Qi Gong is a Chinese Medicine practice combining breath work, body movements and meditation.
Perfect for those who need a routine to get in a chill state.
Britta Stalling from the Hunyuan Qi Therapy and I sat down to talk all about the benefits of Qi Gong on my latest podcast episode 517. (check it out here)
Despite Qi Gong being around for thousands of years many still haven’t heard of it.
This is a shame as it’s one of the most powerful tools to promote circulation and balance within the body.
If you’ve been hanging around with me for a while you’ve likely heard me mention the longevity and overall health benefits of having good circulation.
When the word circulation is mentioned you think of blood pumping through your body thanks to the heart…
…but what if I told you there’s energy behind the movement of your blood and the Chinese call it Qi.
Qi is referred to as energy but it’s also the electrical charge you carry in your cells and body as a whole.
You can’t see Qi but you can feel it.
Ever turned to see your friend behind you just as they were about to tap on your shoulder?
You felt their presence aka Qi.
Have you felt the mood of a room when you walked in?
That’s you feeling the collective Qi of multiple people feeling a similar emotion.
Your Qi can be felt in terms of different types of pain, sensations and temperature feelings.
In Chinese Medicine there are a variety of diagnoses given to clients based on Qi.
For example:
- Qi deficiency pain – area likes heat, pressure
- Qi stagnation pain – area likes cold, no pressure
- Qi and blood stagnation – often an acute injury like an ankle sprain
- Qi and blood deficiency – a long standing pain like low back or knee pain
You can also pair organs that are weaker or working overtime with Qi diagnoses.
For example – here are two common ones:
- Kidney Qi deficiency – low back and knee pain, cold feeling in the back, chronic fatigue
- Liver Qi Stagnation – stressed out, drinking too much alcohol, constipation, anger, pain in the liver area
Because Qi is not something you can see it’s been considered woo woo by many despite the benefits of learning how to move and control your own Qi.
Masters of Qi Gong will tell you of many stories where people have eliminated their symptoms and health conditions based on improving their circulation of Qi.
As an acupuncturist I’ve seen people come in with pain and leave without it.
I’ve also seen people come in stressed, angry and overwhelmed and leave in a peaceful state.
Sometimes the pain or feelings return and other times they are gone for good.
What allows symptoms and emotions to clear for good between acupuncture sessions?
Keeping the Qi flowing after the acupuncture session gave you a kickstart.
Acupuncture is simply a tool to restore Qi movement.
What I’ve been overlooking is my clients need Qi Gong exercises in between acupuncture to maintain the effect of the acupuncture treatment.
Gong means practice.
Sure I recommended breath work, play and finding chill.
What I’ve not covered with many clients was the art of Qi Gong aka “energy practice”.
Qi is the physics going on in your body.
Lab results and symptoms are the chemistry.
Your physics become out of balance before your chemistry and labs.
Britta Stalling mentions how she experienced symptoms of menopause for a few months but was able to relieve them with her Qi Gong practice.
What if there were a Qi Gong practice you could do 5 minutes a day to keep circulation of Qi and Blood going to counter what’s “stuck” in your chemistry?
Britta talks about two gongs (aka practices) in our podcast.
The first is… 9 minutes of smiling at yourself in the mirror daily to lift your mood and relieve stress.(funny faces to make yourself laugh count too!)
Sounds odd but you likely have a mirror in the bathroom.
Time yourself for a minute and smile at yourself every time you go to the bathroom.
While there are a plethora of Qi Gong practices for every ailment out there – who doesn’t love a good smile?
Stay tuned for tomorrow – where I’ll be sharing a 5 minute Qi Gong for longevity, mood boosting and total body circulation.
Can’t wait for tomorrow? Listen in to our podcast now and try it out for yourself today!
Here’s to getting your Qi moving,
Dr. Jannine Krause
