Wellness Magazine - Tao of Wellness

QiGongliterally means “qi cultivation.” Qi can also be spelledc’hi or chi in Chinese, gi in Korean, ki in Japanese andkhi in Vietnamese. Hindus refer to qi as Prana and theHawaiian culture calls it mana; all the names refer to life force energy, the basic underlying principalof Traditional Chinese Medicine.Qi gong, or chi gong, is similar to tai qi. Qi gong movements are graceful and breathing iscontrolled in order to promote health and the circulation of qi throughout the body. Although itis not a martial art, qi gong is often confused with the Chinese martial art of tai qi. This confusionis perfectly understandable because many tai qi practitioners also practice qi gong, and the twoforms appear similar to the uninitiated.There are at least ten thousand styles of qi gong, and tens of millions of practitioners of the form.People do qi gong to gain strength; improve, heal or reverse disease. Qi gong is performed forhealth and healing, stress and pain reduction, and to promote the flow of energy through meridians,or bodily channels. Some believe that qi gong also helps connect us spiritually with nature, theuniverse, and with whatever name we happen to give the highest force.MIND-BODY ARTSQI GONG1 0 | w w w. t a o o f w e l l n e s s . c o m