Qigong, grandparent of Chinese Medicine

01 September 2025 ~ 0 Comments

Qigong, grandparent of Chinese Medicine

Qigong is the grandparent of Chinese Medicine

What is your go-to Qigong exercise when you're stressed?

Wuji Quan, a path to oneness with Tao (Emptiness)

Chapter 16 (Tao Te Ching)
1. Reaching the ultimate emptiness,
Concentrating on the central stillness,
All things work together.
2. From this I observe their returning.
3. All things under heaven flourish in their vitality,
Yet each returns to its own root.
This is stillness.
Stillness means returning to its destiny.
Returning to its destiny is steadfastness.
To know steadfastness means enlightenment.
Not to know steadfastness is to act forcefully.
Acting forcefully brings disaster.
Knowing the steadfast implies acceptance.
Acceptance is impartial.
Impartial is regal. Regal is heaven. Heaven is Tao.
Tao is beyond danger even when the body perishes

Qi is the basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which includes acupuncture, herbology, massage and Qigong as taught by my classical Chinese medicine teacher Dr. Kok Yuen Leung and practiced clinically at the Hangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China where I had my TCM internship in 1993. Historically, Qigong is both the Mother/Father of the later branches of oriental medicine and as a pillar of Classical Chinese Medicine. Drawings depicting Qigong movements have been found in Chinese tombs at least 3500 years old, with other references going back 5000 years or more. This makes it the grandparent of many eastern energy-based healing modalities such as acupuncture and acupressure, tui-na (meridian) massage, chi nei tsang (deep organ massage). It probably guided the development of the internal martial arts such as Tai Chi Chuan and Ba Gua Chuan, and the many derivative Japanese/Korean healing arts such as shiatsu, Do-in, as well as the numerous martial spinoffs of Aikido, Judo, etc. Some historians speculate that Qigong even travelled into India where it became part of the repertoire of yoga and sacred temple dance training.

Thus, Qigong is what Chinese medicine since prehistoric times is based on!

The Yellow Emperor and the Han Dynasty

The earliest written record of Qigong as a healing technique is found in The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine, or Huang Di Neijing Suwen, written during the Han Dynasty (240 B.C.). It shows that classical Chinese medicine is a quasi-religious system relying heavily on ancient doctrines and a small number of ancient texts that offer a philosophy of balance and harmony between human beings and the environment. It describes the fundamental natural principles that lead to good health, implying that all phenomena of the world stimulate, tonify, subdue, or depress one’s natural life force, and that humans are the offspring of the universe and therefore are subject to its laws:

“In the past, people practiced the Tao, the Way of Life. They understood the principle of balance, of yin and yang, as represented by the transformations of the energies of the universe. Thus, they formulated practices such as Dao-in (Qigong), an exercise combining stretching, massaging, and breathing to promote energy flow, and meditation to help maintain and harmonize themselves with the universe.

“They ate a balanced diet at regular times, arose and retired at regular hours, avoided overstressing their bodies and minds, and refrained from overindulgence of all kinds. They maintained well-being of body and mind; thus, it is not surprising that they lived over one hundred years.”

“Health and well-being can be achieved only by remaining centered in spirit, guarding against the squandering of energy, promoting the constant flow of qi and blood, maintaining harmonious balance of yin and yang, adapting to the changing seasonal and yearly macrocosmic influences, and nourishing one’s self preventively. This is the way to a long and happy life.”

As a seeker of truth, holistic healing and enlightenment (oneness with Spirit) since I was in my 20’s, I have been fortunate and grateful to have studied under classical Chinese medicine and Qigong teachers and have read the classical references of TCM with Tao Master Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, Huang Di Neijing, Shen Nong Ben Cao, and the other classical teachings of my Qigong teachers which assisted me greatly to the eventual realization that with no understanding, application and mastery of Qi through the practice of classical Qigong and without the wisdom of the fundamental correct doctrines of the classics, deeper and faster healing of clients or the fullfilment of the goal in becoming a self-realized Qi-healer will be just a pipe dream. See Three Treasures (Shen, Qi, Jing)

Wuji Pose in Wuji Quan by Ricardo B Serrano

“The teaching focuses essentially on the purification of Jing-Chi-Shen into its final product: the elixir of pure-person.” – Door to All Wonders, Tao Te Ching

The practice of Qigong is essentially oriental medicine without needles. The Qigong craze is spreading like wildfire in the west because it is easy to learn, easy to do, and produces fast results, whether you need healing or are just a bliss junkie. It may be the greatest blessing ever for Oriental Medicine. If tens of millions of Americans graduate from jogging and muscle-building to the more subtle practice of Qigong, they will become educated about qi flow. That means millions of more people who will feel comfortable seeing an acupuncturist /herbalist to diagnose and help balance their Qi. This is the real grassroots foundation of the revolution in energy medicine occurring in the west today…

On a more basic level, all qigong is so simple yet powerful that many energy healers use Qigong to repair themselves from “healer burnout.”

The Taoists are famous in China for their medical qigong. They claim to use neigong to tap into the universal pool of pre-natal jing. Medically, this means you can replace the “acquired jing” from your parents that is gradually spent, the depletion of which causes one to age. A high level practitioner of neigong is considered an “immortal“, since death now becomes a voluntary event, not an unconscious process that forces us out of our body. There are many cases of people claiming to regrow hair, teeth, repair diseased organs, or recover from near death conditions.

This focus on tapping into the universal pool of pre-natal jing defines one of the differences between “classical qigong” (largely suppressed by the Communists as being too spiritual) and “modern TCM qigong“. Classical qigong might also focus more heavily on the Eight Extra Meridians and the role of the five vital organ shen (zhang fu spirits, or intelligences) that regulate the flow of qi in the five elements cycle. In Taoist neigong, these practices include the famous “Microcosmic Orbit” and the more secret “Fusion of the Five Elements“. The five types of qi are fused into a “pearl” of concentrated or purified consciousness that has the power to dissolve deep physical or emotional trauma…

When Qigong is combined with acupuncture, Qi is sent through the needles to regulate meridian flow, allowing for much faster and deeper healing than using needles without Qi emission… The main limitation of Qigong is the skill of the healer or the willingness of the patient to practice. Acupuncturists are in the best position to introduce this healing modality into the west, and they can gradually increase their Qi skills to complement their needle/herbal practice and TCM diagnostic knowledge. Learning to do so is both fun and rewarding for the acupuncturist.”

Excerpts from Six healing Qigong sounds with Mantras