Very often, when I mention teaching Qigong I get the Question: "What's that?"
Actually there is no quick or easy way to describe what Qigong is. However, in this website I will offer my personal understanding of Qigong, what it means to me and what I would offer to you as my student.
In a nutshell:
Qigong is a philosophy about life that teaches us how to maintain our bodies in optimal health and to bring our mental and emotional faculties into harmony so that we can meet life and its challenges with confidence.
Qigong is an ancient practice of developing the awareness of and skill with the energy of vitality known as Qi. Students learn to use breath control, motion, visualization and internal focus to gather and direct this energy. Qigong includes disciplines of both non-medical for health and fitness as well as medical for prophylactic, therapeutic and restorative healing. Qigong is also a foundational practice for many martial arts systems.
In my studio, instruction for beginners focuses on rapidly developing the awareness of the energy of vitality known as Qi. Once the student develops the awareness, they can begin to develop the skill. The student also learns Tai Chi fundamentals to supplement the traditional Qigong practices. The student may opt for private lessons or participate in group classes. Intermediate and advanced training is also available. Students learn to use breath control, gentle movement, visualization and internal focus to gather, refine, concentrate and direct the Qi.
The Chinese symbol for Qigong is:
You can see from the pictograph that the name "Qigong" is actually two Chinese words. They are "Qi" and "Gong". Any depiction of Chinese words in the Roman alphabet is an attempt to provide a representation of how the words sound. For speakers of American English, a better representation might be "chee-gong". I use the spelling "Qigong" because that's how I learned it.
The concept of Qi is vast. It stands for energy, vitality, solidity. Qi supports every aspect of the universe from the way the planet Earth provides solidity to the way the sun and stars make their light, and everything in between. I wrote a brief article which was published recently that provides an explanation, in some depth, of Qi. It is titled "Qigong for the Home"
The concept of "Gong" has to do with work, but not just any kind of work. Gong is skilled work. Think about it for a moment...
| Consider the difference between the skill it takes to toss a pebble into a pond and the skill it takes to make a three-pointer in a basketball game. With a little encouragement, a two-year-old can develop the skill to get that pebble to make a splash in that pond, but it takes years of diligent practice and training to get that game-winning three-point goal working for you. |
By direct translation, Qigong is about cultivating the skill of working with Qi through diligent practice. The wonderful thing about Qigong is that it is beneficial at any level of skill. As long as you can draw a breath and form an intent, you can benefit from Qigong and build your skill with Qi by practicing Qigong.