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BHT Testimonials
"Marie...Your Tai Chi class has helped me with a painful hip/leg problem. I had difficulty moving from a sitting to a standing position. After 3 weeks in your class, I move without pain. Thank you for your guidance and help." Rose-Ann Cormier "Studying Chi King with Marie has brought me benefits on many levels. In one sessions time my physical stamina and flexibility have greatly increased. Additionally I find the focus required for the deliberate movements of the forms is beginning to carry over into other areas of my everyday life. Marie’s direct, clear, hands-on teaching style immediately puts you at ease and gets your form in place. She leads her classes with an ease and joy that imparts comfort to all levels of students." Naomi Barrett "I remember the day a few years ago when I took Marie's Chi Kung class for the first time. The reason I remember it, is because I've never experienced anything like that. On the way home I felt so energetic, joyful, so full of life! The Chi was really moving, it is quite a wonderful feeling and pretty tangible. I have this feeling after every class I take with Marie. She is the best and most experienced Chi Kung teacher in the area and I highly recommend her classes and workshops." Natalia, Feng Shui consultant "BHT gave me skills I use to live a healthy, happy life!" James English, NH "I felt great after taking classes at Boston Healing Tao. My Tai Chi Chi Kung class gave me more flexibility and an overall good healthy feeling. I suffer with arthritis, and it is one of the very few workouts that I can do that is not harmful to my joints. It is a great spiritual, mental and physical workout!" K.S.D., Derry, NH Read what Bob has to say: "Tuesday nights I take Marie's Chi Kung classes, and generally everybody's pretty focused on the stretching and on the gentle but intentional movement into the stretch. As the stiffest person in class with no balance I watch Marie and convince myself that her posture is mine, sometimes that her movement is mine also. I too am standing rock-solid _into_ the ground with weight centered right up through me to the sky. My torso is forming a perfect 45-degree angle with an internal twist evenly set through the skeleton and tendons from feet out to hands. And then I am swinging my one leg effortlessly from the hip, isolated from the rest of me, as architecturally relaxed as the walls and the floor themselves, at least for a few seconds at a time. But then I look in the huge mirror at myself, the old guy crooked and stumbling over there, and laugh inside. Marie's lifetime of discipline and achievement in what she teaches is what makes her the mirror to what I should be. And then there are times when Marie and the class get very quiet, beyond the point where quiet means no sound. These times are the best, when the flow through the body gives way to the flow through the spirit. There is a flow to quietude and also a presence, like a calling, but not from far away. From closer to you than you are to yourself. It takes practice to be quiet and it's very hard to be so in our culture. Follow Marie's lead in Chi Kung and you move from gentle athletics to attentive, simple meditation. The physical "opening up" is the gate for me but not the goal. The goal for me is more like touching the spirit. The Healing Tao is a many-layered practice that you can explore, and Marie teaches it all. I would liken the meditations to "prayer of the body". Now, people tend to keep their true spiritual secrets, so there's no boasting about what the secrets are. The really surprising thing to me is that there are techniques for getting there, and "there" will be different for each of us. Healing Tao technique will bring you right to the threshold. Marie, Joseph and Jamee have so much to teach you that I can't begin to explain. Marie has genuinely worked hard on me, with the patience and care of a great teacher, and I really appreciate it. Joseph is a guy's guy, and so has taken this yang guy way deep. And Jamee, well, I think she can lock into deep meditation as easily as breathing. Put them all in a quiet room, with you, and appreciate how lucky you are to live in Boston. So, if you are young, if you are a bit lost or searching, if you haven't quite found yourself, if you are somewhat afraid to face it, if you don't really get it yet, smile and have faith. I didn't get it till I was 48, when I meditated in Marie's style for the first time. Haven't been the same since." - BOB "Through her Tai Chi and meditation classes, Marie has awakened a part of me I didn't know existed. She has given me the tools to release tension, find energy and happiness. I am more in tune with my physical and emotional feelings, and have a new respect for my well-being; body and soul. Her teachings and friendship have been an invaluable part of my life." Maggie Galloway, Singer "Marie has great chi! She is an excellent instructor and creates an atmosphere of serenity and joy. I highly recommend her classes." Nancy Andersen, Jin Shin Jyutsu Practitioner Read what Tom says: "I have been fortunate to have had quite a few incredible teachers in my life. My Jesuit teachers were great. Quite a few had multiple PhD.'s I lucked out in law school and had a professor for contracts who was a world renowned legal legend. I had the good fortune to study with a chaired professor of mathematics and linguistics at Harvard. I work in the information technology industry, have had the opportunity to travel, and have met many fascinating and skilled people. I currently teach in a business school with another set of interesting and highly educated people. And then there is Marie Favorito, a down to earth and unassuming italian-american woman from East Boston, who is the best teacher I have ever encountered, and who introduced me to the most profound knowledge I have ever experienced. I love and honor her more than any teacher I have ever had. She does not like to be called master. She is gently encouraging, loving, and spare with language. She speaks volumes with her loving heart, her integrity, her dedication to her path, and to consciousness. She is, as they say, the genuine article - a teacher who teaches by doing. At the time I first met Marie I was going through a very difficult time in my life. I saw a flyer that talked about Tai Chi and Chi Gong. It sounded like it might help. I didn't know anything about it. I was too exhausted physically, mentally, and spiritually to read about it. She advised me that maybe I should stop putting so much energy into all that thinking, and introduced me to the simple joy of Tai Chi /Chi Gong. She helped me remember how to laugh and smile and go with the flow, and she provided me the tools I needed so I could help myself to live a happier and more enjoyable life. God I love her for that." Tom McManus, Long Island, NY Some comments from other Healing Tao Instructors: "I was, first taught by Marie Favorito 15 years ago , at that time Marie appeared to be a really knowledgeable and serious teacher. After having Marie come in Canada to teach, I had the chance to know her for the wonderful and caring person that she is. Marie is a teacher who brought much more than theories to my life , she walks her talk, she shares her love and her compassion with whomever wants to be part of the path. Marie has continually looked to improved her knowledge and herself, she has a lot of charisma and loves to share. Marie has a good senes of humour, love and beleives in people and in what she is teaching. I wish everyone interested in these diciplines will have a chance to be taught by such a teacher who is willing to give everything she's got, like Marie does with her students." Kindness to you Marie with love, Jacinthe Dufour , N.B. Canada "Marie is the kind of teacher who encourages her students to breathe deeper, laugh harder, and become more physically active. She is a lot of fun and is a good example of integrity. It has been an honor to host her here in Salt Lake City, Utah. I have been so excited to share her knowledge and the Healing Tao system with my local community so that others may cultivate their own healing energy." Greg Carter, Director of Salt Lake Healing Tao, Salt Lake City, Utah "Marie is one of the most effective Tai Chi Chi Kung teachers I have worked with in the Healing Tao system. I'm hoping to have her come to Delaware to teach a beginning Tai Chi class for my students here." Loretta Robb, Healing Tao Instructor, EarthStar Healing Tao, Delaware "Marie is a wonderful teacher, to study with her is an experience I would highly recommend to anyone, whether it's live in the classroom, or on DVD. Marie was able to move right into helping me with my structure, posture, chi flow, applications, and all the fine points that are essential to learning what I feel is really the best form on the planet for learning the foundation of TaiChi. She continues to inspire me daily to keep on helping bring these down to earth, and at the same time amazing practices to the west." Robert Laub, AI,C,T1 Port Orchard, WA. ...and even more from Students: "Thank goodness for Marie! She is an intelligent and clear educator who breathes her enthusiasm for Tai Chi. Her classes are so much fun and energizing that I take a 45 minute drive to get there! Her ability to give attention to the class while directing herself toward individual needs is amazing. Thank you!" Debi Adams, Pianist "If a friend ever asks me about a Tai Chi instructor, I always send them to Marie Favorito. I find her classes very relaxing and refreshing. She was very attentive to me as a beginner and her sensitivity allowed me to get the maximum benefit and feel comfortable in a class of very advanced students." Bill McGowan, Somerville, MA "Marie is a really fun and very skilled teacher of Tai Chi, Chi Kung and Taoist Meditation. She has a way of making everyone enjoy themselves and we laugh alot during her classes. She can relate to any age group and makes everyone feel comfortable and excited about learning from the Healing Tao." Raewyn Khosla, Austin, Texas "Marie IS what healthy living with chi kung looks like. Attending a class with Marie is an opportunity to experience chi kung in its most joyful aspect." Jacki Katzman, Arlington, MA "Marie has a rare (almost telepathic) ability for making all participants - newbies and experts alike - feel immediatlely welcome, challenged and ultimately accomplished during each and every session. No matter what your level of experience is, when you show up, you will leave feeling relaxed, recharged and aware." Mark Ostranger, Watertown, MA "I joined Boston Healing Tao 6 years ago and I keep coming back to the class every fall since. Part of it is a geographical convenience (I work for Tufts University) but mainly it's is a very warm and friendly atmosphere created by Marie. She's intelligent, funny and very knowledgeable person. Her class helps to maintain good health and attitude which is very important for people over 50 like myself. I recommend everybody who is thinking to start doing something for his/her health to come to the class and experience it by themself. I'm sure they immediately agree with me and hopefully will decide to stay in a class like I did. Good luck." Joseph Josefson, Somerville, MA "Wow... This is the best 'Cross Training' available! It will help me with all my other sports activites." Michael Graves, Salt Lake City, Utah "I really enjoyed Marie's class. It was energizing, relaxing, and full of good information. She has a great spirit." Bryan Sudbury, Salt Lake City, Utah "Marie is very knowledgeable in this energetic form. She sets a great example of inner peace, strength, and serenity." Christine Gifford, Salt Lake City, Utah "Qigong has changed my life for the better. My overall health has improved and it has made me a more flexible person- both physically and mentally. I admire Marie because she is a teacher who walks her talk. She is a great mentor for me." Angela Gifford, Salt Lake City, Utah "When I met Marie Favorito in 1996 I was on a path of healing from much brokeness. I knew that holistic health meant that I needed to practice some form of calming meditation, but I had no idea where to start. My accupuncturist had suggested Tai Chi and the classes at The Healing Tao were reasonable and handy to where I worked. The next thing I knew I was feeling great and looking better than ever. My physician was telling me to continue the practice of augmenting treatments he prescribed with the work I was doing with Marie in private and in classes at Boston Healing Tao. The many methods of healing that are introduced, by Marie, can seem strange to the person who has not experieced alternatives to the western scientific methods used by care providers. Marie Favorito teaches the ancient practice, of wellness through Tai Chi, Chi Kung, and Meditation, learned from eastern masters. This art taught me to harness the power of energy as a means that powerfully balanced my spiritual and physical self so that my body could manifest healing at the cellular level. Reparations to my emotional self began to realign as my organs were given the love and energy to function properly with vigor and calm. Marie Favorito and The Healing Tao provided the open structure where I was able to fully participate in my own healing. I am able to learn, heal and grow gently, as I am taught to practice the healing art of Tai Chi/Chi Kung and meditation." Kirk Wornum "Marie is a wonderful teacher, generous, and tremendously inspiring. She was a great support in addressing my own needs woith the training. I am always grateful." Camila Anderson, Somerville, MA "Marie's compassion, skill and exceptional teaching ability in the Asian Healing Arts has contributed to my deep understanding and practice of Qigong and Meditation over the years. I am grateful for her many contributions to the health and well-being of our world community." Carolee Parker, M.Ac. "How do you describe the solace that comes from an inner peace? How can words create the correct feeling when communication ends with: "Smiles" Marie? Where can one find a way of life coupled with a desire to grow? Where can a hug mean so much? The Boston Healing Tao and its founder, Marie Favorito, emanate a warmth and compassion for complete strangers that describes a way of life and passion for the teachings and practice of the Tao. In life one finds their place and what results seems as if it were meant to be. Marie is at the perfect place and time and we are all the better for it." Edward Martin, MA "I have had the priviledge of studying with Marie Favorito twice and on both occasions have experienced major changes for the better in my health. I have practiced many forms of QiGong for over a decade but have found the system presented by the Healing Tao to be the most effective I have tried. And Marie is an AWESOME teacher!!!!" Celeste Metz, Salt Lake City, Utah "Hello, my name is Abdul "Doolie" Wilkinsand I have studied with Marie in her Qi Gong classes. I have studied Tai Chi and Qi Gong with several different teachers over a ten year span. Last year I was looking for a Qi Gong teacher and came across Marie. Marie is a very good teacher, she makes the class very enjoyable for her students, I have encountered many martial arts teachers who have this very stern attitude about them, where it seems impossible for the student /teacher to build relationship, friendship. Yet Marie has this very open approachable way to her, which makes learning the arts a joyful enriching experience. Marie is very knowledgeable about cultivating and storing Chi, our vital life force energy. I am always amazed how she guides her students through intense excercises such as the Microcosmic Orbit or the Swimming Dragon, she even has us make the dragon sound too! Marie is truly a great teacher and I would recommend her to anybody who is interested in developing the cultivation of Chi." -peace "Doolie", MA "Taking classes at the BHT really helped me by giving me the motivation to heal myself. It opened up doors for me that nurtured my growth and development and helped me regain balance and focus in my life. Whats great about these classes is that ANYONE and EVERYONE can and should join. Its for everybody no matter what level we are at. Plus the founder is an amazing woman and she has alot to teach and offer! I would recommend that anyone who gets an opporunity to take any of the classes workshops offered give it a try. Its a rewarding experience!" Cassie Maciel", MA "I have worked with Marie's CD - Fusion 1 and 2 for the last several months. I find the CD clear, concise and precise. Marie leads these practices with great skill. I have repeatedly worked with the CD and continue to find it of great value." Paula Fayerman "Marie's classes are so enjoyable and fun, but at the same time Marie brings her knowledge and expertise. You can sense that she loves Tai Chi and that she loves sharing her passion. She makes you feel comfortable and her approach is very friendly. I went to a few workshops that Marie organized and those were also great. I certainly recommend learning Tai Chi with Marie." - Marie Coeffet |
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