Lorraine Hughes, a HoldenQiGong certified instructor who aligns her teaching with Chinese Medicine, will offer Qi Gong for Emotional Healing: The Six Healing Sounds, on April 16, from 1 to 2:30 p.m., at Dutchess Yoga in Poughkeepsie. The workshop is intended for “anyone who is seeking a way to diffuse, channel or find balance with how they perceive and react emotionally and mentally,” she says.

“The impact of negative emotions such as fear, anger, cruelty, impatience, worry, sadness and grief often predominate and have a detrimental effect on the internal organs and glands,” she explains. “This drains our life force and undermine our health. The six healing sounds have an astonishing ability to transform negative emotions into positive life force, or qi.”

The owner of Empowered By Nature, Hughes has taught qigong since 2008. She’ll be teaching qigong at Dutchess Yoga every Friday in April from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. The classes are open to people of all physical abilities. Participants will learn to use simple movements aligned with breath work to alleviate stress and promote flexibility.

In fact, qi gong literally means “breath work” and generally extends to “energy cultivation,” Hughes says. “It’s a general term for highly intentional exercises that circulate, concentrate or otherwise manipulate the various subtle energies of the body, mind and spirit.”