Medical Qi Gong, one of the four branches of Chinese medicine
Medical Qi Gong has been used for thousands of years in addressing all manner of health imbalance. It is Chinese medicine’s version of energy work. The medical qi gong therapist uses focus, intention, and meditative states to accomplish particular health goals for the client. By using the roadmap and diagnostic principles of Chinese medicine as well energetic healing states, the qi gong therapist can make significant changes in the energetic substructure of the client in order to improve their health and wellbeing.
Today’s world with its increase in pollution, pesticides, smog, stress, and overuse of pharmaceuticals has created a perfect storm of health imbalances and symptoms that persist and lead to more and more physical signs of discomfort and dis-ease. These types of stressors, as well as poor diet, suppression of emotions, aging and injuries, can lead to disruptions in the electromagnetic energy of the body. Medial Qigong offers a way to clear blockages and regulate imbalances, helping you achieve a calmer, happier, more centered state of being.
Take a moment to recall and visualize a peak experience in your life in which you remember feeling the best you have ever felt. This could be an experience in nature, hiking or swimming in the ocean, or simply any experience of the joy being alive (the picture at the top of this article is a place where we each have experienced a peak moment). Observe and notice the sensations in your body as you recall this experience. Use as many of your senses to recreate the experience as viscerally as you can. You may notice that feel differently inside your body than before you started this exercise. Notice what exactly has changed for you and what is different. Medical qi gong, similarly harnesses our ability to transform internal environments to promote deep states of relaxation and vitality.
There are three different types of methods used in Chinese medicine, whether it is herbal medicine, acupuncture, or medical qi gong.
One method is purgation which involves clearing negative or toxic emotions and qi. An example of this is the use of sounds to purge stagnant emotions and energy from the body’s organ systems. In our CD, Qi Gong for Radiant Health, we introduce the healing sounds connected to the five key organ systems in the body to help you become more aware of the health of each organ and to release any emotions that have become stuck in the body. A second method involves tonification which nourishes and improves the strength of the organ systems. An example of tonification is the visualization of a color within a specific organ. In our CD, Qi Gong for Radiant Health, a color is used with each organ to help strengthen the organ system. The third method involves the use of regulation techniques which harmonize and balance the flow of qi in the body. Each track on Qi Gong for Radiant Health combines both the healing sound and the color for each specific organ system, which, when used in combination, is a way to regulate qi flow for that organ system. The goal with medical qi gong, as with all of Chinese medicine, is to identify and address the root of the imbalance.
With any medical qi gong session, we typically teach specific qi gong exercises that you can practice on your own to help you access your internal infrastructure and manage qi flow. The exercises are tailored to you and your individual experience and give you the opportunity to not only become more attuned to and aware of your inner infrastructure, but also teach you important self care tools that are yours for a lifetime.
Over the next several months, we will be sending out a series of articles about different aspects of medical qi gong and qi gong practice, including how medical qi gong is used to address specific physical, emotional, and spiritual issues, as well as the different types of experiences you might have in a medical qi gong session. For more information about scheduling a medical qi gong session, including the answers to commonly asked questions, click here.
Andres Vergara, Dipl.Om, L.Ac and Michele Collins Vergara, RH (AHG), MPH
