Qigong:
Qi(Chi) = Energy
Gong(Kung) = Skill
Qigong Is A Self-Healing Art That Combines Movement And Meditation.
Regular Practice Of Qigong Can:
- Prevent and treat illness
- Reduce stress
- Establish balance
- Integrate mind/body/spirit
- Bring peace
Qigong has a history of at least 3,000 years in China. It is believed that Qigong was gradually developed through the struggle for survival in ancient China. People found that certain body movements along with various ways of breathing and mental concentration, could greatly improve some body functions. These techniques and knowledge were further refined over time and passed down through generations. Qigong is considered the base of martial arts. Many quite different forms of Qigong were established over the long history of Qigong.
Chinese medicine is traditionally based on the theory of Yin and Yang. Chinese think everything consists the yin and the yang. Such as for human being, female is the yin and male is the yang. Human body is also governed by the yin and the yang. The yin and the yang, are in constant evolution and revolution, and interaction between them. Disease and illness are the direct cause of the imbalance between the yin and the yang. Qigong is the natural method to control and adjust one's yin and yang to achieve the balance of them, so it optimizes the body's ability to use the most of latent energy within the human body and to guard any invasion of disease or illness.
The body is the basis of life and is dependent on the Qi and the mind. If the body is not correct, then the Qi does not circulate smoothly. And if the Qi does not circulate smoothly, then the mind is not at peace. When practicing Qigong, it is necessary to maintain the correctness of the body and to meet the requirements for posture so that one may practice Qigong well.
The Following Information Is From:
Qigong Master Ernie Fukumoto
626-833-1935
Qi = Energy
Gong = Working With, Study Of, Control Of:
Qigong: The Broad Definition
Albert Einstein, in 1905, published his "Theory of Relativity" and "How mass and energy are equivalent." The study of "Qi" includes the study, the working with, the control of "Energy", which includes "MASS." That is say Qigong, from a broad and wide perspective, includes the study of everything universal, and indeed it would be futile to attemp any definition that would be universal. Albert Einstein also wrote: "it would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sence; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure." Therefore, for the purpose of this discussion, I will stay within a very narrow definition of Qigong.
A Narrow Definition Of Qigong: For Health And Longevity
Qi is your life energy force. Qi represents the most powerful ingredient or mechanismthat works to help your body heal itself. Qi permeates your entire body. Every cell in your body is like a mini- battery cell filled with Qi. The maintenance, strength and control (gong) of your Qi leads to a long and healthy life.
Gong = Learning, Working With, Control And Mastering.
Gong refers to the process of learning how to control your Qi. Your brain is the most powerful computer in existence. In order to control your Qi, you must learn how to consciously harness this most powerful computer. Your subconscious brain is in constant communication with your entire body. Your subconscious brain processes information thousands of times faster than your conscious brain. Students of Qigong believe that it is advisable to study the principles of Qigong for health and longevity and for harnessing a person's most powerful self-healing capability.
If you still think that the rat race is the only way to experience life, then life has no choice but to show you otherwise through the pain of body.
If you are only aware of body and mind for identification then the eventual loss of the use of body will be almost tantamount to the death of essence (you).
If your health is not in good shape, suffering from an 'incurable' illness by conventional medicines and you are seeking alternative ancient medical wisdom from China, you've come to the right place!
Qigong Has Four Major Areas Of Application:
- Healing Qigong (Yi Gong) Healing Qigong (sometimes translated "Medical Qigong") is the preventive and self-healing aspect of Chinese medicine. We are all exposed to stress. Qigong teaches us how to control our reactions to stress so that life events do not cause such symptoms as high blood pressure, frustration, or anxiety. Healthy people practice qigong to become super-healthy. Healers use qigong to prevent "healer burn-out" and to maintain a positive presence.
- External Qi Healing (Wai Qi Zhi Liao) Qigong includes a sophisticated system of health assessment and non-contact treatment called External Qi Healing (EQH). The healer learns to tap into a well of healing energy in nature and "funnel" it through his or her body. Unlike some purely intuitive systems, EQH includes exercises that increase sensitivity to energy fields and efficacy of treatment. The more you practice External Qi Healing exercises and meditations, the more effective your healing treatment. External Qi Healing techniques may be used as a stand alone form of wellness treatment or may be combined with Massage, Acupuncture, Therapeutic Touch, Osteopathy, or any other form of body-work. Because treatment is generally performed at a distance from the body, EQH does not violate psychotherapists' professional ethics (which do not allow touching the patient) and is thus an ideal adjunct to body-centered psychotherapy.
- Sports Qigong (Wu Gong) In sports and martial arts, qigong is the key to strength, stamina, coordination, speed, flexibility, balance, and resistance to injury. Qigong exercises can improve performance in any sport, improving the golf drive, tackling ability in football, accuracy in tennis, and stamina in swimming.
- Spiritual Qigong (Fo Gong, Tao Gong) As a spiritual discipline, qigong leads to self-awareness, tranquility, and harmony with nature. The spiritual aspect of qigong evolved from Taoism and Buddhism. However, this practice can be based in your own religion.
Lesser Known Categories
- Art Qigong In the arts, qigong leads to aesthetic sensitivity. Nature uses our eyes to see herself. The qigong practitioner feels such oneness with nature that he or she feels as though the beautiful pine tree is expressing itself through the brush or poem. Students of theater, mime, and other expressive arts practice qigong to increase confidence, physical and emotional control, and expressive ability.
- Business Qigong In the business world, qigong can lead to greater integrity, defined by brilliant Law Professor Julian Gresser as, "...a sense of connectedness, coherence, wholeness, and vitality. Integrity is the capacity of every living thing to hold its own in the face of entropy, disorder, and uncertainty, its link to the living world, its ability to carry on its life, however humble." Qigong practitioners are more resistant to stress; make better decisions; encourage credibility, confidence and team spirit; and are far more efficient. Most importantly, qigong is the ideal therapy for "hurry sickness"-- the habitual sense of time urgency-- a major risk factor for heart disease and accelerated aging.
Who Can Benefit?
Because qigong includes either dynamic and gentle techniques that can be practiced from standing, seated, or supine postures, it is suitable for young and old. Practices can be tailored to individual needs making it an ideal aid to recovery from illness or injury. Qigong is a form of complementary medicine. It works well with other forms of therapy and should never be used as a substitute for necessary treatment by a physician.
Is Qigong Scientific?
Both China and the U.S. have hosted conferences for academic exchange of qigong research. Qigong has been shown to improve posture and respiration, induce the relaxation response, cause favorable changes in blood chemistry, and improve self-awareness and concentration.
Research suggests that Qigong may be beneficial for Asthma, Arthritis, Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Headaches, Pain, and a wide variety of common ailments. External Qi Healing is effective for the same range of illnesses as acupuncture plus Qigong increases your energy level.
- Qigong therapy: (buqi, buqi therapy, external qigong, external Qigong healing, external Qi healing, medical Qigong, Qi An Mo, Qigong healing, Qi healing, Qi Massage, wai Qi liao fa, Wai Qi Zhi Liao): 1. Purported medical application of short-distance psycho kinesis. Qigong therapy is comparable to Non-Contact Therapeutic Touch. At most, it includes light touching. Its theory posits "healing Qi" and "diseased Qi." ("Buqi" means "spreading the Qi." "Wai Qi" means "external Qi" and refers to an alleged "shield" of chi at the surface of the body. "Wai Qi liao fa" means "curing with external Qi.") 2. Subject of Qigong Therapy and How to Use It (East And West Publications, Ltd.), by Linhai; a combination of "acupointing," "chiropractics," massage, physical therapy, Tuina, and "qi transmission."
- Medical Qigong: (Chi Kung) Therapy is a form of Chinese Energetic Medicine, and is one of the four foundational schools of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Qi in this context is translated to mean "Life Force Energy" and Gong is translated to mean "Acquired Skill." Medical Qigong therapy and prescriptions combine the use of breath work with individual physical movements, creative visualization, and perceptual intention. The primary goal is to purge toxic emotions from within the body's tissues, eliminate energetic stagnation's, as well as strengthen and balance the internal organs and energetic fields. International Institute of Medical QiGong
- External Qi Healing (or Waiqi Liaofa): An External Qi Healer uses gentle touch or non-contact treatment to reach the client's life energy (qi) and bring it to balance. It is different from western Therapeutic Touch in that it includes a sophisticated method of health assessment and a systematic training for the healer to increase the effectiveness of his or her treatment.
- External Qi Healing: (EQH) is valuable for health-care providers or anyone who wishes to deepen his or her understanding of healing energy and its effect on others. Scientific research has demonstrated that EQH is not dependent on the client's belief system or cultural bias; it is effective in vitro and in laboratory animals. Patients treated by EQH have less frequency of recurrence of disease than those treated by acupuncture. Yet, the system is easy for a Westerner to learn as it does not require knowledge of Chinese medicine.
The Qualities Of Qi In Meridian Diagnosis
One of the earliest known methods of diagnosis in Chinese medicine was reading the flow of Qi through the meridians and organs. This was done be sensing the energy flow with the hands, fingers, and eyes. This is still a major technique, and can be accomplished by holding a meridian end point at a given subject's finger or toe, and passing the free hand over the path of the meridian and the corresponding organ.
Any changes in the Qi flow indicate an imbalance in relation to the anatomic position where the change occurred, or in the organ. Some practitioners hold the right finger or toe of a female and the left hand or toe of the male. There are also practitioners who treat using methods similar to diagnosis with External Qi Gong.
The following qualities of Qi can be felt by the hands only with a little practice. The "feel" can then be translated into a communicable system which describes the condition of the individual areas. The following represents some of the information presented in an excellent class on Tui Na taught by Sifu Carl Totten at the Taoist Institute in North Hollywood, California. Many of these qualities of Qi listed below include the associated pathology to which they correspond. Many do not. For those that do not, we'll let you decide what they mean.
The Following Is An Excerpt From Al Stone, L.Ac.
- Heat: From warm to hot, the knowledge of heat measures yang.
- Cold: From cool to cold, the knowledge of cold measures yin.
- Attracting-Magnetic-Pulling: When one senses that the energy is being drawn from one's hand into the subject's body, the following possibilities are indicated: The attracting field is the result of an energy deficiency which is draining energy from its surroundings in order to maintain balance. The attracting field is overly strong, and it is draining energy from its surroundings. The examiner's personal energy is not centered or in balance, and, as a result, their energy is being drawn off. The examiner should then center their own energy.
- Repulsing-Pushing Away: The subject's aura (external yang field) has been emotionally triggered by the presence of the examiner, and is pushing away. This could be indicative of a psychological disturbance, so as to suggest that the patient's body or mind does not want the examiner's hand or person close by. Internal energy from internal disturbance is affecting the external aura.
- Recoiling: Injured, or alarmed, sensitive. The energy withdraws and tightens, then relaxes and approaches.
- Tingling, electric: This indicates the intensity of both yin and yang.
- Hot: With widely dispersed tingles indicates irritation. With tingles close together indicates pain. This energy should be approached carefully from a distance in that it could prove painful for the examiner to feel it in the hands. If the energy should flare into the hands, the examiner should relax their muscles and breathe the energy into the ground. They should make no resistance to the passage of the energy. This is the energy of excess.
- Cold: This indicates what is lacking, and its pain is the sharpest.
- Smooth: Its flow is smooth on the surface, and on the interior.
- Rough: Its flow is rough, irregular. It is rough on the surface and on the interior. Rough is insufficient, breaking up, diminishing.
- Steady: Without variation.
- Thick: Having density.
- Thin: Having little substance or reserve.
- Solid: No variation in density.
- Hollow: Having the external appearance without the internal substance.
- Slow: A diminished energy unless it is normal for the subject.
- Fast: Usually indicating that which is excited, unstable, or out of control. To be fast is to burn up quickly.
- Weak: Almost empty.
- Strong: Enduring solidity.
- Loose: Unattached, unstable.
- Tight: Restricted, taut, as in strangled.
- Sluggish: A normal energy which is slow. The beginning of disharmony.
Qigong Information: Qigong Institute
Qigong Information: American Qigong Association
Qigong Information: Qigong Contacts
Qigong Information: National Qigong Association
Qigong Information: Ernie Fukumoto - Qigong Master
Qigong Information: Bladder Cancer Cured In Minutes
Qigong Information: Natural News 2/15/2010 - Energy Healing: Take Control Of Your Chi Energy With Qigong (Chi-Gong)
Qigong Information: Natural News 4/29/2012 - Electromagnetic Hygiene - Can Qi Really Help Us Be Healthier?
Qigong Information: Dr. Mercola 2/26/2011 - "Chinese Secret" Lowered Blood Pressure in 85% of Trials
Qigong Information: Lisa B. O'Shea 1/1/2007 - Qigong And High Blood Pressure - Part I
Qigong Information: Lisa B. O'Shea 2/1/2007 - Qigong And High Blood Pressure - Part II
