Winter Qigong
The Water Element
Beneath the stillness
life is renewing
22nd November 2026
9:30am - 12:30pm
The School Room,
St Mary's Church,
Childwickbury,
Harpenden, AL3 6JJ
£45
Winter is the most yin of the seasons in the qigong & traditional Chinese medicine seasonal cycle. Nature turns inward plants rest deep within their roots, animals retreat, and the landscape becomes quieter. It is a season that reminds us that beneath stillness, something is always gathering.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and the Five Element phases, winter is associated with the water element. Water carries the qualities of reflection, stillness, restoration and quiet renewal. It invites us to slow down, to listen, and to turn our attention inward. Rather than always rushing forward, we are invited to pause, to feel, to reflect and to reconnect with the deeper reserves within us.
Like water, we can learn to move between stillness and flow as winter offers a natural opportunity to conserve and replenish our energy, cultivating the quiet strength that comes from rest, presence and deep listening and reflection.
During this earthy & grounded winter water phase workshop, we explore the qualities of this season through the lens of qigong, with gentle but oh so strengthening movements, breath, meditation and subtle inner practices. Opening to the feeling of more stillness, reflection, quietude and soft strength answer learn to move with the qualities of water, receptive, adaptable, fluid and quietly powerful.
Qigong is a skilful practice rooted in the wisdom of Classical Chinese Medicine and Daoist traditions. It is a way of cultivating and balancing Qi, the vital energy within the body to help support health, harmony, and well-being. At its heart, qigong is an art of moving with inner strength and awareness, while exuding outer softness, and mindful alignment.
There will be plenty of space throughout the workshop for discussion, questions and personal reflection. Whether you’re completely new to Qigong or have an established practice, you’ll be warmly supported to explore the movements at your own pace. The workshop will take place indoors in a warm and comfortable space. If we are blessed with a bright, crisp winter morning, we may choose to take a small part of the practice outside but only if the weather feels inviting and everyone would genuinely enjoy it. There is absolutely no expectation to venture into the cold!
What you'll explore
in the workshop:
-
Explore gentle, flowing qigong inspired by the water element and winter.
-
Cultivate quiet strength, develop physical strength within soft, fluid movement.
-
Breathe and slow down, use breath awareness to settle the mind and deepen body awareness.
-
Practise seasonally, adapt your practice to winter's quieter, more inward qualities.
-
Create a daily practice, learn short qigong sequences to support a home practice.
-
Embrace stillness, explore movement, breath and meditation as pathways into deeper listening and awareness.
-
Reflect and reconnect with gentle contemplative prompts
-
Learn to develop a more embodied connection to seasonal rhythms and the wisdom of Winter.
-
Learn the foundations of standing meditation, (seated options will be given).
Workshop Details:
The wisdom of Water
Water is the fifth of the five elements in Chinese medicine. It's the phase of embracing winter rest, stillness within movement, conservation and potential. Reminding us that periods of 'apparent' stillness can also be periods of profound renewal.
In nature, water moves downwards and inwards. It cools what has become too hot, settles what is agitated. This phase of the seasons invites us away from constant activity (rushing water) and towards calm, flowing steady, quieter waters.
There is a beautiful wisdom in this, physically teaching us, not everything needs to be so expansive, full and growing all of the time. Nature slows down in winter, seeds rest beneath the earth. Many trees shed their leaves and draw energy towards their root system and the land becomes quieter, not because life has stopped, but because life is gathering beneath the surface.
We too need these times to gather ourselves beneath the surface.
Luckily, winter offers us a chance to do this, unlike the expansive and more outward / outside energy of summer, the winter/water phase teaches us to listen more closely and to allow ourselves to replenish, rather than continually spending our energy outwards, to conserve and restore, before the outward movement of spring begins again.
Through this workshop we feel how honouring the natural rhythm of the seasons, rest is no longer something we have to earn, it becomes an intelligent and wise choice to our life and qigong offers us a tangible way to experience this wisdom and feeling in the body. Through slow, grounding qigong forms, breath, standing meditation and stillness, we begin to sense the quieter reflective and strengthening qualities of the water element.
Learning to move with winter rather than against, we discover that doing less does not mean becoming less!
Each participant will receive an 8-page manual on the water element, with guided contemplations to support reflection and integration beyond the workshop. These resources are designed to help you continue honouring your inner stillness throughout the winter.
See you there.
