The actual definition of qigong is “the practice of energy cultivation over time”. In practice, the term Qigong is used to describe a large variety of meditations, exercises, breathing techniques, life habits, healing modalities, treatment protocols, spiritual beliefs and more. It includes qigong as an exercise and qigong as qi-emission therapy. .Other related fields under the category of Chinese energetics that are related to qigong are: feng shui, Chinese astrology and Taoist practices to name a few.
氣 “Qi” (pronounced “chee”) means “energy”. Qi has several implied translations including “breath”, “air”, “mist”, “steam” and more. But simply stated it’s the particular energy of an object. It is believed that all objects have energy, including people, animals, plants, in short: anything contained on the Earth and everything contained in the Heavens.
Medical qigong is the application of the wisdom of energy for the purpose of healing. The term medical qigong is very modern and can mean either
- qigong exercises for health, AND OR.
- qi-emission therapy for the purpose of healing.
Qigong exercises are movements which blend body posture, breathing patterns and mental visualizations. In general qigong movements can be practiced for more than just health, but we focus on the health aspects of qigong. Qigong “exercises” can also be divided into dynamic or static. Dynamic qigong basically means with actual movement, like taichi. A great example of static qigong is meditation. Sometimes qigong movements are called “daoyin” or “yangsheng” exercises.
Qi emission therapy is the name we use to describe a healing modality called medical qigong therapy. It is a type of “energy work”. Qi emission therapy implies the transmission of energy from a practitioner to a patient. Generally, this is mostly done for health purposes. It’s similar to acupuncture, but we don’t use needles.