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Get your Qi Gong on during Qua Baths & Spa's weekly water Qi Gong class
Some Strip spas have poolside treatments, others have fitness classes, but how many Las Vegas spas can you think of that hold wellness classes in a pool?

Proving once again that it’s one of the city’s top spas when it comes to offering guests a vast array of services to choose from, Qua Baths & Spa inside Caesars Palace recently added a new addition to its many offerings: water Qi Gong classes. Led by UNLV adjunct professor/author Dr. Swami Ramananda Maharaj, who has been teaching Qi Gong for 40 years, Qua’s new water Qi Gong class is held every Saturday at 1 p.m. in the serene, open-air Bacchus pool area overlooking the resort’s newly expanded Garden of the Gods pool oasis. A meditative practice that uses slow, graceful movements and controlled breathing techniques to promote circulation and enhance overall wellness, participants will discover that practicing Qi Gong in the water is especially beneficial, as it removes stress from your knees.

Participants will check-in for the hour-long class at Color Boutique, located in the Appian Way Shops near the pool entrance, and be escorted to the Bacchus pool area by a staff member, as only invited guests are able to use the two Bacchus pools. Once at the pool, guests can change into their swimsuits in one of the pool’s private restrooms, available exclusively to Bacchus pool guests. Then, it’s time to enter the water and learn four movements from the 48 brocades of movements (every week, four new movements are taught to students). Students will focus on the four Es—Ether (breathing techniques, grounding), Energizing, Empowering and Enlightening (learning the Dragon Dance)—as they learn the different brocades of movements, as well as ancient martial arts techniques that are associated with Qi Gong but not often taught in America. One of the breathing techniques often taught during class, the Hanuman pose, Swami Ramananda jokingly calls “Qi Gong Starbucks” as it’s just as energizing as a cup of coffee sans the caffeine. Although the Hanuman pose may sound a little bit like Lamaze when you’re doing it, it’s the perfect thing to get you through the day—especially after lunch when you start to feel yourself dragging a bit.

Given the Bacchus pools’ many A-list guests, you never know just who might join in on one of the water Qi Gong classes. Swami Ramananda said many celebrities have observed the class from their VIP cabanas—Kathy Griffin, Chelsea Handler, Nicky Hilton, Jeff Bridges, the Pussycat Dolls…even Snoop Dogg—with some jumping in the water and getting right down to business! Generally speaking, though, the intimate class (on a recent Saturday there were six participants, so Swami Ramananda was able to give every one of his students some quality one-on-one time/feedback) is attended equally by tourists and locals. One repeat guest claimed during a recent class that water Qi Gong helped alleviate some of the pain he was feeling in his shoulder, while Swami Ramananda said another gentleman (who, he noted, looked very much like Jack Nicholson) told him after one of his classes that getting into the water to participate made him feel like he was in the movie Cocoon—“That water is charged with a force,” Ramananda recalled the man exclaiming.

While some students may benefit from the class more than others, one of the nicest things about Qua’s weekly water Qi Gong class is that participants are welcome to stay in the exclusive Bacchus pool area afterwards. In addition to the two shallow pools, the Bacchus pool area also features a private whirlpool for its guests, perfect for unwinding in after class (Swami Ramananda may even join you!). Given the Bacchus pool area’s location, the pools become pretty shaded early on in the afternoon, so guests don’t really have to worry about getting sunburned if they stay and swim for another hour or two. If you do want to soak up some sun, though, water Qi Gong students are welcome to use any one of the Garden of the Gods’ eight distinctive swimming pools following class (a $40 cover charge for men and a $10 cover charge for ladies applies at Venus Pool Club), such as the Apollo pool, positioned at the southwest corridor of the Garden of the Gods pool oasis for maximum sun exposure.