World Champion Racewalker's Training Secret: Qigong

Trying to keep up with the world's fastest racewalking gerontologist, Jack Bray, would be difficult for people just half his age. Jack has developed a winning training strategy that is built upon a foundation of Qigong. To learn more, read Walking With Qi: the Nine Jewels of Qigong Walking

Qigong in Prisons

The U. S. prison population is enormous and growing. Stress is a relentless and inevitable element of life in prison. The physical, mental and emotional toll that stress-related illnesses take on the inmates, guards and their families is huge. This toll filters into the rest of society. Some courageous people are addressing this problem by teaching Qigong inside prisons. Strong initial evidence indicates that inmates who practice Qigong are generally healthier and make a better adjustment when they gain their freedom. If this proves to be true, the societal and economic benefits are potentially very large. To read one teacher’s experiences of introducing thousands of inmates in California prisons to Qigong, visit Judy Tretheway's Qigong Prison Ministry . In addition, Bill Douglas, the organizer of World Tai Chi and Qigong Day, describes teaching Qigong in Folsom prison as well as Tai Chi being introduced to the Kansas State Correctional Facility for women.

Psychotherapy and Chronic Pain

Psychologist Michael Mayer discusses the effectiveness of Medical Qigong for a range of conditions, especially some chronic illnesses that are not being treated effectively by western medicine. Watch a preview of his talk , buy the DVD , or listen to his Qigong for Psychotherapy podcasts. Also see the Textbook of Integrative Mental Health Care which discusses CAM in mental health care.

Qigong-based Teen Mentoring Program

To learn more about MentorOhana visit www.mentorohana.org.

Qigong for Children

Dr. Gaspar Garcia realized that if businessmen had been taught from their childhood simple breathing and relaxation techniques, as well as basic preventive medicine concepts, they would not suffer as adults the devastating effects of stress. The Smart Living Program was born from that realization. This program was implemented in schools in Costa del Sol, Spain, and its objective was to convey these teachings to children and young people so they would be able to benefit from them throughout their lives. For more information, contact Dr. Garcia at Luohan Qigong.

Tai Chi for Kids has been adapted for students with special education needs, including those in wheel chairs and who have severe physical and mental disabilities. Dr Paul Lam has a very well received program for children called Tai Chi 4 Kidz. Hiroku incorporates Qigong and Tai Chi fundamentals into martial arts training for youngsters.

The Military and Martial Arts

What do the US Marines Force Recon, Navy SEALS, a Brazilian JiuJitsu champion, and Shaolin monks have in common? The relaxation techniques of Qigong are a key component in their amazing abilities. Read How Qigong Helped a World Champion Retain His Title (once on the page, scroll down to the article).

There are thousands of different types of Qigong. Arguably the most popular type of Qigong for martial arts is zhan zhuang (“jan jong”). This is also known as “stake standing”. The practitioner stands motionless in a particular posture to develop internal strength. A widely practiced form of zhan zhuang is Wuji Qigong. It is very easy to practice yet is said to be difficult to master. Standing Qigong practice develops integrated body/mind awareness and focus, called “sung” in Chinese. Some masters train only using this form of Qigong. Shown is Chen style Tai Chi Grandmaster Chen Qingzhou demonstrating zhan zhaung.

 

Help the Qigong Institute Publicize the Health Benefits of Qigong

We encourage you to send us copies of articles in newspapers, magazines, journals, and from the web on the use and health benefits of Qigong. Submitting material to the Qigong Instititue constitutes consent to publish on www.qigonginstitute.org. Although the Qigong Institute does not publish original third-party Qigong research papers, we solicit published peer-reviewed articles (.pdf format preferred) as well as completed dissertations. Topics can include scientific research on other Energy Medicine modalites besides Qigong, such as yoga, meditation, reiki, and mind-body healing. We are also interested in short audio and video clips. Please send submissions to Tom_Rogers@qigonginstitute.org.

United States Government and Qigong

United States Government and Qigong

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National Institutes of Health

List of NIH Grants for Qigong and Energy Healing Research:

List of grants for Yoga and Meditation research
List of grants for Qigong, Zen, Taiji, and Reiki research

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

In recognition of the need to amend conventional medicine, Congress formally established the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1993 and funded it with an initial outlay of $2M. In 1998 Congress expanded the mandate and responsibility of the Office by creating the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). The importance of CAM is evidenced by the increasing investment in NCCAM to roughly $120M in FY2006 and FY2007. Also, according to the most recent government survey on CAM use in the United States, over 36 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 years and over used some form of CAM. When prayer for health reasons is included, this percentage jumps to 62 percent. Read more about Statistics on CAM Use in the United States.

NCCAM Publications:

Tai Chi for Health Purposes
Meditation for Health Purposes
What Is Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Mind-Body Medicine: An Overview
Energy Medicine: An Overview

Although Qigong covers four of the five categories of CAM therapies according to NCCAM, not nearly enough funding is being done for basic Qigong research. Help the Qigong Institute promote and fund Qigong research by donating to the Qigong Institute.

 

White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy

In March 2000, the President and Congress responded to public demand and public need by creating the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy. The Commission's mandate was to develop legislative and administrative recommendations that would help public policy maximize potential benefits, to consumers and American health care, of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies - chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, herbs, and nutritional and mind-body therapies like Qigong, as well as a host of other approaches. The main goals were "...to engage Americans to participate actively in their own care; to stimulate research that will fairly test promising new and ancient approaches; to fully inform all health professionals and the people they serve about what is, and is not, known about CAM therapies; to make sure safe and reliable products are available to all Americans; to expand all Americans' options for safe and effective care; and to promote the study of approaches that may save us all money as well as enhance our health and well being." Read the Final Report of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Healthy People 2010 Report

Healthy People 2010 is a set of health objectives for the Nation to achieve over the first decade of the new century. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion revisions to previous data. Over the past 100 years, the Nation has seen a great deal of change in the leading causes of death. At the beginning of the 1900s, infectious diseases ran rampant in the United States and worldwide and topped the leading causes of death. A century later, with the control of many infectious agents and the increasing age of the population, chronic diseases top the list. The report's bottom line is that seventy percent of all disease is preventable. Preventing illness, promoting health, and aiding the treament of chronic conditions is what Qigong is designed to do.

Legislation of Health Freedom

People have a right to healthy lifestyles through unfiltered health care information and choices that are not arbitrarily limited by governing bodies. These choices include complementary, alternative, integrative, and Energy medicine modalities. For educational and legislative information on issues affecting your freedom to choose medical treatment and prevention methods, see HealthKeepers and The American Association for Health Freedom.

Guidelines for Selecting Qigong Healers in Scientific Research of Qigong

In the view of the fact that there is no recognized certificate or licensing system for Qigong healers or Qigong masters in the U.S., nor in China, the Qigong Institute has developed the following guidelines to help research scientists who are interested in Qigong research to select the appropriate Qigong healers or masters in their scientific exploration of Qigong.

In general, a good Qigong healer or master should meet at least three of the following seven criteria:

1. A specially invited member or director of the Chinese Society of Qigong Science (about 1000+ of such members existing in China who have been officially evaluated by the Society).

2. A recorded history of scientific research (with published paper(s) or certified report(s)).

3. A member of the national or international professional Qigong organization(s).

4. A formal disciple of the traceable and renowned Qigong master or Qigong tradition, such as lineage holder or representative of a special form.

5. A solid medical training or background, and preferably belonging to some kind of national organization of medical practitioners.

6. Does not currently have any verifiable negative claim against him/her in the field.

7. Have an established Qigong healing practice in this country (Some may be visitors with similar qualifications in their home country).

Integrative Medicine and Medical Qigong Therapy
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Some universities have taken the lead in educating medical students, the public, and health care professionals on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies, including Qigong. A few innovative examples are Georgetown University Medical Center which has a Science-Based Master's Program in CAM. For more detailed information on this program see CAM in the Curriculum, Complementary and Alternative Medicine Program MS in Physiology, and Other CAM Education Projects. In addition, the University of Arizona's program in Integrative Medicine focuses on the body's own healing mechanisms, and the University of Illinois Kinesiology and Community Health Department has innovative programs which include research on the benefits of Tai Chi, especially for the elderly. The Harvard Medical School Osher Research Center focuses on complementary and integrative medicine through research, delivery of educational programs to the public and medical community as well as sustainable models of care delivery. The Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital is dedicated to the study and clinical practice of mind-body medicine. Likewise, the University of Massachusetts Medical School's Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society (CFM) was founded in 1995 to bring stress reduction techniques to a wide audience through its respected Stress Reduction Program. The Mayo Clinic recommends Tai Chi for stress reduction ( Tai chi: Stress reduction, balance, agility and more ) while the Arthritis Foundation recommends Tai Chi for easing arthritis symptoms.

The Center for Integrative Medicine (CIM) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine provides complementary medical patient care; is a National Institutes of Health research center on CAM; integrates CAM in the School of Medicine curriculum; and disseminates information on CAM. As summarized on its webpage:

Integrative Medicine blends the best of conventional and complementary medical approaches, addressing not only physical symptoms, but also psychological, social, environmental & spiritual aspects of health & illness. It believes in stimulating the innate human capacity for healing, empowering patients in their own care, while providing them with choices in healthcare that are proven to be safe and effective.

For a more comprehensive list of mainstream medical schools that are integrating CAM into their curriculum and offering CAM therapies, see The Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine.

When Bill Moyers’ series, Healing and the Mind, premiered on PBS over 10 years ago, integrative medicine still lay on the fringes of the U.S. health care system. Today, it is booming. Even the most conservative health institutions are beginning to practice therapies once considered “new age”— acupuncture, visualization, self-hypnosis and mindfulness— alongside the more traditional drugs and surgery. Equally important is a new attitude that treats the patient as a whole person rather than a cog in an assembly line. The New Medicine, a two-hour documentary, hosted by Dana Reeve, takes viewers inside medical schools, healthcare clinics, research institutions and private practices to examine the rapidly expanding world of integrative medicine. Find out more about "The New Medicine" at http://www.pbs.org/thenewmedicine/ .

Medical Qigong Therapy is increasingly being used in clinical treatment of illness. Starfish Health Services is an example of how this new type of service is being delivered. This organization is comprised of a network of conventional and alternative healthcare providers who collaborate through referrals. It is a community-based approach to integrative medicine that is particularly appropriate for individuals seeking to manage their own healthcare. It is an example of a new model of healthcare providing diverse services, including Qigong, that is fully integrated with the web and utilizes emerging web television/video technologies. For more information see a short introductory video, including a demonstration of one form of Chan Buddhist Medical Qigong by Qigong Institute Director and Starfish Health Partners Provider Devatara Holman.

The Stanford University Medical Center offers clinical services which include Medical Qigong and Medical Acupuncture . The Sunstone Cancer Support Center in Arizona offers Qigong and Tai Chi classes.

The Textbook of Integrative Mental Health Care is a new book on integrative approaches including Qigong in mental health care that provides a comprehensive resource on the theory and clinical practice of integrative mental health care. The book presents a framework for psychiatrists, other mental health professionals, and CAM practitioners who wish to learn about the conceptual foundations of integrative medicine and examine the evidence for non-conventional and integrative approaches used to assess and treat common mental health problems.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine ( NCCAM ) has established an Integrative Medicine Consult Service at the National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) Clinical Center, the world’s largest hospital devoted to research. This service will provide physicians, nurses, and other members of the Clinical Cnete health care team the ability to discuss complementary and alternative medicine ( CAM ) therapies with knowledgeable medical staff from the consult service and learn how various CAM practices might complement or interact with a patient's care as a research participant at the Clinical Center. For more information: Read the NIH PressZoom .

"Although emerging evidence during the past several decades suggests that psychosocial factors can directly influence both physiologic function and health outcomes, medicine has failed to move beyond the biomedical model, in part because of lack of exposure to the evidence base supporting the biopsychosocial model. The medical literature was reviewed to examine the efficacy of representative psychosocial–mind-body interventions, including relaxation, (cognitive) behavioral therapies, meditation, imagery, biofeedback, and hypnosis for several common clinical conditions". Read the full article Mind-Body Medicine: State of the Science, Implications for Practice .

Listen to an introduction to the use of Medical Qigong for health by Ted Cibik, Doctor of Medical Qigong. Also, for more information on how Qigong is being used to treat a range of diseases and conditions, such as asthma, multiple sclerosis, high blood pressure, diabetes, and more, see Ancient Health Concepts in a Modern World.

For more information on the science of Qigong and mainstream western medicine's increasing acceptance of energy medicine, see the Scientific Basis of Qigong and Energy Medicine.

Spiritual and Healing Qigong
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At its most fundamental level, Qigong practice addresses the two main causes of illness according to Traditional Chinese Medical theory: Qi deficiency and stagnation. Deficiency is indicated by chronic illness, and stagnation is most often associated with pain. But Qigong does more than help people to become or stay physically healthy. The third intentful adjustment in Qigong practice (besides adjusting the posture/body and the breath) involves the mind. Basically, this adjustment of the mind is spiritual Qigong. Interestingly, this is the part of Qigong that can have the most profound effect upon lowering stress. Spiritual Qigong isn't about going somewhere or transcending something -- we already are where we want to go, but just don't realize it yet because of our conditioning (by media, society and culture, parents, friends, organizations, etc.) and aversion to change. As Jesuit priest Anthony DeMello observes in his insightful book Awareness

...spirituality is the most practical thing in the whole wide world. I challenge anyone to think of anything more practical than spirituality as I have defined it -- not piety, not devotion, not religion, not worship, but spirituality -- waking up, waking up!

When your illusions drop, you're in touch with reality at last, and believe me, you will never be lonely again. Loneliness is not cured by human company. Loneliness is cured by contact with reality.

Reality is not problematic. Problems exist only in the human mind.

You can become happy not by being loved, not by being desired or attractive to someone. You become happy by contact with reality.

"Life is something that happens to us while we're busy making other plans." That's pathetic. Live in the present moment. This is one of the things you will notice happening to you as you come awake. You find yourself living in the present, tasting every moment as you live it.

Every concept that was meant to help us get in touch with reality ends up by being a barrier to getting in touch with reality, because sooner or later we forget that the words are not the thing. The concept is not the same as the reality. They're different.

Spiritual Qigong is concerned with Qigong practice resulting in the Qigong state, a focused awareness of existing in the present moment. This is the goal of Zen Buddhism, which came from the Chinese Chan Buddhism, a mixture of native Chinese Taoism and Buddhism brought from India by Bodhidharma. The word zen literally means "meditation", as does it's Chinese counterpart and parent, chan (also spelled ch'an), as does the Sanskrit dhyana. The practice used by the Taoists and Chan Buddhists is Qigong. The Qigong state that results from the practice of Qigong may be familiar to some as satori, being one with the Dao, nirvana, enlightenment, emptiness, or the outcome of mindfulness meditation (aka the "relaxation response", coined by Herbert Benson, M.D.). Spiritual teacher Eckart Tolle describes this process of achieving the Qigong state as "The transformation from time to presence and from thought to pure consciousness" (watch Eckart Tolle's insightful explanation of enlightenment). This transition or path has also been referred to as the ancient practice of internal alchemy (the Chinese neidan or neigong).

"With sustained 'listening', a more global sensation of energy arises involving the whole body. The 'practice' here is one of effortlessly allowing the attention to rest within the Inner Body, the field of Qi that is manifesting within and perhaps extending beyond the body. Breathing may be experienced over the entire body, as if the cells themselves were inhaling and exhaling. Yet, there is no imaging, description, labeling or conceptualizing involved in any of this. Gradually, the body itself becomes more transparent and the distinction between the doer, the observer, and the object of observation begins to dissolve. Directed attention itself begins to dissolve and what remains is Wu Chi - simple pure, awareness." Gunther Weil, PhD. Qigong educator and psychologist.

Read more about Dr. Weil's insights on awareness through Qigong in Qigong as a Portal to Presence . To learn a very easy and effective way to start practicing Qigong, watch a short introduction to Qigong by Dr. Roger Jahnke. Listen to Eckart Tolle explain enlightenment. Listen to neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor describe her experience of losing her left brain and discovering her connection to the world. As Dr. Jahnke comments on this video: What will people do when they want to explore the mystery of their lives — they will learn and practice Qigong.

For more reading on spiritual Qigong and the practice and philosophy of Taoism which utilizes Qigong, see The Empty Vessel: A journal of Contemporary Taoism. An example article is on awareness through breathing:

"...most of us lose ourselves constantly in one or another side of ourselves -- in our thoughts, emotions, sensations, and so on. As a result, we live fragmented, dishonest, and disharmonious lives. And while we might agree intellectually that this is true, many of us are not convinced enough to actually undertake the demanding work of self-awareness and self-transformation, a work that begins with learning how to sense and observe ourselves sincerely, to listen impartially to ourselves in action. Since our breathing both reflects and conditions the various sides of ourselves, a vital part of this process involves work with breath..." Dennis Lewis.

Read the complete Empty Vessel Interview on Breathing with Dennis Lewis. For excellent scholarly work on Taoism see Livia Kohn and John Cleary. Also, each Breathe Deep Newsletter contains insights on the philosophy and practice of Qigong by Francesco Garripoli, President of the Qigong Institute. For example:

When we can look at our life and throw together all of our experience simply as "life unfolding" and do our best to refrain from saying that something was "good" or "bad", then we are well on our way to true freedom. When we can drop into that place of presence, that inner place where everything exists in a unified field of Qi, then we are beginning the journey toward a truly stress-free life. There's something about judging things as good or bad that creates a certain "attachment" to them - funny huh? It is that attachment that binds us, keeps us from letting go and moving on in some cases. That attachment (even to "good" things) is what creates expectations and keeps us from being open to new and unexpected opportunities. Those attachments (to "bad" things) create fears that inhibit our growth. This concept of attachment is at the core of Buddhist philosophy and is key in understanding what the Buddha (enlightened one) was exemplifying. Whether any of us will ever achieve enlightenment in this body is another story, but we certainly can begin to make choices to move our lives in the direction that best reflects our heart.

Alan Watts, one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century, echos Garripol's insights.  Watts argues that our sense of  inter-connectedness has been lost because we think that our personality, or ego, actually exists. This misperception gets in the way of our understanding reality and who we really are, with the ultimate consequence being the unconscionable fouling of the planet that we live on. We are not an organism separate from the environment; we are part of it. We have to give up the ego. People say it is hard. It isn't really, because the ego does not exist. As Watts explains, "If you try to get rid of your ego with your ego, it will take you until the end of time." We need to let go of ourselves, our egos, and let nature be. Our fundamental self is happening, not doing. This truth is revealed through the practice of Qigong. Watts' prescient observations were just as valid in 1970 as they are now. Listen to The Middle Way, Man in Nature, and Time and the More It Changes. Note that Watts began his life-long study of eastern philosophy with Buddhism, and became well-known for Zen in particular, but focused his later years on Taoism, whose practitioners use Qigong. For additional insight, read Eastern Wisdom, Modern Life - Collected Talks 1960 - 1969 by Alan Watts. Also, note the following observation by Watts in the Forward to Huang's Embrace Tiger Return to Mountain:

...the most subtle principle of Taoism [is] known as wu-wei. Literally, this may be translated as "not doing," but its proper meaning is to act without forcing -- to move in accordance with the flow of nature's course which is signified by the word Tao, and is best understood from watching the dynamics of water.

Watch an example of spiritual qigong expressed through dancing in the amazing Thousand Hand Guan Yin Qigong. All 21 of the dancers are deaf. Relying only on signals from trainers at the four corners of the stage, these extraordinary dancers deliver a visual spectacle that is at once intricate and stirring. Its first major international debut was in Athens at the closing ceremonies for the 2004 Paralympics.

The Rev. Deanne Hodgson, an associate pastor at the Church of the Beatitudes in Phoenix, counsels parishioners preparing for surgery in ways to discover inner quiet in bustling hospital settings. Hodgson is a registered nurse and certified Tai Chi instructor who leads classes in the Chinese mind-body relaxation exercises at the church. The classes are open to the public.

"We're constantly being bombarded, not only with sound but with visual 'noise,' " Hodgson says. "The challenge is to discover a peaceful place within yourself, and that's where the practice of meditation of any sort [e.g. Qigong] is very useful."

Read the entire article: Peace, quiet pave road to health.

Spontaneous Qigong
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Although they define reality using different terms, quantum physics and the two main philosophies (Buddhism and Taoism) that influenced modern Qigong are in agreement on the fundamental nature of reality: It is characterized by impermanence or change, the interconnectedness of all things, and the fundamental equivalence of mass and energy. Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity describes this equivalence as "e=mc²"; the Buddhists refer to form or not form (aka "emptiness"); and the Taoists recognize yin and yang. So form, mass, and yin are describing the same state of being as are not form, energy, and yang. But how can something exist yet not exist at the same time? How does one go about exploring this conundrum beyond the realm of intellect and thought into experience and presence? A wonderful way to start is through the simple yet profound practice of Spontaneous Qigong. Spontaneous Qigong is said to be easy to do but difficult to master. This is no surprise, since one of the fundamentals of any Qigong practice is calming the mind.

Start by practicing Qigong forms (see Getting Started with Qigong for some examples) interpersed with free-form Qigong where your movements are led by your Qi (energy). Just move in whatever way your body tells you. You become a living metaphor for moving in and out of form. You become just like the clouds. They form from seemingly nothing, have substance that our senses can detect (mainly through sight), and then they disappear back into nothing, which is where they came from. Spontaneous Qigong or Qigong Dancing (Spontaneous Qigong to music) is a way to experience this shifting in and out of time and pure awareness. Qigong was originally a healing dance. Shaman would give a Qigong "prescription" for people bent over working in fields all day. For examples of Qigong dancing or Qigong with music, see the Dancing Qigong DVD Trailer . Then forget the dancer (the self or ego) and become the dance (pure energy). As one Qigong teacher explains,

"Qigong is not just a set of movements, not just meditation, mantra recitations, or cultivation of qi. Qigong is a path of life mastery, a path to enlightenment. The movements, mantras, and meditations are tools that are used towards that end. The tools should not limit you. They should help you grow...A Qigong form is meant to assist a person in gaining the health, energy, and sensitivity needed to expore the more spiritual dimensions in life. After the basics of Qigong are learned, proper posture and alignments, etc., the student is ready to explore some of the deeper aspects of the art. What happens to some practitioners of spiritual movement systems such as Qigong ... is that they strive for perfection of the form, that is, perfection of the outer form, their posture and alignment. And they end up ignoring the inner experience... What is most important is what is happening on the inside, the energetic, meditative, and spiritual aspect of the art." Richard.

The entire article appears in the Fall 2003 issue of The Empty Vessel.

Shaking and dancing has been prescribed by Chinese Buddhist medical practitioners for centuries to treat a number of physical and emotional disorders. It is a highly effective method for removing energy stagnation and breaking down hardened thinking patterns. Shaking the wrists alone is considered an effective way to treat depression. Chinese Buddhist Qigong masters consider the shaking as preparation for meditation whereas the dance is the meditation. A demonstration of Emei Qigong shaking by Qigong Institute Director Devatara Holman can be found towards the end of the short introductory video on self-initiated healthcare which includes Medical Qigong Therapy.