Qigong, Qi gong, Chi gong: this healing technique has a lot
of different spellings. Pronounced as “chi-gung”, Qigong is
an ancient Chinese technique based on meditation, controlled
breathing, and guided movements.
An improved immune system, relaxation, reduced stress, and
better concentration are just a few of the many reasons why
Qigong is such an attractive healing method. It’s a very old
but effective practice with many different styles and
forms.
For beginners, however, Qigong, with its different styles, poses,
and exercises, can be very daunting and
confusing.
That’s why we at Mindmonia wrote this Qigong Guide for
Beginners. In this article, we explain what Qigong is and cover
the benefits of practicing it regularly. Finally, we explain
the differences between Qigong healing and Qigong meditation
and show you some techniques with which you can start
today.
Jump ahead to any of the sections below:
What Is Qigong?
What Is Qigong?
Qigong is a natural way to move energy (Qi / Chi) through
your body. It’s often used by Taoist and Buddhist monks, as
well as traditional and Chinese healers. It doesn’t need to
be practiced in a religious context and actually is
considered and practiced as a beautiful art by countless
people all over the world.
The concept of Qigong is based on meditation, breathing
techniques, and gentle movements to move the “Qi” through
your body.
The word “Qi” is difficult to translate. It comes from the
traditional Chinese culture and means life energy, breath or
mind. “Gong” means cultivation or mastery. Hence, the concept
can be translated as “cultivation of life force” or “control
of your own energy”.
As mentioned above, the concept is based on the basic principle
of meditation and mindfulness and combines it with
physical movements. This is why Qigong is often seen as
“standing meditation”.
When you practice Qigong, you are working both on unifying
your body and your mind. On the one hand you must learn to
calm down and focus on your thoughts and breathing. On the
other hand you have to concentrate on your movements. Just
like you do with Yoga.
Many forms, poses, and postures of Qigong evolved over time.
Some of them include breathing and meditation to promote
spirituality and health, while others are more physical and
more martial. Tai Chi, for example, is a common form of
Qigong.
Internal Qigong differs significantly from the external one.
Inner Qigong focuses mainly on your own energy flow – your
own Qi or chi if you wish.
The postures from inner Qigong serve your own energy healing.
We mentioned that form of Qigong at the beginning of this
article. It’s the type that makes you follow certain
movements, breathing techniques, and meditational concepts.
It’s also the better-known type of Qigong.
Inner Qigong is all about working on your own inner discomfort.
In the external form, you need a second person to heal you.
In this internal form of the ancient Chinese healing
technique, the aim is to achieve healing from within the body
without the help of others.
In internal Qigong, energy healing can be seen as an “inner
cleansing”. In other words, whenever you practice internal
Qigong, you create energy that you channel into your own body
to heal it.
In the end, it’s up to you to decide how accurate you think
this approach of “inner cleansing” is.
External Qigong
This is the form of Qigong that is also called Qigong Healing as
it’s focused on healing others. External Qigong is a very
ancient healing practice that has been used by many healers
and masters for centuries.
In the external form, you use your own Qi / chi and transfer it
to someone else. You do so by putting your hands on the
person you want to heal. This form is very similar to the
concept of Reiki.
Even today, external Qigong is still used in traditional
Chinese medicine. It’s usually practiced by a qualified and
competent healer. By the way: it takes years to become a
competent Qigong healer.
From a scientific point of view, there is little to no evidence of
the effectiveness and actual healing effect of external
Qigong.
Therefore, we will exclusively cover internal Qigong
throughout this article.
The Benefits of Qigong
Qigong is especially beneficial for elders, people with
chronic illnesses or physical disabilities, or office workers
and people in general who have little exercise in their daily
lives.
From a spiritual point of view, Qigong helps to heal the body’s
own energy flow by balancing and strengthening the
energy connections. Also known as meridians. In fact, you
will find parallels with the chakra teachings.
Besides the spiritual benefits, there are scientific sources
that confirm a variant of benefits. The best known is Roger
Jahnke’s “A Comprehensive Review of Health Benefits of Qigong
and Tai Chi” which gives an overview of existing research in
this area and summarizes the results of the
studies.
Qigong Benefit 1: Enhances Organ Function
Qigong can be used for the whole body as well as for
individual organs. There are exercises and postures you can
use to heal specific areas of your body or even focus on
specific diseases. Among other things, there are poses that
improve your cardiac function, support your liver or protect
your lungs from diseases.
Qigong not only helps with injuries, it prevents them. It
demonstrably improves your balance, stretches joints and
muscles, relieves existing tensions and puts the entire body
in a state of relaxation.
Since tension and cramps can lead to injuries, Qigong is a
good way to stretch and relax your muscles and banish
tension.
Qigong also helps the immune system. Studies showed that it
stimulates the formation of white blood cell types, which is
beneficial for the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system, in turn,
is an important component of a strong immune system, since
the
Qigong Benefit 3: Reduces Stress
There is much evidence that stress is harmful to your health.
Just the fact that Qigong is proven to help reduce stress
(here is the link to the study) should be reason enough to
practice it regularly.
Although Qigong has far more advantages to offer, stress
reduction is certainly one of the greatest. The gentle
movements focused breathing and standing meditation create a
state of relaxation and balance. This slows down your brain
waves and helps your brain relax and reduce
stress.
Much of the new literature shows that one of the biggest factors
of stress is your emotions. Many do sport, which is a solid
option for relieving stress, but not for the purpose of
balancing your own emotions.
Exactly this is the ingenious thing about Qigong since it
combines physical activity with meditation and is therefore
not only demanding for the body but assists your mind, as
well. This makes it an ideal companion in the fight against
stress.
Qigong Benefit 4: Boosts Muscles and Joints
The natural movements of Qigong help your muscles and joints
to improve their blood and oxygen supply. In this way, they
regain their natural flexibility and strength.
If you’re spending a lot of time sitting or generally don’t move
much in your daily life, you should give Qigong a
chance.
While in most western cultures it’s rather common to build
muscles through strength training, in eastern cultures, there
tends to be a different understanding of strength. It’s
called effortless strength. Effortless strength, as the name
implies, comes from within you and without
effort.
The already existing strength is only activated by natural
and comfortable movements so to speak.
Qigong Benefit 5: Improves Sleep
Like meditation, Qigong helps you dealing with your thoughts.
This will make you feel more “in balance” and you will have
fewer problems falling asleep. It was also shown to reduce
stress, which is a factor that contributes to a better
quality of sleep.
Find further tips on sleeping here.
People
There are people for whom it is more difficult to do sports due
to their age, physical injuries or limitations. Qigong’s many
different styles and exercises are beneficial for these
people, because it can be practiced with simple movements or
even sitting or lying down.
Qigong Benefit 7: Supports Digestion
Histamine, gluten, lactose and fructose intolerance are just a few
of the many food intolerances and allergies that plague many
people today.
To slightly support your digestion, you can practice Qigong.
There are certain postures that support your digestion, such
as “Buddha’s palms” and “Looking up at the sky”.
These poses are characterized primarily by the fact that they
massage the digestive organs. This increases the oxygen content
in the blood and supports and improves the function of the
digestive system.
Qigong Benefit 8: Lowers Blood Pressure
Studies showed that Qigong can help lower blood pressure. A
30-year long study concluded that people who train regularly
were able to reduce or entirely stop their blood pressure
medications.
Because exercise improves blood flow, it increases the elasticity
of blood vessels. Since both low and high blood pressure are
problems associated with vascular elasticity, Qigong can help
with both.
Qigong Benefit 9: Supports the Nerves
The nerves are the connection between your body and your
mind. Because of them you are able to know and feel how your
body is doing. There are several nervous systems in the body
that all have different tasks. For example, there is the
peripheral nervous system
with which you perceive information through your skin (touch,
pain, cold).
From a biological point of view, the nerves are the first step
to mindfulness because they are the recipients of stimuli
and moments. Information is then transmitted to the brain.
The brain’s job is then to react to the stimuli and
moments.
Much of the initial Qigong practice, which is about getting in
touch with the body, is done through the nervous system. As
you meditate while standing, you strengthen the attention to
the present moment. The receptors that let us feel and
experience the present moment are the nerves. That’s why
Qigong is supporting and strengthening the
nerves.
Now that we introduced you to the benefits of Qigong, we show
you the most important Qigong exercises for beginners. Before
you start, you should prepare your body. Stretch your arms,
joints, fingers, knees, and shoulders to avoid any
injuries.
In order for the exercises to be effective on your body and mind,
you should do them regularly. Just like meditation, Qigong
delivers the best results when you establish a fixed routine
in your daily life.
To start with, you can train twice a week for 20 minutes
each. Depending on what purpose you want to use Qigong for,
you can form a routine from different exercises. The length
of the pose and the number of repetitions vary from exercise
to exercise.
Awakening the Qi
Stand calmly and relaxed so that the toes point to each other.
Keep your knees slightly stretched. Let the whole body hang
slightly and stretch your hands vertically away from you.
Start at the lower level of your pelvis and pull your hands
powerless upwards.
At a certain height (about shoulder height), turn your palms
away from you and let them slide gently and slowly down to
the pelvis. Sometimes it also helps if you imagine that you
have strings attached to your fingers.
MaBu (Horse Stand)
Qigong without MaBu doesn’t work (video here). This pose is one
of the best for beginners because it trains both: mind and
body.
First, take a broad posture and lower your hips to the knee
level. Your back should remain straight. Make sure your
ankles are at 90 degrees to your shin and your knees are at
90 degrees to your leg and shin.
Now turn your feet outwards, about 45 degrees. The hip
remains stretched out in a straight upward position. Ideally,
“pull” your back a little behind your shoulders.
Point your head forward and stretch out your hands directly in
front of you. Bend your elbows behind your shoulder so that
your hands are at the height of your lower chest. The two
index fingers (the
Keep this position for about 10 to 30 seconds.
MaBu is practiced regularly in Tai Chi and many other martial
arts (video here).
Lifting the Sky
Meditation is an integral part of Qigong. Qigong without
meditation is practically impossible. That is, among other
things, why Qigong is also called standing meditation. What
is also possible, is a meditation with a focus on Qigong (Chi
meditation).
If you are interested in such a special meditation, you can simply
cut out the movements and concentrate completely on the
inner purification of your emotions and thoughts as well as
on your breathing.
Qigong meditation can be practiced standing, sitting or
lying.
As with all other types of meditation, the focus of Qigong
meditation is on calming the mind and perceiving the thoughts
as
FAQ
In the last chapter of our guide, we have compiled and answered
a list of the most frequently asked questions and
misunderstandings.
What Is Silent Qigong?
Silent Qigong is a certain style of Qigong that aims at
internal purification. This means that it focuses on the
purification of emotions and thoughts and is usually not very
physical. This type is very similar to
meditation.
Do I Need Qigong Clothes?
No. Special clothing is not necessary. Just make sure you
feel comfortable during the training
sessions.
What Is a Qigong Stick?
Qigong sticks are available in different designs and variations. It
is said that a Qigong stick activates energy, but the effect
has not yet been confirmed. There are different types of
Qigong poses that you can perform only with such a stick.
However, let it be said that these poses are not necessarily
better than the ones without it. They only have a different
effect on your body.
Qi Gong, Qigong or Chi Gong?
Since Qigong is an art from ancient China, there are
different spellings and different transcriptions. The bottom
line is that you shouldn’t care if you write qi gong, Qigong
or chi gong. It’s important that you understand the meaning
behind it and that you can get the most out of it for
yourself and your body.
What Are the 5 Elements of Qigong?
The 5 elements of Qigong are:
Fire (Huo)
Water (Shui)
Each element stands in a metaphorical sense for a state of
feeling. Water stands for peace, wood for (inner) growth and
earth for adaptability. Since we at Mindmonia are rather
critical when it comes to spiritual topics that aren’t backed
with scientific studies, we won’t go into the connection
between elements and emotions here.
Do I Need Qigong Balls?
Qigong balls, like the Qigong stick, are a tool that you can but
don’t have to, use during your training. Qigong balls are
designed to make sounds when you work out with
them.
If Qigong balls help you relax through their sounds and vibrations
in the palms of your hands, use them. We at Mindmonia
believe, however, that beginners should practice without
balls and sticks. Otherwise, there is a danger that you won’t
be able to practice properly without them, because you won’t
be able to relax.
Conclusion
Qigong is a mixture of meditation, breathing techniques,
energy healing, and physical movements. Qigong has always
played a major role in Chinese medicine and became
increasingly popular worldwide.
Even without the spiritual aspects, Qigong, like meditation,
has many scientifically proven benefits to the body, such as
reducing blood pressure or stimulating the
nerves.
There are countless different styles, exercises, and poses, all
of which serve their individual purpose. Just try out which
training sessions are best for you and your body.
As with so many things, Qigong works best when practiced
regularly. Try to start with simple poses to not lose your
motivation and don’t overdo it at the beginning to avoid
hurting yourself.
Ideally, you should integrate a couple of minutes of Qigong into
your daily routine twice, once in the morning and once in the
evening.
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