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The theory.

The effects of qigong on the body, its long history and the nine characteristics of Zhineng Qigong.

Qigong is the core of Traditional Chinese Medicine and has a longer history than Chinese medicine itself. This page gathers the theoretical foundations of the discipline: the effects on the body, the history, the mechanisms through which it works and the nine characteristics that distinguish Zhineng Qigong from other systems of practice.

Zhineng Qigong practice in Lampedusa

The effects of qigong on the body

The practice of qigong rebalances the yin-yang aspect in the body, harmonizes qi and blood, cleanses the meridian system, accumulates internal qi and strengthens life. The old and the weak become strong, while the sick recover. All of this has been proven by millions of practitioners and even by medical science.

(i)

The nervous system

The practice of qigong can repair and regulate the nervous system. During practice the electroencephalogram shows an increase in α waves radiating from the occipital lobe toward the front, with concentration on the frontal lobe — unlike when α waves concentrate in the occipital lobe because we are at rest with our eyes closed. The left and right hemispheres synchronize: a sign that the functions of the brain have become more ordered. This regulates the involuntary nervous system and improves perception, so as to react intuitively and think systematically.

In the early 2000s Richard Davidson, of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, used brain imaging techniques to show that meditation shifts the activity of the prefrontal cortex (right behind the forehead) from the right hemisphere to the left. His research suggests that, with regular meditation, the brain turns from a mode of stress to one of acceptance — a change that increases fulfilment.

(ii)

Blood circulation

The practice of qigong improves the blood circulation of the heart, the vessels and the capillaries by lowering the level of estradiol in the blood: a sign of an anti-ageing effect.

(iii)

The respiratory system

During practice both the consumption of oxygen and the expulsion of carbon dioxide decrease: respiratory cycles per minute are reduced and lung function improves significantly. In 1967 Dr. Herbert Benson, professor at Harvard Medical School, studied 36 practitioners of transcendental meditation and found that in meditation they consumed 17% less oxygen and their heartbeat slowed. Qigong is ecological!

(iv)

The digestive system

The production of saliva and gastric juices increases, intestinal motility grows and digestive function is thereby improved.

(v)

The endocrine system

The pituitary gland and all the endocrine glandular tissue are regulated: the levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline are lowered, as is LDL cholesterol. There are many clinical reports of people with diabetes, hyperthyroidism, amenorrhea and other endocrine disorders cured with the practice of qigong.

All these clinical reports and experiments show the positive effect of qigong. With Zhineng Qigong one not only recovers from illnesses and regains health: there is also a proven effectiveness in shaping the body. We have witnessed a practitioner who lost six kilos in a month and another who gained three, both without particular diets; many have seen skin blemishes disappear or hair regrow.

A long history

Qigong is the core of TCM and has a longer history than Chinese medicine itself. Although the word is ancient, it became popular only in the 1950s, when doctors and scientists began to research its effectiveness in maintaining health. At that time the word qigong acquired a more favourable status compared to more abstruse descriptions such as daoyin (conduction), tuna (expelling stagnant energy and absorbing fresh energy) and yangsheng (maintaining and improving health). References to qigong can be found in a mass of texts and writings spanning more than 3000 years of history.

How it works: health and healing

The mechanism by which qigong produces health benefits is still the subject of scientific research, and different types of qigong explain it in different ways. Throughout its history, qigong has been used as a method to cure illnesses and strengthen mind and body. According to TCM and the scientific literature in Chinese, qigong might work according to the criteria listed below.

  1. 1
    The trained qi (the vital energy that flows more strongly in the meridians after practice) unblocks the areas of illness in the body. According to TCM good health is the result of free flow and good balance of the energy system, while illness and pain arise from blocked qi and energy imbalance in certain areas of the body. Practising qigong allows the qi to flow freely, so that the cells constantly receive vital force. It is a common experience for practitioners to feel a brief worsening of symptoms, due to this "bombardment" of the diseased areas with qi: pains and symptoms then disappear completely with practice.
  2. 2
    The cultivation of yi (consciousness and intention) and the emphasis on a "mind empty and without desires" help the practitioner to strengthen consciousness and intention, release repressed emotions and resolve the contradictions of the psyche. Many chronic disorders can be traced back precisely to social pressures and problems of emotional origin: the practice can lead to their release. It often happens that practitioners find themselves crying or laughing during the session, only to feel complete relief once it has ended.
  3. 3
    A quality practice rapidly brings out the body's innate potential for self-healing: the capacity to increase the immune defences, to self-protect and to self-regenerate. The relaxation and tranquillity reached with practice relieve stress and enhance the functions of the immune system, as confirmed by the scientific evidence on relaxation and guided visualization. It has been observed that many patients with complex pathologies have recovered in a short time without medication.

The nine characteristics of Zhineng Qigong

In Zhineng Qigong there are nine great characteristics that indicate the points that differentiate it from the other systems of practice.

  1. 1

    Its own theoretical apparatus

    The theory of hunyuan wholes: it includes the theory of hunyuanqi, the theory of wholes, the hunyuanqi of man, the theory of awareness (yishi), the theory of daode, the theory of the improvement of vital processes and the hunyuan medical treatment.

  2. 2

    Its own system of practices

    Three types of exercises — dynamic, static and spontaneous movement — that pass through the phases of external, internal and median hunyuan. The path is divided into three stages and six levels: from Peng qi guan ding fa (external hunyuan), through xingshenzhuang and wuyuanzhuang (internal hunyuan), to the return to the origin (median hunyuan). The sanxin bing zhanzhuang position is the basic method that ferries from one level to the next.

  3. 3

    It gathers the strong points of the other systems

    Zhineng Qigong has gathered the essence of the methods of the Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist, medical, martial and popular schools, transforming their organic structure into a complete system.

  4. 4

    New teaching methods: the three transmissions

    With the heart/mind (the composition of the qi field), with the word (the principles of teaching) and with the body (the posture). The three transmissions allow people with different levels of health and receptive capacity to obtain results.

  5. 5

    An active use of awareness

    Quiet and emptiness are not sought, nor is thought moved as in the exercises of the celestial circulation: one is only asked to use consciousness actively, to gather the psyche in the movements of the body.

  6. 6

    A safe practice

    Regulating the flow of qi by means of qi — conducted with thought, with the body and with sounds — is a safe and reliable method: one does not practise dangerously.

  7. 7

    An open system

    Form, qi and mind remain open, so that the internal qi of the body and the qi of the natural world stay in connection. The combined training of external and internal hunyuan makes the results clearly visible in the cure of illnesses and in the effectiveness of the exercises.

  8. 8

    The external hunyuan is the qi of the natural world

    The process of emitting external qi is the training of the abilities with which one regulates the hunyuanqi of the natural world: in doing so one does not damage one's own qi of the dantian.

  9. 9

    Clear reactions to the practice

    It includes the reactions to illnesses, the reactions to the pouring of qi into the diseased point and the reactions to the practice itself.

Source: zhinengqigong.it — The nine great characteristics of Zhineng Qigong