Qigong (pronounced "chee-goong") is a five thousand year old traditional form of ancient Chinese energy exercise for the body, mind, and
spirit. It is a system for improving and maintaining health as well as to help cure disease. The basic aim is to bring the body into a state of balance and self-regulation. Qigong literally means "breath work", and is a
distillation of several ancient healing systems, including Taoist Yoga, Buddhist meditation, and traditional medicine. The practice of Qigong is based upon the cultivation and balance of "qi", roughly translated as
"bioenergy". This concept is at the core of most every aspect of Chinese culture, including art, architecture, philosophy, sports and science. Once a hidden practice jealously guarded by the elite spheres of
classical Chinese society and later forbidden during the Cultural Revolution, Qigong today enjoys vast popularity among the Chinese people, official support by the Chinese Ministry of Health, and intensive scrutiny by
the Chinese scientific community. Qigong is one of Traditional Chinese Medicine's (TCM) principal methods of treatment. Though there are many schools, concurrent theories are these:
Recent scientific research has begun to produce physiological evidence backing Qigong theory. For example, it has been shown that :
"Qigong is a discipline anyone can learn. Many people practice
Qigong simply because it makes them feel good, perform better, experience higher levels of energy and stamina, and reach their level of optimal health. Qigong can improve sports
performance, prevent jet lag, and supercharge the immune system. Qigong practice has been shown to super-oxygenate the cells of the body. It can reduce stress, improve bowel function,
and relieve the symptoms of insomnia and other sleep disorders. In the area of pain control, Qigong practice can relieve acute and chronic pain, reduce the pain of childbirth, and speed
recovery from sports or other injuries. In addition, Qigong can increase the effectiveness of Western medications, may reduce the side effects, and even allow the use of smaller doses.
Many scientific studies have documented that Qigong has value in the treatment of more serious problems. It can reduce healing time after surgery by 50%, normalize the blood pressure, and heal
tuberculosis. It can heal gastric and duodenal ulcers chronic atrophic gastritis (stomach inflammation), and liver disease. It can relieve nearsightedness (myopia) and improve mental
performance. It also has been effective in the treatment of substance abuse, obesity, respiratory conditions, asthma, and allergies. Benefits have also been seen in a long list of serious neuromuscular
conditions, such as post-stroke syndrome, paralysis from brain and spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, aphasia (loss of the power of expression of speech), Parkinson's disease, and cerebral palsy.
In more than thirty research studies, Qigong has been found to reverse the effect of aging. Qigong has improved or reversed the results of many medical tests that usually become abnormal with
age. In addition, it has cured many of the diseases that are common to senior citizens. Qigong has been shown to reduce deaths related to high blood
pressure, reduce the frequency of strokes, reduce the incidence of retinopathy (deterioration of the back of the eye), improve the efficiency of the pumping action of the heart, and decrease blood
viscosity ("thin" the blood). It has also improved EKG (heart) and EEG (brain) readings, normalized the level of sex hormones, and improved blood sugar levels in diabetics."
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