Success Stories

We came to CGI, and my wife a most meticulous house keeper, inspected the lobby. “It’s very clean,” She said. Then she looked at the people. “They look like nice people.” She said. We should join”. I said, “Yes, dear,” and that was the beginning of a most pleasant time, during which I not only enjoyed the physical facilities, but made friends with so many wonderful people.

It is a pleasure for me to express my appreciation for CGI Holistic Fitness. I originally joined because of the excellence of the facilities. The gym and saunas are kept in very good condition. The swimming pool is exactly the right temperature, spotlessly clean, and with a minimum of chlorine, due to disinfection with ozone. Beyond the excellence of the physical plant, there is the exposure to the Korean culture and spirituality, which I have found very rewarding. I have made many Korean acquaintances, and I treasure this relationship. The present management is excellent and I always look forward to my twice-daily visits. I wish you all success in your endeavors.

I knew I had to do something about losing weight and getting into better shape but every time I would make a positive change in my lifestyle and habits, I would soon retreat back to my old ways. My poor physical condition didn’t go unnoticed by my family and as a result, my mother told me that she signed me up for personal training sessions with CGI’s Sean An. This was the start of an entirely new life for me.

Sean specifically designed a plan for me to increase my metabolism. Not only did he hold me accountable with working out, he also helped me to change my eating habits. He took me out to the grocery store and helped me discern what healthy and unhealthy foods for me to eat were. He then also showed me how to prepare the healthy options on my own so I could continue eating healthfully without the help of my family. At first, both the work out and diet plan were tough to stick to but within just a few weeks, it was starting to become a part of my day that I really looked forward to. Since working with Sean, I have lost 45 pounds! It’s made a huge difference in my life and has not gone unnoticed by the people in my life. I am able to wake up with more energy, have a faster metabolism, more endurance and less injury in sports and see a drastic change in my appearance. For me, Sean has not only been an amazing influence in terms of helping me to become healthier and fit but Sean has also become a good friend. I really look forward to working out with him on a regular basis and feel as if he has my best interest at heart. I think everyone could benefit from this type of personal training. Sometimes all you need is just a little boost in your life to make a huge difference.

The sessions at the Retreat were a perfect mix of indoor and outdoor activities. A particular day would start with a Morning Prayer & Meditation followed by meditation in Mago Garden or a Healing/Training session at Mago Chapel or at an offsite location (Vortex Meditation in Sedona). The meditation sessions at the energy centers (vortexes) were highlights for me. Here, under the guidance of the trainer, I was able to “let go and float-off, guided by the energy.” The sessions were running from early morning (bowing meditation) to late evening (star-light meditation), perfectly spread out over breakfast, lunch and dinner. (By the way, the food was excellent).

The 4-day Retreat was a life-changing event for me. I “connected” not only with the location (earth) - a feeling I would like to describe as being “home,” but I also learned more about my personal life. The bipartite set-up of each session, lecture and training/meditation, was a perfect mix for me to learn more about heaven, earth and myself. The overall spirit at the Retreat let me feel like I was a part of a larger “family,” as everyone acted as I had known him or her for years. Notably, I have never been nearby so many teachers in one location, spreading so much confidence and warm-heartedness. I would like to thank all of the participants and the organizers and conclude this testimonial by simply stating that I must return to this astonishing location.

When I left Sedona I felt home sick!

Then about 10 months ago we had a family reunion where one of the activities on the agenda was my aunt leading a yoga class. I took it and basically laughed when she told me to touch my toes with the thought of, “yeah right like that will ever happen.” At the end she did an exercise where you could feel energy, I felt it and was amazed and didn’t want that feeling to go away. This made me curious and I definitely wanted to feel that energy sensation again. CGI was offering a Heart Opening Workshop which I attended and got to experience what Energy Yoga was all about. It was a fascinating experience and again I wanted to learn more. I was sold; I knew that I could become a better person from this practice.

Beginning classes was exciting, and within a couple months I had experienced many physical changes: I felt stronger, I had more energy and I had more motivation to tackle things in my daily life which led to having a better understanding about me. I was amazed by all the physical changes that I had never experienced before and I was more aware of my body and its capabilities. I also was learning that many of the restrictions I had were caused by preconceptions and my extremely negative thought processes. My mind was always somewhere else and I could never relax because I couldn’t calm what was going on in my head. With practice I started to be able to clear my mind and focus on my physical body. It was a very calming and comforting experience.

This past November I attended the Finding Your True Self Workshop (Shim Sung). I was intrigued since I basically went through the motions of life with no real idea of who I was and what I really wanted out of life. This workshop was a major turning point in my life. This workshop allowed me to start to understand myself and connect with who I really am. I had many awakenings throughout the workshop, some that weren’t so pretty. But I came out with knowledge and ways to continue to grow myself. I realized that who I was, who I thought I was, and who I really am did not match. After completing this workshop I started to accept my past and leave it where it belonged -- in the past. I learned the importance of living in the moment and finally felt like I had a reason for living. I stopped waking up each day with the same old “ugh” feeling of another day I had to get through. I started waking up feeling grateful to have another day and grateful to have found a way to feel happiness.

CGI Instructors and staff have made this journey in my life possible; they were able to teach me ways to learn and understand myself. They are there to help me grow and I am so thankful for the opportunity to practice with and learn from these truly amazing people. Recently they invited me to join 49 Sue Haeng, which is 49 nights of bowing and brain wave vibration exercises. This opportunity has taught me many more things and has helped me connect with my true self on a much deeper level.

The practice of Energy Yoga has helped me to regain confidence that had been torn down by constantly giving in to the negativities that I kept feeding myself. Before these life-changing experiences I felt like I had been walking around dead. Now I feel like I have been reborn. This practice has given me so many things to be grateful for and I feel that it is important to share these experiences with others, so that they can experience true happiness and peace for themselves. I was a very angry, unhappy person and now I am a happy, calmer, more caring person. I enjoy this new person that I have become and life in general!

I had literally wandered into CGI last summer simply looking for a yoga class and found an entire world here offering just what I needed to improve my health and outlook on life. I swear it was my True Self that had found a way to lead me to this very important place. I was introduced to Kwon, who is the chief massage healer at CGI, because I had injured my shoulder a couple of weeks earlier. She gathered Kyla and Master Michelle to talk with me about possibly making a “healing plan” and that’s when my True Self spoke up again: My TS said that I felt old and tired, that I’d lost my core strength and wanted to recover it; that I’d grown stiff and rigid and wanted to regain my former flexibility; and now that I was about to retire, I needed a map to guide me in this next stage of my life. They all three nodded and said, “yep, you have come to the right place.”

I started working regularly with Kwon and going to classes several times a week. Right away I noticed that I felt more energetic and with an energy that was brighter than usual for me. I got stronger and more flexible very quickly; I was feeling a lot healthier, all in a short amount of time! I then participated in Nicholas’s Open Heart workshop, but I didn’t get the full message of this practice – after all, I felt I was already open-hearted, helpful, kind, compassionate, anti-war, and environmentally friendly. My entire life I have tried to live my True Self, to make it possible for her to be happy and unafraid in this world. I didn’t really need to find her, I needed to help her. What was really being addressed here? Meanwhile, I continued to work part-time and to continue to experience fierce anger, frustration, and impatience – consumed with a lot of judgments!

The Open Heart workshop led me to FTS. This awakening training was electrifying but also terrifying – it gave me a glimpse (but that was more than enough!) of my intricate ego architecture that was designed to help me in this world but that in many ways made it impossible for my True Self to flourish and to nourish Me: my skills as a musician and as an administrator and leader (self confidence) were woven with my considerable fears and insecurities, with my guilt about my failures, my disappointments in myself, with my life memories of injuries – physical and emotional – all this brilliantly decorated with my “aesthetic preferences”: I love this music but I hate all that other music, I like this art but not that, this cuisine but not that, color, fabric, hair style, fashion, fragrance and OH!, personalities that offend me, work ethics that I disrespect, my definition of what constitutes integrity, blah. Judgments – attachments, limitations – all of them. It is an exquisite construct my ego has made, a true work of art in itself, and one my ego is very proud of. How could I reconstruct all this to support my True Self? And did I really want to make those efforts? How could I possibly learn to “let go of everything”? And did I really want to do that?? After all, I had learned to live that way for a very long time. I was at this same point as you are tonight, required to write down my goals. I was paralyzed. I could not think of a single one, except to find a guide to teach me, lead me in the steps of this practice. I knew I could not make these changes alone – it was just like choosing to become an Avatar, someone has to train you.

Master Michelle took away my quandary and urged me to join the Tao Meditation classes – once a week we gather to do much the same as this weekend training where we’re taught again the principles, where we learn to feel and hear our bodies, to focus, to recognize the energy and energy flow. We share some of these experiences with the other class members, and each week we feel our own strengths growing. We get to practice over an extended period of time where there is no anxiety about having to learn many things in a very limited time – a whole different experience than the intense blast of information and sensations you get over short weekend training.

What do I notice now, after several weeks of this consistent training? I have far greater clarity about everything, it seems; I have a feeling of being imbued with Spirit; my fears and anxieties are ebbing, my worries are limited now to identifiable causes. But the most important change I’ve noticed is the relationship I’m developing with myself, my True Self – a true love relationship. And the happiness that is coming from that new friendship has a quality unlike any other happiness I’ve experienced – it has no limits, no fears.

Training in this practice has been the best investment of time and money I’ve ever made for myself – on behalf of myself. Everything is here for you to take the next steps. Be fearless and set your goals to learn the ways of this practice.

Overall, it was a great experience visiting CGI Holistic Fitness Center in Closter. It is such a great facility. One can also recognize Mrs. Lee’s special touch in the way the different areas are laid out, organized, and decorated. Even the coffee is excellent! It is certainly a place I would love to visit again someday. Thank you very much.