. Association is committed to offering and health arts.

Leslie Sifu studied both major systems (Songshan and Wudangshan) of bioenergetic health attainment and maintenance for more than thirty years. The Songshan heritage was taught by:

Guo Meng Zhu (sif'u) from Shaolin Monastery, Henan Province, mainland China

Shi De Tang (sifu and Shaolin monk) from the Shaolin Monastery, Henan Province, mainland China

Wong Kiew Kit (sifu), Kingdom of Kedah, Malaysia

Lee Kam Wing (sifu), Hong Kong (Shamsphuipo)

The Wudangshan heritage was taught by:

Ou Rong Ju (sifu), Fatshan, Guangdong Province, mainland China

Jiao Hong Bo (sifu), Shaolin Monastery, Henan Province, mainland China

Wong Kiew Kit (sifu), Kingdom ofKedah, Malaysia

Lillibet Gillespie was privileged to benefit from the richness from Leslie Sifu's studies and training. She continued to study with Leslie Sifu on a twice-yearly basis after she moved to Ashland, Oregon, in 1997. Presently she is the representative of the International Thijiquan and Shaolin Wushu Association in the United States.

Leslie James Reed passed away unexpectedly on March 3, 2003. Lillibet continues to remain in contact, through training and sharing of information, with instructors of the Association in Cape Town. She endeavors to study with Wong Kiew Kit (Qigong) of Malaysia, who is a fourth-generation successor of Venerable Jiang Nan of the Southern Shaolin Monastery, the recipient of the Qigong Master of the Year award in 1997 in San Francisco and the author of many books. Lillibet also trained with Li Ju from the Philippines in Sheng Zhen Wuji Yuan Gong and with Jiang Jianye of Albany, New York, in the essences of taijiquan and yin/yang medical qigong. She sees herself as an eternal student who endeavors to teach the forms as authentically as possible without losing the essence of this traditional art.

Lillibet is a professional member of the National Qigong Association and continues to read and study to deepen her own practice and expand her knowledge and expertise with special health challenges. She teaches classes in Ashland and Medford, Oregon, specializing in the senior population and in Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and arthritis. She also teaches private lessons to students with health challenges, such as cancer. Lillibet's teachings include Yang style t'ai chi, Shaolin Hun Yuen Yi qigong, and Shaolin Si qigong. She has been featured in numerous editorials in local newspapers and gives seminars.