Qi Gong, a technique that help boost the flow of life energy

Qi is the foundation from which Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) stands. TCM encompasses the ancient healing techniques of acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, Chinese massage or Tui Na, and qi gong, among others.

Qi Gong
Qi Gong is one of the pillars of Classical Chinese Medicine and historically, it is where the later branches of oriental medicine have originated. Drawings that are 3,500 years old at least portraying Qigong movements have been discovered in Chinese tombs and some drawings have been dated as far back as 5000 years or more. Based on this, Qi gong may be the grandparent of a lot of Oriental energetic healing treatments such as deep organ massage (chi nei tsang), meridian massage (tui na), acupressure, and acupuncture. It probably was used to develop the Chinese internal martial arts of Ba Gua Chuan and Tai Chi Chuan, and the many Korean/ Japanese healing art offshoots of Do-in and shiatsu, as well as the several martial outgrowths of Judo, Aikido, etc. Some researchers believe that Qigong was also introduced in India where it was integrated into sacred temple dance training and the movements of yoga. So, we can see that since the dawn of history Chinese medicine was mainly derived from Qigong.

The Han Dynasty and the Yellow Emperor
The Huang Di Neijing or The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine written around 240 BC during the Han Dynasty is the world’s earliest medical text and it is the first document to mention Qigong as a healing practice. It states that classical Chinese medicine is a semi-religious system that heavily depends on ancient principles and a few ancient texts that promote a notion of harmony and balance between the environment and humanity. It depicts the basic natural principles that result in good health, implying that all the world’s phenomena depress, subdue, tonify, or stimulate one’s chi or natural life force, and that all of humanity are children of the universe and are therefore subordinate to its principles:

During ancient times, people followed the Way of Life or the Tao. They were able to comprehend the idea of balance and of yin and yang, as symbolized by the changes of the energies of the universe. Because of this, they were able to develop Qigong or Dao-in, both exercises that integrated breathing, massaging, and stretching techniques that help boost the flow of life energy, and meditation to harmonize and maintain balance with the universe.

On a regular basis, they ate a balanced diet, rose up and slept at regular hours, made it a point not to overstress their minds and bodies, and avoided intemperance of all kinds. They preserved the well-being of their mind and body; and so, it was no surprise that they were able to live past a hundred years.

The way to a happy and long life is this: Only when one remains centered in spirit can well-being and health be achieved, preventing life energy from being squandered, nurturing the smooth flow of blood and chi, preserving the harmonized balance of yin and yang, adjusting to the changing seasonal and annual macrocosmic factors, and feeding the self preventively.