Still Qi Gong
Qi = energy, Gong = work, practise, art. Qi Gong is besides herbal medicine and acupuncture
part of the Chinese Medicine. Most forms of Qi Gong are done with motion. There are numberless forms
(e.g. "18 harmonious figues", "Game of the animals", "15 positions", "crane-Qigong"...) This kind of
Qi Gong most people have seen already: smooth slow motions. Still Qi Gong is mostly without motion.
Everybody needs to find the kind of Qi Gong he likes for himself.
Qi flows through the meridians (see photo, this one I got from London). There are 12 main meridians, 8 side meridians and many help meridians. The meridians are
interconnected. Many are inside the body but most underneath the skin. On the meridians there are energy- or
acupuncture-points. The points inside the body cannot be reached from the outside. This is only possible
by imagination, e.g. by Qi Gong. The outer points can be treated to sedate or tone the flow of Qi adequately resp.
to solve blockades. Treatment can be done by acupressure, pressing, by acupuncture or by moxibustation. Moxa is
pressed herb which gets burned and is circled above the point.
Stagnated Qi can be imagined like stagnated water, which will produce illness. The meridians can be imagined
like rivers which need to be taken care of constantly so they donīt get stuffed with rubbish. Usually Qi
cannot be seen, but the effects of Qi are partly measurable. By practising one can develop a feeling for Qi.
Mostly one will feel warmth, tickling, coolness or a flowing feeling. Qi has a consistence like sunlight
or wind. We cannot touch these elements or get hold of them but we can experience them. The word Qi (or Ki
in Japanese) can also be found in words like Tai Chi, Aikido, kinesiology or Shiatsu.
Qi Gong is for the health in the first respect (basically preventation but also rehabilitation),
but it also has a positive effect on mind and soul. One gets calmer and clearer. As long as the Qi can
circulate freely in the body, the person is healthy. Practising Qi Gong keeps the Qi flowing. It would also
make sense to use Qi Gong at work. After practising with the bunch a bit in the morning, the day will start
already differently.
Still Qi Gong is mainly practised sitting on a chair. Via the imagination Qi is send around certain
ways in the body or to certain points. An example would be the "Small circulation" which consists of 9 points
at the upper body. One goes softly from point to point. From the lower abdomen, up the spine, over the head and
down again to the tummy.
picture by Lucia K.-R. + Ivonne R.
Another exercise is the "Cultivation of Qi" where one concentrates on the tummy and when
he feels something letīs go of all thoughts and the Qi spreads in the body. Afterwards one needs to collect it
again into the lower abdomen.
I personally got stuck with Master Zhi Chang Li in Munich, where I first did a weekīs seminar and later
a teacherīs course. I still take seminars and believe that I found something to do for a lifetime - it keeps
on keeping on.
From the book "Qi Gong" by Kenneth Cohen
When practising Still Qi Gong the heart frequence drops below "normal" and the blood pressure drops too.
The "good" cholesterine increases, the "bad" sinks. Due to the relaxation, the blood vessels get bigger,
more blood gets transported. Also the blood in the brain gets more. Endorphines get more, stress hormons sink.
The breathing into the lower abdomen works like a massage for the organs. Therefor their function gets
improved. The brain flow is influenced positively, the breathing gets slower, the lung capacity higher.
Qi Gong is much less effective when smoking, taking drugs, excessive drinking, excessive eating, living in
an ugly environment, clinging to a destructive partnership, inhaling polluted air, worrying,
feeling depressed, lonely or hatred or not taking enough time for oneself. (Here I might say, that these are
the things that destroy health in the first place already.
Chinese research shows that regular Qi Gong exercises during a longer period of time effect in a positive
way the bio-factors of age, e.g. the lungs, the blood-pressure, the cholesterine- and hormon-status, the
kidney-function, the mental strenght (particularly the brain), the sight and hearing ability, the skin,
the bone-structure, the reaction-ability, the strength of the body and the immunesystem.
Tests tell, that there is a direct connection between the blood circulation and the time and level of
the Qi Gong practise. Studies showed, that Qi Gong brings out a good emotional feeling of all practisioners.
An experiment which was done in 1992 with 226 Japanese Qi Gong practisioners, brought all of them
emotional stability, more joy in life, less egoism, higher openess towards otheres, more enthusiasm and
more ability to take decisions as well as more care towards others.
Bonn June 2009
Kenneth Cohen