Qi Kong (QiGong)

The theory and practice of Qi Kong (QiGong) and TCM follow nature’s model of dynamic balance. Balance and harmony, reaching an accord with nature, “setting the body to music” (Schipper, 1993:139) are essentially Taoist principles. Taoist thought and the early naturalist and shamanic traditions preceding Taoism constitute the basis for the holistic view that underlies all TCM practices and methods of treatment and diagnosis.
The Tao has been translated as “the way” or “the infinite origin.” The Tao Te Ching, attributed to Lao Zi (5th century BCE) is the distiIled poetic essence of the philosophy that latter came to be called Taoism.
Tao never makes any ado And yet it does everything.(Lao Zi, Wu trans., 1989:75)
Tao is the origin of Heaven and Earth, and by it, they are regulated. It existed before they were brought to completion, and no one has seen its form nor knows its name. It is called ’spiritual intelligence.’ (Kuei-ku-tzu, Smith trans., 1980:26)
Theories of Yin and Yang, the five evolutionary phases and the production and circulation of qi through the body are integral to the TCM pursuit of balance and harmony.
Chinese medicine is philosophically in the same family as Chinese poetry and painting; the fluid transformation of yin and yang found in nature and the perspective of wholeness reflected in the particular inform these practices.
The principles of harmony and music were born of the supreme Unity, which produced the ‘yin’ and the ‘yang,’ and these separate only to unite again and they unite only to separate. This process is called ‘the rule of
heaven. (Ho-Kuan-tzu, Smith trans., 1980:34)
IN UNITY is the origin of the life-force. Movement within this life-force produces purpose. Enfolded upon itself it is called ‘chaos,’ but when chaos opened up the four seasons revolved and all things were produced. (Huai-nan-tzu, Smith trans., 1980:34)
Chinese medicine is practiced according to the belief that the human body, mind and spirit are a unified energetic system in relation to larger systems such as the environment and the universe as a whole. The individual is viewed as a microcosm of the universal macrocosm.
The macrocosmos is composed of five basic elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water; in the microcosmos there are five basic inner organs: kidney, liver, lung, spleen and heart. Each inner organ is identified with an element without. Also in their relation to one another the five inner organs follow the pattern of the five elements. As each element is the product of another their relationship becomes ultimately circular. This circular movement also applies to the inner organs. (Chang, 1963:138)
This is not mytho-poetic or metaphorical, but the perspective from which health is understood as a matter of ever changing balance within the physical, social and environmental bodies. The body may be thought of as an inner landscape, and going beyond the medical view, the Taoist mystical understanding incorporates the heavens. Kristofer Schipper describes how the work of Qi Kong (QiGong) constitutes “an entrance into the cosmic rhythm, a way of participating in the spontaneous evolution of nature. As the practitioner enters into this universal movement, he becomes one with the great mutation of all beings.” (Schipper, 1993: 138)
TCM focuses on integrating preventative measures into daily life. The Huang Di Nei Jing or The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine (compiled 500-100 BCE) states that “The inferior physician treats diseases, the superior physician teaches the well to remain well.” (Cohen, K. 1991: 17) This tenet assumes a shared responsibility between patient and doctor. By educating the patient and detecting inlbalances at the energetic level before they reach the physical body, illness can be avoided. Again, The Huang Di Nei Jing advises: “To administer medicine after an illness begins is … like digging a well after becoming thirsty or casting weapons after a battle has been engaged.”
The practitioner of Chinese medicine will reach a diagnosis by observing the patient’s pulse, eyes, tongue, complexion, odor, voice, body language and general demeanor as well as taking an extensive interview and engaging the patient in discovering the source of their symptoms and the patterns in which they manifest.
The TCM practitioner does not reduce symptoms to isolated causes, rather, they are seen to be in relationship to many factors and inter-related processes that are unique to each individual. A balanced way of life and spiritual and emotional well being are interdependent with physical health. The Huang Di Nei Jing emphasizes the importance
of avoiding excess:
The people of ancient times who knew the Tao, used the concepts of Yin/Yang and methods of Qi Kong (QiGong). They had proper food intake, a well regulated daily life, and did not over work, so their body and mind remained healthy. They died at age 100. (Shih, 1994:9)
The “Nei ring” also tells of the effect of emotions on the body. Emotions are associated with specific organ systems and the disturbance of qi flow caused by their excess may lead to illness. For example:
Excessive anger injures the liver; excessive joy injures the heart; excessive mental activity injures the spleen; excessive melancholy injures the lung; fright and fear injure the kidney. (Shih, 1994:32) Learning to reduce the preoccupation with worried thoughts by relaxing the body and meditating is conducive to good health. Guanzi, a statesman from the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BCE) wrote about the role of disposition in maintaining health:
A normal person needs happiness to maintain vitality. Sorrow causes health to disappear. The heart can keep the roind quiet. One can keep quiet by internal balance. (Shih, 1994:6)
Taoist scholar Livia Kohn descnoes the fluid nature of the mind and emotions and their reciprocity with the body:
The mind in Chinese medical thought is not different from the body, but flows through it as a subtler form of energy together with the energy and blood. Emotional upheavals are therefore immediately linked with physical symptoms, either causing them or caused by them. (Kohn, 1993: 163)
Blood is considered a communicative liaison of the Xin (Hsin) or heart/mind. Harriet Beinfield and Efram Korngold offer an example of how the blood is “considered the medium of the mind insofar as it carries information (in Western terms this takes the form of chemical messengers or hormones) that regulate body function.” (Beinfield & Korngold, 1991:54)
A more developed picture of how the mind and spirit infuse the body according to Chinese medical theory will be presented after the discussion of Qi Kong (QiGong) physiology. Ken Cohen has pointed out that recent scientific discoveries in the new field of psychoneuroimmunology could serve as a bridge connecting traditional Eastern and Western understanding ofmind/body unity.
Now we are rediscovering the importance ofbio-electricity, of the flow of the chemicals of consciousness, the neuropeptides, through the body. As we find out more about these things it will become time to re-integrate the early philosophy of vitalism back into our movement and healing arts. I think that Western science has really set the stage to return to an almost Chinese view of the body and healing energy. (Cohen, 1995:14)