Robert Weinstein L.A.C.

Finding The Healer Within Understanding Qigong,
The Chinese Way Of Health And Longevity By Robert A. Weinstein L.Ac.

  If there was a magical exercise that helped us to unlock our innate healing potential and bestowed the remarkable gifts of vibrant health, spiritual awakening and long life, would you be interested in learning more about it? Surprisingly, there is just such an exercise, and it is known in China as qigong. While the Chinese martial art known as Tai Ji Quan has become a household word in this country, it is interesting that qigong (pronounced chee gung), another traditional Chinese system for developing health and fitness, has not gained the same notoriety and attention. Although qigong has many of the benefits of Tai Ji and more, most people have not heard of it or are unsure of exactly what it is. So, what exactly is qigong? First, let’s examine each of the two Chinese characters that make up the word qigong. Qi in this context represents the Chinese concept of life force or bio-electric energy, Gong is a Chinese term that indicates work, discipline or skill developed from practice. Thus, qigong literally translates into English as working with or having skill with life force or life energy. Qigong is really an umbrella term for over a thousand separate and distinct practice styles and exercises that came from many different family lineages and regions of China. What all these styles have in common is that they all teach the practitioner how to gather, store and replenish our basic life energy.

  According to the theories of Chinese medicine, good health is synonomous with having an abundance of qi flowing smoothly through the meridian system in the body. Alternatively, illness and disease are considered to arise when the qi becomes weakened and the flow becomes obstructed. Poor diet, stress, worry and the rush of modern life all deplete our qi. Daily practice of qigong can help to counter these negative effects by recharging the body with qi, activating our innate healing potential and strengthening our ability to resist illness and injury. Qigong practice offers us a way to put the healing power back into our own hands, it offers us a powerful practice that can help us take more responsibility for our own health and well being. As it says in the most revered ancient Chinese medical text known as the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, “in the old days the sages treated disease by preventing illness before it began. If one begins to forge weapons in the midst of battle, one can only ask: are not these actions too late”.

  The origins of qigong go back many thousands of years, deep into Chinese antiquity. It comes from a simpler time when people were much more attuned to the rhythms and energy flow of the natural world. Qigong is said to have originated with early shamanic practices and later became associated the Taoist and Buddhist mountain hermits of China who sought and found great longevity and spiritual attainment with this magical practice.
Each qigong routine may have a different emphasis and approach. Some focus on cultivating and gathering vibrant life energy from the universe for healing, some focus on discharging toxic or spent qi from the body. Some styles are called medical qigong and they focus on healing and preventing chronic conditions like cancer and arthritis. Other styles are known as martial qigong and they focus on building physical strength and improving one’s martial arts ability. Martial qigong such as the “Iron Shirt” may allow the practitioner to be able to withstand many blows without getting injured. Other martial qigong styles may help with agility or striking power. One of the great things about qigong is that it does not usually require any props or equipment and can be done almost anywhere, from your bedroom to the forest-floor or the mountaintop. Some of the different qigong styles may include either sitting forms, standing forms or moving forms. The sitting forms of qigong often require practitioners to initiate certain visualizations designed to open up the flow of qi within the body. Standing forms may require the practitioner to hold a standing pose for a period of time to generate qi and the moving forms usually include a sequence of movements designed to purify and strengthen the body. All of these qigong forms share a fundamental basis in teaching the practitioner to develop skill in working with energy and enriching the essential life-force. In this way, practicing qigong is a way to recharge ourselves at the core level. As my first qigong teacher, Master C.K. Chu said, “most people only make withdrawals from their qi (life energy) account.

  By practicing qigong we can learn how to make a deposit into our qi account and live longer, healthier lives”. Yet, with so many exercise and fitness routines touting themselves as the best one, with everything from pilates to yoga and weightlifting competing for our time and money, why should we choose to practice qigong? I recently posed this question to Kris Caldwell, founder of the Tiantian qigong school in Seattle. She said, “qigong really addresses an aspect of the body that isn’t addressed by other kinds of exercise. With going to the gym or doing pilates we are stretching our muscles, building strength and endurance and all those good things, but with qigong we are accumulating qi, we are supplementing our essential life force, and that’s really different than any other kind of exercise”

  Teri Applegate L.Ac., an acupuncturist in Seattle who is the senior instructor of the Soaring Crane qigong style in the United States, answered the question in this way, “qigong is a meditative practice that restores balance throughout body, mind and spirit. Unlike exercise or other movement techniques, qigong works from the inside out for restoring health and preventing disease. At the same time, qigong can also bring about peace of mind and harmonize the emotions, so there is a very positive and multilayered benefit”.

  I had heard that Teri has worked with some very seriously ill students, so I asked her if she had seen qigong make a big difference in their lives. She told me that “one of my students had a dire diagnosis of Lou Gehring's disease (or ALS) and was unable to lift his arms due to muscle atrophy in his neck, shoulders and arms. It was truly remarkable when he took off the neck collar which held his head steady so he could make an unobstructed motion to raise his arms out in front of his body. Within a few months, that collar disappeared. In less than two years, he could drive again, write his name, play the guitar, and mow the yard! Predictably, though, his medical team was so shocked by his turn around that they wondered if he must have initially been misdiagnosed”. To emphasize that this was not an isolated case she told me of another student, equally as sick and debilitated, “this student had serious equilibrium distortion as a result of a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy in her treatment of leukemia. She was unable to walk without support and used a walker for assistance. Her qigong practice was done seated and she used her mind to imagine that she was doing the movements in the same manner as everyone else in class. After a while she wanted to stand for part, then, all of the 20 minute qigong routine. She left the walker behind as her balance improved. Within a year, she would drive again after a 2 year hiatus. Then, after coming off disability, her health improved so much that she was able resume working at 30 hours a week. Both of these students had been given dire predictions by their medical doctors for a life of increasing disability and early death. Their qigong practice seems to have helped”. Teri has many other stories like these of qigong students who have experienced remarkable results with consistent practice! In his seminal book The Way Of Qigong, author and teacher Ken Cohen provides data from numerous clinical studies in China that also support the incredible benefits of regular qigong practice.

  Just as with yoga, there is a strong spiritual aspect to qigong. In the larger scheme, it helps to open the higher energy center readying us for higher levels of spiritual attainment and ultimately preparing us for enlightenment. Qigong practice has long been associated with Taoist and Buddhist cultivation and it can help us to reach our highest potential and align ourselves with the natural unfolding of the cosmos.

  On the day to day level it engenders a sense of being in balance with the forces of heaven and earth and this naturally leads to a sense of well being and calm in our lives. There is an old saying in China, “ if you practice Gong Fu (fighting skill) all your life without practicing Qigong, you will have nothing to show for it when you are old”. So, if you are interested in adding to your energy reserves, healing a chronic illness or just practicing prevention, consider taking a qigong class. Try a web search to find a qualified teacher in your area and you can begin your quest to activate the healer within.

Robert Weinstein L.Ac is a certified qigong instructor and he practices acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine at his clinic in Seatlle. If you have any questions or wish to make an appointment with him, give him a call at 206 954 0609 or robert@thesourcepoint.net