Qigong, in its many forms, has been a tool forwarding human evolution for four thousand years and counting. Now more than ever, it is imperative that Qigong be implemented into our lifestyles. Applied properly, this practice can again propel our development upward — as a culture and as a species.
How I found the work
2008 was my first introduction to Qigong, at age 21. That was “Slow-Style” Qigong, and the only form I was aware of. The following year gifted an introduction to world-class Five Elements Medical Qigong. When I first started learning the advanced forms, what stood out was the age gap — I was usually the youngest person in the room by fifteen years or more. Yet my interest deepened as the change, inner and outer, kept developing.
The average Qigong student is often a senior, or someone prescribed the practice for a chronic ailment — arthritis, RA, osteopenia, osteoporosis, Parkinson’s. The studies of Qigong’s benefits for those situations have been proven for over forty years. But a new set of benefits was personal to me: hard to see at first, easily felt, and impossible to ignore.
The commonly known benefits
A few of the most widely recognized benefits of Qigong include:
Increases in
- Circulation
- Respiration
- Digestion
- Elimination
- Mobility & range of motion
Regulation of
- Blood pressure
- Hormone levels
- General organ health
- Most autonomic functions
Decreases in
- Inflammation
- Chronic pain
- Joint stiffness
- Muscle atrophy
- Rate of degeneration
The benefits no one talks about
My experience includes all of the above — and more. Having been diagnosed with several of the usual disorders (ADHD, bipolar, OCD, dyslexia), several of the benefits I found were new and unspoken of:
- Immediate stress and anxiety reduction
- Immediate depression and self-pity reduction
- Gradual reduction of dyslexic tendencies
- Increased internal and spatial awareness
- Increased sensitivity and proprioception
- Increased hand-eye coordination and dexterity
- Increased hemispherical balance and control over the non-dominant side
- Increased libido and stamina
- Increased explosiveness and power
- Increased running speed and body control
- Faster mental processing and decision making
- Faster reaction time
- Faster comprehension and integration
- Faster post-workout recovery
- Faster metabolism
- Emotional balance and regulation
- Significant scar-tissue elimination
- Enhanced empathy
- Enhanced verbal articulation — just to name a few
The proof: food-allergy testing and a DEXA scan
Aside from these subjective benefits, a food-allergy test and a DEXA body scan gave more concrete results.
After a childhood of sensitivities to several foods — strawberries, cashews, avocados, dairy, wheat — the allergy test came back negative for all foods, pet and animal hair/dander, and environmental sources. The same panel included an extensive blood analysis showing optimal results in all categories, and outstanding in a few (namely kidney function).
The DEXA Body Scan revealed that my bone density, muscle density, and hemispherical weight distribution are all in the top 1% of the population.
That is highly unusual given my ectomorphic frame and stature — the smallest of the three basic body types. These facts more than prove the preventative qualities of Qigong.
Why Qigong reaches more people than any other practice
Qigong is extremely versatile. There are sitting, standing, and moving styles, taught at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. It’s taught in sections and sets, using the breath to count repetitions. Sessions can last from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the practitioner and their goals. Pieces are borrowed from the sets to create recipes for individuals when used medicinally.
These exercises are gentle enough to perform multiple times daily, yet powerful enough to deliver desired results in the moment. That makes Qigong more accessible and useful to more of the population than any other exercise genre known.
Who I’m promoting Qigong protocols for
Can you think of anyone who could appreciate some of these benefits? With even more to be experienced, I now promote Qigong protocols for all demographics, including:
- Youths and adults experiencing depression and mood disorders
- Youths and adults with special needs
- Adults and seniors with chronic and acute ailments
- All hospital patients
- Adults with sedentary jobs
- Adults with degenerative disorders
And now reaching for new beneficiaries — athletes and lifters, from youth to professional levels — for:
- Conditioning & endurance
- Injury treatment
- Injury prevention
- Overall performance and developmental enhancement
- Rapid recovery
- Peripheral awareness and alertness
- Reflexes and coordination
- Agility & body-control training
- Muscle lengthening & flexibility
- Joint and tendon strengthening
Want to see how this applies to you? Explore the 5-Day Qigong Lifestyle Immersion, the Benefits of Qigong, or how it pairs with strength in Qigong & Resistance Training.
