What is Qigong? (pronounced chee-gong)

Qigong is a powerful holistic energy healing method developed in China more than 5,000 years ago. The practice was cloaked in secrecy for many centuries. Qigong masters selected their students with the utmost care, and in many cases forbade them to teach qigong for many years, in some cases for decades. Others were forbidden to teach at all. Qigong processes and techniques were never shared among the many masters. Fortunately for us, qigong has come out of hiding, and studies are proving that it works as described by the masters.

What are you looking for?

Before I get into more details, what is causing you to seek information? Are you experiencing problems with your health, whether physical, emotional, mental, spiritual or some combination of these? Are you looking for a solution? Perhaps you’ve been frustrated by trying everything you knew and some other things you learned along the way and still are not getting your health back.

Or maybe you have some minor problems you’d like to solve quickly.

Either way, based on my experience with many clients, friends, family—and myself, too—I’d like you to pause for a second and let what you’re about to read sink in deeply. Bear with me for just a moment—it will get better. Please understand I’m sharing these things for many reasons.

Think about this

Our country, and much of the world, is experiencing a serious health crisis. In his HBO documentary, One Nation Under Stress,  Sanjay Gupta, US neurosurgeon, professor and medical reporter, reveals, “American life expectancy dropped for the third year in a row in 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.” In the 1960s, the US ranked amid the highest world nations regarding life expectancy—length of life. Currently we have plummeted to number 43 in the world and we’re projected to be number 64 by 2040.

Specifically, mortality (death) rates of working-class whites are the only ones increasing. This is unique in the developed world. No other population is experiencing this phenomenon.

According to The National Health Expenditure Accounts, U.S. health care spending grew 3.9 percent in 2017, reaching $3.5 trillion or $10,739 per person. That’s almost 18 percent of the US Gross Domestic Product. Health care costs have risen astronomically while our health is declining instead of improving. We’ve started to call health care “sick care” because we’re not practicing prevention—we’re waiting until we get sick to do something—often seriously sick. Check out Health System Tracker for more key statistics on health spending in the US compared with other countries.

According to a 2013 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine citation, 60 to 80 percent of primary care doctor visits are related to stress, yet only 3 percent of patients receive stress management help. Translated, that means 60 to 80 percent of our visits to the doctor are preventable (that part is good news).

The bad news is we’re all a part of this devastating calamity because we’re in the middle of it. It’s the system we’ve been given. And because it used to work pretty well for us, there is comfort in telling ourselves it’s still working. The problem is, the health care system has been deteriorating for decades yet we still cling to the belief that it will save us every time for every health issue.

Even worse, the greater majority of us are turning our heads the other way about our own lack of health because of how the crisis came to be—we’re on the American Dream Treadmill and we can’t get off because we don’t know any other way. There is no quick way to solve the dilemma of redefining who we are and what we do, and retraining to create prosperity. If we still have a job, it keeps us so busy we don’t have time to care for our health. If we don’t have a job, that’s a whole other problem that causes even more stress and suffering.

Somehow, we’ve been tricked—trained like Pavlov’s dogs into believing that being on the treadmill is the best and only way to happiness.

Life isn’t the same anymore

Well guess what? The game has changed. The treadmill is broken, and that is devastating, too. So many of us, including me, have been thrust off and cast aside by the very process—the engine—that taught us climbing on the treadmill is the way to happiness. The rugs have been pulled out from under us—the American Dream rug and the health care rug. Because we don’t know where to turn, we turn our heads instead.

We’ve been on the treadmill so long, working so hard for the American Dream (which has also become the dream of the entire Western world). Not only has the dream become a nightmare in many cases, but we’ve made ourselves sick with stress trying to attain it.

It doesn’t matter if you’re still employed and not a member of the cast aside club—the dream is still over. You’re working more hours than ever and not being fairly compensated. When is the last time you received a raise? A good raise? As employee numbers in your company have decreased, how many people’s jobs are you now straining to cover? Why aren’t you making that much more money?

How many hours do you work in a week? How many did you used to work? You’re in constant fear of losing your job. You sacrifice your lunch, your breaks, vacations, time with your family, and your health for fear of losing this job that fails to compensate you fairly and fulfill you.

Do you see yourself here at all?

All of these things add up. They mean you’ve lost control over your life.

This type of existence—where you have no control—no security—and your health is suffering for it—has proven to be the most stressful type of existence. Three our of four of workers today believe work is more stressful now than the previous generation according to Princeton Survey Research Associates. Twenty-five percent of employees view their job as the number one stressor in their lives (The American Institute of Stress). And we just said that stress is the cause of 70 percent of our sick care visits.

Why I’m asking you to think

Why do I want you to think about these things when you’re looking for solutions to your health problems? There a six main reasons.

1. To realize you’re not alone; the problem is pervasive and serious.
2. To let it sink in that you have to do something to save yourself.
3. To understand that this is a priority for you and all of us—your health truthfully cannot wait. It’s an epidemic you don’t want to be a part of!
4. To help you take your health, and the solutions I will suggest, very seriously.
5. To help you take care of yourself starting now.
6. I don’t want you to try for a quick fix and return right back to the treadmill—that solution is a temporary band-aid that won’t work for a problem of this magnitude. It’s serious. Please turn your head in the direction that will help you take care of yourself the way you need to in order to live a healthy, happy, rewarding life from this point forward.

Please take me seriously the way some of my clients aren’t doing. They are the reason I am sharing this with you.

This has been my experience—many of my clients and friends really are turning their heads the other way regarding their health issues—even serious ones. This is easy to do while you’re still able to function—even if functioning is painful—even if you’re facing health problems every day. As long as you can get through another day and another week, it seems easier (and safer) to keep going. After all, you don’t have extra time to take care of yourself. That would be time lost to being more productive. Your manager and company owner want productivity.

It’s just too easy for people grasping for the dream to take their lives for granted. They’re holding on to the belief that they’ll continue to be alright—until they land in the hospital and find they were seriously mistaken.

Is that the life you really want to live? Is that life? Is that freedom?

It’s smart to think about the consequences of not giving your body what it needs before your body breaks down. And don’t try to fool yourself into thinking it won’t. The risks are too high. Don’t run the risk of you and your family having to face a frightening health crisis when your body can’t take any more abuse.

Yes, we’re all going to go sometime—that’s very true. But we can all be a lot healthier along the way, feeling full of energy and ready to go, even up to the time of death, if we treat ourselves to proven healthy ways to live.

You need to realize that your body is not a machine. We’ve all learned to treat our bodies as though they were. Honestly—they’re not.

Enough negativity. Are you ready for some good news?

Here it is (breathe).

The good news is, you can escape this mess and recover if you find the right path and put your mind to it. You don’t have to look the other way. You don’t have to wait until the shock comes when you looked the other way for too long. By that time it will be too late to say, “Oops! I should have known better!” Please think about the consequences of your actions NOW and you’ll be able to put yourself way ahead of the game.

Qigong is one great way out

Qigong is a way of life. And it starts with getting your health back.

Woah—a whole way of life? It sounds like another major shift. I’m not ready for another major shift, I just need a quick fix!

(Ahem! Excuse me—there’s that quick fix fantasy again—time to pull it in!)

Breathe again—three deep, gentle breaths (I’m serious).

Let’s start with one step at a time.

What is qigong again?

Qigong is an easy-to-do, relaxing holistic energy healing method. There is no need to think of it as something extra to fit into your busy schedule. It’s an enjoyable break in your day that will give you more energy and keep you healthier. You can fit it in while your tea is brewing or while you’re sitting at your desk waiting for your computer to boot up.

You can substitute qigong for an exercise routine if you choose. Qigong movements are much easier than exercise, and even more beneficial. By doing qigong movements, you’re exercising your body from the inside-out, moving energy through all your organs and organ systems, down to the cell level to nourish every cell of your body. Your cells need energy as much as they need the nutrients from food. At the same time, you’re moving your muscles and bones, tendons and ligaments, and energizing them as well. This makes qigong more powerful than regular exercise that works the muscles more than anything else. It’s been proven.

Qigong is a science. Not only has it been studied in China, but it is currently being studied (and proven to work) by major medical groups and universities—The Mayo Clinic, Cedar Sinai, The University of California, and Harvard to name a few. Qigong is not mysterious, it’s not woo woo, and it’s not anti-religious.

Broken down, the word qigong means working with (gong) your vital energy (qi). This website has many resources to help you learn more about this wonderful methodology of qigong. A good place to start is with this article: What is Qigong? How Does Qigong Energy Healing Work?

What can qigong do for you?

Qigong, because it is fully holistic, can solve physical, emotional, mental or spiritual issues. We are all these things at once. We like to categorize things to help us analyze and understand them. But in reality, we are not separate categories—we are whole. Qigong treats us as whole human beings.

Qigong Master Chunyi Lin, founder of Spring Forest Qigong, certified me as a qigong healer. Master Lin says:

“Qigong is about balance—balancing the energy of mind, body, emotions, and spirit. The mind and body, the emotions, and spirit are not separate things. They are all part of you. You can’t focus on one and ignore another without causing problems for yourself. Qigong is the simplest and most powerful way to bring about that perfect balance. It is one of the most powerful self-healing practices ever developed.”

Whether you have a cold, sore throat or headache, or a more serious chronic illness such as cancer, MS, arthritis or diabetes, qigong can help bring your body back to balance. Once your body is balanced, it can do the miraculous work of healing itself.

This is the way all energy healing methods work. They give the body what it needs to heal itself. Although often magic happens, it’s not the healing methodology that creates the miracle. It’s the body.

Further, qigong can address emotional imbalances such as grief, stress, anxiety, depression, anger issues, jealousy, fear and more. It can address imbalances of the mind such as memory issues and negativity. It also helps with spiritual issues such as not knowing your life purpose, and having questions about who you are and why you’re on this planet.

This website is continually updated to give you more great information about qigong and how it can improve your health and your life.

You can read more about qigong healings here, and apply for a remote healing here. You can learn about the weekly Qigong classes I teach here: Qigong Movement and Meditation Classes. If you’re a new student, try a weekly online qigong movement class COMPLETELY FREE here. I’d love to have you join me to experience the wonders of qigong!

Check out these testimonials from my clients to understand more about qigong’s potential.

To your health!