Can Qigong Help You Heal?
by Elizabeth Palermo
Qigong (pronounced chee-gong) is an ancient Chinese exercise and healing technique that involves meditation, controlled breathing and movement exercises.
The character “Qi” that makes up the first part of qigong is a difficult word to translate, according to Peter Wayne, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the research director at Harvard’sOsher Center for Integrative Medicine.Qi is a concept from traditional Chinese culture that roughly means vital energy, information, breath or spirit. The second character in qigong, “gong,” means cultivation or mastery, Wayne said. Qigong is therefore sometimes translated as “vital energy cultivation” or “mastery of your energy.”
There are many forms of qigong practiced throughout the world. Some of these forms involve breathing and meditation to promote spirituality and health while others are more vigorous and include martial arts exercises. Tai chi, a widely practiced mind-body exercise, is sometimes referred to as a form of qigong because it “cultivates, moves and helps manage Qi,” according to Wayne.
Qigong vs. tai chiWhile they share many characteristics, most people consider qigong and tai chi to be two distinct practices. However, Wayne said that he tends to focus more on the similarities between qigong and tai chi than on their differences.
“The chi in the word ‘tai chi’ is a different character and has a different meaning [than the ‘qi’ in qigong]. But the practice of tai chi, in my opinion, is equivalent to a form of qigong. You’re training to have more awareness and control over your ‘life force’ — your physiology or energy,” Wayne told Live Science. And some forms of qigong are almost indistinguishable from tai chi, he added.
There are other forms of qigong that look quite different from tai chi, however. These involve…
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