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About
Wyldflower QiGong is a collaborative project between instructor Tracy Wai and their spouse Rebecca. Tracy has been a lifelong practitioner in Tai Chi, Yiquan, QiGong, + Tibetan Yoga for over 30 years, as well as an activist, educator, musician, composer, budding writer, and avid improviser.
Rebecca loves creating 'Wyldflower' art. She became interested in meditation about five years ago in pursuit of stress, anxiety, and trauma healing techniques, and feels getting the opportunity to learn these practices has been life-changing...
Together we aspire to carry over the longstanding tradition of community QiGong in the park!
My Personal Practice
I’d like to preface by clarifying the hybrid nature of my personal practice, which could be described as a Daoist/Bonpo/Buddhist praxis, or a combination of Chinese and Tibetan “yogas”. Presenting an “honest” syncretism where the origin of each practice is fully acknowledged, honored, and uplifted is vitally important.
My interest in Qigong, self cultivation, and related embodiment disciplines began in childhood inspired by Wuxia comics and movies which depicted practitioners as having an assortment of wondrous skills and magical powers that they used to defend the poor, marginalized, and oppressed. At the same time my "Ama" (grandmother) was a well known spirit medium and folk healer amongst the Chinese diaspora living in NYC and beyond. She seemed to know things about other people before they knew those things themselves, and kept a cabinet beside the ancestral altar where negative energies and spirits were believed to be trapped. Her status as a spirit medium elevated her to influence beyond the roles allowed for women in patriarchal Confucian culture often advising men in positions of power. She acted as the matriarch of our extended family, being the head and final say in all important decisions.
At 12, I was diagnosed with cataracts and my eye sight swiftly deteriorated. It was at this time that I began to meditate and take an interest in kung fu, folk magic, Buddhism, Bon, and Taoism which has continued to this present day. As a teenager I began avidly studying shuai jiao, Shaolin kung fu, Sanda, tai chi chuan, and associated arts with dozens of teachers while practicing many hours everyday. I also took refuge in the Ch’an buddhist lineage, and received the dharma name Guo Kai -- which means “openness” or more literally “the opening of a blossom.” The temple near my grandparents house which I often lived in was my safe haven where I practiced, studied, and found respite from the velocity of New York's concrete jungle.
In my late teenage years I began to study with numerous Bonpo Lamas. I received the Dharma name Rang Rig Rang Shar, which means “self arising innate awareness” (and was one of the names of Shardza Tashi Gyalshen, who I was told that I had a strong connection with.) My ongoing practice and study of Bon Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen still continues to this day.
In my 30’s, I continued my practice of Tai Chi and Qigong visiting dozens of teachers. I felt something was lacking and searched to find a teacher to help progress until I found what I was looking for in Fong Ha -- a simultaneously humble and dazzling Yiquan / Tai Chi master whom I ardently studied with until his passing in 2019. I consider him and my grandmother to be my most important "role models".
As a life-long learner committed to openness and growth, I continue to attend retreats, visit numerous teachers, and recently completed a certificate in Embodied Social Justice and Somatics. It is in the spirit of gratitude and humility that students are invited to participate, so we can continue to learn and grow together.