Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 30, 2026

Governing jurisdiction: British Columbia, Canada

This Privacy Policy describes how shaolin-yijinjing.com (“we,” “us,” or “our”), operated by Dreaming Elephant Daoist Studies Institute, collects, uses, discloses, and protects personal information obtained through our website shaolin-yijinjing.com. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information in accordance with British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act (BC PIPA, SBC 2003, c. 63) and, where applicable, Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

This Website is operated in British Columbia, Canada. It is not intentionally directed at residents of Québec. Québec residents who nonetheless use the Website should be aware that Québec’s Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector (Law 25) may also apply.

1. Our Privacy Commitment

Dreaming Elephant Daoist Studies Institute is accountable for the personal information it collects and holds. Our Privacy Contact is Michael Smith, who can be reached at somadaoqigong@gmail.com or 250-777-1248. Any questions, concerns, or complaints regarding this policy or our data practices should be directed to him in the first instance.

2. Information We Collect

We collect personal information only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances, and only to the extent necessary for those purposes.

We may collect the following categories of information:

Contact and account information: your name, email address, and phone number when you voluntarily provide these, for example when contacting us or creating an account.
Purchase information: your name, email address, and billing address in connection with course or product purchases. Payment card data is handled exclusively by our payment processor and is not stored by us.
Technical and usage data: IP address, browser type and version, pages visited, time and date of visit, and referring URL. This information is collected automatically via server logs and analytics tools.
Communications: the content of any messages, inquiries, or feedback you send us.
Cookies and similar technologies: see Section 6 below.

3. Purpose of Collection

We collect personal information for the following identified purposes, which we communicate at or before the time of collection:

To process and fulfil purchases of courses and digital products.
To provide and maintain access to purchased content.
To respond to inquiries and provide customer support.
To send transactional communications (order confirmations, access instructions).
To send promotional communications about our courses and services, where you have consented to receive these.
To improve and administer the Website using aggregated and anonymized analytics.
To comply with legal obligations.

We will not use your personal information for purposes other than those identified above without your further consent, except where required or permitted by law.

4. Consent

We obtain your consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information at or before the time of collection. Consent may be express (e.g., checking a box to receive marketing emails) or implied (e.g., providing your email address to receive order confirmation).

You may withdraw your consent to any non-essential use at any time by contacting us at somadaoqigong@gmail.com, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice.
Withdrawing consent for essential uses (such as processing your purchase) may prevent us from providing the relevant service.
You may opt out of promotional emails at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any such communication or by contacting us directly.

5. Disclosure of Personal Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We may share your personal information only in the following limited circumstances:

Service providers: We may share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating the Website and delivering our services (for example, email delivery platforms, analytics providers, and payment processors). These providers are required to keep your information confidential and to use it only for the services they perform on our behalf.
Legal requirements: We may disclose your information where required by law, court order, or government authority, or where we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, prevent fraud, or ensure the safety of others.
Business transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change and any new privacy practices that may apply.

6. Cookies and Analytics

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience on the Website. Cookies are small text files placed on your device by a web server.

Essential cookies: Required for the Website to function (e.g., maintaining session state, remembering login). These cannot be disabled without affecting Website functionality.
Analytics cookies: We may use third-party analytics services such as Google Analytics to collect aggregated, anonymized usage data. These services may set their own cookies and are governed by their own privacy policies.
Marketing cookies: If we use any advertising or remarketing tools, these will be disclosed and consent will be obtained separately.

You may disable cookies through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies will affect Website functionality. By continuing to use the Website after being notified of our cookie practices, you consent to our use of cookies as described.

7. Cross-Border Transfers of Personal Information

Some of the third-party service providers we use are located outside of Canada, including in the United States. When your personal information is transferred to, processed in, or stored in another country, it may be subject to the laws of that country, including laws that permit government authorities to access personal information in certain circumstances (such as under the USA PATRIOT Act).

We take reasonable steps to ensure that any service providers handling your personal information outside Canada provide a comparable level of protection. By providing your personal information to us, you consent to its transfer, processing, and storage in other jurisdictions as described.

8. Payment Gateway

When you make a purchase on this Website, you will be directed to www.somadaoqigong.com, which is our associated website operated by the same organization, to complete your transaction. This process is used to ensure the security and integrity of payment handling. No payment card or banking information is stored on shaolin-yijinjing.com. Payment transactions are processed exclusively by Stripe, Inc., which handles all card data in accordance with PCI-DSS security standards. Stripe’s privacy policy, available at stripe.com/privacy, governs how your payment information is collected and used by Stripe.

9. Data Security

We implement reasonable and appropriate security measures, including administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

Despite these measures, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, and we encourage you to take care when submitting personal information online.

10. Retention of Personal Information

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes identified in this Privacy Policy, or as required or permitted by applicable law. When personal information is no longer required, we will securely destroy, delete, or anonymize it.

Purchase records and associated contact information are retained for a minimum of 7 years to satisfy tax and accounting obligations under applicable law.
Marketing contact lists are retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion.
Analytics data in anonymized or aggregated form may be retained indefinitely.

11. Your Rights

Under BC PIPA, you have the following rights with respect to your personal information held by us:

Right of access: You may request access to the personal information we hold about you, subject to limited exceptions permitted by law.
Right to correction: If you believe personal information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you may request that we correct it.
Right to withdraw consent: You may withdraw your consent to non-essential collection or use of your personal information at any time, as described in Section 4.
Right to request deletion: You may request deletion of your personal information where we no longer have a legal basis for retaining it.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Privacy Contact at somadaoqigong@gmail.com. We will respond within 30 business days. We may require you to verify your identity before processing a request.

12. Privacy Complaints

If you have a concern about our privacy practices, we encourage you to contact us first so we can address it directly:

Privacy Contact: Michael Smith
Email: somadaoqigong@gmail.com
Tel: 250-777-1248
Mail: 2–385 Baker St., Nelson, BC V1L 4H6

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to submit a complaint to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia (OIPC BC):

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC
PO Box 9038, Stn. Prov. Govt., Victoria, BC V8W 9A4
Tel: 250-387-5629
Web: www.oipc.bc.ca

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. Any changes will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. Where changes are material, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you by email or by posting a notice on the Website. Your continued use of the Website after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.

14. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Dreaming Elephant Daoist Studies Institute
2–385 Baker St., Nelson, BC V1L 4H6
Tel: 250-777-1248
Email: somadaoqigong@gmail.com
Web: www.shaolin-yijinjing.com