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Qi Gong
(03)
...Today millions of people
in China and around the world regularly practice qigong as a health
maintenance exercise. Qigong and related disciplines are still
associated with the martial arts and meditation routines trained by
Taoist and Buddhist monks, professional martial artists and their
students. Formerly much more closely guarded, in the modern era such
practices have become widely available to the general public both in
China and around the world.
 Medical
qigong treatment has been officially recognized as a standard medical
technique in Chinese hospitals since 1989. It has been included in the
curriculum of major universities in China. After years of debate, the
Chinese government decided to officially manage qigong through
government regulation in 1996 and has also listed qigong as part of
their National Health Plan.
Qigong can help practioners
to learn Diaphragmatic breathing, an important component of the
relaxation response, which is important in combatting stress.
Dr. Yan Xin (嚴新),
a doctor of both Western and Chinese medicine as well as founder of
the relatively popular Yan Xin Qigong school, suggests that in order
for qigong to be accepted by the modern world it must pass the test of
scientific study. Without such studies, Yan maintains that qigong will
be dismissed as "superstition" (see "Criticism of
Qigong" chapter below). In the mid-1980s he and others began
systematic study of qigong in some research institutions in China and
U.S. More than 20 papers have been published. Taijiquan, a martial art
based on the principles of internal qigong, appears to be a potent
intervention to prevent falls in elders, maintain joint mobility, and
improve balance... |
