Qigong (pronounced chee-kung), the mother of Tai Chi, is a 5 to 10,000 year old Chinese system of cultivating and harmonizing body, mind, heart, and spirit for optimal functioning, longevity, and embodied wisdom. Primary practices of Qigong include gentle movement, breath, self-massage, meditation, and sound—cultivated with intentional purpose. Over 200 million people around the world practice Qigong daily, and it has been refined by masters over thousands of years.
While Qi is a “resource so essential that it is impossible to define,” it refers to essential life force, energy, and consciousness. ‘Gong’ means “cultivation and its benefits.” Qigong, is therefore the cultivation of essential life energy and consciousness, through unifying body, mind, feelings and spirit.
Qigong is based on the skill of adjusting and mastering body, breath, feelings, mind, and spirit into an integrated state of harmonious unity—of oneness. This unified state is what distinguishes it from ordinary physical exercise. As a scientific discipline it incorporates physical, mental, and spirtual training/exercise, thus Qigong belongs to physiology, psychology, and spirituality.
Qigong is not a religion, rather it is a body-mind-heart-spirit ‘medicine’. While Qigong does not at all require a spiritual practice, it is an exceptionally powerful means for supporting and enhancing spiritual practice. Over 200 million people of all faiths around the world practice Qigong and/or Tai Chi on a daily basis.
Benefits of Qigong Practice (evidenced by medical science)
- Slows or reverses a wide range of diseases and illness, including chronic progressive diseases such as: diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, heart disease, asthma, Parkinsons, PTSD and ADHD.
- Provides natural pain relief of all sorts
- Strengthens immune, nervous, circulatory, hormonal, lymph, digestive, and other physiological systems
- Improves physical and mental performance
- Increases energy and deepens relaxation
- Increases resilience
- Reduces stress, anxiety, and depression
- Creates emotional balance, stability, and sense of well-being
- Coordinates right/left brain hemisphere dominance promoting deep sleep, reduced anxiety and mental clarity
- Deepens and enhances other body-mind-spirit practice
- Deepens mindfulness, meditation and everyday enjoyment of living
Wisdom Healing Qigong (Zhineng (Tszu-nen) Qigong)
Wisdom Healing Qigong is one of the primary forms of Qigong offered by Deep Spring Wellness.
Wisdom Healing Qigong was developed by Dr. Ming Pang, a Qigong Grandmaster trained in both Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. Dr Pang trained under 19 Grandmasters, was a reknowned martial artist and author of 10 books on Qigong. He synthesized his profound and extensive medical knowledge of traditional and modern healing sciences with the ancient Qigong practice. The result is an integrative system of self-healing and cultivation that has proven highly effective for our postmodern world.
Qigong Medical Science and Research in China
Among the many styles of Qigong, Zhineng Qigong, known as Wisdom Healing™ Qigong or ChiLel™ in the West, is one of the most powerful. Translated literally, Zhineng Qigong means “Cultivating Wisdom Energy Ability.”
In 1997, after 6 years of comprehensive study of the many forms of Qigong in China, the Chinese government awarded Wisdom Healing (Zhineng) Qigong to be the “most health enhancing form of Qigong” – a most meaningfull and prestigious award, given that there are many thousands of Qigong forms.
In the 1980’s Grandmaster Dr. Pang founded the world’s largest “medicine-less” hospital known as “Huaxia Zhineng Qigong Training and Recovery Center.” Through enormous scientific research (3000 research papers were published during the 90’s), and more than 20 years of experimenting with Qigong healing, Wisdom Healing Qigong has developed into a comprehensive scientific system of holistic health and healing.
Medical professionals using standard Western medical diagnostic methods initially diagnosed patients admitted to the medicineless hospital. Patients were then assigned to Qigong teachers for a 24-day period of daily practice. At the end of their stay, patients were given an outpatient battery of standard Western medical diagnostic tests, to determine the degree of change and healing. Diseases treated included cancer, diabetes, arthritus, paralysis, heart disease, systemic lupus, auto-immune, and many other chronic conditions. Over 200,000 people were treated for over 185 diseases with a 95% effective improvement and 33% cure rate — using only (Zhineng) Wisdom Healing Qigong. These results are especially impressive as the majority of patients were in late stages of chronic disease, which are very unlikely to reverse.
The book, “101 Miracles of Natural Healing”, by Luke Chan documents 101 of these healing stories, with the words and photos of some of those who were healed.
Additional research from China can be found in the recently published book, “Chinese Medical Qigong” now in its third edition and first English edition. This 650 page definitive work is a standard and essential textbook for medical students and healthcare professionals working in complimentary and alternative therapies, as well as those seeking a better understanding of the beneficial medical applications of Qigong.
Medical Science and Research in the West*
In recent decades there has been a dramatic expansion of scientific research of the benefits of Qigong, including the following research studies:
- A Comprehensive Review of Health Benefits of Qigong and Tai Chi
- Randomized Control Trials Testing the Benefits of Qigong and Tai Chi
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Research Position of the Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi
- National Council on Aging (NCOA), University of Illinois and IIQTC Research Collaboration
- Institute for Integral Qigong Institute Current Research Project
- Qigong and Tai Chi: Traditional Chinese Health Promotion Practices in the Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Disease
- Amazing 21st Century Breakthrough
Table of Qigong and Tai Chi Literature Reviews Since 1992 - *All above citations are available through: http://www.instituteofintegralqigongandtaichi.org/qigong_tai_chi_research/
