The QiGong Approach to Staying Fit: an Ancient Art Catches on in the US

We can learn a lot from our neighbors in the Orient. Alternative and holistic medicine and self-healing originated in Asia and were embraced long before we began to tune in to the benefits of such practices as acupuncture and massage. QiGong is the latest in a long line of self-actualization techniques introduced by the Chinese and getting wildly popular in the United States and abroad.

So what is QiGong? You've probably seen it in action and didn't even realize it. In Chinese, the word "Qigong" has two characters, Qi (Chi) and Gong. "Qi or chi" means life energy and "Gong" means daily effort. In short, Qigong is a practice to use chi for different purposes including self-healing. Chi is your inner-energy.

Everyone is born with chi and everyone has the potential to use chi for many purposes. It is the same way as riding a bike: we are born with the potential to ride a bike but only when we acquire the skill to balance and peddle can venture out on our own. In the same manner, the skill to use chi is trained not born. Once a person is trained how to use chi, he or she then can use chi for any number of activities for improving one's overall well-being and healing.

Qi Gong, like Acupuncture, Shiatsu, and Herbs, is a very safe and effective way to improve your health and the way you feel. All of these therapies are based on the same theories of in interrelationships between the organs of the body and the way that Qi, or energy, influences the functioning of all of the parts of the body.

If the Chinese have been practicing QiGong for over 5,000 years and benefiting from it, then perhaps we'd better take note.

Millions of men and women currently practice Qigong around the world each day to successfully treat diseases ranging from hypertension to cancer. Outwardly, Qigong is an exercise and stretching system, focusing on synchronizing the breath with slow movements and guided visualizations.

Maybe you've seen QiGong being performed early in the morning in parks or on the beach.