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Chinese Medical Qigong Primer

In the last couple of years, the fitness profession has changed more than at any other time throughout history. All of us, who have chosen exercise as our livelihood, try our best to be ready for these inevitable changes in our industry and stay ahead of the pack. Change is done not only out the boredom of repetitiveness on our part, but also survival of our position or business. The uniqueness of Chinese Medical Qigong will definitely prepare you for the changes in the future of mind/body medicine and the applications to health and wellness professionals.

This article is designed to be a extremely brief introduction of Chinese Medical Qigong which differs from traditional practices of Qigong. Qi means “life energy” and gong means work. Qigong then can be defined as the art of Qi cultivation or life energy work. The first Chinese book detailing chi or Qi is the “I Ching (Book of Changes; 1122 B. C.). Actually, as with many Chinese to American translations, this is loosely defined, as there is no parallel word or concept in English for Qi and rough translations for gong. The study of both systems of QiGong requires patience, time and a lot of effort. This is the also the true meaning of gong as in gong fu, or as we know it here in the West: kung fu.

In a continuum of Qigong practice, the highest level of Qigong is Medical Qigong. Qigong is a combination of self-healing exercise as well as meditation. Medical Qigong is practiced in many hospitals in China and is one of the four main branches in original Chinese Medicine. Acupuncture and herbology are probably the two most well known branches of Chinese medicine followed by Bodywork (such as Tuina) and Qigong. In China, Medical Qigong exercises are given like prescriptions for physical therapy here in the Western world.

Currently, there are over 3,000 styles of QiGong practiced. Such common names are Intelligent QiGong, Crane QiGong, Buddhist Palm Qigong etc, but most of these are health Qigong and not Medical Qigong. The word QiGong is a new term established in the twentieth century, but the actual practice of QiGong dates back almost 10,000 years to its conception. There are two major subsets of QiGong: Dynamic QiGong, or moving QiGong (dong gong); and quiescent QiGong, or meditative QiGong (jing gong). Within the two subsets, there are the three branches of QiGong practice: Medical, Martial (combat oriented) and Spiritual. A further division of Medical Qigong is dynamic Qigong for health. Dynamic Qigong is the focus of this article.

Applications

A dynamic Qigong session can be with an individual client as a means to cope with their stress or as a group of seniors who may want very gentle mind/body exercise. Parts of what I have done with my career in the health and wellness profession is to become a professional speaker. In these lucrative speaking engagements, clientele have been very interested in the way I use Qigong as a stress management tool. I have not only spoken to corporate clients, but have branched into working for the Federal government at such levels as the National Institute's of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Social Security Administration. The portability, simplicity to learn, the unique way that I format and teach this series, and the effectiveness of Qigong exercises is what makes this perspective on stress management so unique and widely appealing.

Unlike Tai-Chi-Chuan, Qigong exercises can be performed sitting, standing or even lying in bed. In addition, the movements are singular in nature and less like a martial arts form or kata. Unlike yoga, postures are not held for a length of time, but continuously move and do not require any props or mats. Additionally because of its slow gentle nature, the senior population who has never exercised before, the obese, or the sickly and frail, all can start Qigong exercises and participate in a full class without having to stop. This ability to complete something with the rest of the class does wonders for the psyche of a client. The exercises when observed from afar do not appear intimidating at all and therefore may attract shy intimidated newcomers to begin exercising. This broad based practice can therefore be applied to a very diverse population with very different needs….the very population that may need exercise and the movement of Qi the most.

The uniqueness of Qigong exercises does not stop there however, but incorporates several other modalities into its exercise structure simultaneously. In Western terms, the Qigong exercises are a combination of continuous static stretching and compound movements stabilizing the core that also combine breath-work, visualization and even sound therapy.

Qigong Physics:

For movement to become therapeutic in nature, one must move in several planes of motion that emulate the bodies natural way of moving. Multiple planes of movement involve greater amounts of neurological signaling and therefore involve more muscle tissue. Medical Qigong exercises uses multiple planes of motion in their forms and movements.

Recently, I attended the Sports Medicine 2000 conference with the theme “ Focus on Function”. It was a wonderful event, well organized and interestingly enough, going back to basics of training people in a closed kinetic chain environment with a primary focus on training the “core”. The core used in sports medicine reference is actually the lower dan tien (3 fingers below the umbilicus rising to the solar plexus) in martial arts, tai-chi-chuan, and gung fu as well as Qigong.

Qigong exercises effectiveness is based on the identical premise that Chinese acupuncture and medicine use in their practice. Each exercise works on a particular meridian or collateral together called jingluo. ‘Jing’ means channel and ‘luo’ (collateral) means to attach like a net. The ‘Jing’ is what a typical acupuncture chart would show and what most people are familiar with when they read Chinese medicine overviews, books on martial art striking points, and all pressure point based therapies (Accupressure and Reflexology). To explain the structure and function of the Jing luo is well beyond the scope of this article, but understand that the jingluo concept is what makes Qigong exercises effective.

For health, its maintenance and sport we use a variety of Qigong positions and movements that stimulate and increase blood and Qi flow to the various meridians and collaterals. The concept is to facilitate the balance of muscle integrity and function between yin and yang. Remember that yin and yang also refer to left and right, proximal and distal, posterior and anterior, lateral and medial, interior and exterior.

When yin and yang are balanced, the body can work optimally in activity or sport (even if that sport is full contact gardening) and the efficiency of that sport can improve.

Getting Started:

There is not a traditional warm-up in the sense of western-based exercise because each movement is very slow and deliberate, gently warming the exercised area. The only warm-up we do is to center the mind through breathing techniques before beginning our exercises to have a fruitful practice. Many clients of mine then use this technique throughout their day at work or at home when they become “overwhelmed” or stressed to counteract the fight or flight response.

All complete dynamic Qigong sessions have at least five different exercises to correspond to the five yin organs. The order of Qigong exercises is not important as long as all five-yin organs are worked in the same session. The five yin organs of Chinese medicine are the Kidneys, Liver, Spleen, Heart and Lungs. In Chinese medicine, when the five yin organs are equally strong, balanced and toned, then one can enjoy robust health and longevity. Once the five yin organs are exercised, one should “blend” together the energy so that one organ is not stronger than another is. This is accomplished by performing a Qigong exercise that does not pertain to one particular organ, but works on the natural Qi flow of the body. Like rivers in the Earth, Qi has certain pathways that it follows when one is healthy. We try to emulate this natural pathway upon closing our Qigong session and bring our body back to the very center from which we started.

The breath work involved in Qigong exercise is a critical component in making the exercises effective. Breathing efficiently begins with diaphragmatic breathing, when to breathe, as well as how (visually) to move the breath through the various channels. This sequence is the internal alchemy of Qigong exercise success. This breath work and visualization is key to stress reduction in that it occupies the mind so intensely that it overshadows the days problems.

Qigong exercises are one of the most powerful and integrated therapies man has yet devised for his own health and well-being. It does not take any equipment, is portable and can be performed anywhere. What a marvelous breakthrough for Western science to discover the ancient art of Qigong!