WHAT IS QIGONG?
Qigong, very simply, is the attraction of vital energy through breathing, posture, visualization, movement and meditation.
Qi is typically translated as life force energy. It is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese Medicine and Martial Arts. This definition also includes the air we breathe and describes the relationship between matter, energy and spirit.
Gong (or Kung) is often translated as cultivation or work/Skill. It includes the concept of practice, skill, achievement and mastery. It is often used to mean GongFu (Kung Fu) in a traditional sense of achievement through great effort.
Combining the two words, QIGONG describes a system to cultivate and enhance/balance life energy, especially for health and longevity.
To go deeper into the subject, Qigong is a martial art energy practice that is the oldest documented practice dating back between 5,000 and 8,000 years, depending on what form of documentation we are talking about.
The term Qigong was first promoted during the 1940’s through the 1950’s to refer to a broad range of Chinese self-cultivation exercises to emphasize health and scientific approaches, while de-emphasizing spiritual practices, mysticism, and elite lineages, as Qigong does not require any specific religious beliefs or dogmas.
About 1122 B.C., The Book of Change (I Ching) first recorded the concept of qi or vital energy. Studying the relationship of three powers—heaven, earth, and man---was an early step in the development of Qigong. Around 450 B.C., Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, described breathing techniques in his book Dao De Jing (or Tao De Jing), recommending that the breath be collected and allowed to descend in the body. Interest in breath and life force (qi) was heightened during this period and became one of the roots of Chinese Medicine, along with the concepts of yin and yang and the five elements.
Much like many high level martial arts, the knowledge of Qigong secrets were traditionally shared from master to student in elite unbroken lineages, and typically taught in secret using esoteric traditions of training and oral-mind transmissions. Eventually in the late 1960’s and early 70’s, with slow progress, some of the knowledge had begun to be passed down either from direct transmission or observance by the general public. Typically it was a very controlled thing. Qigong grew in popularity from the 1970’s through the 1990’s with estimates of between 60 and 200 million practitioners throughout China. By 1999, the practice of Qigong spread worldwide.
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