The Mindful Dragon: A day of Meditation and Qigong with Mimi Kuo Deemer

A day of qigong practice, guided meditation and dharma reflections with Mimi Kuo Deemer

Saturday 4th July 2026, 10.00am – 5.00pm UK time, in person and online

We are very happy to welcome Mimi Kuo-Deemer to lead this day of qigong and meditation for Oxford Insight Meditation.

When qigong’s powerful, spiraling dragon forms meet the transformative potential of mindfulness, magic can happen. Join Mimi for a daylong retreat exploring these two forces as one direct, embodied experience.

Through gentle yet deeply strengthening practices, Mimi will share her love of qigong dragons forms. She will also share insights through dharma talks and guided meditation. Most importantly, it will be fun! Get ready to swim through the seas and soar through the skies breathing clouds (did you know that Chinese dragons don’t breathe fire, they breathe clouds?).

Together, we will hone the qualities bestowed by dragons: confidence and kindness, resilience and resourcefulness, protection from harmful thoughts and emotions, and the ability to transform difficulties into wisdom and insight.

All levels of experience, shapes, colors, identities and interests are welcome and encouraged to join. Come play, explore and awaken your mindful dragon-like possibilities!

The day will include periods of qigong, guided meditation and dharma teachings. The day will be primarily in silence. We ask that you commit to staying for the full day.

Mimi Kuo-Deemer, MA, is an author and teacher of meditation, qigong, and internal martial arts (6th generation lineage holder in Baguazhang). She has received authorisation to teach Insight Meditation from Martin Aylward, with whom she has co-led retreats. Her teachings draw inspiration from nature, the Dao, and the wisdom of Buddha Dharma. She lives in the Oxfordshire countryside with her husband, their dog, three cats, 8 chickens and 60,000 bees. For more information see https://www.mkdeemer.com

Dana: In the spirit of generosity, our teachers offer their teaching freely. We invite you to make a ‘dana‘ donation to support Mimi in continuing to offer the teachings in this way. There will be an opportunity to offer dana on the day if you are participating in person. You can also make donations directly to Mimi via these links:

Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZeeVFa5ccaRa88001

PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/mimizoomclasses

Venmo: @Miranda-Kuo-Deemer

Please note we are unable to process donations for our teachers through Eventbrite.

Booking fee: The fee for online participation is £5/£3/£0 (freely given) and for in person participation £15/£5/£0 (freely given). The fee covers general running costs of the online and in person retreats, including Zoom costs, Eventbrite fees, hall hire and teachers’ travel + accommodation expenses. Our teachers receive no payment from the booking fee, instead you will be invited to offer a donation to the teacher in the ancient tradition of dana.

We invite you to pay the full rate if you are reasonably able to do so, as this supports the continuation of our retreats. We also offer lower rate tickets to those who are unemployed, full-time students, on a low income, or are otherwise finding it difficult to meet the full cost. To ensure that these days are accessible to everyone. we also offer freely given tickets for which there is no fee.

Cancellation and refunds: Please let us know as soon as possible if you need to cancel your place on a retreat – otherwise, someone else may be turned away unnecessarily. Please contact oxfordinsightmeditation@gmail.com to let us know that you can’t be there. We offer refunds up to 24 hours before the retreat. Please see instructions for how to claim a refund here

Recording: A recording will be made and shared with participants after the event.

For those participating online:

Zoom link: This will be emailed to those who have registered, shortly after registration. It will be emailed again one week before the retreat, 24hrs before the retreat and 1 hour before the retreat begins. Please check your junk mail if you have not received these emails.

For those participating in person:

Please arrive for registration between 9.15 and 9.45am.

Venue: St Margarets Institute, 30 Polstead Rd, Oxford OX2 6TN

The hall is wheelchair accessible and has an accessible toilet. There are two disabled parking bays directly outside the venue. Please contact us if you need any support on the day to enable you to attend.

See here for a map of the location and for public transport travel information. Please allow plenty of time to travel so that you can arrive at the hall between 9.15 and 9.45 for registration.

Parking: there is no street parking in the area without a permit, except for two disabled parking bays, which are immediately outside the venue. As parking close to the venue is very limited please use the Pear Tree Park and Ride service on the north side of the city and catch the #300 bus to the Canterbury Road stop. It is then a short walk (5-10mins) to the venue. Please leave plenty of time for your journey.

What to bring: The hall is heated, but uncarpeted, and some windows will be open for ventilation, so please bring warm clothing and blankets, and a mat or rug, plus meditation stool or cushions if you wish to sit on the floor. We will ask you to remove your outdoor shoes when in the hall, so you may also wish to bring slippers or warm socks. There are chairs available, you may wish to bring a cushion or two for padding.

Lunch: will be held in silence. We invite you to bring your own vegan or vegetarian packed lunch. A selection of teas, herbal drinks and plant milk will be provided. There is also a fridge where you can store your lunch.

All are welcome: We are committed to creating an inclusive retreat space. We welcome people irrespective of religious or political beliefs, ethnicity, class, sexuality, gender, age, ability and culture.

Contact: Please get in touch if you have any questions or need to cancel, or change your booking at oxfordinsightmeditation@gmail.com