The Benefits of Qigong

What is Qigong and why do it? 

A lot of people have asked me what Qigong is, and why I do it.

I discovered many years ago that doing Qigong regularly brings several health and energy benefits, and the best part is, it’s completely free! Today I’m going to share with you my experience and journey with Qigong so far, how Qigong helped me heal my ailments, and how it can be integrated into our busy day-to-day lives.

For a couple of decades, I had been struggling with allergies like hay fever, eczema, bad stomach aches and low moods. These ailments were causing a tremendous impact on my health and my life in general. I constantly felt fatigued, and unmotivated to do anything, and it even prevented me from going to outdoor social activities with my friends, because of how bad my hay fever would get. However, after years of struggling, with regular acupuncture and Qigong, I managed to tame my symptoms from very severe to only occasional mild occurrences. I have my allergies under control, and nowhere near as itchy/runny as they were, my eczema has also improved, I no longer suffer from regular stomach aches, and my general mood has improved dramatically.

So, how did I get into it? It all started a few years ago, with my grandma’s curiosity, interest and constant search for natural answers to living a healthier life. My mom was recovering from breast cancer at the time and they both wanted to find her a good place to heal in. 

Recommended by my grandma’s neighbours who had been frequent visitors, they decided to travel to a county called Bama (巴马, Bā1 mǎ3) in Guangxi province, which is known nationwide for its famous longevity villages. 

So they both went, and I accompanied them. If you’ve been to China, you may have seen local parks filled with groups of local people, dancing together, doing taiji together, practising kung fu together, or learning anything new together. This forms part of the local culture, where people (not just older and semi-retired people but young people nowadays also!) gather together and practise any form of Yang3 Sheng1 (which literally means “to keep in good health”, but really it’s so much more than that). The sense of community in local areas in China is really amazing, and the deep knowledge that some of the masters have is really impressive. And Bama wasn’t short of knowledgeable masters!

Close by where we stayed, we came across a local TCM doctor, who people from all over China called the Miracle Doctor ( 神医, Shén2 yī1), and he was also a Qigong Master. He eventually went on to help my mom’s cancer recovery using acupuncture over a period of time. Each time I visited, I also received acupuncture treatment for my allergies and stomach aches, and I learned a lot from him about TCM as well as Qigong. 

He suggested I take on the practice of Qigong and taught me the various stances. He said that if I do Qigong regularly, I won’t need to receive painful needles in a patient bed for 1-2 hours at a time any more, and I would essentially no longer need to be a patient, which I was glad to hear! This practice could essentially stop any disease or ailment from coming and staying in my body. It can prevent illnesses in healthy people, and it can help fight ailments naturally, without the need for pills. What more could one ask for?

So I started doing it regularly. At first, it was hard, because it was a new thing, and a new habit, and I was not used to it. I knew I had to start doing it as I believed it would help my conditions, but to get down to doing it was not easy schedule-wise, as so many things got in the way, life admin, work, personal relationships, social time, etc, and I had to find time to do it. So initially, I didn’t do it very often. But then later, I realized it was all about building a habit, and so I slowly and steadily built it over time (more about building the habit below), and now I regularly practise Qigong and feel much much better! Not only my ailments are tamed, but my mental health and mood have also improved!

Here’s what I’ve learned from doing Qigong:

1. Short-term solutions come to you

Answers that you’ve been looking for for some time may suddenly come to you during Qigong when you are relaxed and your mind wanders. What you may have been struggling with for some time could also be explained or answered. 

2. Long-Term Problems are resolved internally

Work problems or social problems are resolved mentally, and internally. And only once you’ve resolved them internally, can you resolve them externally. It might also be resolved for the other person too or on its way to resolution, once you’ve resolved them internally within yourself. It’s very bizarre. But I found this to be true.

3. Great ideas come to you

Ideas come to find you. Thoughts come to you. Some are relevant, and some are not relevant  (or so it seems). It’s a bit like dreaming, or daydreaming. Within some of these thoughts, some great ideas could come to you. Because you’re sort of “distracted” from stress and you are relaxed, it’s a good state for the most brilliant ideas to come to you! It has happened to me a few times, where several ideas (sometimes solutions to problems, other times just simply ideas of things I could do and try or change) came to me, some big some small, some were minor realisations and others were epiphanies!

4. You quieten your dissatisfied inner child

You give space and time to yourself, and your inner child. If there are any unmet needs from childhood, you as an adult are essentially meeting that inner child’s needs by being present with him/her in this present moment, reassuring them that they are safe and secure. 

5. Ailments like allergies are tamed

From personal experience, my Hay Fever is lessened (during hay fever season) or almost completely gone, on the days I do Qigong (especially if I start my day by doing Qigong first thing in the morning). My brother also suffers from long-term hay fever, and he’s also noticed the improvements he feels in his hay fever symptoms after he does 45mins of Qigong. I don’t know if it’s psychological, but it seems I’m not the only one to experience this. It is believed that when gathering qi, and manifesting qi, the body auto-regulates itself and strengthens its own immune system, and that helps deal with the ailments naturally. 

6. Emotional clarity! Spiritual connection

I feel clarity in the day. I feel more in control of my emotions. I feel more centred on myself. I also feel more connected to my higher self, in a more spiritual way.

7. Mental health improvements

I struggled with anxiety for a long time. Since I started doing Qigong, I feel more equipped to deal with stress, as a result of feeling less reactive. In other words, I am less likely to get stressed out if something happens during the day (work-wise, or socially) that would normally trigger reactive stress responses. Doing regular Qigong gives me this sense of internal peace that enables me to be able to handle anything that comes my way 🙂

8. Moves the guts

After doing Qigong for about 10-17mins first thing in the morning, my poop comes right away, before I even drink coffee! I often have to stop my morning session so I can go to the toilet first xD This is only my experience of course 🙂 

The above is only my experience, and I’ve had great experience with it so far. But, don’t take my word for it! At first, many people don’t believe it, and the benefits it can bring, understandably. You might have some questions right now, such as whether this is scientific at all. I’m glad you’re thinking that way. Let me share some science with you then 🙂

What is Qigong good for exactly? And is there scientific evidence for this?

Yes, absolutely! In recent years, several studies have shown consistent and significant results in health improvements. Qigong is believed to reduce depression and relieve stress, lessen chronic fatigue and boost the immune response. In a recent article, researchers analyzed over 800 clinical studies and found that 97% of those reported beneficial results from practising Qigong. And these ranged from lung/respiratory disease to diabetes, insomnia, muscle pain, arthritis, digestive issues, mental and behavioural disorders, skin diseases, and amongst others.

So… how do you do Qigong? 

There are several stances and positions you can adopt – more in detail below.

The main idea is simply to stay still (stand, sit or lie down still) in a certain position that allows qi to manifest and gather itself, breathe in and out as normal, and let the thoughts happen as normal. The body will heal itself or start healing itself once the qi flows naturally.

What are the different Qigong stances? 

There are moving qigong exercises and static qigong stances.

I tend to do the static qigong stances, as they help gather qi within the body. There are mainly 3 different versions: standing, sitting, and lying down.

1. Standing, tree position:

I usually do this first thing in the morning, as it helps me set up for a good day.

Stand with your feet shoulder wide, and have your two feet parallel to each other. Raise your hands to about chest height (highest lungs and lowest stomach). Widen your arms, as if you were hugging a tree or a big round ball, and have your two hands about one open palm apart, in front of your chest (not higher than your lungs, and not lower than your stomach). Hold your hands slightly curved, and create a round inner circle, as if you were creating space for the energy to flow in between your hands.

This position is grounding, it’s as if you’re “rooting” yourself to the ground, and strengthening the lower body. It also gathers and enhances the circulation of qi through the body.

There are a couple of other hand/arm positions you can do while doing standing Qigong. You can place your hands in front of your lower belly, palms facing towards the floor. This way, you are receiving yin and calming energy from the ground (Jie1 di4 qi4). This position is good for when you’re feeling anxious or angry, and need earthy, calming or yin energy. 

2. Sitting, On the edge of a chair: 

Find a comfortable (preferably solid and flat) surface or chair to sit on. Sit on the edge of a chair, leaving your perineum (the point between anus and genitals) free – in order to leave the perineum free, you need to sit on the edge of a chair and have your knees bent at 90 degrees. Hold your hands together, by placing your left thumb on the palm of the right hand. Place the left hand over your right hand’s back and let it rest, in such that your right thumb is placed on the acupressure LI-4 (合谷, He2 Gu3) position of the left hand.

In this position, place your hands on the lower belly, where the middle of the palm of your two hands is in the centre position of your lower belly, a point called Sea of Qi, or CV6 (气海, Qì4 hǎi3).

3. Lying down:

This position is great for just before sleep, as it helps you fall asleep. And it’s also good for women, on their first 3 days of period, especially if they tend to have heavy periods (standing positions may cause more blood flow and thus more heavy periods/more bleeding).

When is the Best time to do Qigong?

My shifu said, “First thing in the morning is the best, as your mind is fresh, and it helps raise the qi levels in your body as qi levels of the day rise with sunrise”. You can also do Qigong at any time of the day that you find suitable.

I like to do it first thing in the morning, before my breakfast, or before I start work. A lot of solutions come to me clearly when my mind is still fresh and free of any stress from issues arising during the day. Several times, I found answers to questions I had been asking for some time. And I do believe I’ve developed better intuition over time and have learned to trust this intuition with the sense of peace that Qigong brings.

It’s also good to do it at the end of your workday, to help reflect upon what’s gone well and what could be improved. Solutions naturally come to you while you’re in a meditative state, I find. 

Evenings are great for calming the mind down. But I’ve also found that if I do it too close to bedtime, it wakes my mind up. It’s very interesting because whilst Qigong is calming to the mind, it’s also energizing to the body. Whenever I attempt to do Qigong right before bed, I find myself awake for a bit longer and restart my sleep hygiene routine before going to bed. 

Strictly speaking, it should be at least one hour after the last meal you had. This is because Qigong will move your qi and blood around your body naturally, letting it flow to the meridians and organs fully. If you’ve just eaten, then your blood naturally needs to go to your stomach a bit more, and it wouldn’t be good for blood to flow elsewhere and less blood to flow to the stomach, causing a deficiency in resources for your digestion. So Qigong is recommended at least 1hr after your last full meal. In other words, best not to do Qigong within 1hr of eating a full meal.

Is there any time to avoid doing Qigong?

You can do Qigong any time in general. But there are a few times to preferably avoid:

1. After a full meal, when you still feel full, is not advisable. Usually, it’s good to allow at least 1hr after you’ve eaten before you do Qigong. This is because when you’ve eaten, blood rushes to the stomach to help with digestion. When doing Qigong, you’re essentially moving blood and qi, making it flow across to the whole body. So, just like with exercise, it’s advisable to wait 1hr after a full meal before doing it. 

2. If you’re feeling very very very angry, upset or extremely sad (for example right after an emotionally disturbing incident), please don’t do Qigong until you feel calm and slightly better. It’s advisable to allow some time for your emotions to settle before you do Qigong. If you do Qigong in a poor or unstable emotional or mental state, it can be difficult for qi and blood to flow naturally, and thus cause the opposite effect of what Qigong is for. If you feel extremely emotional or distressed, let it set first. Once you feel calmer and settled, that’s when you can do some Qigong 🙂 

How long do you normally do Qigong for? 

Masters like my shifu tend to do it for 4hrs a day minimum, sometimes even up to 6-8hrs a day. 

For the best effect for people who wish to see dramatic health changes, my Shifu would say 1-hr per day minimum, and the longer the better. This is because it takes 2 hours for qi to go through a complete cycle in any given meridian. But we recognise this is hard for anyone who hasn’t done this before and for whom it’s not a habit to do so. I personally do 20 minutes every morning. But started incrementally, literally with 1 minute per day for at least a week, before I added another minute on top – more on how to build a habit below.

How do you build up this habit of doing Qigong daily? 

Initially, it can be hard. Because like any new habit you want to implement, you have to build it up slowly over time, for it to really catch on as a habit and then become automatic action without thinking about it. Until then, you set aside time each morning or each evening to do it. 

I had previously tried to go cold turkey and do 1hr a day, or at least 30 mins per day. But I failed miserably and didn’t pick it up again till months later. This time, I quickly realized that that cold strategy wasn’t going to work, and thanks to some reading about habits I implemented increments of action instead.

My experience was to start with only 1 min, literally 60 seconds 🙂 I did it for a week. Everyday. Why? I wanted to do it just enough to get a good feeling about it so that the next day I genuinely wanted to and was excited to do it again. The experience of 1 minute a day makes you look forward to coming back and repeating it the next day. Because 1min is so small that it’s almost effortless to do. So I built a sense of confidence and a feeling that I could conquer it (the habit). 

Next week I did Qigong for 2 mins every day. And the following week I did 3mins, then 5mins. By then I felt quite comfortable doing more, but my goal was just to do at least 5 mins, to solidify the habit. If I felt like doing more, which happened on some days, that was also fine. Eventually, I built it up to a 10mins block. And now it’s usually 20 mins each time (or however long it takes for my poop to come knocking on the door and I have to end my Qigong there and go. PS. You should never hold poop, you should let it out as soon as it comes, even if it means ending your Qigong early to go :)). And if it feels really good, especially first thing in the morning, when I’ve woken up early and my mind is still fresh before the stresses of the day happen, sometimes I go up to 40 mins, and on the rare occasion 1hr 🙂

Where do I go from now?

If you are serious about improving your health in the long term, try Qigong! Either find a local Qigong Master to help you get started, or simply try standing still in the tree position for 1 minute a day, and observe how you feel. Breath normally. It is normal to have lots of thoughts during that 1 minute that you’re standing still – after all, we are used to the high speed of the hustle and bustle, and an overwhelming amount of new information coming out every second!

Remember: avoid doing it right after eating a full meal, and avoid doing it if you’re extremely upset or angry about something.

Try this for a week, and let me know your thoughts and feelings or any observations you have in your experience! Or if you’d like more guidance or recommendations, you can email me or leave me a comment below. 

Sharing is caring!