Water Spirit landscaping business owner on the benefits of Qigong and meditation

TRYON – Steve Robbat, owner of the Water Spirit landscaping business in Tryon, has been offering meditation and Qigong sessions weekly for a year.

“Find the tension in your bodies, let it go,” Robbat tells his students in his meditation room. “Feel it in your bones, your cheeks, the space between your eyes. Let it go.”

Robbat offers weekly sessions Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. at his residence across from the Red Fox Country Club on Red Fox Road. In 2015, Robbat’s landscaping business won the Creative Outdoor Environments award presented by the Home and Garden Television network.

“This is a group of local people who have gotten together to find a space to meditate, do yoga and Qigong,” Robbat explained. “Qigong involves gentle exercise with movements and stretches that are repeated a number of times. Meditation is all in the breathing and leads to personal growth.”

Edward Kan taught Robbat about meditation and offers classes on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. at the Meeting Place in Columbus. Health benefits of meditation and Qigong are related to improving balance and sleep quality, lowering blood pressure and fighting off depression.

“There are different tools that can help us stop thought to the point where we quiet the mind,” Robbat emphasized. “I’m introducing these tools all the time to help us do that through music, breath and visualization in order to slow our minds down and stop thinking.”

Qigong begins at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday nights followed by meditation at 7 p.m. The sessions are free and tea and cookies are provided after each session. Robbat said his meditation room fits 10 to 20 individuals and the age range is 50 to 70, but anyone can join.

Water Spirit creates commercial and residential projects and specializes in outdoor environments that include features like waterfalls, Japanese gardens, water fountains and flagstone patios. The business can be contacted at 828-273-4342 or visited at waterspirit.com.

“These programs help you set goals for what you want in life and provide the building blocks to getting what you want,” Robbat explained. “They help you get deeper into meditation. A different awareness comes up when you get to that place of quietness and there’s a sense of peace and pleasure.”