Qigong

Qi Gong (literally breath exercise),is an invaluable component of traditional Chinese medicine that has its origin in ancient times. Its primary stimulus was the search for longevity with the ultimate aim of immortality, which has so entranced the Chinese mind for centuries. The records shows the exercises to help the qi (the human body's vital energy) circulating freely and to nourish the internal organs dated to the Shang Dynasty (16th-11th centuries B.C.). The actual practice of qigong began in the fourth century A.D. Since then the search by physician and patient for greater health, techniques of religious cultivation and the martial artist's quest for better training methods all contributed greatly to its development and enrichment over the following centuries. The Taoist, Buddhist, Confucian, Medical and Martial schools of practice developed.

Unique to China only, Qigong has become an integral part of the the Chinese culture. Qigong exercise can produce a myriad of beneficial effects, of which the most common are preventing and curing diseases, strengthening the constitution, avoiding premature aging, and prolonging life. Qigong exercise requires one to relax, to be calm, natural and free from distractions, so that it can remove stress, and dispel tension. Qigong exercise helps to keep the main and collateral channels in good shape to establish harmony between vital energy and blood, to balance between Yin and Yang, and improve coordination of the nervous system, so that protective inhibition of the cerebral cortex can be enhance. Qigong exercise helps to reduce fundamental metabolism, increase the capacity of storing energy, apply massage to the abdomen and improve appetite and brings good digestion. Qigong exercise helps to tap the body potentialities, stimulate positive factors, and enhance one's self-control. Therefore, it becomes an effective measure to attain health and longevity. Qigong masters and medical practitioners have developed a theory from a wealth of experience and practice of Qigong over many centuries. The modern scientific research and evaluation of qigong exercise has attracted increasing attention from academic and intellectual circles around the world. This may bring the benefits of qigong intellectual to light, but it may leave mechanistic dogmatism to Qigong phenomena.