What is Qi Gong?

Master San Bao

Healingguide, March 2021

Qi is all around us — it’s the breath of life that flows through every cell in the universe. Qi Gong means “working with the qi” and is an ancient system of energy medicine consisting of slow, gentle movements and meditation. As with acupuncture, tui na (therapeutic massage), and so many other forms of asian energy work, its goal is to stimulate the flow of qi throughout the body. Practitioners focus on becoming aware of the energy surrounding them, then follow a carefully orchestrated series of slow, intentional movements designed to move this energy in specific ways.

Because Qi is all around us as well as within us, Qi Gong is a way of connecting ourselves to nature and to the universe.

Master San Bao

A wonderful feeling of spaciousness

Harnessing and cultivating energy

Connecting ourselves to nature

Two concepts that are unique and fundamental to Chinese medicine are Qi (usually translated as “vital energy”) and yin and yang (the harmony of all the opposite elements and forces that make up existence). These two concepts form what we might call the “roots” of Chinese medicine. Springing from these roots are the basic principles and theories about the dynamics of Qi and yin and yang, which form the “stems” of Chinese medicine. And resting on these principles is the rest of TCM theory and application, such as the causes of patterns of disharmony, which form the “branches.”

A wonderful feeling of spaciousness

The Way of Qigong

The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing.

“There is no such thing as magic. It is a word. A silly, foolish, overused word. There is only your aura…or the Chinese have a better word for it: qi. A life force. An energy. This is the energy that flows within you. It can be shaped, molded, directed.”

With the right kinds of energy, every disease is curable.

Qi Gong

Qi is all around us—it’s the breath of life that flows through every cell in the universe. Qigong (pronounced “chee-gung”) means “working with the qi” and is an ancient system of energy medicine consisting of slow, gentle movements and meditation. As with acupuncture, tui na (therapeutic massage), and so many other forms of Eastern energy work, its goal is to stimulate the flow of qi throughout the body. Practitioners focus on becoming aware of the energy surrounding them, then follow a carefully orchestrated series of slow, intentional movements designed to move that energy in specific ways.

The Way of Qigong

Master San Bao