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The Full Story
About
Hi, my name is Dmitry Sokolik
I am in love with internal Taoistic arts, Chi Kung, Tai Chi, and wholeheartedly dedicated to this journey. After decades of practice and being very lucky with my teachers, I now have a lot of experiential knowledge to share with you: self-realisation; physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing; arts of Chi Kung and Tai Chi.
In my daily life, I am a family man with three children, and have a highly satisfying engineering job. I have B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering. I have been sharing my knowledge by teaching in a local Tai Chi and Chi Kung school I established in 2016.
Mission
During my academic years, I was on my path to PhD. This was interrupted by heavy health issues. Practising Chi Kung and Tai Chi, I experienced firsthand the benefits of these teachings in all aspects of my being - physical, emotional and psychological. Tai Chi and Chi Kung not just helped me recover, but also raised my energy levels sufficiently to create a very fulfilling life in its different avenues: family, internal martial arts, music, poetry, engineering, etc.
Seeing the benefits of Tai Chi and Chi Kung for myself and my students, I feel called to serve and share it with the wider worldwide community through online live programs. The technological advance in this area and the online interaction experience during Covid showed us that this can work well and benefit many people.
And now, I am here, my dear friend, sharing with you the Art of Being Well.
About this offering
There are 3 invitations to this sharing, and you can choose to start with whichever resonates with you the most.
01
I invite you directly Home
Home is where you can rest, where nothing is needed for you to be happy and fulfilled, where you can be a light unto yourself, where you are held by love, peace and compassion. Home is not something our mind can control, achieve or cultivate. Rather, it can be recognised, experienced and surrendered to. It is absolute, unconditional and always available, waiting for you to discover it. Then you can live your life from That - fulfilled, happy and free. Discover our Self-Inquiry Sessions
02
I invite you to Being Well
I invite you to Being Well, from where a huge difference in quality and fullness of life can be directly experienced. Being Well can and needs to be cultivated. Through my offering, I address the totality of your manifested being - physical, emotional and psychological - to help you embody a deep sense of wellbeing. Discover our Wellbeing Programs
03
I invite you to explore the beautiful internal arts of Chi Kung and Tai Chi in depth
There is probably no other tool out there that, when taught correctly, delivers the path of self-development in a more holistic way. Addressing all aspects of your being - physical, emotional and psychological, it also prepares, develops, nurtures and nourishes your vessel to hold Spirit without collapsing. It teaches you effortless and full Presence in all aspects of your life, passive as well as active. It experientially delivers unimaginable and previously unexperienced levels of relaxation and allows you to maintain them under the inevitable challenges and stress of daily life. It helps you tap into unlimited potential, so you can live every moment to the fullest.
Discover our Tai Chi and Chi Kung Programs
Curious about my personal journey?
Here are a few turning points in my life...
1983
I am 6 or 7 years old, playing a war game on the sofa of our small soviet room in Kiev. Shooting and hiding. Suddenly, I pretend to be shot. A question arises against all of the soviet and parental conditioning: “So how can it be that the ‘I am’ is no more?” I lay on the sofa and dive into the sense of “I AM”, which leads me to experience a psychological death. The experience itself is indescribable, but it is very clear that this I-AMness cannot be lost. It is not subject to anything and always here…
1991
I am 14 years old. A great sense of yearning arises and is constantly present. I do not know how to run away or get rid of it. It feels very painful. My parents say that this is probably just a result of a transitional age, as I am getting more mature and becoming an adult. My attempt to explain this to myself is that probably the yearning will stop when I get into a romantic relationship.
1998
I am a 21 years old student. I am heartbroken after the collapse of what I thought was a true love relationship. I have become so dependent on it, that I do not know how to continue without it. The pain of loss is so big - it feels like my whole nervous system is exposed and any little touch is causing tremendous emotional pain. This heartbreak and pain trigger me to start my conscious quest for harmony, peace and self-knowledge. I read books on self-development (Osho, Sri Aurobindo, Satprem among many), meditating and exploring breathing exercises.
2001
My Chi Kung and Tai Chi journey begins by meeting Fito Schreiber from Tao Center - www.tao-center.co.il. He performs a Tai Chi demonstration that leaves me amazed. It is possible to see clearly that he is moving through something very dense. The movements are very soft, but also filled with internal strength and intention. It is possible to feel the emanation of balance, stability and presence of the core. I realise that this teacher is able to show me the way to what I am looking for. From that moment onwards, I consistently had been training with Fito until my relocation to the UK in 2012. Fito introduces me to different types of Chi Kung, Yang 24, Chen Laojia Yilu, Erlu and sword forms. Today, I continue to study with Fito regularly online and, whenever opportunity arises, travel to him to review and adjust my practice.
2013 - 2015
During this period I am privileged and find it very beneficial studying and attending seminars of great Chen Tai Chi Chuan practitioners such as Ben Milton, Chen Xiaowang, Chen Xiaoxing and Chen Bing. A few 1:1 training sessions with Chen Xiaowang and his instructions have a significant impact on my practice. My Chen style training during this period includes foundation training, 19 form, Laojia Yilu, Erlu, Sword, Broadsword, Xinjia Yilu and pushing hands.
2015
I meet Wee Kee Jin from Taiji School of Central Equilibrium - www.taijisoce.com while trying to explore the art of pushing hands. I fall in love with the way Jin teaches and shares his understanding of the Art. I add his system into my discipline and have been exploring it in as much depth as possible. My training with Jin includes Up and Down movement, 5 basic exercises, Yang Tai Chi (37 form, Long form, Refined form, weapons, push hands) and White Crane system.
2016
I establish Cambs Tai Chi school near Cambridge, UK and start sharing my understanding of the Art with others.
When meeting my teacher Fito and sharing with him my internal achievements, he predicts a few more years for the opening of the middle Dan Tien - the Heart (not that I understood what it means at the time)...
2018 October
A sudden realisation dawned on me. After all these years of being on a path of search for harmony, peace, enlightenment, though I have attained certain spiritual understandings, internal skills and had many beautiful experiences, I am still not even a step closer to my most desired final destination. I make a conscious decision to make enlightenment my number 1 priority. I open a Book of Secrets by Osho and choose the very first meditation, observing the breath, and start dedicating a lot of time to it.
2018 December
My first experience of Samadhi. During a vacation, suddenly time, efforts, ego sense, etc, disappear. There is just pure Presence, Peace and Joy. Things are happening, people are coming and going, but the dualistic sense of interest - boredom, which usually drives me through life, has disappeared. Just Presence and effortless Awareness. I don’t understand the significance of this and my mind dismisses it by saying “If thoughts are still present, this cannot be It”.
2019 January
Upon departing from my teacher Fito, he says to me: “You've had beautiful achievements in Tai Chi. BUT WHO ARE YOU WITHOUT TAI CHI?” One does not expect something like this to come from a Tai Chi teacher. To me this was like a hit under the belt. Imagining myself without Tai Chi and then without the rest of what I am attached to and what is defining “me”, I feel that I can't take a full breath. This question, “WHO ARE YOU WITHOUT…?” sticks with me, not allowing me peace of mind, and experientially pushing me into psychological loss of everything.
2019 February
I am at home with the question “WHO AM I?”. I go on youtube, trying to find a video on this topic from either Osho or Jidu Krishnamurti (their videos always gave me greater understanding). Suddenly I see a thumbnail of a lady conversing with another lady. There is a certain feeling of “that’s it”, not requiring any explanations, as if someone takes my hand and all I need to do is just follow this hand holding. I click on the video with full attention. One lady shares her challenge with the emotion of fear. The other lady invites her to bring this emotion forth with the intention to experience it fully. I do the same: I let the thoughts be, without engaging with them, and dive directly into the emotion of fear which is present in the body. I experience the discomfort of this meeting with full awareness and consciousness, falling deeper into the next emotional layer and then even deeper…
And suddenly, I land Home… So dear, so familiar, so loving, so fresh, so holding…
Why was I constantly and persistently overlooking this Beauty? How could this even happen?”...
This is how I first met Gangaji…
Words are not enough to express my Gratitude to my teachers.
