About this Retreat
Master Shahar has devoted over two decades to the living arts of Tai Chi and Qi Gong. His journey began at the age of eleven, under the guidance of distinguished teachers such as Grandmaster Yaron Benyamini and Tal Rejoan, whose lineage traces back to the legendary Chen Fa Ke. Through this unbroken tradition, Shahar came to understand that Tai Chi and Qi Gong are not merely practices of movement—they are living pathways into the heart of nature, resilience, and inner stillness.
With a presence both powerful and accessible, Shahar teaches not only technique but the art of embodying life itself. His classes weave together breath, movement, and meditation, creating an experience that reconnects the practitioner to their own inner vitality, balance, and natural joy. His teaching is not rigid; it flows like water—serious in depth, yet touched with lightness and ease.
Rooted in the Taoist view of nature and spirit, Shahar’s approach reflects a rare integration of profound wisdom and practical living. His understanding of resilience is not theoretical. As a former special unit soldier, Shahar has faced both the visible and invisible battles that life presents. From this deep well of experience, he teaches that true power is not born of force, but of alignment—with oneself, with others, and with the greater rhythms of life.
In every class, Shahar opens a gateway: an invitation to return to simplicity, to cultivate true inner peace, and to move through life with strength, softness, and effortless flow.
michaelanthonycounseling.com
As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Florida, Michael Anthony has dedicated his career to creating safe, supportive spaces where individuals and couples can work towards healing and growth. With over seven years of experience in Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and martial arts, Michael incorporates the calming principles and physical movements of these practices into his therapeutic work. Whether in individual or couples counseling, he seamlessly blends Eastern philosophy with evidence-based practices to foster mindfulness, balance, and resilience in his clients.
Michael specializes in trauma therapy and utilizes Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to help clients work through past wounds and trauma. His passion extends to reducing the stigma surrounding mental health, particularly for men, and he is deeply committed to helping individuals reconnect with their inner strength and peace.
In addition to his private practice, Michael has over a decade of experience serving diverse communities, including those with disabilities, neurodiverse needs, at-risk youth, and under-resourced individuals, often in partnership with nonprofits. His background also includes a love for live music and martial arts, two pursuits that continue to shape his personal and professional life.
michaelanthonycounseling.com
Details of this retreat
The Practice: Awaken Energy Through Movement
Move as meditation. Breathe as prayer. Return to the rhythms of the natural world.
Step into the healing embrace of the mountains, the radiant sun, and the timeless wisdom of the internal arts. Guided by Master Shahar and Michael, this unique retreat invites you to experience Qigong and Tai Chi as living meditations — pathways to harmony, vitality, and inner peace.
Rooted in the ancient traditions of Tai Chi, Qigong, and internal martial arts, each session helps you reconnect with the rhythms of nature and awaken the deep wellspring of energy within. Through mindful movement, standing meditation, breathwork, and the cultivation of inner stillness, you will learn to restore balance to body, mind, and spirit.
Mornings begin with the rising sun over the mountain's edge, where soft light and earth become your companions in practice. As you move with the breath and flow with the elements, the external world dissolves and a deeper awareness is born.
During this retreat, you will explore:
Standing Meditation at Sunrise — Root yourself in earth and sky, and align with the vastness of nature.
Tai Chi and Qigong Forms — Learn graceful, flowing sequences that cultivate strength, resilience, and inner stillness.
Elemental Harmony Practices — Work with the energies of Earth, Water, Fire, Metal, and Wood to restore natural balance.
Breathwork and Visualization — Deepen the connection to your vital energy (Qi) through conscious breathing and inner awareness.
The Martial Roots of Peace — Discover movement as a prayer of peace, where strength is expressed through softness and clarity.
About Your Teachers:
Master Shahar brings more than two decades of mastery in martial arts, healing, and spiritual leadership, offering profound depth and inspiration to every student. Michael shares a grounded, heart-centered approach, weaving wisdom, humor, and clarity into each session to create an atmosphere of ease, openness, and transformation.
You will leave with:
A deeper connection to nature and your own inner being
Practical tools for managing stress and cultivating calm
Renewed vitality, strength, and flow in body and mind
A living understanding of the internal arts as a way of life
This is more than a workshop — it is an invitation to return to your true nature, to move with grace, and to meet each day with an open heart.
All levels are welcome.
This program is an invitation to explore a different relationship with your emotions, one where you don’t have to suppress what you feel, get swept away by it, or wait until you’re overwhelmed to find your way back to balance.
Through Qigong, Taoist wisdom, therapeutic reflection, and group processing, Master Shahar Kovetz and Michael Anthony, LCSW, will guide participants through complementary ways of working with emotion through both the body and the mind.
Master Shahar’s Qigong Sessions
In Master Shahar’s Qigong sessions, you’ll explore how the elemental qualities of nature can help you understand and work with emotional energy as it arises. Instead of labeling emotions as simply positive or negative, you’ll learn how to let them move through you, giving each feeling the space to express itself without allowing it to take over. Through movement, breath, and meditation, you’ll begin developing the ability to find balance in the moment and allow even intense emotions to become part of a healthier, more flourishing inner life.
Michael Anthony
Michael Anthony will bring the psychological and reflective side of the practice into focus. Drawing from his work as a licensed clinical social worker and therapist, he’ll help participants recognize the thoughts, patterns, and reactions that often accompany emotional experiences. Through guided reflection, journaling, and group processing, participants will have space to explore what arises in the practice, develop greater self awareness, and discover more flexible and compassionate ways of responding to themselves and others.
Awaken The Power Within: Sessions Description
What Each Session Will Include
Each session will follow a similar structure, creating a familiar rhythm that allows participants to gradually go deeper as the program progresses. Rather than constantly introducing an entirely new practice, we will return to the same foundational process and explore it with increasing awareness, understanding, and depth.
Qigong Practice: Participants will begin with accessible Qigong movements, breathwork, and embodied practices designed to help move, regulate, and balance emotional energy.
Understanding Qigong: Master Shahar will explore the principles behind the movements, including Taoist philosophy, the elemental qualities of nature, and how these ideas relate to emotions, the body, and everyday life.
Emotional Processing and Group Reflection: Michael will help guide the group in processing what arose during the practice. Participants will have an opportunity to reflect, share, listen, and explore emotional patterns in a supportive and nonjudgmental environment.
Journaling and Integration: Each session will include time for journaling and personal reflection, helping participants translate the experience of the practice into greater understanding and practical insight they can carry into daily life.
Closing Relaxation and Shavasana: Each session will conclude with a short relaxation, allowing the body and mind to settle after the physical and emotional work of the practice.
As the sessions continue, this same structure will progressively deepen. Participants will become more familiar with the movements, more sensitive to their own emotional patterns, and increasingly capable of using the practices independently.
Together, these approaches offer a way to become more at home in your own experience, with a body that knows how to move emotion, a mind that knows how to understand it, and practical tools you can return to long after the program ends.
Participants will leave with accessible Qigong movements, meditation practices, journaling and emotional processing tools, and a personal framework they can use whenever life feels stressful, intense, joyful, uncertain, or simply very human.