What IS Qigong?
Qigong! Have you tried it yet?
Qigong is rapidly gaining steam in the health and fitness world because it's such a potent tool to create a healthier body and calmer mind - all at the same time! At the health club where I teach yoga, lots of folks are now requesting Qigong. Contrast this to 5 or 10 years ago when almost no one even knew what it was! Let's find out exactly what qigong is in today's article!
To understand Qigong we first need to define 'Qi'.
the Chinese character for 'Qi'
'Qi' (pronounced "chee") is the Chinese word for energy, and in the context of Qigong it means our vitality, our life-force. By now we all know about the mind-body connection, it's become an important part of the practice of modern medicine. Studies have demonstrated that when we sit too long we get depressed, while going for a walk can raise our mood. When we dwell on anxious thoughts our stomachs get upset, dwelling on angry thoughts can raise our blood pressure. Clearly, there's some "energy" at play between our minds and bodies, and we can call that energy "Qi".
So 'Qi' is the energy of our mind-body connection, what's "Gong"? "Gong" means work, success, or skill.
When we practice Qigong, we're working to become skillful with our mind-body connection.
Wouldn't that be amazing? Rather than having our angry thoughts give us a headache, we could change our body posture and breathing to reduce (or release) frustration and thus stave off the physical discomfort! Rather ending the day worn down and depressed, we could remember to get up out of our seat and move to keep the energy flowing! We're always engaging the mind-body connection - they're connected no matter what - but we're not always skillful about it. Qigong is the art of learning how this connection between mind and body works, and then using it to our best advantage.
The Three Tools
To take advantage of the mind-body connection, Qigong uses three main tools, called the 'Three 'Regulations". These are regulating the body, breath, and mind.
Regulating the body:
We now know that our posture has a lot to do with our state of mind. We already saw above how research is showing that if we sit too long we get frustrated and depressed, but other studies show that practicing postures like "superwoman pose" can give you more confidence.
Qigong is filled with these mind-body postures as well as stretches that are revitalizing for your joints, muscles, and even internal organs!
Regulating the breath:
The breath also has powerful connections to our mood and our felt sense of vitality. A new study from Huberman's lab showed that simply sighing for a few minutes a day can provide more relaxation than some meditation practices!
The breath is a powerful key to calming the mind or energizing the body, and is often coordinated with the body movements of qigong.
Regulating the mind:
Just like many athletes have realized, your mindset can change everything! Sports psychology has also found that practices of visualization can dramatically affect your performance. The same holds through for all aspects of our life, whether it's rehearsing for a job interview, or utilizing an affirmation from your therapist.
Medicine is also finding that visualization or intention can help augment the body's healing process. Qigong practices down through the centuries have used mental intention to direct our vital "energy" toward all of these diverse effects.
Want to try the three regulations? Follow along with the minute-and-a-half practice in the attached video!
What is Qigong? It's a body of practices including body movements and postures, breath training, and mental focus - with the aim of maximizing our vitality! There is no one form of Qigong, but rather thousands of different lineages emerging from millennia of Chinese history - including the modern era! I hope this article inspires you to practice a little bit of qigong, and informs you a bit more about the "why" when you do!
