WATERWAYS COLLECTIVE
The Fire Element Series
Heart & Small Intestine · Joy · Connection
Five sessions. One element. Your heart already knows how to open.
June 2 · June 16 · July 7 • July 21 • August 4
First & Third Tuesday
5:00 PM Pacific (PT) · 8:00 Eastern (ET)
Fire is the element of the Heart -- of joy, warmth and connection. In the Five Elements, Fire relates to the Heart and Small Intestine, which govern the quality of our inner life, the clarity of our perception, and the warmth we extend to ourselves and others.
When Fire moves freely, we feel alive, joy comes naturally, relationships carry a level of ease and the heart knows what truly matters. When it is depleted or scattered, we feel disconnected, restless, or unable to find our center.
THE ROOT BENEATH THE ELEMENTS
Alongside our Fire Element practice, we also begin Qi Permeating - a foundational practice that is not tied to any single element. It is part of the ground the seasons move across. We will return to it again and again as the year unfolds.
In these five sessions, we open the heart, cultivate joy as a practice , and teach the body to radiate and receive with ease.
WHAT WE WILL EXPLORE TOGETHER
JUNE 2
Igniting the Heart
Opening the door to a new element
We arrive at Fire from the rising energy of Wood - from roots and courage into warmth and openness. Before the heart can fully express, it needs safety. This session opens the pericardium, the heart's protector, creating the conditions for genuine connection to emerge.
Five Element Transition: From Wood to Fire, spring to summer, liver and gall bladder into heart and small intestine.
Begin Again at the Root: Revisit the Standing Like a Tree posture and the meditative qualities of deep abdominal breathing -- 2 still positions, one at lower dantian and one at middle dantian. Pushing the Log Under the Water. Taiji Auxillary Breathing. Awakening the Hands.
Revisiting and exploring the diagonal nature of Parting the Wild Horse's Mane.
Returning to Grasp Sparrow's Tail with fresh eyes and settled roots. Exploring options for practice - single side, back and forth, four directions.
Welcoming the Fire Element. Before the heart can fully express, it needs safety. This session begins the pericardium movements, the heart's protector, creating the conditions for genuine connection to emerge.
Opening the Pericardium - Part 1 — Qigong to open the heart protector, creating safety and ease around the heart center.
JUNE 16
The Open Heart
Joy as a practice, not a destination
Fire Element teaches that joy is not something that happens to us; it is a quality we cultivate. This session works directly with the heart, calming and nourishing before expanding. The Ha sound - the voice Fire - is introduced.
Explore the Fire Element and the Heart System. Learn how Qigong theory sees the heart and the heart system. Explore its qualities.
Threading the Needle: Learn a Taiji/Qigong Silk Reeling exercise that combines and unites Wood and Fire Elements, cultivating the root and rising to the sky.
July 7
Calm the Heart
The voice of fire
Before joy can expand, the heart needs room to rest. This session teaches Calm the Heart - settling, soothing, and creating spaciousness in the heart center, through the Ha sound, the voice of Fire itself.
Calm the Heart: Qigong to settle, soothe, and create spaciousness in the heart center.
Threading the Needle: Continue practicing this unifying silk reeling movement to find ease within the spiral.
Qi Permeating, Path One: Exploring the Front Path. Qi Permeating is a foundational practice, not tired to any single element.
JULY 21
Nourishing the Heart and Shen
The spirit that lives in the heart
The Shen - the spirit that resides in the heart - is the most profound aspect of Fire Element. When the Shen is nourished, the eyes are bright, the mind is clear, presence flows naturally. This session goes deeper, tending the heart not just as an organ but as the home of your spirit.
Nourishing the Heart and Shen: Qigong to deepen heart health, brighten the spirit and restore the quality of presence.
Small Intestine: The gift of knowing what nourishes and what does not, sorting the pure from the impure.
Deepening Silk Reeling: Revisit Threading the Needle. Finding the heart center within the movement.
Qi Permeating, Path Two. Exploring the Middle Path
AUGUST 4
Heart & Kidneys - Fire and Water
The great conversation at the center of the body
Fire and Water are the great balancing forces -- Heart and Kidney in continuous dialogue, warmth and depth in dynamic harmony. This closing session of the Fire Element weaves all four sessions into one continuous practice that honors the elemental balance that sustains us.
Heart and Kidneys: Balance Heart Fire and Kidney Water, the foundational axis of health in Chinese medicine.
Review Fire Element practice: Weaving the practice together.
Qi Permeating, Path Three. Explore the back path. Put it together.
Closing Meditation: Standing Posture, the essence of Fire, gratitude for the season.
