---
title: "From Qigong to Dzogchen: Jim Weaver on Practice, Lineage, and the Natural State"
url: https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/post/from-qigong-to-dzogchen-jim-weaver-on-practice-lineage-and-the-natural-state/
date: 2026-02-18
modified: 2026-07-03
lang: en
author: "Perseus Arcane Academy"
description: "Introduction In this interview we have Jim Weaver, a lifelong practitioner with experience in various traditions, from health giving qigong systems, hard to find Daoist systems all the way to..."
categories:
  - "Interviews"
tags:
  - "Internal Arts"
  - "Meditation"
  - "Qigong"
image: https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ChatGPT-Image-Feb-18-2026-08_25_11-PM-1024x683.png
word_count: 4025
---

# From Qigong to Dzogchen: Jim Weaver on Practice, Lineage, and the Natural State

## Introduction

In this interview we have Jim Weaver, a lifelong practitioner with experience in various traditions, from health giving qigong systems, hard to find Daoist systems all the way to Dzogchen, the same practice that leads practitioners to the [Jalu, Rainbow Body](https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/post/rainbow-body-jalu-and-the-miraculous-updated-for-2022/).

Please let us know your thoughts or questions in the comments.

You can follow his work on his website [here](https://qigongweaver.com/).

Table of Contents

- Introduction- Qigong- Dzogchen- Training Journey- Experiences & Teaching- Teachers & LineageThe Three Transformations - Free Course

---

![](https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/148e630e-a3c7-44cc-bed6-43e56819b716-copy.jpeg)

## Qigong

**PAA: You teach both Taoist and Buddhist styles of Qigong. For readers new to this, what practical differences do you emphasize in breath, intent, and body organization between those streams?**

I actually teach three different styles of qigong, which I’ve integrated into a system that I’ve found to be very effective overall for my students.

I started with Tibetan qigong, which is a Buddhist style that tends to emphasize the central channel—tuning into it, developing awareness of it, and opening it. I later moved on to Taoist styles and learned from Taoist teachers who worked more with the peripheral meridian system: learning forms and applications that develop and move the qi in those channels, which of course ties in with the central channel. So the Taoist and Buddhist styles go very well together.

In the end, the goal is the same, because once the central channel is awakened it can activate and empower all the meridians of the system. You can also approach it from the other direction—from the outside—by starting to move the meridians, loosening them up, getting them more active and balanced, which will automatically help open the central channel.

I’ve also incorporated medical qigong theory and practices into the forms I teach, especially in terms of helping someone get in touch with the internal organ system—particularly what’s called Five Phase theory (sometimes called Five Element qigong). “Phase” is a more accurate term than “element,” because people can get mixed up—especially coming from Western traditions—thinking it means elements like fire, earth, water, and so forth. Technically, it’s not referring to elements in that sense. It refers to a type of qi: a flavor of qi, a texture of qi, that operates like that “element.” For example, fire rises; it’s hot; it expands. That type of qi can be described as the fire phase of qi—because ultimately it is one qi, but it can show up in different forms, flavors, and attributes.

That’s what’s great about Five Phase theory: it takes that into account. You learn how to harmonize the internal phases of qi with the external elements—seasons, directions, colors, and so forth. All these correspond internally and externally, so you harmonize the internal and external environment.

The five phases and the five organ systems they relate to also correspond with various emotions, and how we store emotions in the organs. Some emotions are meant to keep moving through; they’re not meant to be held onto and stored. “Emotion” means energy in motion, so we want to keep the energy clear—like a clear, flowing stream—so it can continue on its way and fresh energy can come in.

So there are medical qigong practices that help harmonize the five phases and the five organ systems in the body. I utilize quite a bit of that in my practice. It strengthens a lot of the other forms I work with. And that’s the answer to the first question.

**PAA: Your “About” page highlights over 25 years of personal practice and 15 years of teaching. What core practice principles have stayed constant for you, and which have evolved the most as you moved from practitioner to instructor?**

I think staying consistent with basic, foundational practices has been incredibly important in my personal journey.

Having the awareness to stay present and appreciate the simple joys that practice can bring—like being out in nature, walking, breathing. Keeping my mind and heart open to always learning and gaining deeper wisdom. Also connecting with people on an energetic and spiritual level and feeling that sense of awakening together.

There are basics that always stay with you: staying aware of yourself in the moment, and not getting too swept up in emotions, thoughts, or feelings. That doesn’t mean denying or blocking what you feel. It’s more about not letting it determine the outcome—being controlled by it. Not necessarily controlling it either, but allowing it to be, and learning how to be with it and accept it.

When I started, I took the opportunity to go deep within it. For about ten years I did a lot of daily personal practice. I utilized it when I was young—being a father with two small kids while working full-time. I really appreciated how it helped me stay grounded, stay present, be in my body, and allow myself to feel. It helped me learn to accept and open to that.

As my practice evolved, I kept coming back to those basics—back to the beginning of all things. In the Dao it’s described as returning to the original self: the self we’ve lost touch with, particularly culturally and psychologically in our day and age—this simple self, the childlike self. For me, it’s a really important and powerful way to return: staying in touch with my body, learning to appreciate simple things, and keeping it simple.

**PAA: You write that your greatest satisfaction is seeing students “smile after practice.” What do you build into a class to reliably produce that post-session state—warmups, pacing, sequencing, cool-downs, or something else?**

Yes—warm-ups. Pacing is important. Sequencing and cool-downs are definitely included in my practice sessions and teaching sessions.

I also incorporate a lot of self-loving and acceptance in the formulas for building communication between the person and their potential energy awareness operating under the radar of normal consciousness.

Once someone understands that the body has its own wisdom and ability to heal itself when given support, a healthy and balanced relationship with the energetic and physical bodies is possible. I emphasize that and allow people to take the time to slowly, methodically work their way back to awareness of what their body is doing constantly—how it contains its own awareness, its own consciousness. Sometimes these are described as spirits—particularly in the five-organ system, where each organ contains its own sense of awareness. When we take our overall sense of self-awareness and connect with those individual spirits, a harmony develops that overtakes the whole body, mind, and energy over time.

We have what’s called the three alignments: mind, breath, and body. We practice bringing those into alignment, and I remind them about it. Then all the stuff going on “up here” settles down and calms down. We turn that down and work our way back to our original nature in terms of body awareness, down in the lower regions of the body.

They call the gut the second brain in modern science, but in the East it was understood to be the first brain. That’s where the mother was connected to us through the navel region. That’s where we took in oxygen, blood, and information from the mother. We were connected directly there. We’ve lost that connection. Once we’re born, we come into what they call the post-heaven state—coming out of the heavenly state into materiality—and things break into two parts. We divide heaven and earth, and culturally we tend to operate up here.

When we learn to trust again, give the body the love and respect it deserves, and listen, there’s a joy that comes through. It’s like becoming a child again. I feel it, I see it, and my students pick up on it and learn to do it too. That sense of wholeness returns—harmony, balance—and you can feel it physically. It’s not abstract.

We’re not trying to get away from the body. We’re bringing the spirit further into the body to work with the connection between heaven and earth—bringing it back into one again. We are the synapse between heaven and earth: a bridge energetically, mentally, and physically. We’re restoring that bridge so we can harmonize heaven and earth within us. People feel that over time.

After a session I tell them: carry that with you. Remember that feeling in the body. Set the intention that you always remember that feeling. It acts as a strong shield of protection—helping prevent pathogens and negative forces from penetrating and taking lodging in the system. They feel it over time, and I love seeing it on their face.

![](https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Hold-the-qi-copy-768x1024.jpeg)

## Dzogchen

**PAA: For readers who practice Dzogchen: how would you describe its aim and method in your own words—and how do you keep that distinct from energy-cultivation arts like Qigong in your personal routine?**

That’s difficult, because it’s not necessarily distinct. It’s impossible for it to be distinct on a certain level.

Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, can be difficult to explain with words. It’s the highest teaching within the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, which I happen to be an initiate in. It points directly to the innate pure awareness present in every being—the natural state of mind beyond effort and concept.

Rather than striving through meditation to purify, Dzogchen emphasizes recognizing and resting in the original awareness, or rigpa, that is already complete and luminous. Through meditation and direct introduction by a teacher, practitioners learn to remain in this open, effortless presence, allowing thoughts and emotions to arise and dissolve naturally.

Dzogchen is not about attaining enlightenment. It reveals that enlightenment is the true nature of mind here and now. Dzogchen and the Dao point to a timeless natural state underlying all existence. In Dzogchen this is rigpa—pure, self-rising consciousness beyond grasping or effort. In Daoism, the Dao is the ineffable source and flow of all things—spontaneous, uncontrived, and ever-present.

They both teach harmony arises not through striving, but through recognition and alignment with the natural state. They both value spontaneity, non-action (wu wei), and direct experience over conceptual understanding.

Dzogchen’s rigpa and the Dao’s flow are expressions of the same truth: an uncreated, boundless awareness from which all phenomena arise and return. Living in accord with it is moving effortlessly within the rhythm of reality itself.

Much of the basic practice of qigong is learning how to stay in open awareness while moving through forms and postures. This can help one enter deep meditative states even during everyday activities. So splitting hairs and saying, “this is Dzogchen and this is qigong,” isn’t really possible to a certain degree, because Dzogchen is at the root of everything, kind of like the Dao is. We may appear separate from the Dao, but we can’t be. It’s all Dao—soaked in it. It’s recognizing it and waking up in it.

When we harmonize mind, breath, and body, the energy comes into alignment. Qi—life force—is a bridge between higher states of consciousness and the physical body. It’s a great medium that brings them into alignment and harmonization. It’s inherent in qigong practice if you recognize it.

That’s a whole chapter in itself, because Dzogchen can be difficult to describe unless you’ve had transmissions and experiences within it. The thing is, it’s here now. There’s never a time when it’s not. It’s waking up within it and realizing it’s been happening the whole time and you’ve been in it. Words aren’t adequate to describe that.

> Then I was out in the wilderness praying: “I need to meet a teacher.” And Master Wong showed up. He took me on as a student and then trained me to be a teacher.
>
> Jim Weaver

## Training Journey

**PAA: You began with Mantak Chia’s books in 1995, then moved into in-person training. What was the first “this really works” moment that convinced you to commit long-term?**

I noticed an immediate sense of wholeness and presence in my body—almost a feeling of recognition or remembrance.

I’d been involved with yoga for several years before I met my qigong master—my first master—and I’d had dreams and spiritual journeys that moved me in that direction and basically called those teachers into my life. I’d had energetic experiences in my body before, but I didn’t know what was going on or how to describe it. I remember being out in nature with those energies moving through me, without fully understanding what was happening, and I began to question it.

I remember being in a bookstore and seeing the cover of one of Mantak Chia’s books, and it was like, “That’s what happened to me.” When I began reading the books about qigong, it was like, “This is what I’ve been looking for.”

Then I was out in the wilderness praying: “I need to meet a teacher.” And Master Wong showed up. He took me on as a student and then trained me to be a teacher.

I knew it in my body. It wasn’t just an idea—it was something I could palpably feel. It was very present and there was no doubt. I felt it throughout my whole body, in my bones—like I’d done this before in another life. It was that kind of memory and recognition, and continuing on. No doubt about it.

I’ve stuck with it ever since, and I’ve loved every minute of it.

---

**PAA: You were authorized as a Tibetan Qigong teacher in 2003 (Zi Sheng Wang), later certified in Qigong for Wellness (2009), Tai Chi Healthways (2012), and Dragon Gate Qigong (2016). What unique capability did each certification add to your toolkit?**

Tibetan qigong was what I started with. I actually started with Mantak Chia. I never got certified from him, but I did take some training from him.

Each school system and teacher was unique and approached qigong from a slightly different angle. Tibetan qigong led me into an understanding of what waking up is about, and the ways of approaching enlightenment, because that was my teacher’s real focus. In the Buddhist tradition, that’s what it’s about: when you open the central channel, you awaken. You can use it as a way to fully awaken into full enlightenment.

He used to describe it as a train: get on the train, you can go a little ways. You might just use qigong for health, to feel better, for overall energy levels, or you can take it all the way to what he called rainbow body—dissolving the body back into pure energy or light. They’re documenting that in Tibet now: masters reaching full rainbow body at death. Some leave a tiny remnant of the body, sometimes shrunken; some leave relics; some leave no trace. That’s a whole other story.

Tai Chi Healthways was, for me, learning forms that could be shared with people that were fairly easy and really basic. It helped me balance my forms—overall well-being through movement, practice, and focus. It helped me get in touch with the meridians and get the qi moving.

Dragon Gate was the last main school I worked with, and it got me deeply into the medical qigong system. They allowed me to self-study and dive deep into medical qigong, which has been a great adjunct to all my practices. It strengthened my practice and teaching. I’m able to take people deeper into self-healing and help others heal too, and to recognize what’s going on energetically—to use the language of qi to bring harmony back into the system.

With Dragon Gate, I also learned a lot of forms, then focused on fewer and fewer to really get them down. I think that’s important: not having too many forms. There are lots of great ones, but it’s better to have a few—one, two, or three—that are ideal, and go deep with them. I learned how to focus on the ones that have been most effective overall for me.

They’ve all been great schools and approaches, and I’ve learned how to integrate them in the way that I teach.

**PAA: Looking back, what would you teach your 1995-self in week one to save a few years of trial and error?**

To be specific, a lot of my early teachers didn’t focus on fascia work—how to activate, loosen, and warm up the fascia to allow qi to flow through. That’s something I would have started with right away.

And don’t be afraid to try some things. Push a little harder, perhaps. Believe in myself more—have deeper faith in myself, and trust.

And enjoy the training and the practice. It becomes joyful after a while. My body would actually get me up in the morning to practice. Over time I didn’t even have to try. It took discipline and time, but that’s the main thing.

## Experiences & Teaching

**PAA: You’ve taught in schools, healing centers, spas, retreat centers, and public parks. Which setting has surprised you most in terms of student outcomes, and why?**

I don’t know if anything surprised me.

What I did notice is that people really need—and in many ways prefer—to be in a group setting in a physical location. After the pandemic I had to learn how to teach online, so I stretched in that way, but it’s not the same as being in person. People really love face-to-face interaction, and that’s what they’re looking for. So it doesn’t surprise me, but that’s what I’ve noticed.

**PAA: What is your approach to helping a brand-new student feel and refine Qi without over-coaching or over-explaining?**

I usually encourage non-grasping for results—learning how to relax and observe the process as it’s happening. Many find the feeling of qi in a short time. Some get it the first time. For some it takes a little while. My Tibetan qigong teacher, Master Wong, said there’s always 1% of people who won’t ever feel qi.

So it’s patience—don’t push or force anything. Within practice, you do apply force in the body, but it’s a particular kind of force: relaxed force. It’s being awake, but completely relaxed. There’s energy in the body, the intention is there, but there’s also a letting-go within it. That can be hard to describe.

Sometimes this is called *song* practice. *Song* is a Chinese word meaning a certain type of relaxation. It’s not lazy relaxation—it’s awake relaxation: conscious, present, almost energetic. It’s difficult to describe, but once you get it, you can sit back and allow the qi to do the work.

That’s what I encourage: take time to play with it, experiment with it. Don’t get too attached to “feeling qi.” Just work with it, and if it shows up—and usually it does—then let it be.

**PAA: When a long-time student hits a plateau, what diagnostics do you run—breath patterns, stance work, intention cues—and how do you adjust their practice plan?**

I can read when somebody is ready to move on to a more advanced level of practice. It’s overall—at an energetic level—and in a deep level of openness and expansiveness in their body, and what I’m picking up subtly in their energy and mental level. I can read it in their posture and in their practice.

I notice some people want to push very fast, and I remind them to slow down. Then as students advance—especially over years—they naturally slow down, relax, and take their time. I emphasize that you can take each segment of a form or practice and go deep within it.

It’s like becoming a black belt. Becoming a black belt isn’t the end—it’s the beginning. You learn the forms, then you refine them over time and go deeper and deeper into the form. That’s where the *gong* in qigong comes from: you build the gong, you gain the skill.

It’s hard to describe, but I can tell. Sometimes it comes through me unconsciously: “Okay, now we’re going to do this.” It’s like *wu wei* working within me—leading someone into the next practice because I can feel it’s time. It’s intuitive most of the time.

I’ve had people say, “Why are we practicing this over and over?” And I tell them, “Because you haven’t practiced enough and developed the gong—the skill—enough to step up into the next level.” I’ll know it when it happens. You have to wait. You don’t want to jump ahead.

> From him I learned mind-to-mind transmission—direct, with nothing in between: one being and another in the open. It relates to Dzogchen in terms of mind transmission, and he taught very much in that way.
>
> Jim Weaver

## Teachers & Lineage

**PAA: What were the defining lessons you received from Master Zi Sheng Wang, and how do you preserve those essentials when adapting for modern students?**

From him I learned mind-to-mind transmission—direct, with nothing in between: one being and another in the open. It relates to Dzogchen in terms of mind transmission, and he taught very much in that way.

Because he didn’t speak English, he gave his teachings purely through energy. I would spend time with him, then go home, and I’d wake up in the morning and realize what he was teaching energetically in my body. I would feel it. It was like, “That’s what he was teaching.”

He also taught me that time and space have no bearing on energy communication. He would have the students gather—people training with him—while he was in China or Tibet, and he’d say, “Okay, I’m going to send energy.” He would send energy and it felt like he was in the room. There was no doubt about it. He was a very powerful energy healer, very famous in China, and we would get buckets of energy coming through us. It filled the room.

He even sent energy sometimes before we gathered, and we’d still receive it. So he showed it doesn’t care about time either—it’s beyond that. If your energy is strong enough, you can still receive it. You can receive energy from masters or teachers from centuries ago. Time and space are no barrier to true, pure energy.

**PAA: From Shifu Brendan Rogers (Qigong for Wellness), Shifu Jesse Tsao (Tai Chi Healthways), and Shifu Michael Rinaldini (Dragon Gate Qigong), which single principle from each teacher most changed your instruction style?**

From Shifu Brendan Rogers, I’d say playfulness. He had a great sense of playfulness, and yet he could be very focused. He had a lot of physical energy and it came through in his practice. Keeping things playful—not too serious—while still being focused.

Shifu Jesse Tsao was very patient and persevering. He gave you a sense of confidence about your practice, and he was very detail-oriented. It was great for me at that time in my life to learn in such a traditional way. He was traditional—old school—very disciplined, and also very sweet.

Shifu Michael Rinaldini was a great listener. You could talk to him about anything. He would take in what you were saying and adjust things accordingly to make it work for you—very patient. I learned how to listen to my students from him, and to stay open to ideas and open to learning.

When I completed the first level in certification in the Dragon Gate system, I wanted to go further. He was open to that, so he created another tier you could work through, particularly in the medical qigong system. He was flexible and open, and I learned to do that myself. Now I bring that to my students: when someone has a suggestion, an idea, or wants to try something or change things up a little, I’m always listening and open to it.

Overall, each teacher was different, but they worked well together as I moved through the different schools.

---

**PAA: You emphasize learning from students as well as teachers. Can you share a moment when a student’s question reshaped how you transmit your lineage material?**

That’s a tough one to answer, because they all have over time to a certain degree. It’s happened in subtle ways over the years. I don’t know if I can point to one specific moment.

I think having to translate things for somebody who has been involved in other traditions and teachings—their angle, their approach to energy practices—and adjusting it into language they can understand, is probably part of it.

Other than that, it’s been all of it. I’m always learning, always expanding. I’ll always be a student, and open to expanding my horizon and awareness.

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