“The world may not be peaceful, but we can do much to create peace within.”

Kenneth Cohen in The Way of Qigong.

 What is Qigong?

Hello, today I am writing about Qigong (pronounced “Chi Kung”). Qigong has a history stretching back thousands of years and it is believed to be referenced in the Taoist classic, the Tao Te Ching. It has many styles and if you ask a hundred teachers “what is Qigong?” you will probably get a hundred answers. Some theories suggest its origins lie in the exercises monks used to prepare for long hours of sitting meditation in Zen Monasteries. Others that it was a means of training the body for martial arts such as Tai Chi Chuan or Kung Fu. Some forms are based on the movements of animals while others are static. Most Qigong teachers agree that Qigong is an ancient practice that can involve movement, healing posture, self-massage, breathing techniques and meditation and through regular practice, we learn to improve our health and well-being.

‘Qi’ (pronounced ‘Chi’) is the Chinese term for life energy, the animating power that flows through all living things and which one senses in nature. Qi is the energy that we can feel in the body, or see in the movements of natural phenomena such as the flow of clouds in the sky, the wind blowing through trees and the currents of rivers and oceans. As individuals, we feel it in the rhythm of our breath and heartbeat and the coursing of blood through our arteries. ‘Gong’ (pronounced ‘kung’) means work or practice and so the two terms together mean the practice of cultivating life energy.

There are many styles of Qigong which all come under three categories:

• Moving Qigong, or Dao Yin where Qi is cultivated through movements that open and stretch the energy channels of the body enabling us to cultivate, store and guide our Qi. Healing forms such as Shiatsu, Acupuncture and Tui Na also use these channels.
• Standing Qigong, or Zhan Zhuang where the musculo-skeletal system is aligned by holding static postures to improve the quality of our breathing and build our store of Qi.
• Meditative Qigong, or Nei Gong, an internal practice that trains the mind and enables us to transform and direct our Qi.

I teach a style of Dao Yin called Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi. It was developed in China in the 1970s by Master Lin Housheng and has grown into one of the most popular forms of Qigong in the world today. Master Housheng researched many styles of Qigong and created a series of forms comprised of 18 movements which can be performed in about twenty minutes. Each movement in the form stimulates Qi to flow through the energy channels (sometimes called ‘meridians’) of the body to improve posture and relieve chronic conditions such as back pain and asthma and improve blood circulation and pulmonary respiration.

But Qigong offers more than simple physical exercise. The movements of Qigong harmonise the breath and the body which often leads to a profound sense of tranquillity. As the breathing slows down and deepens and the thinking mind concentrates on the details of the movement, we can let go of physical tension and the stress and worries of the day. This is why Qigong is often called ‘moving meditation’ and can be used as an effective tool for common mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

What to expect in a class

I begin with an extended warm up of ‘Reeling Silk’ a form that opens the joints and stretches the musculature preparing the body for the deeper practices of Zhan Zhuang and Shibashi. after the warm up, I teach one of the core principles of Qigong which we use to deepen our practice of the form as we learn it. Typically, this might include a breathing technique, or learning a standing posture to align the musculo-skeletal system so that muscles can let go and improve our posture. We complete the class by studying one of the sequences of Shibashi and finish with a warm down.

This structure means we are warmed up and focused so that we can let go of the outside world and absorb the content of the class; we learn key concepts to deepen our understanding of Qigong and then we learn a form in which we can put our knowledge into practice. This means anyone can join the class at any time and build their understanding from week to week. It is also a huge benefit to practice the form in a group. When students practise together, their movements synchronise creating a sense of focused calm. This atmosphere of tranquillity supports us in our practice and students often report feeling happier and more positive at the end of class.

I currently teach at About Balance in central Brighton and at New Horizons, in Kensington, West London. If there is anything you would like to ask about Qigong, please feel free to drop me a line here and I hope to see you at one of my classes in the near future.

Tony