About Faith LeLievre
Instructor / Coach
Growing up in suburban Boston, I was being groomed for corporate America. I came from a family of administrative assistants and had the skill. It seemed that was the path my life would take as well, except I knew that was not aligned with what I truly wanted for my life. It didn't resonate with who I was inside. I was just finishing high school. I was looking at college. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew I didn’t want to do that. And then, my life took an unexpected turn. One of those things you don't see coming.
My boyfriend had started taking classes at a local kung fu school. He kept inviting me to join him. I kept saying no. He even brought home a uniform for me - black baggy pants and a t-shirt. I thought, 'You want me to wear that?' I was 17. I had little awareness of optimizing health. I consumed a diet complete with junk food and 2 litre bottles of Pepsi. I certainly didn’t exercise or do any physical activities. I was far from being an athlete.
Then one day, my boyfriend left a copy of the Dao De Ching on the table. I opened it and read the second verse - the verse of opposites. I had never thought of it that way before. It made so much sense. He told me this book was the philosophy behind what they were studying. That is when I said yes and went to the school for the first time.
I was greeted by a young instructor with a shaved head. Candles and incense were burning in the otherwise dark room where classes were held. It was so strange to me and unlike anything I had ever experienced before. I remember thinking, 'What have I gotten myself into?' I was there, though, so I joined. I had a lot of things to overcome.
When I started classes, I took private lessons because I was too shy and afraid to attend group classes. I felt awkward and out of place. I lacked coordination and did not have a good sense of balance. My legs would get so tired and my muscles would get sore. I would get out of breath and feel like I could not go on. I had a hard time remembering the movements. It was a struggle.
Then one day I experienced a shift in how it felt to me. It was spring and my instructor had started taking me outside for classes. I still remember that day under the tree so long ago like it was yesterday -- practicing tai chi in a field of deep grass that was swaying in the gentle breeze around my legs; the sun was shining; a light mist falling. It was a feeling that changed everything. It was THE moment. There was no going back. I had clarity in that moment. This was my path.
This was the beginning of a journey - a quest for tools to create a lifestyle of health, vitality, and peace. This led me to study with top instructors in the Chinese martial arts; to learn about food and nutrition; and to study massage therapy, Jin Shin Jyutsu®, and meditation.
This journey led to teaching and eventually led to the creation of TaijiNature and the WaterWays Method of Wellness for Mind, Body & Spirit - a system that applies these tools to aid you in creating the life you desire, to optimizing your wellness.
History and Lineage
Faith has been studying Taiji (Tai Chi), Qigong, and the Internal Martial Arts since the age of 17. After experiencing the many benefits she received from her practice, she knew that it was her path to share this with others.
Faith began her studies while living outside Boston, Massachusetts with Master Art D’Agostino in Praying Mantis Kung Fu and Tai Chi. At the age of 23, Faith moved to Hilo, Hawai’i and opened her first school. She continued to seek out and study with some of the top masters in North America including Master Liang Shouyu, Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming, Master Wei Lun Huang, Master Ren, Guangyi, Master Chen Xiaowang, and Master Fu, Sheng Long . She also studied Jin Shin Jyutsu®, an art of harmonizing the energy of the body, with Mary Burmeister, and massage therapy to round out her knowledge in the healing arts.
Faith continues to study and learn and currently studies with Grandmaster Liang Shouyu, Master Helen Liang, and Master Chenhan Yang at SYL Wushu Taiji Qigong Institute in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The focus of Faith’s classes is movement, breath and energy cultivation to promote health, well-being, vitality, balance, centering, grounding, and an internal sense of calm and peace.
She brings her cumulative studies with these masters in this ancient knowledge and wisdom to her teachings.
Faith has been teaching classes since 1985 and has been teaching on-line since 2008.
Faith opened her first taiji school in Hilo, Hawaii in 1986. In 1992, she moved to Durango, Colorado where she built a taiji studio in the mountains and taught from 1992 to 1999, when she returned to Hilo and began teaching there again. In 2020, Faith built her own taiji studio in Hilo, Hawaii which is now the home of TaijiNature.
