Frank Chan

Qigong and Health
by Frank Chan

Qigong is a Chinese art (body & mind exercise) with more than five thousand years of history. Qigong consists of two words - Qi and gong. In Chinese culture, they believe all things in the universe, visible or invisible, are the manifestation of Qi. In other words, Qi is the source or the matter that makes up the universe. Qi is formless and invisible. The appearance or disintegration of matters (birth, death, etc.) is the transmutation (concentrate or disperse) of Qi. In Qigong exercise, Qi means life energy - an invisible and formless substance that powers the functions of human life. Gong means practice; together, Qigong means by practicing (cultivating) Qi daily; one can achieve and maintain health and harmony.

How does it work? Qigong involves the concepts of open/close, concentrate/disperse. To practice qigong is to strengthen this process. If this process is functioning normally, then the human body will be operating up to its potential. The reason we have illness is this process has been interrupted and therefore functions in an abnormal way.

We will use cancer as an example. In the case of cancer, the qi's concentrating too much in an abnormal way and is not being dispersed in a normal way, so there is too much qi in an area, creating tumor. If we can disperse or let go, then the function will go back to normal. Practicing qigong is getting rid of everything in the body (open/disperse) and then rearranging it back to the normal way. For example, if someone yelled "Fire!"; in a crowed theater, and everyone rushed about in a panic, stepping on each other, people would get stuck and there would be a disaster. However, if a few people got fire extinguishers, and the rest lined up in an orderly way to get out of the building, then the process becomes fast and effective, with no disaster. That's what practicing qigong is all about.

Once we train the body to operate in a normal way, the body will know what to do to keep itself functioning and effective. As Qigong becomes popular, misconceptions are increasing. The most common two are: it takes years to learn and qigong is superstition. In fact, in the last few years, many "masters" claim to have obtained true transmission by divine intervention and are ready to save the world. They are all very appealing; especially those that do not require any effort from the practitioners. Of course, most of them eventually fade away.

In order to prove that Qigong neither requireds years to learn nor is superstition, Dr. Pang Ming, a Qigong grandmaster and physician trained in both Western and traditional Chinese medicine, founded Huaxia Zhineng Qigong Clinic & Training Center in Qing-huangdao, China, two hours by train from Beijing. In the past fifteen years, the Center has treated more than one hundred and eighty diseases; the overall effective rate is more than 95%. It has become one of the world's most successful and largest alternate (medicineless) hospitals. Each month, thousands of people from all over China come to the Center for healing. When a student (he is not a patient but a student because he is learning a healing art, the goal of which is to heal himself, not to rely on others) enters the Center, he spends most of his time practicing Chi-Lel eight hours a day without television or telephone.

Chi-Lel was developed by Dr. Pang and is based on the 5,000-year-old concept of Qigong as well as modern medical knowledge. Chi-Lel consists of four parts:

1. Strong Belief A belief that all ailments, including one's own, can be healed. Modern medicine is just a small part of the total health system. When modern medicine considers a certain disease is incurable, it is not the end of the road for all other methods. Throughout history, diseases come and go, humanity is still around. Healing is from within, and one has to believe he can be healed.

2. Relaxation In today's busy and complex society, we build up lots of stress without even knowing it. Chi-Lel not only emphazises relaxing the physical body but also the mind, letting go of not only the stress, but also what holds us back. You can carry the world, but can you put it down? More important, will you put it down?

3. Group dynamic Before a group of students begins Chi-Lel, the teacher verbally synchronizes the thinking of the group to enhance the healing effects. It is like a group of people each with a candle getting together in a room to read. The teacher lights the candles, so everyone can see better.

4. Practice Students learn easy-to-follow Chi-Lel movements and practice them over and over again. The methods, part of Zhineng qigong, are called:

a. Lift Chi Up and Pour Chi Down
b. Three Centers Merge Standing
c. La Chi Method
d. Wall Squatting
e. Body & Mind Method.

Many people who go to the Center with terminal illness must learn now or never; therefore the methods are very simple and effective. Traditionally, the masters tested the loyalty of the students for years before they taught them the secrets. Those days are gone. Once the secrets are told, learning is not so difficult; the consistency of practicing everyday is the challenge.

Chi-Lel avoids special diets in favor of exercise, love and qi. It surrounds and fills the students with loving, healing qi. It immerses the mind, body, and spirit, teaching the students to integrate the natural healing processes existing within nature and themselves. The student is left with a sense of inner peace and unconditional love, yet never loses the touch with reality that health is not the absence of disease but rather is "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being."

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