Organisers often ask which workshop we recommend. The answer is almost always a question: at what time, in what space and for whom.
This piece is a decision key. It is written for organisers of festivals, retreats, camps, conferences and corporate events.
The hour decides
Early morning (7:00-9:30): Qi Gong. The only one of our workshops that works with bodies that have just got up. Kung Fu does not work at that hour, and meditation on its own is too hard for a cold group.
Late morning (10:00-12:00): Qi Gong or a combined block of movement and meditation. The most rewarding slot, because people are awake and not yet tired.
Afternoon (14:00-18:00): Kung Fu. People have energy that has to go somewhere, and a physical workshop is the only one that takes it.
Evening (after 19:00): meditation or a calm Qi Gong. Not Kung Fu - you do not warm bodies up late at night.
The space decides
- Open meadow in the sun: Qi Gong or Kung Fu, never meditation.
- A tent: all three. The most adaptable space.
- A hall: all three, with an advantage for meditation and Qi Gong.
- A space with echo or loud background: Qi Gong or Kung Fu. Meditation survives noise but not echo - the instructions cannot be heard.
- A hard floor with no cushions: not meditation. People stop after ten minutes.
The audience decides
A mixed festival crowd: Qi Gong. The lowest threshold, works for any age and fitness.
Young and active visitors: Kung Fu. Physically demanding enough to be taken seriously.
Families with children: Kung Fu in the afternoon. Children move straight away and parents relax once they see nobody expects perfection.
A retreat or an event with an existing practice: meditation or a combined block. This audience is ready for twenty minutes of sitting.
A corporate event or team-building day: Qi Gong. Nobody has to change clothes, nobody sweats, and nobody is put in an awkward position in front of colleagues.
The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.
Combinations that work
For a one-day event: one workshop, Qi Gong. Do not try to cover everything.
For a multi-day festival: morning Qi Gong every day plus one afternoon Kung Fu workshop. Repetition matters more than variety.
For a retreat: a block of movement and sitting, twice a day. That is closest to how we practise ourselves.
For a conference: twenty minutes of Qi Gong between blocks of talks. Short, no changing, with an immediate effect on attention.
What to tell us when you write
- Date and time.
- The space - meadow, tent, hall; with or without a roof.
- Expected number of participants.
- Who they are - age, whether they have trained anything before.
- What you hope the workshop will do. The most important question and the one most often left out.
What we will answer
A programme suggestion, a duration, a price and an honest assessment of whether what you want is feasible in the time and space you have.
If we judge that a workshop will not work - meditation at two in the afternoon in full sun, say - we will tell you and suggest another.
We are based in Ljubljana, where we teach regular classes at Ziherlova 44, and run workshops across Slovenia.
