The Qigong Institute - Qigong Research and Education since 1988

"The founding of the Qigong Institute was a natural outgrowth of my interest in Qigong. The goal of the Qigong Institute is to promote the scientific understanding of the basis of Qigong" Dr. Ken Sancier (1920 - 2013).

The Qigong and Energy Medicine Database™

The database originated in the1990's as a means to catalog the vast amount of information Qigong Institute Founder Dr. Kenneth Sancier obtained mainly from international conferences. In 2023, the Database contained over 18100 abstracts (accessed 9/27/23). Search the Database.

Qigong combines exercise with the proven benefits of meditation and should be promoted to the public as an essential life skill.

What is Qigong?

Qigong is a "mind-body" biopsychosocial wellness practice in a new category of exercise called Meditative Movement which integrates exercise, movement, posture, breathing, and awareness.

Introduction to Qigong.

An Introduction to the Practice of Qigong

Qigong and Tai Chi Teacher Henderson Smith

Qigong has the potential to play a role in the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of respiratory infections, such as COVID-19

Qigong for the Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation of COVID-19 Infection in Older Adults. Potential mechanisms of action include stress reduction, emotion regulation, strengthening of respiratory muscles, reduction of inflammation, and enhanced immune function [PMCID: PMC7227578].

10-week Tai Chi intervention improves psychoemotional state, cognition, and motor learning in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. [PMID: 33887380]

Deep Breathing Could Help You Recover From Covid-19

"One incredibly useful practice that may prove therapeutic for recovering Covid-19 patients is Qigong... Like yoga or tai chi, it is a practice of synchronizing breath with movement... Research suggests that Qigong improves health by decreasing stress, reducing inflammation, strengthening respiratory muscles, increasing lung capacity, and improving immune function. Each of these mechanisms can help restore lung function after Covid-19 infection." [Read Article]

The Positive Role of Tai Chi in Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mindfulness with paced breathing and lowering blood pressure 

Mindfulness with paced breathing is fundamental to Qigong. Paced breathing stimulates the vagus nerve and parasympathetic nervous system, which reduce stress chemicals in the brain and increase vascular relaxation that lead to lowering of blood pressure and stress. Qigong Institute founder Dr. Ken Sancier reported on Qigong's beneficial effects for blood pressure in his landmark paper Anti Aging Benefits of Qigong in 1996. Papers published since then have confirmed Qigong's use in lowering hypertension and stress. [Read Article].

Coronoavirus Free Breathing Exercises by Patrick McKeown

Practical 40 minute free breathing session with Patrick McKeown to improve respiratory health.

Do Qigong NOW

Dr. Roger Jahnke
Sitting Qigong

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M.T. North Carolina

Thank you for the wonderful offerings of the Qigong Institute

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I believe that the Qigong Institute is providing a valuable and necessary service.

M.G. Canada

Qigong Mind-Body Exercise as a Biopsychosocial Therapy for Persistent Post-Surgical Pain in Breast Cancer: A Pilot Study

QMBE is a safe and gentle multimodal intervention that shows promise in conferring a broad range of psychosocial and physical benefits [PMCID: PMC7050958].

Qigong practice includes biomedical, social, and psychological aspects of health that are described by institutions such as the U.S. Veteran’s Administration as “whole person health,” and are delivered by a biopsychosocial model of medicine. Biopsychosocial medical practices and therapies integrate physiological, cognitive, emotional, and social input with neurophysiological mechanisms.

Which Comes First: Bioenergy or Biochemistry?

See Bioenergetics

The fundamental principle of Western medical science has been that the basis of life is biological. However, each cell in the body can generate and receive different forms of energy -- heat, light, sound, vibration, magnetism, and electricity. Historically, these different types of bioenergy phenomena have been treated as byproducts of normal cellular function instead of being recognized as intrinsic to the function.

The Meaning and Origins of Tai Chi

Dr. Roger Jahnke, OMD and Founder of The Institute of Integral Qigong & Tai Chi explains the meaning and origins of Tai Chi, Qigong, and Kung Fu.

The Top 7 Benefits of  Qigong

The History of Qigong

Although the practices that are today called 'Qigong' are millennia old, the term 'Qigong' was coined in the mid-20th Century.

Qi Journal. Autumn 2013.

More information on the history of Qigong (also called "Dao Yin") can be found in Dao Yin (a.k.a. Qigong): Origin, Development, Potential Mechanisms, and Clinical Applications [PMCID: PMC6854271] and Chinese Medical Qigong.

Neuroscience Reveals the Secrets of Meditation’s Benefits

Meditation is one of the four fundamental components of Qigong along with movement/posture, self-massage, and breathing. Qigong (and it's most popular moving form, Tai Chi) is an ancient practice which belongs to new category of exercise called "meditative movement". Meditation in combination with breathing and slow, gentle movements (although there are many forms of Qigong that do not involve movement) affects humans physically and psychologically through relaxation techniques which reduce stress through modulation of the autonomic nervous system. MORE.

Fundamentals of Qigong Practice

Qigong combines exercise with focused movement, breathing, and meditation. Doing repetitions is not the focus - it is conscious application of the three intentful corrections - lengthen the spine,deepen the breath, clear the mind or visualize healing. MORE.

Governmental and Non-Governmental Regulation and Standardization of Qigong and Tai Chi

Read the article.

More on Government and Qigong