Qigong for Optimum Health

The word Qigong is a new term established in the 1950’s by Dr. Guizheng Liu who founded the Beidaihe Quigong Institute in 1956. The actual practice of Qigong dates back to at least 5000 years to its conception under different names.

The work Qigong (pronounced chi gung) is composed of two concepts: Qi means air, breath of life, or vital energy of the body, and gong means the skill of working with, or time for cultivating, self-discipline and achievement or mastery.

The word Qi originated from ancient Chinese philosophy, which holds that the Qi is the foundational substance of the universe, and all the phenomena are produced by the changes and movement of Qi. In ancient China, Qi was thought to be the basic elements of the entire universe.

Although the word Qigong was first used by a Chinese Daoist monk in 300 BC, the word was not mentioned again until the early 19th century in a chapter called Qigong Supplementary of a book titled Yuan He Pin. Special Therapy for Tuberculosis – Qigong Therapy, written by Donghao. It was in the 1950s when Liu Guizeng wrote and published a book called Practice in Qigong Therapy that Qigong was given a full explanation and recognized as a formal name instead of various terms.

In Practice in Qigong Therapy, Qi was identified as breath, while gong means “continuous regulation of breathing and postures.” In light of medical knowledge, different styles of Qigong exercise have been created and studied, and the efficacy in curing diseases and preservation of health proven. Qigong therapy has become more widely accepted and has enjoyed popularity throughout the country.

The distinctive features of Qigong are the following:

Qigong is an exercise based upon the ancient Chinese philosophy of at least two aspects. One is that the framework of Qigong originated from philosophy, rather than different schools of religion. Secondly, the methodology on Qigong is different from modern science on which the biomedical model is still based.

Qigong is characterized by its unique method mainly based on a triple coordination of body, breath, and mind activity, all of which the orderly training of mental activity is the core part assisted by the body adjustment and breathing exercises.

The aim of Qigong practice is the optimal state and waking up the potential abilities of human beings. The optimal state is defined as the “pre-natal” state.

In ancient China, Qigong masters divided the mind into two different types: the post-natal mind and the pre-natal spirit. The characteristics of the post-birth mind are extroverted, scattered, and disordered. The prenatal spirit, on the other hand, is highly ordered and harmonized to keep our life process in a homeostatic condition.

The mind regulation of the Qigong practitioner involves the procedural training from the post-birth mind to the prenatal spirit by slightly concentrating within, or upon a single object, proceeding from the many to the one. As the prenatal mind is awoken, the prenatal Qi would be cultivated, bringing about an optimal state. Practitioners can use this state for different purposes, including maintaining health, treating illness, and promoting vitality and spiritual awareness and insight.

(Summarized from POSITIVE HEALTH (Portsmouth, England) Issue 114. Aug, 2005, pp42-45. Article by: Dr. Lianting Zhao, Copyright© 2005 Positive Health. )