Cris Caivano
Move with freedom. Move with enjoyment!
ABOUT
I love to teach people how to move with freedom, ease, and enjoyment, especially people who think they are "too old" or "out of shape". The reward of seeing my students change, grow, and blossom has continued to motivate me for more than 30 years.
By drawing on my extensive background and continuing studies, I am able to pick and choose from among diverse styles and practices, and teach the ones which are the most useful and effective.
In group classes, I encourage a relaxed, supportive, and non-competitive atmosphere, where exploring and learning is a joy. (See "Group Classes" in the "About" section for details of classes and workshops offered.)
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GROUP CLASSES
The Healing Art of Qigong
Appropriate for people of all ages and fitness levels, this class explores the flowing, relaxing and revitalizing exercises of Qigong. An ancient Chinese form of healing movement, Qigong has been proven to build lower body strength, increase joint flexibility, lower stress levels, and enhance the immune system. Easier to learn than Tai Chi and totally non-competitive, this class will leave you feeling calm yet energized.
Zoom class schedule: Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday 9:30 AM EST. (see home page)
Free Live/Zoom Classes:
Every other Friday, 10 - 11 AM EST at Millbrook Library, Millbrook, NY. Register at millbrooklibrary.org
Tao Yin
(Chinese Style Yoga)
Tao Yin is a lovely, relaxing and enlivening series of exercises somewhat similar to Yoga, but using flowing, curving movements instead of static poses. Tao Yin incorporates breath and mindfulness to deepen meditative benefits, and I will teach acupressure points to massage as you stretch, further enhancing the circulation of energy through the meridian system. You may be very surprised how well your stubbornly tight muscles and joints respond to this integrated approach! This class incudes standing and floor work.
Check “Newsletters” (Main Menu) where upcoming Tao Yin and other workshops are announced.
Employee & Corporate Classes
A great way to build team work, encourage communication, lower work place stress, and stimulate creative thinking: offer your employees the bonus of an in-house exercise class. One of my most successful programs!
Exercise is a great way to refresh and revitalize, either during the lunch hour or after work. Besides obvious health benefits, studies show it encourages mental flexibility and imagination, too.
I offer on-going classes in the exercise style of your choice: Yoga, Qigong (aka "Moving Meditation"), Mindful Strength and Flexibility, or a mixture of all three.
I also offer one-time, special events, such as the Qigong class pictured above in Central Park, NYC, for the annual meeting of bi-coastal employees of a national magazine.
References for this program are available from the C.E.O of a company who offered this bonus to his employees twice a week for over 8 years.
The Tai Chi of Flexibility
This class combines Eastern Qi based flow with Western corrective exercise. Based on the ancient “Silk Reeling” technique, it teaches a stress-free way to mobilize stiff or achy joints and relax - lengthen tight muscles. In all my years of study, moving and teaching, I have found this to be the absolute best way to get flexible. It feels great, too: you don’t have to suffer to get flexible! Indeed, your body will probably respond much more quickly to this unforced, flowing, breath-ful approach.
Check “Newsletters” (Main Menu) where this and other upcoming workshops are announced.
ACHIEVABLE BENEFITS
- Increase strength.
- Reverse muscle atrophy.
- Enhance flexibility and range of motion.
- Improve balance.
- Build bone density.
- Achieve beautiful postural alignment.
- Cultivate energy and vitality.
- Prevent or recover from injury.
- Build confidence.
- Sharpen mental clarity.
- Reduce stress, depression, & anxiety.
- Move with grace, ease, and coordination.
- Support recovery from unwanted habits.
TESTIMONIALS
"Cris is like a harvester: she brings in all the best information out there. She filters out what isn't useful, and teaches us the rest." --- Barbara F
“I’ve taken qigong before and tried a lot of videos online and none compares with your clarity, ease of teaching and fullness of explanation. I particularly love how much you share about the emotional/character aspects of the organs in Chinese medicine and how the different sequences (doesn’t seem right to call them exercises) support them. This is the class I’ve been looking for!” --- Martha B
“Qigong has become one of my primary self-care activities…Can’t tell you how much all of your teaching and support means to me and all of us in the class. You are a gift that keeps giving.” --- Jim B
“Thanks SO much for offering these classes. I’m amazed how much it’s helping me-I’m more optimistic and better at dealing with the stresses that used to send me into a funk. Now I seem to see past the crap. I should have started practicing years ago.” --- Judy K
“Your classes are an essential remedy to what ails us.” --- Katherine D
“You are a really gifted teacher. You convey to us, your students, your enthusiasm and the spirituality of Qigong. For me, with my physical limitations, it is a siege, not just a single skirmish to achieve physical balance. But you have shown me that the way is to develop practice; not expect perfection.” --- Don B
“You have turned my life around in many ways.” --- Lynn P
“I've always hated exercise other than yoga so I've become very sedentary and have osteoporosis and osteoarthritis but am still pretty flexible and not in pain - just lower back pain quite often. Doing your class, I experienced for the first time in a long time, no back pain and I am so grateful. I feel much more balance and feel some strength returning to my body.” --- Trudy S
“I don't know how but the classes seem to get better and better. Your approach of gathering input from attendees is inspired and just right. We are fortunate to have you with us at any time, but especially during this pandemic.” --- Susan F
“Many thanks for the hours of fun on Zoom and the good practices you have introduced to me. I look forward to it each Tuesday and Thursday. I feel very stress free and calm after each session. We depend on your weekly classes!” --- Sally K
“Just wanted to say yesterday (Sunday’s) Qigong was great. It was just what I needed to work on – more lower body balance and strength, where I keep a lot of tension. Appreciate the chance to improve the flow of chi.” --- Mike F
“I really enjoyed your class today. I have done a lot of Qi Gong and have been a Tai Qi “player” for a few decades. I wanted you to know that I followed you easily and am familiar with the healing sound, etc., but I appreciated how you introduced concepts and built on ideas throughout. I always try to maintain beginner’s mind and know I can benefit from your knowledge and experience as well as the energy of the live class!”
--- Kathy B
“This has completely gotten rid of my chronic back issues that I used to wake up with. I’m sleeping better too. It’s pretty profound.” --- Jim B
“I've been playing a lot of golf again. It’s been great and I feel great! Also, it requires mental concentration and relaxation of the muscles and patience. I am already seeing benefits of Qigong.” --- Don B
“Thanks for a really good class today! Had lower back issues for 2 days that seemed to disappear after class!!!!” --- Sue R
“Your classes are transformative!” --- Barbara P
Video Testimonials
BIO
Cris Caivano, M.A.
I am an exercise/movement therapist, certified Qigong instructor, and author. Originally trained in classical ballet and modern dance, I attended SUNY Purchase. In 1978 I joined the Continuing Education faculty there, teaching jazz dance for the next 11 years while also choreographing and performing in NYC.
After receiving an MA in Dance Education from Columbia University in 1989, I refocused my work, studying dance therapy at the Laban Institute in London. I then created and ran dance/movement therapy programs at two psychiatric hospitals in Sacramento, CA. Upon returning to NYC in 1991, I began my private practice as an exercise/movement therapist. In 2006, I was commissioned to write the book, Strength Training Over 50 (Barrons Educational). It was published in 6 languages, and republished by Dover Press in 2018 as Strength Training, Staying Fit and Fabulous.
In 2013 I received my Qigong teaching certification from the Santa Cruz Chi Center, under Lee Holden. I continue to study with him, as well as with Robert Peng, Kenneth Cohen, and Mimi Kuo-Deemer. Chungliang Al Huang has also had an important influence on my work. Recently, I have taught at Kripalu, Stockbridge, MA, and implemented Qigong programs for women in recovery through the MHA Recovery Center, Dutchess County, NY. I offer Qigong workshops and events throughout the Northeast, as well as Qigong classes online through my website criscaivano.com.
Combining my background in dance, therapeutic movement, and teaching with the principles of Qigong, keeps me inspired and motivated. As I continue to explore the intricacies of whole-person health, I am excited to share with my students the ever-growing evidence that supports these ancient practices!
FAQ
What is Qigong?
Qigong is an ancient movement practice from China. “Qi” means energy, and “Gong” means cultivate. In Qigong, we practice gentle, flowing, and invigorating movements to free up and increase the circulation of our blood, breath, joint lubricating synovial fluid, and even our creativity and emotional energy. Qigong offers all the proven benefits of Tai Chi (improved balance, lower body strength, stress reduction, stronger immune response, increased joint mobility, healthier internal organs, pain reduction) but Qigong is much, much easier and quicker to learn!
Can I get a good work-out from doing mindful exercise like Qigong?
You bet! I would argue that mindful exercise is the only way to go, if you are serious about transforming your state of health and fitness. Mindfulness, by its nature, enables you to work smart, not just hard. On the other hand, exercising in an unconscious, habitual way, rarely brings good or lasting results. Learning to exercise with mindful awareness will transform your out-look as well as your muscles. It's very motivating, too. My students and I truly enjoy working together; we have fun and we get results.
How quickly will I notice results?
That depends on the results you are seeking. It is possible to learn how to reduce stress in the time it takes to draw 8 deep, slow breaths. In about 5 minutes I can teach you a simple technique which, if you practice it, will make standing up from a low chair easier. Changing habits you have held for 20, 30, or 40 years, however, takes longer. Exactly how much longer will depend on how consistently you work at it. Most of my students feel a difference after just one class, and continue to improve for the duration of our time together.
How is Qigong different than Yoga?
There are some similarities, however Qigong is less position oriented than Yoga and we don’t do exercises on the floor. Qigong exercises are circular and flowing and never, ever forced. As one of my favorite teachers, Kenneth Cohen says, “The only thing you can do wrong in Qigong is NOT relax.” It’s simple to modify Qigong exercises until they feel just exactly right for your body and mind, whether that means making them less or more challenging. Many of the benefits are the same as for Yoga: flexibility, strength, alignment, stress reduction, and spiritual growth are all benefits of Qigong.
How do you work with older people?
"Gentle but consistent wins the day" and , "No pain, no pain."
I am extremely respectful of each person's comfort zone and encourage everyone to progress at their own speed, with my guidance and support. Interestingly, my dance background, with its emphasis on alignment, balance, breathing and flexibility has applied almost seamlessly to my work with older people, who are dealing with similar issues.
Whatever our age, we all must face the fact that, given the medical advances of our century, we will live much longer than our predecessors. Research points in a vivid and compelling way toward incorporating exercise into our daily lives as one of the most powerful tools we possess for enabling ourselves to live in comfort, health, and independence. The sooner and more consistently you bring more movement into your life, the better your results will be. As a baby boomer myself, I live and teach with this in mind, always.
Is there ever a time when its too late to begin working on exercise/movement therapy?
Absolutely not; this is the subject of my book Strength Training For Everyone (Dover Press in January 2018). We humans have amazing powers of regeneration and self-healing. This process slows as we age, it's true, but doesn't end until we die. In fact, some fascinating studies have recently proven that even men and women in their 90's can build muscular strength in as few as 8 weeks. We are meant to move. Many of the physical problems older people suffer are the direct result of inactivity. You can continue to grow and change no matter how old you are, once you understand how to do it.
CONTACT
For more information or appointments contact me at:
cris@criscaivano.com
Please join me on:
Facebook - Cris Caivano Exercise/Movement Therapy
and
Instagram - CRISCAIVANO
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