A patient suffering from blurry vision might have problems with his liver or kidney. Arthritis in the knees or hypertension? Could be a blockage of the qi (“chee”).
So says Kevin Chen, a researcher and teacher of medical Qigong, (pronounced “chee gung”) an ancient Chinese healing practice gaining ground in the states.
“Chinese medicine is based on the holistics, the mind and body connection,” said Chen, an associate professor in the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland Medical School.
Qigong integrates physical movements, breathing and focused intention, according to the National Qigong Association.
The practice, often paired with the better known Tai Chi martial art, is following in the path blazed by yoga as more Americans look to alternative healing and healthy lifestyles, advocates say.
Qigong classes are popping up at YMCAs and senior centers across the country.
The number of people practicing Qigong is hard to pinpoint, but Janet Sullivan, president of the National Qigong Association estimates about 1 million people in the U.S. practice.
And with a focus on deep breathing and meditation, anyone can do Qigong.
“It’s accessible for everybody don’t have to have special equipment or clothes or body type,” said Michael Clark, a teacher based in Mexico and one half of the Tao Brothers, a duo spreading the message of Tai Chi and Qigong healing.
The Tao Brothers, also comprised of North Carolina-based teacher Accem Scott, are hosting a walk in Baltimore today — one stop in a four-city tour — to raise awareness of the practice. The event also kicks off the annual National Qigong Association conference being held this weekend in Reisterstown.
“We want to make a really good simple instruction of what these practices are,” said Clark.
Clark turned to Tai Chi and Qigong after a 10-year career as a corporate marketing exec for a gas and electric company in California, where he worked as “a magnet for negative emotions.”
“It really can transform your life,” he said of Qigong.
Kim Clements, an acupuncturist in New Jersey, started Qigong a few years ago as a relief to a hectic time of moving and schoolwork.
She found it easy to use and incorporate into her daily life, and she continues to practice before acupuncture appointments.
“It was a place to always remember to breathe,” she said.
But the practice goes beyond relieving stress.
Medical Qigong is one of several traditions of the practice that draw on the same concepts of breath and movement
It can be used in diagnosis, treatment and prevention, Chen said. For example, a patient with blurry vision may be directed to practice focused breathing and movement targeted to heal the ailing kidney or liver.
Western health care professionals and patients often struggle to understand the ancient Eastern practice, because a person’s chi — the life force or energy flow — can’t easily be labeled.
“It’s intangible. It doesn’t fit in,” Chen said.
Qigong can help some patients find balance as they endure treatments for cancer and other diseases, said Karl Ardo, an instructor at Tai Sophia Institute, a wellness school in Laurel.
Clients at Ardo’s private practice tend to bounce back from chemotherapy quicker or have fewer side effects, he said.
“It’s about finding a way that the healthy part can nurture and support the unhealthy part,” Ardo said.
For more on the conference and Qigong, visit nqa.org.
