Qi-Gong is an aspect
of Chinese medicine involving the coordination of
different breathing patterns with various physical
postures and motions of the body. Qigong is mostly
taught for health maintenance purposes, but there
are also some who teach it as a therapeutic intervention.
Various forms of traditional qigong are also widely
taught in conjunction with Chinese martial arts,
and are especially prevalent in the advanced training
of what are known as the Neijia (Chinese: ??; Pinyin:
nči ji-a; Wade-Giles: nei4 chia1), or internal martial
arts. There are currently more than 3,300 different
styles and schools of qigong.[citation needed] Qigong
relies on the traditional Chinese belief that the
body has an energy field generated and maintained
by the natural respiration of the body, known as
qi (this is analagous to Prana and Pranayama in
Yoga).
Qi means breath or gas in Mandarin Chinese, and,
by extension, the energy produced by breathing that
keeps us alive; gong means work or technique. Qigong
is then "breath work" or the art of managing the
breath to achieve and maintain good health, and
especially in the martial arts, to enhance the energy
mobilization and stamina of the body in coordination
with the physical process of respiration. Attitudes
toward the basis of qigong vary markedly.
Most Western medical practitioners, many practitioners
of traditional Chinese medicine, as well as the
Chinese government view qigong as a set of breathing
and movement exercises, with possible benefits to
health through stress reduction and exercise. Others
see qigong in more metaphysical terms, claiming
that breathing and movement exercises can influence
the fundamental forces of the universe.
