Be Our Valentine Continued:

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a valentine as "a sweetheart chosen or complimented on Valentine's Day." With that special time just around the corner, we?ve chosen SFQ practitioner Lauretta Taggart of St. Paul, Minnesota, to be our valentine. As you?re reading the following, try to figure out just what makes Lauretta so special!

She was born in northern Minnesota close to the Canadian border in the Red River Valley near Grand Forks. After her mother died, her grandmother moved in to care for the five children. The older woman wasn?t used to farm work or lots of children, so Lauretta, being ?the naughty one? and more difficult to manage, became ?the boy in our family,? joining her father outside to do farm chores ranging from shocking hay to driving horse

Lauretta has traveled around the world?largely by herself since her husband?s death?from the Taj Mahal in India to Brazil to the South Pacific: six continents and three cruises! She first heard about qigong two years ago when she was coming home from a trip to South America. She was traveling with a group that missed its plane and was stuck for a whole day. Because everyone was exhausted, one of her companions said, ?Let?s do some qigong!? Lauretta, curious, joined them, and the exercises made her feel so relaxed that she decided to find out more this practice.

When she arrived home, she went to the library and checked out some books about qigong. They were interesting, but she really wanted someone to demonstrate for her. One day she read in a local newspaper that Bonnie Blanchette, an SFQ Level One instructor and master healer, was holding an SFQ introductory session nearby. Lauretta attended that class and ?fell for qigong hook, line, and sinker.? She purchased the Level One manual and the DVD and began doing Spring Forest Qigong ?all day long.? She was entranced with it. She even remembers the day she started on her SFQ path: February 13, 2008 (happy anniversary, valentine!).

She arranged for a Merriam Park, St. Paul, senior center to have an SFQ information session there with Bonnie instructing. They expected about 10 people, but 37 showed up--18 of them signing up immediately after the presentation for an SFQ Level One class. They ?fell in love? with Bonnie, and Lauretta became her devoted assistant. Another class is planned for April. Bonnie comes in once a month now to check people?s progress and to give tips. Lauretta drives her car over to the center every Thursday and leads the group. ?People are just crazy about it,? she says, glowing.

Lauretta is essentially a very happy person, and credits her positive disposition partly to  her other grandmother?a cheerful, happy woman who bore 17 children and lived in a still-standing log cabin in northern Minnesota. That grandmother always said hard work will never hurt you, and the way you feel is all in your outlook, claiming there are three things necessary for a good life: moderation, attitude, and gratitude. Sounds a lot like Master Lin?s teaching.

Lauretta?s father was also a cheerful person. He always advised, ?Don?t look at what you have to do?look at what you?ve already done.? As a result, she learned to gravitate toward positive people. When she took her trip to the South Pacific and was going to be assigned a roommate, her only requests were that the person (1) not be an excessive drinker and that she (2) not be crabby. Rarely crabby herself, Lauretta loves people and is a dedicated volunteer, including being ?punch lady? for receptions at a nearby funeral home.

She has many interesting stories about qigong:

? Two weeks ago, a woman in her apartment complex was suffering from a rotator cuff injury in her shoulder. Lauretta took her to the practice group and asked Bonnie to help. Which she was finished, Bonnie said, ?You?re feeling better now?? The woman hesitated, and then replied, ?I guess so.? A short time later in the middle of a discussion, the woman piped up, ?I?ve got something to say!? Everyone turned around. ?Look!? she declared, ?I can raise my arm! When I came here, I couldn?t lift it at all! And I don?t have any pain!  When Bonnie worked on me, I felt something like this (she danced her fingers up her arm), but I couldn?t see what she was doing, ?cause my eyes were closed.?

? A short time ago Lauretta was on a tour with a friend from her apartment complex. Suddenly when the woman sat down, her shoulders sagging. When asked what was wrong, she murmured, ?Oh, my blood pressure is too low. I can feel it.? Using what she had learned in Level Two, Lauretta  worked on her friend right away without stopping to think. The woman felt so much better so quickly that she exclaimed, ?What?s that voodoo thing you did on me? It really worked!?

? Another friend was experiencing shoulder pain and asked for some help. When Lauretta began working on the healthy shoulder, the woman exclaimed, ?No, THIS side! You?re on the wrong one!? Lauretta just smiled and said, ?I know, I know,? remembering what Master Lin had said about beginning healing on opposite side from the problem area. The woman can now stretch up and get things off shelves she hasn?t been able to reach for a long time.

? ?Master Lin says to practice on your plants,? exclaims Lauretta, ?and that?s just what I?ve been doing. See those African Violets over there? They weren?t blooming at all before, but just look at all the blossoms that appeared when I started working on them!?

Lauretta does her Spring Forest Qigong for at least 45 minutes every day, sometimes getting up at night to practice some more. She belongs to the Unity Church for Positive Christianity and reads their Daily Word every morning, finding it a joyful, uplifting way to start the day and incorporating the message into her meditation.

This is obviously a unique person who has led, and is leading, a very interesting life. Oh, and did we mention?Lauretta is 94 years old!