Short Summary for Involvement Fair
Hi, my name is Adrienne Irwin. I am a graduate Student in the UConn Neag School of Education in the Gifted and Talented Education Program. I began practicing and studying Yan Xin Qigong in the summer of 2003. The immediate result was that I was happier, more independent, and had a ton of energy. Over the course of one year after beginning my practice, my diet changed from predominantly vegetarian to completely vegan, and I lost ten to fifteen pounds. Over this time, my relationship with my family was significantly restored, after being strained since puberty. Now I have a wonderful relationship with everyone in my family. As someone with ADD, I have always had a lot of trouble focusing and thinking clearly. Yan Xin Qigong helps to improve the clarity and organization of my thinking, contributing to an overall increase in efficiency in my daily life. My grades also improved significantly after I began to study Yan Xin Qigong, changing from a cumulative GPA of 2.5 (in Dec 2002) to getting a 3.5 and 4.0 in my last year as an undergrad and pulling my cumulative GPA up to a 3.0 when I graduated two years later. After practicing for about a year, I was able to quit smoking cigarettes and overcoming an addiction to illegal drugs--an important turning point in my life. I also feel as if I am physically youthful--while some of my friends are already feeling the pressure of aging, and worry about wrinkles and gray hairs, people who see me now tell me I look younger than I did four years ago. Through Yan Xin Qigong, I have found a way to exercise my body and mind that seems natural to me--I find myself feeling like a child--playing and laughing. I also was recently married to James Irwin, another member of our chapter. We met through Yan Xin Qigong and we both feel that our relationship has been supported by it--we hardly ever fight and we are able to understand and support each other at a very high level. I feel as if I am participating in an ancient form of communication between humanity and nature, and it feels good. I feel as if I increasingly understand the true meaning of life, and that I am now focused on helping others and trying to improve our world.