Qi Gong and Tao garden

I remember that when I was quite little, from the age of 7, I often felt the need to meditate and pray out of site in my bedroom. On my own in nature, I communicated with the animals, the trees and the spirits of nature. I was sure that there was another dimension apart from what we could see.

Aged 18, as a student of Political Sciences at Strasbourg, the town of 1000 belfries, I mixed with Christian, Muslim and Jewish students, and discovered the teachings of theosophy. It was in this crucible of encounters that I found the essential keys to understanding Eastern and Western spirituality and philosophy.

While I worked for 20 years as an administrator in international companies my knowledge of philosophy and spirituality deepened. I’d begun to practice Qi Gong when, aged 28, I arrived in Bordeaux. 10 years later life brought me to the Médoc where I set up my business, all the while continuing to practice Qi Gong.

At the age of 50 I wanted to put the practice of Qi Gong, closely aligned to Taoist alchemy, at the heart of my professional life. I trained with Philippe Aspe of the Central School of Tao in Tours. Today I hope, through my courses, to communicate this beautiful way of practising Qi Gong while creating links with our European culture. Greece, the Celts and Judeo-Christianity also have long traditions of meditation, spiritual exercises and health practices. From time immemorial these universal practices have enabled Man (microcosm) to understand the harmonious energy that links us to the universe (macrocosm).

This leads us to an internal quest (largely explained by Taoist alchemy) towards a collective responsibility (from Confucius to the Stoics) within a respectful and humble relationship with Nature. Qi Gong is, for me, more than a professional activity and is actually a way of life within which I try everyday to link body, heart and spirit.

2021 Florence Guillot (Hourtin), translation: Margaret and Richard Beasley