Category: Qigong

Qigong (also written as chi kung) practiced correctly — as qigong, not qigong form — offers remarkable benefits for physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. But it has two genuine flaws that any honest guide to the practice has to acknowledge. Here they are.

Flaw 1: It Takes Time

Much of what’s written about qigong online is sensational. You could easily come away thinking it’s a 30-day miracle cure. The claims aren’t necessarily wrong — but the timeline is.

For long-term, deep-rooted illness or disease, expect to practice daily — ideally twice daily — for around four to six months before noticing significant improvement. That’s the honest timeframe for serious conditions.

The shorter-term picture is more encouraging: practiced correctly, most people feel relaxed, energised, and genuinely better immediately after a session. But session-by-session improvement is different from lasting change to underlying health. The latter takes consistent, correct practice over time.

Flaw 2: You Have to Do the Work

A teacher can point the way. The practice itself cannot be done for you.

Compared to the demands of learning Tai Chi Chuan or Shaolin Kung Fu, qigong is genuinely simple — fewer movements, simpler theory, shorter sessions. But it still requires the discipline to practice every single day. Reading about qigong, watching videos, buying courses — none of it benefits you unless you actually practice. As the tradition puts it: we don’t learn qigong, we practice qigong.

This is a particular challenge in a culture that tends to outsource health to external solutions. Qigong puts the responsibility back where it belongs — with the practitioner. For some people that’s liberating. For others it’s genuinely difficult. Either way, it’s the reality.

If building a consistent practice is something you struggle with, the motivation for qigong practice page covers this directly.

Is Qigong Right for You?

If you want instant results, or something that works without your active participation, qigong will disappoint you. But if you’re prepared to invest 15 to 30 minutes a day and take genuine responsibility for your health and wellbeing, qigong has a great deal to offer.

The difference between qigong that delivers results and qigong that doesn’t usually comes down to whether you’re practicing the 3 core skills or simply going through the physical movements — a distinction covered in detail on the qigong vs qigong form page.

If you practice Tai Chi as a martial art, this page probably isn’t for you. But if you practice Tai Chi primarily for health, vitality, and longevity — the same goals most qigong practitioners have — then the case for switching to qigong is worth hearing. Here it is, as clearly as possible.

The Goals Are the Same — the Path Is Different

People practice Tai Chi for broadly the same reasons people practice qigong:

• To improve physical health
• To reduce the effects of stress
• To live a long, active life
• Spiritual cultivation

Qigong has five main aims — health and vitality, longevity, internal force, mental clarity, and spiritual cultivation — which map closely onto those Tai Chi goals. The aims are similar. The difference is in how efficiently each practice delivers them for someone who isn’t pursuing martial arts.

Why Qigong Is Easier to Learn

A typical Tai Chi form contains anywhere from 24 to 108 or more patterns, depending on the style. Learning to remember the sequence alone takes months. Learning to move fluidly and correctly from one pattern to the next takes many months more. Then comes the theoretical layer — Yin and Yang, double-weighting, Taoist philosophy — which, without a genuine master to guide you through it, can become a source of confusion rather than clarity.

A qigong exercise, by contrast, typically consists of five or six movements. You can learn it quickly and start experiencing results quickly. The theory — rooted in traditional Chinese medicine — is correspondingly straightforward: Qi flows through meridians; blockages cause illness; correct qigong practice clears blockages and promotes smooth, vigorous flow. That’s the foundation, and it holds.

Why Qigong Takes Less Time

When practicing Tai Chi for health, a meaningful daily practice typically requires at least 30 minutes — plus class time if you’re learning. With qigong, 15 minutes of correct daily practice is enough to work toward all five main aims.

The time saving compounds: fewer movements to learn means you reach competent daily practice faster, and shorter sessions means the habit is easier to sustain. Both matter if your goal is long-term health rather than martial arts mastery.

Why Qigong Develops Skills Faster

Because qigong requires fewer movements to learn, practitioners can focus more quickly on the 3 core skills — Qigong State of Mind, Energy Flow, and Standing Meditation — that actually generate the health benefits. It is skill, not the number of patterns you know, that determines results. A Tai Chi practitioner may spend years on form before they develop the internal skills that produce genuine health outcomes.

There is one exception worth noting: if you practice Tai Chi as a true martial art — Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan) — the health benefits are substantial and the practice is internally rich. The Zhan Zhuang stance work that serious Tai Chi martial artists practice is shared territory with qigong. But very few people who attend Tai Chi classes are practicing it at that level.

Summary: Why Qigong Beats Tai Chi for Health

If health, vitality, and longevity are your primary goals:

1. Qigong has fewer movements to learn
2. The underlying theory is simpler and more accessible
3. Daily practice takes 15 minutes rather than 30 or more
4. The core skills that generate results are easier to develop
5. You don’t need to practice it as a martial art to get its best benefits

For a fuller picture of what qigong offers and why, see Why Practice Qigong? To start learning, the online course covers the full approach from foundation to daily practice.

People come to qigong for different reasons — but most fall into one of five categories. Whether you’re looking to address a specific health issue, build lasting energy, sharpen your mind, or cultivate something deeper, qigong has a well-defined tradition for each of these aims. Here’s what each one means in practice.

1. Health and Vitality

Qigong is the art of managing your vital energy — the Qi that keeps you alive and underlies everything you do. It is grounded in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which holds that energy flows through pathways in the body called meridians. When those pathways become blocked, illness follows. When the flow is clear and strong, health and vitality are the result.

One of the most valuable aspects of qigong for health is that you don’t need to know where your blockages are. Practice correctly, and your Qi will naturally flow to areas of low energy and work on clearing them. Unlike acupuncture, tui na, or herbal medicine — the other main branches of TCM — qigong puts that process in your own hands.

2. Longevity

Longevity is considered one of qigong’s greatest strengths. It builds on the health aim: when Qi flows smoothly through the meridians and you maintain an abundance of energy through daily correct practice, you create the conditions for a long, healthy life.

This is not a short-term outcome. Qigong is not a 30-day cure. The longevity benefits come from consistent daily practice over time — but they are well documented in the tradition.

3. Internal Force

Internal force is best understood as energy-plus — a reserve of vitality that goes beyond ordinary health. It’s what allows you to work hard all day and still have genuine energy left for the people and things that matter to you. For martial artists, internal force also translates directly into combat effectiveness, which is why qigong has long been practiced alongside kung fu and other Chinese martial arts.

4. Mind Expansion

Qigong clears mental clutter and sharpens focus — making it particularly valuable for scholars, creatives, and anyone whose work depends on sustained concentration. The practice doesn’t add anything artificial; it removes what’s in the way. Think of your mind as the sun and qigong as a magnifying glass: the power was always there, but qigong focuses it.

5. Spiritual Cultivation

Qigong is non-religious — practitioners of any faith, or none, can practice it and benefit from it fully. “Spiritual” here refers to that inner dimension of a person that makes them uniquely themselves. Qigong cultivates and protects that part of you.

In a society where depression, anxiety, and chronic stress are widespread, neglect of the spiritual dimension is often a contributing factor. Regular qigong practice builds resistance to these conditions — not as a side effect, but as a direct outcome of what the practice does.

Getting the Most From Your Practice

These five aims are available through qigong — but only when it’s practiced as qigong, not as physical form alone. The 3 core skills — Qigong State of Mind, Energy Flow, and Standing Meditation — are what determine whether you achieve these results or simply do gentle exercise. That distinction is covered in detail on the qigong vs qigong form page.

To learn qigong with all five aims in view, the online course covers the full approach from foundation to practice.

Qigong works by managing the flow of vital energy — called Qi — through the body. Qi is the force that keeps the body’s systems functioning. When it flows harmoniously, the result is good health. When it is blocked, illness follows. Qigong practice addresses this directly.

The Three Stages of Qigong Practice

The mechanism behind qigong operates in three progressive stages:

1. Remove blockages — Illness develops when vital energy cannot flow harmoniously through the body’s meridians (energy streams). The severity of illness corresponds to the severity of the blockage. Qigong practice first works to clear these blockages, whatever their origin — physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual.
2. Restore harmonious flow — Once blockages are cleared, energy flows freely through the meridians again. This is the foundation of good health. A practitioner at this stage feels well, functions well, and is free from the conditions that blockages produce.
3. Build vitality and longevity — Beyond harmonious flow, qigong practice can develop an abundance of energy. This is where vitality deepens, resilience builds, and the conditions for a longer, healthier life are established.

How Long Does This Take?

Qigong is not a 30-day cure. It is an art, and like any art the results depend on the quality and consistency of practice. Correct daily practice — even for just 15 minutes — is what moves a practitioner through these stages over time.

The Role of Correct Practice

The mechanism above only operates when qigong is practiced correctly — as a genuine art, not merely as physical movement. This distinction matters more than it might seem. Practicing the form without the corresponding energy and mind components produces far more limited results.

Ideally, qigong is learned directly from a qualified teacher. For those without access to one, learning qigong online is the closest practical alternative — my online course is built with this in mind. To explore the exercises themselves, visit the qigong exercises section.

Qigong (also written as chi kung) is the ancient Chinese art of deliberately managing your vital energy. In practice, it combines gentle external movements with coordinated breathing, performed in a meditative state of mind. It is the oldest of the five main branches of Traditional Chinese Medicine, with a history spanning over 5,000 years.

If you’ve never heard of it before, you’re not alone — but you’re in the right place.

What the Word Means

The word itself points directly at the practice. Split into two:

• Qi — energy (specifically, vital energy: the force that keeps the body’s systems functioning)
• Gong — work, or skilled practice

Qigong, then, literally means “energy work” — the deliberate cultivation and management of the body’s vital energy.

How Qigong Works

Qigong works in two stages:

1. It removes blockages to the harmonious flow of energy through the body’s meridians (energy streams), restoring Yin-Yang harmony. Whether a blockage is physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual in origin makes little difference to qigong’s effectiveness.
2. Once blockages are cleared, qigong increases the strength of energy flow through the meridians — promoting vitality, health, and longevity.

For a deeper look at the mechanism behind this, see How Qigong Works.

Why People Practice Qigong

There are five main reasons people choose to practice qigong:

1. Health and vitality
2. Longevity
3. Internal force (best understood as abundant, directed energy)
4. Mental clarity
5. Spiritual cultivation

What Makes Qigong Accessible

Unlike many forms of exercise, qigong requires zero athleticism and no equipment. It is easier to learn than Tai Chi and less physically demanding than yoga. If you have 10 to 15 minutes a day, you can practice it — regardless of age, fitness level, or prior experience.

Is Qigong Still Relatively Unknown?

In the West, yes — for now. Ask a room of 100 people whether they’ve heard of yoga, and every hand goes up. Ask the same about Tai Chi, and most hands follow. Ask about qigong, and typically only a handful respond. That gap is closing, but it means most people arrive here with no prior frame of reference — which is exactly why this site exists.

Where to Go Next

If you’re new to qigong, a good next step is to explore the qigong exercises covered on this site, or to read about how qigong works in more depth. For structured learning, the online course is the most direct path.

Qigong is the art of deliberately managing your vital energy — the Qi that keeps you alive and underlies everything you do. But practicing qigong exercises without the 3 core skills is just gentle physical movement. Here’s what those skills are, why they matter, and what you’re missing without them.

Why the 3 Core Skills Matter

Qigong has five main aims:

• Improved health and vitality
• Longevity
• Development of internal force
• Mind expansion
• Spiritual cultivation

Most practitioners pursue at least one of these. But the majority practice only the physical form of qigong exercises — the movements — without the skills that actually generate results. Without the 3 core skills, you’re doing low-level exercise. The movements may be the same, but the outcome is fundamentally different. This is the distinction explored in more depth on the qigong vs qigong form page.

The 3 Core Skills of Qigong

1. Qigong State of Mind (QSoM)

The Qigong State of Mind (QSoM) is a heightened state of relaxed focus — sometimes described as a higher state of consciousness. Without it, genuine qigong practice isn’t possible.

To enter a QSoM you need to be relaxed at four levels: physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Many people begin qigong specifically because they want to relax — and that’s a good reason. But relaxation is just the entry point. QSoM is what it opens into.

2. Energy Flow

Energy flow — sometimes called “flowing breeze, swaying willows” — is the mechanism through which qigong delivers its health benefits. It is one of the most closely guarded aspects of traditional qigong practice, and its absence from most modern qigong teaching is why so many practitioners don’t get the results they expect.

If energy flow isn’t part of your practice, you’re missing at least 75% of what qigong can offer. It is not incidental — it is the point.

3. Standing Meditation

Standing meditation consolidates the practice. After generating and circulating Qi through movement and energy flow, standing meditation allows that energy to settle and integrate. It completes the practice session in a way that simply stopping the movements does not.

What These Skills Make Possible

These three skills apply regardless of what type of qigong you practice — whether that’s qigong for health, dynamic qigong, qigong for martial arts, or advanced practices like the Small or Big Universe. They are not style-specific. They are the foundation of the art itself.

Mastery of these skills is what allows 15 minutes of daily practice to deliver more benefit than an hour of movement-only practice. They are covered in full in the PERFECT Qigong System and taught directly in the online course.

Most people practicing qigong today are not actually practicing qigong. They are practicing qigong form — the physical movements — without the energy and mind components that make qigong work. This distinction is the single most important thing to understand about qigong practice.

What Qigong Actually Is

Qigong is a composite of three elements practiced together:

• Form — gentle external movements coordinated with the breath
• Energy — the generation of genuine qi flow through the body
• Mind — a Qigong State of Mind (QSoM), at its most basic a state of relaxed, focused awareness

Qigong form is only the first of these three elements. Practicing form alone is closer to gentle stretching than to qigong — useful in itself, but a fraction of what correct qigong practice produces.

The Five Benefits of Qigong — and Why Most Practitioners Miss Them

Qigong practiced correctly offers five main categories of benefit:

1. Health and vitality
2. Longevity
3. Internal force
4. Mind expansion
5. Spiritual cultivation

These benefits come from practicing all three components together. Practicing form alone produces only minor physical benefits — gentle exercise at best. Many people who conclude that “qigong doesn’t work” have spent months or years practicing form only, never having been taught the energy and mind components that make the practice effective.

The Three Core Skills That Separate Qigong From Form

Correct qigong practice depends on three core skills working together:

1. Entering a QSoM — a higher state of consciousness, at its most accessible level simply being relaxed and focused during practice
2. Energy flow — sometimes called “Flowing Breeze Swaying Willows”, this is where the healing takes place. Qigong form performed in a QSoM, combined with correct breathing, generates genuine energy flow through the meridians. Without this, the majority of qigong’s benefits remain out of reach
3. Standing meditation — consolidating the results of practice at the end of a session

For a deeper look at each of these skills, see The 3 Core Skills of Qigong.

How to Tell Whether You’re Practicing Qigong or Just Form

A few reliable indicators:

• Energy flow: If your practice moves from one exercise to the next without a period of energy flow, you are almost certainly practicing form only
• Results over time: After three months of regular practice, you should notice improvements in health, vitality, and stress resilience. If nothing has changed, form-only practice is the most likely explanation
• How you feel afterwards: Qigong generates energy — you should feel energised, not tired, after a session. Physical exercise depletes energy; qigong builds it. Feeling drained after practice is a sign something is missing

What to Do If You’ve Been Practicing Form Only

The solution is learning the energy and mind components — ideally directly from a qualified instructor. If that isn’t accessible, learning qigong online from a course that explicitly teaches all three components is the next best option. My online course is built around this distinction — the PERFECT Qigong system addresses each of the three components systematically.

Finally, if you’re practicing real qigong and want to understand how to structure your sessions correctly, the next question most practitioners encounter is why you should focus on one exercise per session rather than several. That’s covered in detail here: Why You Should Practice One Qigong Form at a Time.

If you’re hoping qigong will help you lose weight, the honest answer is: it depends on why you’re carrying excess weight in the first place. Qigong is one of the most powerful tools available for health and vitality — but it is not a fat loss tool in the conventional sense. Here’s what that means in practice.

When Qigong Can Help With Weight Loss

If your weight is linked to emotional eating — overeating under stress, anxiety, or emotional pressure — then qigong is an excellent and genuinely effective tool. The relaxation, breathing, and energy flow components of correct qigong practice work directly on the emotional root causes of unhelpful eating habits.

Qigong is particularly strong at addressing problems with an emotional cause at their root. For conditions like stress, anxiety, worry, and mild to moderate depression — all of which can drive overeating — it is hard to match. If this describes your situation, exercises like Green Dragon Separating Water and Butterfly Dancing in Front of Flowers are worth exploring, alongside the guidance on the best qigong exercises for depression.

When Qigong Alone Is Not Enough

If your weight is not linked to emotional eating, qigong on its own is unlikely to produce meaningful fat loss. This is not a criticism of qigong — it reflects what qigong is for. Qigong generates and cultivates energy; it is not designed as a calorie-burning exercise. Expecting it to function as one misunderstands the art.

Fat loss, when not emotionally driven, comes down to energy balance — consuming fewer calories than the body uses over time. Qigong does not directly address this equation.

What Qigong Does Contribute

Even where qigong is not the primary fat loss tool, it contributes meaningfully to the broader picture of health:

• Reduces stress — a significant driver of both emotional eating and hormonal conditions that affect weight
• Improves emotional stability and resilience
• Supports energy and vitality, making other healthy habits easier to maintain
• Promotes better sleep — poor sleep is closely linked to weight gain

In this sense, qigong works best as part of a broader approach to health rather than as a standalone fat loss solution — unless, again, emotional eating is the root cause.

Practicing Qigong Correctly Makes the Difference

Whatever role qigong plays in your health goals, the benefits above only apply when it is practiced correctly — as qigong, not just qigong form. See Qigong vs Qigong Form for a full explanation of this distinction.

If you’re new to qigong or want to build a practice with genuine health benefits, learning qigong online is a practical starting point — or explore the qigong exercises section to get familiar with the 18 Lohan Hands set.

Practicing qigong in a group is a fundamentally different experience from solo practice. The Qi flow tends to be stronger, the social dimension adds its own benefit, and — if a qigong master is present — the effect can be remarkable. Here’s an honest look at what group practice offers, and a couple of things to be aware of going in.

Benefits of Group Qigong Practice

Stronger Qi Flow

In a group setting, there is simply more Qi in the room. Most practitioners find their Qi flow noticeably stronger when training alongside others — the collective energy amplifies what each individual experiences alone.

Practicing with a Qigong Master

Group classes and courses are often where you encounter a genuine qigong master. The difference this makes is hard to convey in words but easy to feel: you benefit directly from their abundance of Qi, and from what’s sometimes called “heart to heart transmission” — guidance and insight that goes beyond what can be taught verbally.

If you ever have the opportunity to learn with a qigong master, take it. One caveat worth knowing: your solo practice at home may feel like a damp squib by comparison for a while afterwards. This is normal.

Social Connection and Accountability

We are social animals. Practicing with a group of like-minded people is enjoyable in itself, and that enjoyment helps sustain consistent practice when motivation dips. Being part of a shared community — even occasionally — makes a difference to long-term commitment.

For older practitioners in particular, the social dimension of group qigong practice can be significant. Social isolation is a serious issue as we age, and regular group practice addresses it directly. Organised group qigong gatherings for the elderly have drawn over a thousand participants in some countries — testament to how well the practice lends itself to a group setting.

Helpful for Those Experiencing Depression

Qigong practice can be quite inward-focused, which isn’t always ideal for someone experiencing depression. For those in that situation, group practice is often more beneficial — it encourages social interaction and shared energy rather than solitary introspection. If depression is a factor, seeking guidance from a qualified instructor or healthcare professional before starting any practice is advisable.

Challenges of Group Qigong Practice

Qi Incompatibility

This is uncommon but worth knowing about. Occasionally, a practitioner may notice unpleasant feelings — irritability, hostility, a general sense of discomfort — during a group Qi flow. This can indicate that your Qi isn’t a good match for someone nearby. The solution is straightforward: move to a different spot in the room.

Stale Qi in Enclosed Spaces

This is the more significant practical challenge of indoor group practice. When many people practice qigong in an enclosed space, the volume of exhaled stale energy accumulates quickly. A large hall with good ventilation — ideally with doors or windows open — is strongly preferable to a small, sealed room. Outdoor practice avoids the problem entirely, which is one reason group qigong in warmer climates is often held outside.

Making the Most of Group Practice

If you get the opportunity to attend a group qigong class, course, or practice session — especially one led by a qualified instructor or master — it’s worth making the effort to go. The qigong exercises practiced in a group context, with proper instruction, can deliver results that take considerably longer to achieve through solo practice alone.