T'ai Chi, T'ai-Chi Ch'uan and Chi Kung Instructor Profiles
Bataan Faigao
In Memoriam:
Our friend and Mind/Body Program colleague, Bataan Faigao, has passed on after a brief illness while he was traveling in China. Bataan studied with Grand Master Cheng Man-ch'ing from 1968-1975. He taught in the Denver-Boulder area and in many cities in North America and Europe since 1976. At Naropa University, he was a core faculty member and Director of the Traditional Eastern Arts Department. He was also the director of Rocky Mountain T'ai-chi Ch'uan Foundation, Inc. He edited and published Full Circle, a literary journal devoted to the study of t'ai-chi ch'uan (1984-1989).
Bataan encouraged students to work hard and to adhere to principles, to follow their journey of spiritual discovery. He taught T'ai-chi Ch'uan as a complete system for health, meditation, self-defense and as a way of the tao. He emphasized that learning this art is a process that takes care of the external to get to the internal, going back and forth from form to application, understanding and experience.
His gentle manner, tranquil spirit and deep knowledge of T'ai-chi Ch'uan will be missed. For further information, please contact his school, Rocky Mountain Tai Chi.
Cynthia Ghiron 
Cynthia received an M.A. in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Colorado, and has recently completed the Jon Kabat Zinn training in Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction She currently teaches the Stress Reduction component of the H.E.A.R.T. Program at the Colorado Cardiovascular Center.
Cynthia has completed Jin Shin Jyutsu training with Mary Burmeister and has completed her Reiki Master Degree in the Usui Shiki Ryoho method of Reiki. She completed the Advanced Training in the Hakomi method of body-based psychotherapy.
Cynthia has been teaching and working with clients in the Boulder area for more than 20 years.
Miles Nichols
Miles' interests include Sheng Zhen Qigong, sound healing, teaching, writing, meditation, animals, music, nature and team Frisbee playing. He has respect for all living things and a desire to support health and well being. In his Qigong and sound healing practice, Miles works toward mastery in both his personal practice and his skills as a teacher.
Elizabeth Reninger
Elizabeth is a practitioner of the Taoist arts of qigong, acupuncture, tuina and poetry; and has been exploring the terrain of Inner Alchemy (Yoga/Qigong in various forms) for upwards of twenty-five years. She has had the privilege and good fortune of receiving instruction from a number of great Taoist, Buddhist and Advaita-Vedanta Teachers. Her first collection of poems -- And Now The Story Lives Inside You (WovenWord Press) - was published in 2005.
Elizabeth approaches qigong and yoga practice as a wonderful opportunity for cultivating physical health, mental/emotional wellness, and spiritual insight; and is committed to supporting each student in accordance with their own unique circumstances. Her teaching style is precise and inspiring, and filled with gentle humor.
Qigong (literal English translation = "life-force cultivation") is a form of Taoist yoga -- with roots in ancient China -- that has been practiced, in various forms, for thousands of years. Its many benefits include: physical strength & flexibility; increased energy & sexual vitality; relief from stress & chronic pain; joyful, relaxed & optimistic state of mind; mental clarity; increased access to intuition & creativity; enhanced feeling of spiritual connection.
Beth Rosenfeld
Beth teaches T'ai Chi ch'uan. She began the practice in 1983 with Bataan Faigao and the late Jane Faigao. (Both taught at Rocky Mountain Tai Chi Ch-uan school in Boulder and at the Traditional Eastern Arts Department at Naropa University.)
Beth assisted her teachers for 15 years before she began teaching seven years ago. She also enjoys dancing, gardening, traveling, and hiking with her husband and dog.
Sweigh Emily Spilkin, MA, MFA, CHT
Sweigh is passionate about helping people reclaim their resiliency, health, and aliveness. She is the founder of Vibrant Living Therapy, through which she offers Body-Centered Psychotherapy, Energy Healing, Qigong, and workshops and classes for individuals healing from trauma and chronic illness. Sweigh's training includes certification in Hakomi Body Centered Psychotherapy, advanced training in Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing trauma resolution, and certification as a Qigong healing practitioner from the Body Energy Center's 4-year program. Sweigh is currently working on her PhD in Somatic Psychology at the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute and is doing research in the field of Post Traumatic Growth. Her teaching style is heart-centered, depth-oriented and inviting.
Bill Regan
Bill retired from the sales management business in Minnesota in 2008 and moved to Boulder. He attended Naropa University from 2008 to 2012, earning his bachelor's degree in Traditional Eastern Arts with a concentration in T'ai Chi Chuan.
Bill participated in Rocky Mountain T'ai Chi Summer Camp intensives in 2010 and 2011, led by the late Bataan Faigao, a direct student of the late Professor Cheng Man'ch"ing. Bill attended the Keuka College Summer Camp intensive in 2012 in Keuka Park, New York. This 'by invitation only' camp is led by Maggie Newman, a senior student of the late Professor Cheng man-ch'ing.
Bill received permission from Bataan Faigao in March 2012 to pursue teaching T'ai Chi Ch'uan. This is an oral tradition going back hundreds of years.
Last Updated on Friday, 09 November 2012 13:22
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