Qigong Movement Classes with David Sholemson
During the Summer of 2025, when I was working out of the yoga studio at Acadia Yurts, I saw a piece of paper on the bulletin board advertising Qigong on a Friday night.
I knew nothing about Qigong at the time, but the poster got my attention, something about movement and breathing, and the timing of the class could almost work if the traffic from Somesville to Southwest Harbor was flowing, which sometimes it wasn’t on a Friday evening in mid-July.
I emailed the instructor to sign up, and then I didn’t think too much about it, until the night before, when a fellow reflexologist texted me and said she had just attended “a great Qigong class with Healthy Acadia in Ellsworth.” I replied, “I’m going to his class tomorrow night!”
Several times in the last 2 decades, I have tried to get into the “Yoga thing”. I have tried different classes with different instructors. It never seemed to click for me, and whenever a friend would mention a great Yoga class and how I should come too, I would always brush it off with a Mom Joke - “I’m too inflexible for yoga!!!”
Qigong caught my eye because it said movement, and to my inflexible-yoga-avoiding mind, that struck a note - hey maybe this won’t be poses - because I don’t know the names of any of the yoga poses, I’m always 3 poses behind, and my head is always looking between my legs to the back wall when the instructor is up the front and …. well you get my point. Yoga and I just never clicked.
I went from work, seeing clients for reflexology all day, straight to class.
We moved, we used tapping, we did stretching exercises where we were holding a ball of energy between our hands, the stretches had purpose, the breathing was both calming & energizing, there was some floor work, some great music, some sound healing, some time for free movement to music ( I kept my eyes closed so that no-one could see me) and I loved it.
I really felt that I could feel the Qi outside of my body, that I was holding something tangible, and I felt connected in a way I hadn’t before. I also felt lighter and way more flexible than I had when I entered the class. I wanted to do it again.
Luckily for me, David Sholemson has a website, and Zoom classes year-round, as well as the intent of being back in Acadia in the Summer of 2026 to teach live classes
David’s online classes can be taken 1 at a time if you wish. Each class is live on Zoom at 6:30 pm on Wednesday. Each week you also get a recording the following day that you can use for the rest of the week to practice or to watch for the first time if you can’t make the 6:30 Wednesday class.
But David’s classes are more than 1 time events.
Qigong follows the Rhythm of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
Each Season is an 8-week block of time. I signed up for the next available block - Late Summer. The first class was part movement and part presentation. David presents Diet & Lifestyle tips for the season according to TCM. Then he teaches any new movements that will be incorporated into the class for the upcoming season, as each season aligns with different organs in the body.
What I remember thinking at the time was how much this felt like what I do with reflexology. A whole-body approach to wellness, focusing not on one external part but including the internal reflexes, helping to balance the body. It felt like a way to incorporate what I think about every day with actions to maintain my wellness.
David and I have kept in touch. I sometimes make it to the 6:30 Zoom class on Wednesdays, but most often I watch the recording when and where it is convenient for my schedule.
I asked David if I could share information about him with my clients, and friends, and he agreed.
He has recorded a “get-to-know 3 Body Qigong” session. I am attaching the link below. The link will be available until January 6th, and you may watch it as many times as you want to between now and then.
David’s next season of classes begins on January 7th with the Instructional class of Diet, Lifestyle & Movements for the TCM Winter season. You can find more information here on his website https://www.3bodyha.com/
I hope you will give David’s recording a try.
And stay tuned, because David will be coming to visit again this summer, and he will be offering his classes with Healthy Acadia, Acadia Yurts, and with Take Five Reflexology when he is here.