Health Chi gong
TQigong (or ch'i kung) is an internal Chinese meditative practice with over 3000 years of history, which often uses slow graceful movements and controlled breathing techniques. The Chinese believed that through gentle exercise which incorporates the mind, breathing and body helps to cultivate and promote circulation of qi within the human body, thus enhance a practitioner's overall health.
There are various forms of Qigong, some are done with no movement at all, in standing, sitting and supine positions, some with gentle movements and some with movements mixed with stretching of the body or dynamic exertion of power. There are more than 10,000 styles of qigong and 200 million people practicing them all over China and the world.
The Chinese character for qi, in qigong, can mean air, breath, or "life force". Gong means work, so qigong is therefore the practice of "working" with ones "life force". Currently there is a movement underway in China, the United States, and Europe to preserve the valuable aspects of these traditional Chinese practices and to have them studied using Western scientific methods. Now more and more western medicine doctors, researchers and scientists accepted the fact that through regular practice fo Qigong or TaiChi helps maintain better physical and psycological health and wellbeing. Chinese Traditional Medicine Doctors, practitioners also believed that qi can be felt as a vibration or electrical current and physically circulated through channels called meridians. Many testify to a reduction or elimination of pain through the use of qigong.
