About The Way of Joy Way of Joy Qigong™ is an integrative system of Qigong (Chi Kung) developed by Vicki Dello Joio. The inspiration, foundation, and practices of the Way of Joy make up a synthesis that comes from several different lineages of Qigong and are influenced by other martial, healing, and creative arts as well.

A theoretical and experiential model of being, the Way of Joy is the system that Vicki has developed to facilitate the understanding and practice of accessing joy as a fuel in our daily lives. The framework for this system is based on nine principles, laws, and practices.

The three principles:

Balance Brings Harmony
Boundaries Dissolve Barriers
Everything Is Useful

Are based on three laws:

Stillness in Motion
Chi Moves in the Space Between
Circles open to become Spirals

And the three practices are:

Embrace the Whole
Cultivate Discernment
Allow Alchemy

A seasoned facilitator of embodied expression of personal truth, Vicki applies her own experience of over 30 years of exploring chi. In her classes and workshops, her goal is to guide her students in numerous and diverse ways to experience Qigong from the inside out and to apply what the exercises and forms might mean to them personally in their own lives.

Vicki says this about her work:

One of the benefits of Qigong is that we learn to be centered, and at the same time to be aware that we are connected to the world around us. Many of us are either boundary-less, continually affected by outside influences such as other people's opinions and actions, or we are barricaded and isolated, so protected that we no longer feel ourselves connected to the world around us. I believe that being balanced includes an ability to experience both our internal sense of Qi (Chi) and our place in the world.

As a teacher of the Way of Joy system I have a dual intention based on my belief that individuals and their communities are interdependent. I see my purpose as a teacher to bring forth, nourish and guide both.

For individuals, I believe each person's best teaching comes from within. People who are drawn to work with me often already have a sense of their own path. In my classes, my goal is to draw forth and empower each person's uniqueness, to provide a context in which to access our own internal sense of guidance from our bodies, minds and spirits, to remember what we know. In this way, I believe we begin to cultivate our own mastery.

At the same time, I believe individuals can only flourish in the context of a community. I think that in this country, for the most part, much of what is given social approval is based on an individual's achievement. I believe that unless these achievements are placed in a context that is interdependent with the larger community, the experience of success flickers and dies out like a candle flame without oxygen.

Each of the classes and workshops I teach are also an exploration in community building. I believe communities are most effective when they are made up of empowered individuals with clear boundaries who operate in a spirit of equity, mutual respect, and interactive inspiration.

Hear what Vicki's students have to say about The Way of Joy.