Even though Qigong has a history of 1000’s of years, it’s still relatively unheard of here in the West, let me give you an example of this:
I recently asked a room with over 100 people in (from various backgrounds) to raise their hands if they’d heard of yoga. Everyone present raised their hand.
Next I asked them to raise their hands if they’d heard of Tai Chi – nearly everybody raised their hands.
Finally I asked them to raise their hands if they’d heard of Qigong – only 4 raised their hands.
So don’t worry if like the vast majority of people in the West– you currently know very little about Qigong, because you’re in the right place.
To get a better idea of what Qigong is, let’s start by splitting the word in two:
- Qi – Meaning Energy.
- Qong – Meaning work.
So we can literally translate Qigong to mean ‘Energy Work’. Or to put it another way Qigong is the art of deliberately managing your vital energy.
Now you’re probably wondering what Vital energy is. It’s the force that keeps you and me alive and all the systems of our body functioning.
So what does Qigong look like? Qigong usually combines gentle external movements, co-ordinated with the breathing, performed in a meditive state of mind. I say ‘usually’ because with a history of over 5000 years, it’s understandable that there are many different schools and styles of Qigong. You could think of it as a very short Tai Chi set.
Here’s another important fact to bear in mind when looking at what Qigong is:
The forte of Qigong is 2 fold:
- It removes blockages to the harmonious flow of energy through the ‘energy streams’ or meridians of your body thus restoring Yin Yang Harmony. Whether these blockages are physical, emotional, mental or spiritual in origin makes little difference to the effectiveness of Qigong.
- Once energy blockages are removed, Qigong can then increase the flow of energy through the meridians promoting vitality and longevity.
Don’t worry too much about those terms – I’ll explain them in more detail in the next post.
There are 5 main reasons why people choose to practice Qigong:
- Health and Vitality
- Longevity
- Internal Force (thing of this as abundant energy)
- Mental Clarity
- Spiritual Cultivation
Qigong is the oldest of the 5 main branches of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It requires zero athleticism or investment in equipment. It is easier to learn than Tai Chi and less strenuous than Yoga.
If you have 10-15 minutes a day you can practice this ancient energy art.
And in case you were wondering. Qigong and Chi Kung are just different spellings of the same thing.
I’ve got more videos coming up that will explain what Qigong is, how it works etc, so keep watching.
Bye for now!
Please note: There’s nothing to buy here. Qigong15 is dedicated to the spread of mumbo-jumbo free information on all aspects of Qigong. It’s aim is to make Qigong as popular and as well known as Tai Chi and Yoga.