Demystifying Qigong & Cultivating Vitality

 
Qigong at sunset
 

At Wellness Within, we offer a variety of movement classes including Qigong. For those that are new to the practice or even those who have been practicing for a long time, we wanted to provide more information and resources. We turned to Cynthia Li, MD and our Wellness Within instructor, John Brewer to bring you the below in-depth conversations and resources about the healing power of Qigong.

To start with, Qigong (pronounced “Chi Gung” and sometimes referred to as “Chinese Yoga”) is both a set of practices and a way of being, dedicated to the cultivation of life force and enhancement of health and vitality on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels. Activities offered in Qigong classes are drawn from five different “baskets”: movement, breath, sound, self-massage, and meditation. Movement is the primary modality, while the other four are wonderful and beneficial supplements.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine principles, disturbed or blocked flow of qi can produce discomfort and illness within an individual. Free flow of qi is associated with better health. Below are some of the many reported benefits of Qigong:

  • Improves strength, balance, and flexibility

  • Improves lung function

  • Reduces stress, anxiety, and depression

  • Improves pain and reduces inflammation

  • Benefits heart health and improves blood pressure

  • Improves sleep

Click below to listen to the Wellness Within Podcast episodes and check out their resource links to learn more.

1)    Qigong Demystified with Dr. Cynthia Li

In this episode, Wellness Within Founder Patti Brown, MS LMFT is joined by honored guest, Cynthia Li, MD.  Dr. Li's health challenges with an autoimmune thyroid condition and chronic fatigue changed her life and her practice of medicine. In this in-depth conversation about healing, she shares her experience of how Zhineng (Wisdom Healing) Qigong contributed to her radical remission and her observation of how science is evolving to measure and support the benefits of this ancient practice.

Below are her primary Qigong teachers that were mentioned in this episode: 


Beyond this informative and insightful episode, she has provided several free resources below:

Sutter Institute for Health & Healing Videos:


Article & Free E-Book:

 

2)    Qigong & Cultivating Vitality with John Brewer

In this episode, Wellness Within Founder Patti Brown, MS LMFT is joined by Qigong Instructor, John Brewer. John is an honored instructor at Wellness Within and he provides Qigong classes in-person at the center and online. In this episode, he shares about how his own journey led him to Qigong and helped him heal. He discusses what is “qi”, breaks down the components of the Qigong practice, describes the power of Wisdom Healing Qigong, and much more.

John has been trained in, and will draw from, two systems: Wisdom Healing Qigong with Master Mingtong Gu, and Integral Qigong with Dr. Roger Jahnke. Should you wish to explore these two very compatible paths you are invited to examine the following websites:

Additional Resources:

The Physiology of Tai Chi & Qigong – This is a 12-minute practical introduction to fundamentals of Qigong in relation to our human bodies.

John Brewer On Demand Videos – Practice with John via these recorded Qigong sessions, or register for in-person or Zoom classes by visiting our Program Calendar.

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