What is Qi Gong?
Qi Gong
The Art of Healing Energy
The Golden Elixir of Health and Longevity ~ Wei Bo-yang
Qi Gong is an ancient and evolving practice that is a way to prevent disease and improve health. It is the art and science of refining and cultivating one’s internal energy or “qi” – the universal “life force”, based on the common principles of balance, relaxation and good posture. It is also a meditative practice which uses slow graceful movements and controlled breathing techniques to promote the circulation of energy within the body to enhance overall health.
Qi is the Asian word for “life energy” and Gong means “work” or “the benefits acquired through perseverance and practice.” Thus, Qigong is working with the “life force”, learning how to control the flow and distribution of “qi” to improve the health and harmony of mind and body.
According to Asian medicine, health means we must have a full and flowing supply of “qi”. We can regard the body as a battery that can lose, maintain, or increase its charge. Stress, worry and poor health habits dissipate our “life force”. The practice of qigong can fully “charge” the body, increasing the reservoir of healing energy. This means greater vitality and an improved ability to fight off disease and infection.
The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine compiled in the first and second centuries, B.C. states: “the wise physician cures diseases before they develop, rather than after they manifest”.
The Traditional Methods of Qi Gong
Qigong techniques are divided into two general categories: dynamic or active qigong (dong gong – or medical qigong) the more action oriented exercise with movement and the more passive or tranquil qigong (jing gong – meditative qigong) where the body is still and the qi is controlled by mental concentration, visualization and precise methods of breathing. It is of utmost importance to balance both energies in the body, thus meditative qigong is always practiced as a complement to medical qigong.
The Discipline and Method
Qi Gong is comprised of exercises that includes healing postures, movement, self-massage, controlled breathing techniques and meditation. Most of today’s qigong exercises are sets of linked postures, each flowing into the next as a beautiful slow motion dancer, inspired by ancient ritual dances designed to alter consciousness.
Through these practices, qi is accumulated and stored in the body and impure or polluted qi – the essence of disease- can be cleansed and refined into pure healing qi. Qigong includes standing, seated and supine methods and with only slight adjustments in technique, it’s possible to practice the standing exercises from a seated or lying down position. This makes qigong an ideal exercise for the disabled.
The qigong student also cultivates the innate natural skills of balance, suppleness, grace and strength and needs to practice daily for a period of twenty to forty minutes
The Results
When qi is stagnant, (as in muscles spasms or painful areas) like stagnant water, disease can breed. When qi doesn’t flow throughout the body, certain areas of the body have too much energy and other areas are depleted, with too little energy. Pain is felt when one of these elements is either deficient or excessive. Qigong practice, through the use of physical movements, breathing techniques and intent of mind – moves the qi to flow properly throughout the body sending it to distressed areas so the body can repair itself more quickly and easily.