Medical Qigong
A Modality to Improve Health and Vitality

For the last 300 years, Western Civilization was shaped by a rational, scientific mechanistic worldview that has helped to bring about enormous technological and mathematical advances. Western medicine relies on this mind set and relies on the technology it has produced. This approach provides a narrow perspective for the human being -- one where we tend to view all illness as primarily a malfunction of a mechanical part and look to physicians as the technicians responsible for their repair.

We have lost sight of the importance of psychological, social, economic and environmental influences on health and illness and of the extraordinary power of the soul, and mind to affect the body.

On my own personal journey, when I finally realized the connection between my own level of stress and my levels of health I began to search for ways to change the pattern. I would always get “sick” at the most inappropriate times, they of course were high stress times and times when I most needed to be at my prime functioning. Once I made the connection and decided there was something I could do differently, people started showing up who became my teachers. I discovered the energetic body and its relationship to the physical body and the emotional body. Healing touch offered many protocols to bring those energies into balance and support a healthier whole system. Bowen Therapy was yet another modality that offered a very gentle way to reset the body’s healing mechanism and put the body back in charge of healing itself.

The common concept that I discovered is that healing occurs within the self. It is not something that happens external to the self. Some one else cannot heal you. There are however, therapies, practices, modalities and activities that support one on the way to health but healing happens within the self.

One of the most intriguing modalities that I have discovered is Medical Qigong. Documented history of Qigong has been traced back thousands of years.

Qigong is an ancient Chinese health care system that integrates physical postures, breathing techniques, and focused intention. The word Qigong (pronounced Chee Gong) is made up of two Chinese words, Qi is usually translated to mean the life force or vital-energy that flows through all things in the universe. The second word, Gong, means accomplishment, or skill that is cultivated through steady practice. Together, Qigong means cultivating energy, it is a system practiced for health maintenance, healing and increasing vitality.

The practice of Qigong leads to improved health and vitality, and a more peaceful state of mind. It is preventative and promotes self-healing. Qigong teaches us how to control our reactions to stress so that life events do not cause such symptoms as high blood pressure, frustration, or anxiety. The research has shown Qigong to improve posture, respiration, induce a relaxation response, cause favorable changes in blood chemistry and improve self-awareness and concentration. It is a form of complementary medicine and works well with other forms of therapy.