Qi Gong

Description

Qigong is an ancient movement practice from Chinese medicine aiming to unite body and mind. By engaging in slow and meditative movements, you can become aware of what the Chinese call Qi, the life-force energy in and around the body. This energy is then moved to different parts of the body to improve organ health and overall vitality [1]. Coupled with conscious, slow, and deep breathing, the practice of Qigong can also lead to deep states of relaxation [2].

Benefits

• May Improve bone health
• May Reduce blood pressure and heart rate 
• May Improve balance
• May Reduces anxiety and depression
• May Increase immunity

Why it works

• Through slow and meditative movement, muscular coordination and flexibility get improved. Moreso, it increases interoception, the ability to sense the state of one’s inner body and emotions [2].
• The slow and deep breathing in Qigong leads to what is known as the relaxation response and also optimize respiratory function [1].

Supporting Studies and Articles

1. [1] Jahnke, R., Larkey, L., Rogers, C., Etnier, J., & Lin, F. (2010). A Comprehensive Review of Health Benefits of Qigong and Tai Chi. American Journal of Health Promotion : AJHP, 24(6), e1–e25. https://doi.org/10.4278/ajhp.081013-LIT-248
2. [2] Klein, P., Picard, G., Baumgarden, J., & Schneider, R. (2017). Meditative Movement, Energetic, and Physical Analyses of Three Qigong Exercises: Unification of Eastern and Western Mechanistic Exercise Theory. Medicines, 4(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/medicines4040069
3. [3] Xiong, X., Wang, P., Li, X., & Zhang, Y. (2015). Qigong for Hypertension. Medicine, 94(1). https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000000352

Required Equipment

None

Suggested Time of Day

Morning

Afternoon

Evening