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Practicing Qigong can enhance fitness, dispel illness, and prolong life. This exercise method, which combines intention, movement, and coordinated breathing, improves and enhances the body’s self-regulatory functions by clearing the body’s meridians, balancing yin and yang, reducing energy consumption, and regulating mental states.
1. Qigong is a unique method of physical exercise.
(1) Qigong practice transforms “qi” (气) into energy for health. “Qi” is a substance that provides essential nutrients to the body, existing everywhere and at all times. Qigong practice is a method of converting this substance into energy for health.
Traditional Chinese health philosophy regards “jing (精), qi (气), and shen (神)” as the three treasures of the human body. The earliest medical text in China, the “Huangdi Neijing” (黄帝内经), provides a detailed discussion on “qi” and the principles of Qigong. The “Huangdi Neijing” states that “qi” is the minute substance that constitutes the human body. “The upper jiao develops, suitable for the flavors of grains, nourishing the skin and body, like the dew moistening the earth.” It flows like water and moves like the sun and moon, continuously nourishing the organs internally and moistening the skin externally.
Thus, the “Huangdi Neijing” asserts that “when the righteous qi is stored within, evil cannot invade,” and “calmness and emptiness allow true qi to flow, with the spirit guarded internally, illness comes from peace.” As long as the body is filled with righteous qi (true qi), it can defend against diseases. If one “breathes in essence, guards the spirit, and relaxes the muscles,” focusing on breathing exercises, absorbing the true qi from the universe, eliminating all distractions, and concentrating on the dantian, then “illness will come from peace.” This way, one can achieve longevity without end.
Practitioners of Qigong accumulate and transform essence into energy through methods such as nourishing qi and gathering qi, improving energy supply, enhancing blood circulation, and regulating the endocrine system, leading to abundant true qi in the body and enhanced self-regulatory and defensive functions, resulting in the effects of dispelling illness and enhancing fitness.
(2) Qigong practice guides qi with intention, promotes blood circulation with qi, and clears the meridians, facilitating the flow of qi and blood.
The theory of meridians is one of the fundamental theories of traditional Chinese medicine and serves as the basis for Qigong cultivation and qi pathway theory. Meridians are the pathways through which qi and blood flow in the body. The term “jing” refers to the main pathways, while “luo” refers to the branches, forming a network that connects the entire body, facilitating organic connections and overall activity.
Meridians are the pathways for qi and blood circulation. The internal organs and limbs require qi and blood for nourishment. For qi and blood to reach the entire body, they must flow through the meridians. Under normal conditions, the meridians are unobstructed, and qi and blood flow according to the rules of the twelve meridians. When the meridians are clear, there is health; when they are obstructed, various diseases may arise, which is the principle of “where there is flow, there is no pain; where there is pain, there is no flow.”
Qigong practice relies on three elements: adjusting the body, adjusting the mind, and adjusting the breath. The movements, similar to “bear stretching and bird extending,” combined with guiding qi with intention and promoting blood circulation with qi, lead to the clearing of meridians and smooth flow of qi and blood. During practice, relaxation of the body and mind allows the obstructed meridians to be cleared through the power of intention, facilitating the flow of qi and blood. Additionally, using intention to eliminate pathogenic qi achieves the goal of dispelling illness and enhancing fitness.
2. Understanding the mechanisms of Qigong from physiological and medical perspectives.
(1) Qigong practice guides the internal flow of “qi” through thought and intention, achieving health benefits, akin to an internal massage effect on the body.
Thoughts have a direct effect on their objects, particularly in terms of mechanical effects, which can be described as the effect of intention. When this effect reaches a certain intensity, it can serve as an internal massage for the limbs. For instance, deep and prolonged breathing during Qigong practice can provide a beneficial internal massage to the internal organs. Additionally, guiding the qi from the dantian to the extremities also serves as an internal massage. External massage is effective, but internal massage is even more effective and simpler. Practitioners can simply focus their thoughts on massaging the acupoints along the meridians.
If the intensity of the internal massage exceeds the osmotic pressure of the cell membrane, it can lead to forced metabolism between cells, facilitating dialysis exchange. The accelerated recovery of cuts, fractures, and sports injuries after Qigong treatment is related to this metabolic effect.
(2) Qigong practice can regulate the distribution of bioenergy in the brain, enhancing cognitive physiological functions.
During Qigong practice, individuals gradually enter a state of tranquility, suppressing the frequency of random thoughts, which reduces the excitability of brain cells involved in thinking and activity, leading to positive rest. This reduction in energy consumption for thought activities allows for energy reserves. The stored energy benefits the brain’s energy supply during cognitive tasks, making thinking more agile and significantly improving work efficiency. In other words, Qigong practice can regulate the distribution of bioenergy in the brain and enhance cognitive physiological function levels.
(3) Qigong practice can activate and enhance the body’s immune functions.
The human body possesses five levels of immune function: genetic stability, protein rejection, cellular rejection, organ compensation, and autonomous immune thinking. Individuals below the Qigong responsive state have insufficient meridian system activity, with only the first three levels of immune function being active. Those who reach above the Qigong responsive state can activate and utilize the latter two levels of immune function. Therefore, individuals with all five levels of immune function have a higher health level than those with only three levels. Only Qigong practice can help activate the latter two levels of immune function.
(4) Qigong practice can achieve longevity by reducing the frequency of breathing and lowering energy consumption.
The lifespan of humans and animals is related to breathing frequency; the fewer breaths taken per unit time, the longer the lifespan. For example, dogs breathe 50 times per minute and live for 14 years; humans breathe 14 to 18 times and live around 100 years; turtles breathe 2 to 3 times per minute and can live over 500 years. Turtles spend most of their time in a state of breath-holding underwater. During the early months of embryonic development, humans exist in an environment with low oxygen and high carbon dioxide. Practice has shown that most practitioners can naturally achieve a breathing rate of 2 breaths per minute after practicing the “Shen Gui Fu Qi” (神龟服气) method for six months. This deep breathing allows for a greater intake of oxygen, but the total amount of oxygen inhaled per minute is significantly less than during normal breathing, resulting in a state of lower oxygen and relatively higher carbon dioxide, thus reducing energy consumption.
Hibernating animals tend to have longer lifespans. During hibernation, their breathing and energy consumption drop to the minimum metabolic level required for survival. In the meditative state achieved during practice, metabolic rates decrease significantly, leading to reduced energy consumption, which is beneficial for longevity.
3. The psychological regulation effects of Qigong practice and the effects of psychological suggestion.
(1) Qigong practice has a positive psychological regulation effect on the body.
During Qigong practice, individuals are encouraged to relax, and many methods require the elimination of distracting thoughts, allowing for a natural state of calm. Entering tranquility often requires specific visualization, focusing on beautiful and desirable things, which helps to cast aside unpleasant and tense feelings.
For example, in yoga, there is a method called “meditation,” and in Qigong, there is a method called “visualization.” Both involve practitioners using specific thoughts to imagine beautiful environments, joyful experiences from childhood, or the pleasures of life after entering a tranquil state. This method effectively regulates psychological states, leading to feelings of relaxation and joy, which are highly beneficial for health.
(2) Psychological suggestion during Qigong practice can stimulate the body’s self-recovery abilities and achieve self-regulation of life.
The self-practice process of Qigong and group practice are inseparable from psychological suggestion. Especially in guided practice, Qigong instructors use verbal suggestions and psychological cues to achieve their goals. Sometimes, the effects produced are astonishing. This effect is achieved by regulating psychological states through suggestion, stimulating the body’s self-recovery and self-repair potential, and achieving self-regulation of life.
The psychological regulation and suggestion effects in Qigong therapy should not be underestimated. Patients are required to show respect and humility in front of the Qigong master, which is essentially a way to regulate their psychological state. Verbal suggestions shift the patient’s attention and tension, and the suggestion itself serves as information, producing therapeutic effects.
Practicing Qigong for health is scientifically justified; it is indeed an effective and easy method for public fitness. The effectiveness of practice is influenced by various factors, including individual sensitivity to qi, choice of methods, guidance received, adherence to proper practice, and personal goals. As long as practitioners understand the principles of Qigong and maintain a relaxed, natural, and calm state without excessive attachment to outcomes, they can safely and effectively enhance fitness, dispel illness, and prolong life.
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