Qigong, chi kung, or chi gung (气功 or 氣功) (pronounced "chee-gung") is a practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation.[1] With roots in Chinese medicine, martial arts, and philosophy, qigong is traditionally viewed as a practice to cultivate and balance qi (chi) or what has been translated as "intrinsic life energy".[2Typically a qigong practice involves rhythmic breathing coordinated with slow stylized repetition of fluid movement and a calm mindful state.
Qi (or chi) is usually translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow, and definitions often involve breath, air, gas, or relationship between matter, energy, and spirit.[6] Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts. Gong (or kung) is often translated as work or practice, and definitions include skill, mastery, merit, achievement, service, result, or accomplishment, and is often used to mean gongfu (kung fu) in the traditional sense of achievement through great effort.
The two words are combined to describe systems to cultivate and balance life energy, especially for health.
Through the forces of migration of the Chinese diaspora, tourism in China, and globalization, the practice of qigong has spread from the Chinese community to the world. Today, millions of people around the world practice qigong and believe in the benefits of qigong to varying degrees. Similar to its historical origin, those interested in qigong come from diverse backgrounds and practice it for different reasons, including for exercise, preventive medicine, self-healing, self-cultivation, meditation, and martial arts training.
SOURCE:http://nqa.org/resources/what-is-qigong/
HISTORY OF QIGONG
With roots in ancient Chinese culture dating back more than 4,000 years, a wide variety of qigong forms have developed within different segments of Chinese society:[10] in traditional Chinese medicine for preventive and curative functions,[11] in Confucianism to promote longevity and improve moral character,[1] in Taoism and Buddhism as part of meditative practice,[5] and in Chinese martial arts to enhance fighting abilities.[8][12] Contemporary qigong blends diverse and sometimes disparate traditions, in particular the Taoist meditative practice of "internal alchemy" (Neidan 內丹术), the ancient meditative practices of "circulating qi" (Xing qi 行氣) and "standing meditation" (Zhan zhuang 站桩), and the slow gymnastic breathing exercise of "guiding and pulling" (Tao yin 導引). Traditionally, knowledge about qigong was passed from adept master to student in elite unbroken lineages, typically with secretive and esoteric traditions of training and oral-mind transmission.[13]
Starting in the 1940s and the 1950s, the Chinese government tried to integrate disparate qigong approaches into one coherent system, with the intention of establishing a firm scientific basis for qigong practice, and as part of the political philosophy of the Great Leap Forward (1958–1963) and the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). This attempt is considered by some sinologists as the start of the modern or scientific interpretation of qigong.[14][15][16] Along with t'ai chi, qigong was popularized as daily morning exercise practiced en masse throughout China.
WHAT IS MEDICAL QIGONG?
Medical Qigong is an ancient form of Chinese energetic medicine, and is one of the four main branches of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), along with acupuncture, herbal medicine, and medical massage. As with the other "Branches" of TCM, healing occurs through balancing qi or electromagnetic energy which surrounds and pervades all living creatures.
Acupuncture points
Concentrations of the body’s energy can be found along channels’.
Disruptions in the electromagnetic energy of the body occur throughout our lifetime as a result of poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, injuries, surgery, suppression of emotions, and aging.
The goal of qigong is to correct these bio-energetic imbalances and blockages. This enables the body to strengthen and regulate the internal organs, the nervous system and the immune system, relieve pain, regulate hormones, and strengthen and release deep-seated emotions and stress.
Medical qigong therapy consists of treatment by a practitioner to regulate the client's qi. After the treatment the client will be given qigong prescriptions to assist in their ongoing healing. Tailored specifically to the clientmedical qigong exercises use physical movement, breathing methods and mental intention to correct and restore the function in the body.
Medical qigong is a complete system of health care that recognizes the root causes of symptoms or disease, and treats the client as a whole. Practiced as an excellent adjunct to Western medicine, Chinese medicine may successfully treat people with conditions which Western medicine finds resistant or ambiguous.
In China and more recently in the United States, doctors have applied qigong in hospitals and clinics to treat individuals suffering from a variety of ailments. Medical qigong therapy and prescriptions can be used to treat people with cancer and help reduce or eliminate side effects from radiation and chemotherapy. It will help in treating cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease and post-stroke syndrome. It is especially useful in treating any kind of chronic pain, and chronic disorders of the digestive, respiratory, cardiovascular and nervous systems.
Like any other system of health care, qigong is not a panacea but a highly effective health care practice. Many health care professionals recommend qigong as an important form of complementary and alternative medicine.
In practicing complementary and alternative medicine please seek the care of your existing physician, therapist, or acupuncturist.
HOW DOES MEDICAL QI GONG WORK? Most medical Qi Gong practioners will project their Qi (life force, energy, electricity, frequency - all referring to the same thing) from their hands. It is not randomly moving the hands around the body; the Qi is directed to the Chinese Meridians and acupuncture points. The network of meridians being a mapped out group of electrical (energetic, frequencies) that travel throughout the body, the meridians are connected with the tissues, organs and emotions. They influence the human physiology, pathology, prevention and treatment of disease. Just like a T.V. remote control, you can experience the results on the screen from which ever button you're pressing with no visuals between the remote and T.V.
SOURCE: DAVID GOLDNER
Photo credit: Rose Veith
To the left we are using medical qigong on a horse that is blind. Her sensitivity is heightened as her eyesight is lost as a sense. Running my hand more than 6 inches away from a meridian on her body, each muscle twinges without even touching the skin!
Centers for Animal Therapies/C.A.T., LLC E-mail:jo@cat-edu.com No Portion Of This Website May Be Reproduced Without Permission.
