Starting your SFQ Practice Group

Our goal is to connect people interested in sharing their love of Spring Forest Qigong with others and to create supportive communities worldwide.

Start a Practice Group

The SFQ Guild can help you start a practice group with others in your area that are interested in doing SFQ exercises, both active and sitting, in a group setting.  Working in a group creates a beautiful energy and can deepen the experience for all involved.  This is a time to share, meditate, and meet others with a similar love for this powerful, healing practice. 

Each practice group needs to have a coordinator that is willing to find a space to hold the meetings and can communicate changes to the other members of the group.  Because this person will be leading others in Spring Forest Qigong exercises we require that they complete the Level 1 class.  We will work with you to start the group and provide recommendations for facilitating it.  You will have the option of publishing your group information on the SFQ International Guild web page so others in your area can contact you.

Practice group coordinators will receive regular communications from the Guild.  We will share information, pass along new ideas for meetings, and address questions you might have.

What the Guild can Provide

• Connection with other people in your area
• Meeting suggestions to get you started
• Listing of your group on the SFQ web page
• Assistance with problems/questions that may arise
• Ongoing updates and communications

What the Coordinator will need to do

• Find a comfortable location for the meeting
• Set a standard meeting time
• Determine the length of the meeting
• Set up a donation policy if required (Cost is free to participants)
• Create a list of regular participants
• Create a policy for notifying participants of cancellations or changes
• Communicate updates or coordinator changes to the Guild
• Agree to let us share your information if you wish to be listed as a formal group.

Listing on the Web Page

Once you start your group you’ll have the option of listing it on the SFQ International Guild Web page as a Formal group.  When you do this others will be able to find you and your practice group easily.  You also have the choice of not listing your practice group and keeping an Informal group status.  If you chose to do this we will still provide you with regular communications and ideas to assist you and your group members.

Security

When we list your group on the web page we want to provide people with appropriate information but we also want to maintain a level of security for the group coordinators.  We have a minimal amount of information that is required for the web page.  It’s up to the individual coordinators and the group to decide what level of detail they would like to have listed.

Recommendations

• We will list the first name of the coordinator (last names only with permission).
• Do not provide the address of the meeting location if it is a personal residence.
• List the exact location only if you are comfortable making it public.
• If you are uncomfortable with people coming to a meeting unannounced you can ask them to call you before they attend.  Gather their personal information and tell them you will call them back with details of the next meeting.

Information we will ask for

We will need the following information for all formal groups:

• First and last name of the coordinator
• Email address and Phone number
• Permission to share this data with others
• Meeting details
• Highest Course Level Completed (for Guild information only – not for the web page)

Managing your group

You will want to maintain a list of members and the best way to contact them with meeting changes or cancellations.  You can choose whatever method works best for you.  Many groups keep an email list and some use a phone tree.  Please do not share group member information without their permission.  If you use an email list you will need to use the “bcc” field to keep their emails private.

If you have any questions or would like to start a Practice Group in your area please email Connect@SFQGuild.com.  As our community grows we want to help you grow as well.  Let us know what you need and we will do our best to help you get there.