Qi Gong is a Chinese way to health, fitness, beautiful skin and hair, weight loss, longevity, a calm mind and high energy.

Do you think it is possible to achieve all this while standing still? It is, when you stand in a very special way. In this article I would like to introduce you to the art of Qi Gong. You will be able to learn this exercise [not that you do much moving!] and if you practice it patiently each day, in time you will be rewarded with improved health and fitness. As you continue to practise your body adjusts internally and externally. You feel better and you look better – and it makes no difference whether you are young or old, fit or unfit, overweight or underweight – you will look better but most importantly, you will feel better than when you began.

How can I be so confident? For over 30 years now I have included Qi Gong in my exercise program and I reap the rewards of all the above-named benefits. Not only that I have seen it transform others as well and I know it can benefit you too. I believe that incorporating Qi Gong into one’s life is a form of health insurance, because it helps your internal organs and your glands to function properly. So long as you also put good, fresh and natural fuel into body, your regular dose of Qi Gong will facilitate slowing the ageing process of your cells.

Breath and breathing are an integral and important part of Qi Gong training, much like it is in Yoga and Tai Ji Quan [which is an elaborate form of Qi Gong]. We take long, slow deep breaths, which calm the mind and connect mind and body – an essential part of the process. Slow, deep breathing coupled with specific postures and movements helps to oxygenate the cells, which in turn means the cells are better nourished with both blood and oxygen. This helps in removing toxins and replenishing cells with fresh blood, air and Qi.

So, what is Qi Gong?

Let us begin with defining these two oft-misunderstood terms. Qi, which is pronounced ‘chee’, as in ‘cheese’ and sometimes written as chi, is Chinese for the life force energy that permeates all living things, including Mother Earth. Gong means hard work or achievement through disciplined activity such as exercise. Qi Gong is a healing art using a series of gentle focused exercises for body and mind.

It is a well-known fact in China, that the regular and consistent practise of certain Qi Gong exercises has the potential to slow the ageing process. People of the Orient are well known for their youthful appearance into old age. While there are many and varied reasons for this, the Chinese have known for several thousand years that the best way to maintain one’s youthful looks and vigour is to take care of one’s Qi.

This is where Qi Gong comes in, as it is an excellent way to generate Qi and to keep it moving throughout the body. In traditional Chinese medicine [TCM] the continuous flow and movement of Qi through the meridians [energy pathways] of the body is what is considered essential in keeping the body healthy and warding off disease. Both Qi Gong and TCM operate from the quantum perspective that Qi controls or rules the body. Thus whatever is going on at the physical level is a direct reflection of what is going on with your Qi. It also tells a lot about your thoughts and beliefs, because what you think about yourself informs your Qi of what to do [or not do] with your body.

As a practitioner of TCM for over 20 years it is my opinion that the most effective way of maintaining health and vitality and warding off disease is by cultivating your Qi, and that the practice of Qi Gong is the most effective way to achieve that.

Qi Gong Exercises

There are a large variety of Qi Gong exercises, some have quite dynamic movements, others are static; some are meditations others visualisations; but they all have a basic foundation and that is what I am going to teach you here. If you master these two postures and can do them for around 20 minutes a day, you will begin to notice some of the abovementioned benefits. Before we begin the exercises we need to learn how to stand and breathe correctly, according to Qi Gong.

Standing

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and parallel; your arms by your sides with palms slightly facing the back; your head is upright and your chin tucked in a little so that the crown of your head is uppermost. Feel or imagine that a string connected to your crown point is supporting you from above.

Now allow your weight to rock forward slightly on to the ball of your foot – keep you heels on the ground. Then rock back so that more weight is on your heels with your toes still on the floor. Move back and forward a few times to get a sense of the different feelings, then find your centre – your weight should be neither too far forward nor too far back. This is your Qi Gong standing position.