silvergoldmagazine.ca
WELL-BEING
Qigong: ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE
– By Monica Marquis, BScHE
Qigong (pronounced chee gung) is an ancient Chinese
mind body practice that restores wellness, builds mental
and emotional strength, reduces stress and increases vitality.
Qigong is a branch of Traditional Chinese medicine and the
grandfather of Tai Chi, which was developed later for combat.
Qi is the circulating life force (or energy) whose existence and
properties are the basis of much Chinese philosophy. Gong is
cultivation. Therefore, Qigong is energy cultivation. The body
has energy channels that run throughout the body. According
to Chinese medicine when these channels are blocked or if
the energy is stagnant, disease can set in. Medical Qigong
practitioners and Traditional Chinese doctors use Qigong
movements as prescriptions to treat illness and disease.
How many movements are there?
There are many simple, powerful Qigong movements. Each
one works on many levels (emotionally, physically, spiritually
and energetically) and address many conditions to improve
health. Personally, I teach a set of movements called the 18
Luohan Hands. These 18 movements are all you need to learn,
because each movement can assist the body to heal in many
ways. For example, the movement called Lifting the Sky works
on anxiety, stress, incontinence, chronic fatigue syndrome,
posture, hemorrhoids, mitral valve prolapse, and ringing in
the ears (tinnitus). These simple yet powerful movements are
needed to stay healthy and can be used alone or in tandem
with western medicine to improve your health.
What does research indicate?
Harvard School of Medicine has endorsed Qigong and
Tai Chi. In a recent review, Harvard researchers cited the
following improvements from practicing Tai Chi and Qigong:
• cognition, attention, concentration, mental tracking
20
• strength, balance, coordination (no more falls!)
• improve mood, memory, and reduce anxiety
• lower heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate
Two Canadian doctors studied the centenarians of Okinawa
Japan for 20 years. These centenarians avoided age related
chronic diseases such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer.
Daily routines were studied and these centenarians have 3
things in common:
• participate in the community throughout their lives
• eat a yam native to the island of Okinawa
• practice qigong daily!
How do I find a good teacher?
Good teachers are hard to find, because Qigong is not
mainstream yet. It is not easy to get the training to become
a Qigong teacher. I have had to travel far to get instruction.
You can know and practice a lot of Qigong but that does
not make you a good teacher. Some teachers focus on form
too much. My teacher Anthony Korahais has a saying “bad
Qigong is better than no qigong,” which makes sense because
not everyone can do every movement perfectly the first time,
nor should they. And stressing over form is not going to allow
you to go inwards and experience the movement, which is
where the magic happens.
Do your research and try some classes. See what resonates
with you. Good teachers have studied to become a qigong
teacher, have their own daily practice, speak clearly, have
a method that they use to teach, offer suggestions for
improvement, and can answer your questions.•
Monica Marquis is a Medical Qi Gong Practitioner. She completed
a 3 year Medical Qi Gong program, and 100 hour teaching program
with Flowing Zen. Monica’s focus is on teaching people to
maintain or enhance their health through Qi Gong.
905-483-3811 www.monicamarquis.ca
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