According to TCM or traditional Chinese medicine, disease starts with an interruption to the flow of energy or chi. Blockages and imbalances to this flow are the beginning of illness. Qi Gong is an ancient healing practice that’s meant to restore the normal flow of chi, which is the same as acupuncture, minus the needles.
One of the oldest forms of medicine in the world, medical Qi Gong is a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It involves the manipulation of the practitioner to use his skills on the patient. Explained loosely, medical Qi Gong is also known as ‘external’ Qi Gong which is about the redistribution and strengthening of a person’s chi as well as the balancing of his nervous system and blood circulation. Medical qi gong is a non-invasive procedure and is a gentler and safer therapy than some of the other Chinese medical treatments including herbs and Tuina massage. Gentle massage procedures can be used in this practice but usually the treatment does not require the touch of the practitioner. The patient can also be given exercises that can be integrated into his/her daily routine to assist with the therapy.
When one practices qigong, they may derive some of its tremendous advantages such as the alleviation of aching and tired muscles and relief of discomfort and pain afterwards. The methods help increase blood circulation throughout the body, strengthen the immune system, and soothe the nervous system that in turn results in better elimination of removal of waste products and faster nutrient absorption.
This ancient Chinese healing practice has been effectively used to address a wide range of life-threatening and diseases including cancer. Practitioners vehemently recommend medical qigong for and organ rejuvenation, insomnia, rehabilitation, sports injuries, stress, migraines/headaches, joint/muscle tension, and acute and chronic pain. While it can help anyone, the elderly, children, hypersensitive people and those with weak constitutions seem to especially benefit from it.
A Qi Gong practitioner is required to know physiology, anatomy, and biology as well as Chinese medicine and philosophy. In order for the practitioner to use his own chi to change a person’s health of the better, it requires huge commitment, concentration, and a lot of hard work, and dedication from his part.
Since 1989, the Chinese Communist government formally recognized Qi Gong as a mainstream medical procedure in Chinese hospitals and in 1996, officially began regulating it. Qi gong is now offered to people covered by the National Health Plan of China. It can be used both as an alternative and complementary treatment as well as a preventative system of health care. While qi gong is considered thousands of years old, it is only within the last two to three decades that medical studies surrounding this practice have been done. Now there are a articles that have been published in scientific literature and given at international conferences. Several long-term studies are still ongoing on the use of Qi Gong for the treatment of COPD, nerve disorders and other serious diseases.
Goldfarb Chiropractic and Acupuncture Center
1339 Pleasant Valley
Way West Orange, NJ 07052
Phone: 973-325-8884
www.acupuncturewestorange.com