Biography

“Selected Biography of Daoist Priest Michael Rinaldini”

Trainings and Teachings in 2024

National Qigong Association Conference, Savannah, GA. Presented workshop on Chong Mai Qigong and Taichi Qigong 18.

Ken Cohen training on the significance of the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Wood Dragon, zoom, 2 hours, February 8, 2024

Taichi Shibashi 18 zoom trainings with Fabrice Piche. 

Training and teachings in 2022/23

Daoist Lecture on Daoist Practice, Louis Komjathy, May, 2023 (zoom)

30-Day solitary retreat at New Camaldoli Hermitage, Big Sur, CA. February 2022

Annual Qigong & Daoist retreat at Black Mountain Retreat Center, Cazadero, CA. April 2022/23. 4-day retreat taught every year by shifu Michael.

International Daoist Conference, Eastover, MA. June 2022. Presenter and participant in 4-day conference. Livia Kohn, Director.

Oblate Retreat at St. Francis Retreat Center, Monterey, CA. Taught qigong and received Oblate commitment to New Camaldoli Hermitage, Big Sur, CA. September 2022.

Training in 2021

Online zoom workshops with Ken Cohen

Chinese Tea Culture & Appreciation, 1.5 hours, February 2021

Bagua Circle Walking, 2-hours, January 2021

Ba Duan Jin (8 Pieces of Brocade) 2-hours, April 2021

Training in 2019

International Daoism Conference in Los Angeles, CA, Prof. Livia Kohn, June 2018 Participated in multiple workshops, including a workshop with Ken Cohen on Qigong. Also, I presented a workshop on Primordial Wuji Qigong.

Bigu, Qigong Fasting Training at Univ of Maryland, Rehab Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland. Four-day fast and training with Kevin Chen on method, qigong, and theory of Bigu fasting. September 2019.

China Training

2001 – 2002: Master-level training with Wan Sujian and Duan Zhi Liang during two China visits.

2003: Third China trip for continued qigong training and Daoist Priest ordination in the Longmen Dragon Gate sect. Certified Bagua Xundao Gong Teacher by Master Wan Su Jian.

2008: Fourth China trip for continued qigong and Daoist training with Master Wan Sujian and his master teachers on sacred Daoist mountains.

 

Professional Workshops

I am scheduled to present a workshop at the 2024 NQA conference in Savannah, GA in September, 2024.

I have presented nine workshops between 2000 and 2012 at the annual National Qigong Association (NQA) Conferences. My last workshop in 2012 focused on Circle Walking, Zuowang Meditation, and Silence.

I presented a workshop at the 9th and the 13th International Conferences on Daoist Studies in Boston in 2014 and in Los Angeles in 2019.

I have a Qigong Certification program of 200 to 400 hours for local and distance students. As of 2023, my students have come from throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico, England, France, Italy, Chile, French Caribbean, Greece, Slovac Republic, Sweden, and Australia.

Professional Member of the NQA since 1998, and in 2007, I was certified as NQA Certified Level IV (highest) Qigong Teacher.

Daoist Priest Training Program

In 2007, I started training and ordaining others as Daoist priests, thus continuing the process of Daoism moving to the West. As of 2024, there are about twenty members in the ADGL. Most of them have already completed their 9-month novice training and 2.5 years of priest training and have been ordained, and the remaining members are in their training phases.

Publications

Journal of Daoist Studies, Three Pine Press, Livia Kohn, editor. Article on ‘Xing and Ming.” To be published 2025

Daoist Zuowang Meditation article in Qi Journal, Autumn, 2008 and The Empty Vessel, Winter 2009; Spring 2010. Cracking the Matrix article in Fall issue of The Empty Vessel magazine. Writer for Yang-Sheng E-magazine (qigong & Daoist enewsletter & web site). Additional articles were published in 2018.

2018-2019 Magazine Publications: The Empty Vessel, Fall 2018; WinterSpring 2019, and Qi Journal, Winter 2018-2019. 2019 UK Publication: The Journal for the Tai Chi Union of Great Britain.

Michael’s first book, A Daoist Practice Journal: Come Laugh With Me was published in 2013. The second book, Book 2, was published in 2016, and book 3 was published in January 2019. A combination of books 1-3 plus a fourth section was published in February 2020; A Daoist Grows In The Heart: Journals Of A Modern-Day Western Daoist Priest. Shifu Michael’s last 2 books were self-published in the Fall of 2022 and feature Interreligious Studies between Christianity and Daoism (This book won a book award and was republished in 2023 as a Second Edition), and a book on qigong for beginners to advanced (see books). They are all distributed through Amazon.com.

EDUCATION

North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C. B.A. 1979.

Lesley College, Cambridge, Ma. M.A. Expressive Therapy, 1986.

Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA. M.F.A. Fine Art Photography, 1990.

Clayton College of Natural Health, Doctor of Naturopathy 1993<

Acupressure Institute, Berkeley, CA 200 Hour Acupressure 1997