Qigong - The New Age Of Healthcare

THE NEW AGE OF HEALTHCARE IS ANCIENT

No Pills, No Doctors, Just You and Your Innate Ability to Heal Yourself

More and more people are turning to alternative, and for the most part ancient forms of healing, as collectively we enter into a personal middle-age Age of Aquarius. Being globally connected through the internet to mass amounts of information has enabled us to take a more assertive stand for control and direction of our healthcare needs; literally designing our own healing. We have gained new understanding of the limitations of traditional western medicine and new insight into the viability of ancient practices. Onlineqigong.com was created to connect people with self-directed healing through what might be the simplest, easiest, most affordable, ancient method for self-healing – the 18 movements of Tai Chi Qigong.

An excerpt from the upcoming online book found at http://www.onlineqigong.com:

“It started slowly. At first I couldn't garden for very long anymore – something I had always had passion for. Within a year I needed help standing up from the couch. It then progressed into needed help getting up the stairs and getting out of bed and, within four years I couldn't get to sleep without narcotics and a sleeping pill chaser. In the end, I would endure painful cramping from taking laxatives to counter act the narcotics, stay up for days when the effect of the sleeping pills wore off, and lived dependant on pain-relief medication during my waking hours. As an ugly side effect to the loss of mobility and quality of life, depression set in – so, I added anti-anxiety drugs (benzodiazepines) to the long list of medications. I was forty four”

The decline in the quality of my life due to a rapid onset of osteoarthritis was the catalyst into my practice of Qigong. I watched my husband teach many the 18 simple, gentle movements. I listened to them tell their stories of a life recovered from migraines, arthritis, joint pain, sudden injury, and I resented it all. I just could not believe that this “waving of arms”, this “gentle bending and turning” could possibly make that big a difference – until, the final straw of depression fell on my now dry life and I gave in to trying it.”

Qigong is an ancient Chinese art – 5000 years old some say. Like many ancient Asian art forms, its foundation lies in a belief in the connection between, or oneness of, nature, the universe and us. Qi is a term used to describe “energy”. Gong means “work”. Qigong is simply “energy work”. As we are now learning from science (mainly Quantum Physics), in our molecular essence all we are is energy. The gentle, Tai Chi movements of Qigong were specifically designed to move a persons personal energy – that which we are made of and that which immediately surrounds us – through meridians or channels within to promote healing and the maintenance of better health. Our energy field goes out ten feet from our bodied (AKA our personal space) and travels distinct paths mapped by the ancient Chinese. Using the body’s natural flow of energy and connecting that with the energy of the universe, Qigong was practiced to unblock body energy that resulted in illness, promote balance (emotional and physical) and help to breakdown false interpretations of separateness between ourselves and everything else. This resulted in a holistic encouragement of peace.

Qigong’s meditative quality of stilling the mind through focus on the movements and breathing means that those practicing, who have busy lives, can incorporate healthcare for both body and mind in one method. Meditation has been proven to promote creativity, lower stress levels, and create feelings of wellness and peace. The National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) believes “Today, many people use meditation outside of its traditional religious or cultural settings as a form of mind-body medicine. Many claims have been made about its value in promoting or improving health and wellness. Research on these claims, as well as on how meditation might work, is important for NCCAM and other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).” (NCCAM website, Oct. 13, 2008). As a natural component of Qigong, the benefits of meditation compliment the practice making the combination more balanced and effective.

Excerpt cont.:

“After one month of practice I stopped taking the painkillers at night and during the day. The sleeping pills became redundant as my brain chemistry began to re-balance itself. Today, three months after seriously undertaking a daily practice, I take nothing for arthritis. I simply don’t need it. My mobility has returned, my pain all but vanished, the depression gone.”

Most of the 1.3 billion plus people in China rely, in one way or another, on unconventional medicine (unconventional only by western standards) to prolong and in crease the quality of life. The following is taken from the online source, “Qi: The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health and Fitness”, a site dedicated to the open form discussion of Qi and Healthcare; “It is difficult to estimate how many people in China regularly practice Qigong. Estimates from government health administrators, physicians, Qigong masters, and the directors of the Qigong institutes range from 80 million to 150 million people” (accessed Oct. 13, 2008). It has only been recently (perhaps in the past 50 years) that the west is sitting up and taking note.

The website also notes, “In China, the true definition of health care is to care for one's health. The rationale for self-care is that if citizens can do self-applied health enhancement methods (SAHEM), in the comfort of their own home for no cost, then health care is free. An ancient Chinese tradition encourages citizens and physicians to take great pride in healthy longevity. One of the most ancient and revered codes of traditional medicine states; "The superior physician teaches people to sustain their health." . . . In China, this variety of free health care is being utilized by millions of people every day, and it is actively supported by the Chinese government.” (accessed Oct. 13, 2008).

Now more than ever, in particular because of peoples arising open-minded nature, ancient healthcare techniques are being employed and embraced with astounding results. Visit Onlineqigong.com to listen to testimonials. The goal of Onlineqigong is to raise awareness of the availability and simplicity of self-healing; to make learning easy, affordable and accessible, and to increase the participant’s effectiveness in self-directed healthcare through ongoing support updates and practice tips on technique.

We can all agree that longevity is important, but the high quality of a prolonged existence is crucial. Without good health our own bodies can become prisons. The key to freedom may have been forged 5000 or so years ago but, tried, tested and true, millions in the ancient culture of China can’t be wrong.
About The Author
Shawn is a longtime practioner of the healing arts and a certified Qigong Instructor.

The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing