QIGONG: Activating The Body's Self-Healing Power

Qigong is an ancient practice dating back thousands of years, described by the Chinese as “energy work” and is the art of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation through cultivating and restoring Qi (Chi) "life force or life energy".

The practice of Qigong enhances our ability to perceive the energy that is around us and makes it available. This increased energy promotes health, vitality, emotional balance, mental clarity, intuition, creativity, tranquility, and spiritual awareness.

The term Qi translates as “breath” or “life energy.” China’s ancient healers believed breath to be a fundamental expression of the energy that animates our living world. We have all had the experience in times of stress when our breath comes up into our chest. It’s fast and shallow. This only amplifies the tension we feel. Mindful belly breathing, by contrast, calms us down, grounds us, and helps us return to balance.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, as we breathe, the energy from the fresh air enters and flows around our body. It circulates our human Qi and nourishes the internal organs while pushing out any old, stagnant Qi.

Water needs to keep moving in order to stay fresh. In the same way, if we support the circulation of our Qi, we will live with vitality for many years to come.