Qi Gong 氣功

"Every human body is a gold mine in terms of Energy"

Qi Gong therapy is a holistic system of coordinated body posture, slow-flowing movement, deep rhythmic breathing and meditation used for the purpose of health and martial arts training. With roots in Chinese medicine, philosophy, and martial arts, qigong is traditionally viewed as a practice to cultivate and balance Qi.

Qi 氣 is often translated as life energy, referring to energy circulating through the body; it represents the potential to activate and move, also referred to as breath, air, gas, light, electromagnetic energy, attitude, vigour. Qi is the central, underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts.

Gong 功 is often translated as cultivation or work, and definitions include practice, skill, mastery, merit, achievement, service, result, or accomplishment.

Qigong has been recognized as a "standard medical technique" in China since 1989, every respectable hospital in China employs one or more physicians able to teach its patients health exercises, be they for rehabilitation or as a way to prevent further development of diseases, and is included in the medical curriculum of major universities. It is currently supported by scientific research in China, Japan and recently in the USA.

The physiological effects of qigong are numerous, and include improvement of respiratory function, cardiovascular function, and neurophysiological function. It allows access to awareness, awaken’s one’s true nature and helps develop human potencial.

Techniques:

Intentional movement: careful, flowing balanced style.
Rhythmic breathing: slow, deep, coordinated with fluid movement.
Awareness: calm, focused meditative state.
Visualization: of qi flow, philosophical tenets, aesthetics.
Chanting/Sound: use of sound as a focal point.

Additional principles:

Softness: soft gaze, expressionless face.
Solid Stance: firm footing, erect spine.
Relaxation: relaxed muscles, slightly bent joints.
Balance and Counterbalance: motion over the center of gravity.

Advanced goals:

Equanimity: more fluid, more relaxed.
Tranquility: empty mind, high awareness.
Stillness: smaller and smaller movements, eventually to complete stillness.

"The most important technique is to attain oneness with the creation and to achieve harmony with all things; such an approach will allow us to tie our spirits to the divine. That is oneness with the universe.”

Morihei Ueshiba, 20th Century AD.