So, What Exactly Is This “Qigong” (Chi Kung) Thing?
Qigong is an ancient Chinese mind-body practice for health, development, and personal cultivation.
Demystifying The Arcane
Qigong 气功 is the skill of cultivating and maintaining the free flow of “Qi." A holistic mind-body practice that can improve your physical and mental well-being, Qigong can enrich your life regardless of age, ability, or belief system.
Qi 气 (sometimes written as Ch’i, or Chi Energy) is considered to be the vital force of life. When properly practiced, Qigong enables people to increase energy and balance, reduce pain, and calm the mind—and ultimately, feel better.
All Qigong integrates movement, coordinated breathing techniques, and focused intention.
With a long rich history spanning thousands of years, the principles of Qigong originated in China from Daoist Practices. However, you do not need to be a Daoist to practice Qigong!
Today, Qigong practice is incredibly varied in its use and applications.
As a health practice, Qigong is considered both preventive and curative in application.
A deep and embodied Qigong practice can be transformational in body, mind, and spirit. It’s the basis for Daoist internal alchemical training (Nèidān practices). And with diligence and skilled guidance, practices can produce authentic catharsis, renewal, and longevity of life.
How To Define Qigong
Qigong is two characters denoting a singular concept and therefore written as one “word.” Individually, the characters are:
氣 Qì: Breath, spirit, or the vital energy that animates life.
功 Gōng: Achievement or skill that is earned with effort.
Therefore, Qigong is usually translated as the achieved skill of cultivating and maintaining “vital energy,” or “Qi.”
In reality, the character 气 (氣 in traditional mandarin) is multilayered in meaning and a singular translation is incredibly inadequate. In the West, Qi usually just gets simplified to mean “energy.”
This is not incorrect, but it is a very limited understanding. So too, is the above definition of “Qigong.” An education from a truly skilled teacher, and some direct experience will quickly reveal why!
How to Pronounce Qì Gōng:
Qìgōng (CHēˈɡäNG, -ˈɡôNG)
The diacritic or “tonal marks” (above vowels) used in Pinyin make it easy!
The tonal marks give you a visual clue as to how to pronounce written Mandarin Chinese by depicting either a flat (¯), rising (´), bouncing (ˇ), or descending (`) tone.
A (Very) Brief History of Qigong
The history of Qigong and Chinese Medicine is a vast subject. While ample time is given to the subject in the classroom, here we offer some broad strokes to get you started:
Qigong is actually a very modern term—It was born out of the 20th century.
Yes, really!
The term was formalized in the 1950’s to classify a large breadth of activities as a singular concept. These practices were quite old, having a very long and rich history. Most Qigong originated from Daoist practices referred to as Yǎng Shēng 养生. Yang Shen is the process of cultivating and maintaining personal health.
This was partially accomplished through exercises called Dǎo Yǐn 导引 (to lead/guide). Dao yin are comprised of postures, breathing techniques, and meditations designed to propagate internal health and prevent illness.
A reproduction of the Daoyin Tu (导引图 ca. 168 BCE) shows early “qigong” or Daoyin practices.
Archaic Daoyin copied movements observed in animals and in nature at large. As understanding of human anatomy and physiology evolved, more sophisticated practices emerged.
With the evolution of both form and function, practices developed that combined an understanding of Wàigōng 外功 (external skill) and Nèigōng practices 内功 (internal skill).
Collectively these practices (now called Qigong) are part of the basis of Nèidān 内丹, or “internal alchemical” training.
The often guarded esoteric arts of Nèidān 内丹 go well beyond the practices of nourishing health to actually cultivating and preserving life.
The actual origination dates of these practices are often debated. However, records within the cannon of Daoist Medicine and cultivation practices provide time frames that confirm a history spanning thousands of years!
Qigong and Chinese Medicine
Chinese Medicine is an “Energetic Medicine.”
Qigong is the foundational branch of Chinese Medicine. It’s how the essential energetic theory that is the basis of all Chinese Medicine modalities practiced today, came to be. Acupuncture, Herbal Formulations, Dietetics, and Tuīná 推拿, are all rooted in theory that arose out of an understanding of Qi.
A thorough understanding of this theory is essential to the application and practice of the medicine to its fullest potential.
The Different Types of Qigong
Qigong is incredibly diverse in both application and appearance.
The common definition of Qigong as “slow, gentle, meditative movements” is reductive and only highlights a subset, or style of practice. This ethnocentric perspective is a result of romanticized views of the “mystical healing arts.”
In reality, there are thousands of ways to practice Qigong. Some of these styles involve very quick, and even aggressive, movements that look anything but gentle.
Any attempt to include every style, school, or interpretation of Qigong would be lengthy and problematic. There’s an easier way to discuss the variations: group them based on their desired practice outcomes.
All Qigong practices can be classified within three basic categories:
Martial Qigong
Medical / Health Qigong
Spiritual Qigong
While specialty, expertise, and applications may define the differences between the Qigong schools, in reality, all three inform one another.
For instance, proper structure which comes out of the Martial Qigong traditions is essential to promote the free flow of Qi in the body—a basic prerequisite for all Health Qigong. Likewise, If one does not possess good health, physical prowess will be greatly impeded. And any mind-body practice requires some level of mental discipline and training—a hallmark of the Spiritual Qigong traditions.
This is not to say that you need to study martial arts to gain health benefits from Qigong, but rather to show that any truly comprehensive system will have components of all three categories.
How a type of Qigong gets classified is ultimately based on the desired outcome.
Martial Qigong
Martial Qigong refers to practices that are focused on developing physical prowess, strength, agility, and endurance.
As the name suggests, this type of Qigong is commonly geared towards athletes. This is the general style most often taught in Martial Arts studios/schools. Famous for introducing energetic training into Wǔshù 武术, Martial Qigong is the stuff of GongFu 功夫 (Kung Fu) legend.
However, you don’t have to pursue a Martial practice to benefit from the principles of this type of Qigong. Tàijíquán 太极拳 (Tai Ch’i Chuan) is a great example of a martial practice used for improving health!
Martial Qigong practices inform the proper physical structure that is absolutely vital to ALL advanced level Qigong training.
Martial Qigong practices are sometimes contrasted as being either external (Wàigōng 外功), or internal (Nèigōng 内功) practices. Ultimately, all technique learned and done well will have components of both.
This should be true of all Qigong regardless of style or school.
Medical / Health Qigong
Popularity and broad usage of terms has led to sub-classifications of this category into Health Qigong and Medical Qigong.
Health Qigong
Health Qigong (or Qigong for Health) is the most widely available Qigong practice today. It is usually taught as a progressive “form” in group classes and to individuals.
Health Qigong should produce immediate and lasting benefits to a person’s overall wellbeing.
Practice usually includes various Qigong exercises individually designed to benefit specific aspects of personal health. The Insight Qigong™ program is a perfect example of Health Qigong.
Medical Qigong
The term ‘Medical’ comes from the Latin medicus, meaning physician (one who is trained in, and therefore qualified to practice medicine).
The practice of Medical Qigong involves assessment and remediation that is rooted in Chinese Medicine theory. This should only be conducted by competent and thoroughly trained practitioner.
Medical Qigong may be used as an “internal” practice of self-healing. It is also commonly used as an “external” therapeutic practice where Qi is transmitted and/or controlled by the practitioner. The external application of Medical Qigong is usually conducted in a clinical setting.
The practice of Qigong as a medical modality should only be performed by a properly trained and qualified professional. This is a highly specialized skill requiring extensive knowledge of complex theory, anatomy, physiology, and pathology. The level of training a true Medical Qigong Practitioner completes is significant. This is essential to their capacity to provide correct assessment and remediation protocols.
For a more thorough discussion, visit the “What is Medical Qigong?” page.
Spiritual Qigong
This category of Qigong is principally concerned with personal cultivation and evolution through spiritual practices.
This process may look very different based on the lineage or goal. Generally speaking this approach is through quiescent practice and Qigong meditation work.
Spiritual Qigong practices can inform physical health through mental Dao Yin training. Which can in turn produce mastery of the mind and strengthen our connection to Spirit.
Anyone with a desire to learn and improve their health can learn Qigong!
How & Why To Learn Qigong
While everyone has their own personal reasoning for practicing Qigong there are certainly some commonly recognized benefits:
Stress & anxiety reduction
Improved physical health & agility
Healing from illness and/or injury
Brighter outlook & calm state of mind
Connection & deeper understanding of life
Taking a Qigong course with a well qualified professional instructor is the best way to get started!
Where to learn Qigong
First and most important: find a qualified instructor and program. This is particularly important for the beginner. Starting with a solid foundation will save you a tremendous amount of time and energy down the line.
Qigong is getting more popular by the day and finding someone local with a shingle out is pretty easy. However, for specialized trainings you may find it necessary to travel to find a qualified instructor.
You may also consider taking an online course. Understand that there are certain limitations to training online (hands-on correction of your posture, for example).
Either way, a good start is to decide why you want a Qigong practice. Determining the desired outcome will help narrow down the style to seek out, and help you find an appropriate teacher.
While you shop around continue to educate yourself so that you can make a discerning decision.
Ask yourself; want a specialist or a generalist? Are you looking for personal Health Qigong or Medical Qigong training? From there, be sure to check credentials. This is especially important if considering Medical Qigong (i.e., Does the instructor have any type of actual medical training?).
Ask questions and explore.
In Conclusion
Qigong can be best described as the achieved skill of cultivating, maintaining, and promoting the free flow of “vital energy” (what is known as “Qi’”) within the body which in turn can provide immediate and lasting improvement to your physical and mental well-being.
Qigong has a long rich history spanning thousands to years, that is deeply rooted in the practice and theory of Chinese Medicine. Varied in form and applications (there are hundreds, if not thousands, of different styles) all Qigong integrates movement, coordinated breathing techniques, and focused intention.
And when properly practiced, Qigong enables people to increase their energy and balance, reduce pain, and calm the mind—and ultimately, feel better, live longer, and experience a higher quality of life.
The best way to get started is to find a teacher or Qigong class near you!
