Create space for your spirit to thrive
Have you felt this way:
- your job or to-do list is the center of your life
- you have no feeling of purpose or that you've lost a lot of the joy you used to feel
- your spark and curiosity are missing
- you feel over or under emotional and have a lack of emotional connection
- you feel chronic tension in places and flaccidity in others
- you are tired, irritated, and done
I felt all of this.
And you can read more of my story here.
But even better, I'd love you to try the practice of Taiji and see if you notice your own shift.
Here's how this practice drops you right into the center of your life. Try this movement with me. Notice the subtle shift that takes place. If you can do it in this short video, you can do it in the rest of your life.
Upcoming Classes
A meaningful practice goes beyond the physical movement. You have to be moved in every way - physical, emotional and mental - in order for your spirit to thrive. Join me and connect to your own inner quiet and wisdom that comes from the full depth of a mindful movement practice.
Please note: All classes are VIRTUAL
Winter 2025 Beginning Guang Ping Yang Taijiquan
Guang Ping Yang Taijiquan is a 64-movement form that typically takes about two years to fully learn.
Yes, it's a commitment. But one with deep, lasting rewards that youâll carry with you for life.
I first learned this form from Pakinee Sukwattana. Before diving into the actual set, I had to learn a âpre-taijiâ series of movements.
I wasnât thrilled. I wanted to get straight into the taiji!
(For context, I started taiji because I hoped it might help me develop patience. Clearly, I needed it.)
But I still remember sitting in the stillness of the room, watching the class move through the set. My teacherâs movements were captivatingâher fluidity and skill were undeniable, and the peaceful energy in the room erased all my doubts. I knew I had found my place.
I offer access to all class recordings, plus videos to practice movements. Daily practice is mandatory if you want to memorize the postures and have a daily practice you can take anywhere you go.Â
Beginning Guang Ping Yang Taijiquan
Tuesdays
January 7 - February 25
6:00 - 7:30 PM ET
All classes are virtual and will be recorded for enrolled students, with access provided through the online community.
NEXT SESSION: Advanced Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi
Join me and explore the full Guang Ping Yang Taijiquan form! These are easy 30-minute drop-in classes every Wednesday and Friday.
For students who have learned Taiji 64, this is an exploration beyond the movements. Sense qi, settle the nervous system, relieve stiffness and stagnation in the body, and watch it release in relationships, at work, and at home. This is the work that will open places of deep holding, and create freedom and access to joy. And as you find peace and balance in difficult postures you will begin to live those practices feeling ease and contentment in everyday life.
Advanced Guang Ping Yang
Wednesdays; Fridays
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Wed Jan 8 - Wed Feb 26
12:30-1:00 ETÂ
15 Classes - $80
20% Discount for SWL Monthly Membership Holders
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This practice is virtual.Â
ALL CLASSES WILL BE RECORDED AND ACCESSIBLE TO ENROLLED STUDENTS VIA THE ONLINE COMMUNITY
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NEXT SESSION: Taiji For Balance Virtual Class
Practicing this simple 16-movement taiji form has helped me soften and relax. It gave me a real sense of being centered, resilient, and internally strong.
Thatâs the heart of Centered Resilience: Building Your Anchor for Unstable Times.
This taiji form also supported me during one of the hardest times in my life: stepping into the role of caregiver for an abusive parent with Alzheimerâs and their terminally ill partner.
It wasnât easy.
The gentle movements, practiced in quiet stillness, allowed me to navigate complex emotionsâgrief, forgiveness, anger, reliefâand the tangled feelings of guilt and shame.
Even now, I rely on taiji, qigong, and meditation. Theyâre essential to me. (Just ask my familyâthey much prefer me when Iâm practicing!)
Letâs dive deeper into these ancient teachings together and discover their true strength. I hope you'll join me.
Special Note: This is a live virtual class, but you'll also have access to my online course with hundreds of videos to support your practice between sessions. Class recordings will also be available in my online community.
6:00 - 7:30 PM ET
Mondays
Jan 7 - Feb 4
$80 (Free for SWL Monthly Membership Holders)
All classes are virtual and will be recorded for enrolled students, with access provided through the online community.
Upcoming Workshops and Special Classes
Please note: All workshops are VIRTUAL
Winter: A Quiet Practice
The longest night of the year...it's quiet, dark, a time for honoring the quiet.
This is considered Yin. It represents pauses, contemplation, femininity, darkness, fear, solitude, cool, listening, and witnessing. It is the opposite of summer's energy: Yang, bright, loud, rambunctious, communicative.
We aren't encouraged to spend time in contemplation. How many times at work have you been told to take 30 minutes to meditate on a project before the deadline? To ponder, wonder, without regard to the outcome?
Quiet is necessary for internal harmony. "Only in darkness can we find light."* When you're already in the light, there's nothing to find. There's no mystery!
So here's what we're going to do: we're going to celebrate our longest, darkest night. We are going to celebrate the dark. Celebrate the quiet. Join together and celebrate the introvert within us - we all have it. We'll center into our breathing, tap into our sage essence, and spend some time honoring the gifts of Yin.
In so many Eastern practices there is an infatuation with light. It's always prioritized. I'm going to be honest here: I don't like it.Â
Darkness is important to occupy.
It's half of the Taiji Symbol. âŻÂ
We are supposed to experience darkness! Whether it's filled with fearfulness, or quiet witnessing, or cultivating inherent potential. Yin is part of our existence and part of our work to find our comfort in its potential and power.
Join me for a quiet meditation, gentle movement, and community.
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Saturday, December 21, 2024
10 am ET
 This class is live and virtual. It will not be recorded.
*(I'm pretty sure someone somewhere said that! đ I did a quick search, but nothing came up.)
FREE ONLINE COMMUNITY
The work we do to transform our lives cannot be done alone. We are rich resources that can learn, rely on, and share with each other. This is what the SWL Community is all about.
This is a free-access online place to explore taiji (Tai Chi), qigong, and meditation. It is also a special place for certified instructors of Taiji For Balance.
We all try to use language that is rooted in the culture of the practices we do daily, but we explain those in terms that our Western upbringing has in common.Â
This liminal space is special.
Western Mindfulness tends to focus on stress reduction (e.g., Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, MBSR), science-based approach, and therapy, with a focus on practical and goal-oriented results.
Eastern Mindfulness is rooted in spiritual traditions connected to deeper spiritual development and involves meditation as a path toward wisdom and insight, focuses on the interconnectedness of life, and looks to a holistic balance of mind, emotions, body, and spirit.
What we see when we create a ven diagram of these is that we all want the kind of internal harmony that emanates outward toward others. Both approaches have great gifts.
Simply put, a compassionate, non-judgmental space reduces anxiety and stress on its own. It creates community, safety, and connection.
I hope you join me here.
MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP
I remember back when I closed my brick-and-mortar studio. It was one of the most difficult decisions I ever had to make.
My mother was suffering from dementia and her husband had terminal cancer. I didn't think I had the capacity to continue building a business and caring for someone with whom I had had a difficult past.
I loved the studio with it's suspended wood floor (heated in the winter!) giant light-filled windows, flower and herb garden, but mostly the incredible students I had learned so much from.
I couldn't fully let it go, so I chose to move my classes to an online/virtual space. It was a lot of work and I had great help.
Two months later, COVID arrived.
I look back on those hard days and decisions and realize how grateful I am for the path that emerged.
Students continued to learn as I taught virtually and joined my in-depth online courses through membership to continue their learning.
Having 24/7 access was vital to them. The non-judgmental approach felt like they were still in the studio. Being able to review and relive the in-depth information was priceless.
If their comments sound like what you're looking for try the membership for free for 30 days. You won't be charged unless you stay with us.
With a monthly membership you'll have 24/7 access to Taiji For Balance - Levels 1 and 2; Baduanjin Qigong; Meditation, Select Workshops Recordings, and future courses.Â
And if you aren't sure, you can read more about it below:
Hi!
My name is Lucy. And over 25 years ago, Taiji saved my life.
It shifted my perspective and brought awareness, clarity, and love. I am forever grateful.
I now teach these practices to anyone longing for genuine openness, ease, and a fulfilling life.
My guided meditations, easy to follow videos, understandable philosophy will gently shift you away from anger and guilt, releasing behavior that no longer serves you.
Taiji For Balance: Learn More“Lucy Bartimole changed my life. I initially came to Shift to work with Lucy for the physical benefits of tai chi, specifically balance and strength - both of which have increased over the past 3 years. However, along the way, I really began to learn and appreciate the other aspects of tai chi, specifically the mental and emotional aspects of tai chi. Learning how to pay attention to my breathing and listening my body has brought me mindfulness, an ability to choose to react (or not), and a sense of peace and connectedness to the world.”
-Mary Jo Burkhardt
