Welcome to the course on Qigong Basics!
Qigong is an ancient exercise pre-dating Tai Chi. Qigong has been practiced for thousands of years, the original name of the exercises were called Daoyin. These exercises are used to enhance the quality of a person’s life and increase energy in the body. Qigong also has the effects of calming the mind, increasing focus and is used in healing many ailments. It has many forms and variations but you only need to know one or a few to gain benefit. Some people devote many years to this practice and become Qigong Masters.
Qigong uses deep breathing techniques, physical movement and mental intention. If one of these elements is not present then it is not qigong. For example if you have deep breathing and mental intention then the work can be considered Nei Gong or internal work. Deep breathing and physical movement can be considered Jing Gong, or work done on the physical level. The more one can relax and release tension the stronger the energy flow in the body will become. Conjunctly, the deeper and fuller the breath, the stronger the Qi.
Shaolin Kung Fu and some other martial arts may practice harder styles of Qigong, focusing on the muscles, tendons and conditioning of the skin. This is not to say that they do not practice forms of Qigong that build Qi or energy, just that their approach may differ from Tai Chi and Qigong practitioners.
The subject and theory of Qigong can be very vast and take many years of study to fully understand. This short course is designed to introduce you to the basic elements of Qigong, This will ensure that you are able to follow the other Qigong courses here on the Green Dragon Tai Chi website. If you already practice Qigong this course can be used as a refresher for pre-requisites and terminology.