A Simple Breathing Exercise Adapted from Qigong

A similar breathing technique I am now going to discuss is adapted from the Asian technique of Qigong. According to the National Qigong Association, Qigong (sometimes spelled as Chi Kung) is derived from the Chinese words "Qi" meaning "energy" plus "work" or "practice". It is a term that describes a Chinese exercise system that focuses on cultivating and attracting "Qi", the "vital" or "life" force energies. Pronounced "Chee Gung", Qigong is a unique Chinese exercise system. Through individual exercises, practitioners build up their health and prevent illness by combining a discipline of mind, body and the body's Qi or Chi.

Qigong draws on many elements. It includes regulating the body through posture, regulating the mind through quiet, relaxation and concentration of one's mental activity, regulating the breath, self-massage and movement of the limbs. It covers a wide range of exercises and styles, such as "tuna" (venting and taking in), which emphasizes the practice of breath; "still" qigong, which stresses meditation and relaxation; "standing stance" qigong, which emphasizes the exercise of the body by relaxed and motionless standing posture; "moving" and "dao-yin" qigong, which emphasizes external movement combined with internal quiet and practice in control of the mind; as well as various forms of self-massage. Click to learn how Chinese medicine treats Thromboangiitis obliterans.

Chinese Qigong has been practiced with a recorded history of over 2,000 years. But it wasn't until 1953, when Liu Gui-zheng published a paper entitled "Practice on Qigong Therapy" (see http://www.nqa.org/qigong.html), that the term Qigong was adopted as the popular name for this type of exercise system. There have been many Qigong schools in China. Although each school adopts unique methods, they all agree on the basic importance of regulating the mind and deepening the respiration.

The basic breathing technique is a simple one of bringing the palms up slowly toward the chin while inhaling, pause briefly, then push the palms down toward the ground while exhaling through the mouth.