Qigong

Qigong is an incredibly old practice from China that encompasses a wide-ranging holistic approach to health, although others have suggested that it has much more modern roots. According to some sources, a man named Liu Guizhen may have been instrumental in the popularization of the method in the 1950s. Legend says that he was suffering from chronic tuberculosis and was at the brink of death. After about a hundred days of practicing Qigong exercises, which he had learned from his uncle, qigong pioneer Liu Duzhou, Liu Guizhen made a miraculous recovery.

After this, qigong began to be slowly accepted by the Maoist Chinese government. Things took a drastic turn during the Cultural Revolution in 1966. In an effort to modernize the nation of China, the government rejected many traditional practices, qigong included, and Liu Zuizhen was imprisoned. He never wavered in his belief in the system and after his release in the early-1980s, he continued to teach and study his practice. Since then, its popularity has grown steadily over the years.

Qigong is said to have three broad categories: martial, spiritual, and medical. Each has a different focus.

Martial qigong looks to improve our physical strength. Many might view this practice as being similar to kung fu as practitioners attempt to focus qi / chi into their body and use it to complete seemingly impossible tasks such as breaking bricks or withstanding intensely painful attacks without injury.

The spiritual type can be seen as similar to Buddhism or Taoism. The primary focus is on meditation, mantras, and prayers in an attempt to achieve spiritual enlightenment. Practitioners learn to find a deep connection to nature and have a high level of self-awareness and inner-tranquility.

Internal can be easily called individual instead. The main aim is on the development of one’s emotional, physical, and spiritual self through the practice of the philosophies. Practitioners are encouraged to stick to a healthy diet, practice the breathing and exercise routines, and meditation techniques in the aim of self-healing (and prevention of illness.) There is a particular focus on posture and core strength.

External Qigong is when a healer uses their own qi / chi to help heal another person’s ailments. Basically, it’s a form of energy healing. Those who have gained a mastery of controlling qi can thus focus it to help others. This can be done in a variety of ways.

First is an energy massage where the healer uses their hands to physically touch the patient at various acupoints and areas where meridians meet to help facilitate the flow of energy throughout the body.

Another method is using various pointed tools, acupuncture needles, herbs, or even water can be charged with qi / chi and then used to heal patients either as medicine or crystal healing.

Healers don’t necessarily need to make physical contact with the patient to heal them. Instead of massage, a healer can hold their hands a few inches above the patient’s body and move the energy in this way.

Another method is to use distance healing. This is where a healer focuses on a patient that can be very far away and uses energy to help them heal. Distance healing can be viewed as a method very similar to prayer.

Qigong has not had a ton of scientific studies yet, unlike its cousin Tai Chi. There are a few possible reasons for this. First off, Tai Chi is much more widely accepted, especially as a form of exercise. There have been numerous studies which show that Tai Chi can be moderately helpful in any number of ailments. It also seems as if Tai Chi lacks the energy healing component that might be labeled as a pseudoscience.

Qigong is also practiced by a few different offshoot religious groups, which some may even label as cults, such as Falun Gong. This group in particular has been denounced and also persecuted by China.

A lot of the positive benefits are merely anecdotal, however, there are some positive aspects that can be easily argued. For one, it is claimed that qigong increases circulation, helps with flexibility of joints, and helps tone the muscles. Considering that light exercise and stretching is a significant part of the practice, it is intuitive that this would be a result.

There have been some studies showing that Qigong can have a significantly positive effect on chronic neck pain. However, this effect was shown to be similar to other forms of exercise therapies. Both were shown as being more effective than nothing.

Another study, though, showed the qigong does not help with neck pain. Another study suggested that qigong may help improve sleep, overall functioning and reduce pain in people suffering from fibromyalgia.

Other studies have suggested that it may help with some bone issues.