Copyrights @ Peter Caughey 2024. All Rights Reserved.
Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine,
Master of Taiji Quan & Qigong
& Acupuncturist
Peter Caughey
Founder of Forest Rock Qigong & The Forest Rock Taiji & Qigong School,
Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine,
Master of Taiji Quan & Qigong,
Acupuncturist, Chinese Medical Herbalist,
Medical Qigong & Tunia practitioner
& published Author.
Mission Statement
I help people experience that they are connected to and are part of something much larger than themselves.
I was introduced to Chinese Medicine at the age of 28 when I went to get my first acupuncture treatment for a long-term neck injury from playing many years of rugby. I was sceptical about how a couple of needles stuck in your body could make any difference? I was so wrong. My life changed that day. What the acupuncturist did in his treatment changed the way I saw my life forever. I was floating around for days, I was on a high, all the stress was gone and I could see myself very clearly. I felt that I was a different person. That experience opened the door of my curiosity, I wanted to learn more about Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taiji and Qigong. I felt like I had missed out something in life and I wanted to know.
I started learning Taiji and Qigong from the Acupuncturist and Doctor of Chinese Medicine who gave me my first treatment. This practice opened a door for me to see my life and the world I lived in, in a completely unique way. I realised that there was a world of new possibilities. It was so different to what I had ever experienced in my life and to what I was brought up to believe in. I changed my life, I gave up drinking, smoking and taking drugs and I became a vegetarian. My whole outlook on life changed, I wanted to know more.
“Through the practice of Taiji and Qigong, I started experiencing energy in my body, which was completely different to the physical strength I’d experienced from being an athlete, a rugby player and a soldier. I slept better, I had more energy every day. I was happier. I had a clearer mind and I felt peace and harmony in my life.”
My background prior to studying TCM Qigong and Taiji was very different. I spent 16 years in the armed service with the New Zealand Army and seven of those years in the NZSAS (New Zealand Special Forces), where I reached the position of Patrol Commander and Group Commander. I loved the life of mental and physical discipline in the SAS. I became a small arms and weapons instructor, demolitions and explosives instructor and an advanced medic. I also instructed Close Quarter Battle (Hand to Hand Combat). I learnt many different ways to incapacitate an opponent. During those years, I learnt how to take people’s lives but now, I do exactly the opposite: I heal people and help people who are struggling to have a better life. What I learnt in the military was invaluable. It taught me discipline. It taught me determination and perseverance. It taught me self-worth, honour and respect.
Over the years in my clinic and classes, I have discovered that most of us have limiting beliefs and stories that make us unhappy, discontent and eventually unwell. I believe these limiting stories stop us from living our full potential as human beings. I like to help my students and patients to see the possibility that these stories could be untrue and then how to change them, so they can live from a more empowered and healthier way of being.
“I have dedicated the last 30 years of my life to help and encourage people to see the world in a different way. A way that inspires them to change and to create a life that they really want. A life where they choose what happens to them and a life, which is happier and more fulfilling.”
A Bit More About Peter
BHSc Acupuncture, NDA (NZ) Dip Chb, Dip Tuina, Dip Taiji, Qigong
Member of NZRA and the World Academic Society of Medical Qigong
I have taught and practiced Qigong and Taiji Quan (Tai chi) for 30 years and have been running my own Traditional Chinese Medical and Acupuncturist clinic for 22 years. I practice all aspects of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) including Acupuncture, Reflexology, Chinese Herbal Medicine, Medical Qigong and Tuina.
There are 15 different styles of Qigong that I am currently teaching, which includes Shi Ba Shi Taiji Qigong, Ba Duan Jin, Five Element Qigong, Dao Yin, Zhan Zhuang Qigong and Lao Tzu Shao Dan. I practice and I teach traditional and classical Taiji styles, such as Chen styles, Yang style and Wu style and I practice sword forms – Saber and Pole forms.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Health Science in Acupuncture and diplomas in Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine, Qigong and Taiji Quan and Tuina from the New Zealand School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
I was a Tutor at the New Zealand School of Acupuncture and TCM from 1999 – 2013, where I designed and taught the Qigong National Diploma course as well as the Traditional Chinese Medical Qigong course. In these courses, I taught the principles, theory and techniques of Qigong and Medical Qigong. I am currently a member of the World Academic Society of Medical Qigong based in China.
I have been running Taiji and Qigong retreats for over 23 years. These retreats are based on Jen Gee Dao Tai Kit Kuen Traditional Monastery philosophies and I have been teaching weekly Qigong and Taiji classes for the same number of years.
I have endeavoured to make Taiji and Qigong available to as many people as possible and I have created online courses, teaching a variety of Qigong systems, reflexology, Taiji and TCM. I run live and online 200-hour Level One Qigong Teacher Training and 300-hour Level Two Qigong Teacher Training. I teach Medical Qigong and run TCM health retreats.
I am also a husband, a father of three children and a grandfather. I love traveling the world with my wife, Josephine, and my young son, Rayner – meeting new people and experiencing their cultures and countries.