The mission of the Green Phoenix Institute is to promote the advancement of our society through the positive transformation of the individual. I believe positive change in the world begins when we each, individually, align ourselves with our greatest potential. I have found in my life that the less division I project upon the world, and the more wholeness I find within myself, the greater happiness and health I experience. This understanding didn’t come easily, however, and I owe great debt to the wisdom and encouragement of many teachers.
Through the practice of Hunyuan Taiji and qigong, I have discovered for myself that softness overcomes hardness, that relaxation is the way of rejuvenation, and that the highest martial arts do not cultivate aggression, but bring peace. Through the study and practice of Chinese medicine, I have learned that health requires attunement to natural cycles, that illness often brings unexpected opportunity, and that healing requires – more than anything else – a letting go of old patterns. And through meditation, inquiry, devotion to freedom, and the intention to heal, I’ve found that in reality, there is no separation between me and the world; between this writer and you dear reader. This discovery is the recognition of the felicity that is inherent in us all, and the ultimate goal of the movement toward wholeness.
I founded the Institute because it is through study and practice that I entered this process of self-discovery, and it is through teaching that I continue to learn. The term “to doctor” originally means “to teach,” and I feel that this is my primary role as a healer. I hope that everyone who visits the Institute – be it as a patient in the clinic, as a student at the Taiji Academy, or as an attendee of one of our special events – will learn something to help them find balance in their own lives, and ultimately the freedom that is beyond themselves altogether. And finally, I believe that in sharing this work together we will improve our world.
-Matthew P. Sieradski, L.Ac., Director and Co-founder
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