Medical Qigong is one of the four main branches of Chinese Medicine. The four branches are acupuncture, Chinese herbs, Chinese medical massage, and Medical Qigong. Medical Qigong has been practiced in China for over 2,000 years and is still practiced in hospitals in China today.
Qi means life force or energy. Gong means skill. Thus Qigong by itself can be understood as skill with life force or energy. Qigong on its own is a personal cultivation practice that involves posture, breath, intention and movement forms to move, balance, regulate, nourish, and purge an individual’s own Qi.
Medical Qigong on the other hand, is an alternative and complementary healing treatment modality which involves the client lying on a massage table while the practitioner interacts with the client’s Qi to achieve balance and greater wellbeing. It is kind of like Reiki but more sophisticated and precise. Reiki is like a slice of the pie, Medical Qigong is the whole pie.
A Medical Qigong treatment is kind of like cleaning and restocking your house with supplies. Sometimes the trash has piled up and needs to be taken out. The toilet paper may have run out and needs to be restocked. Perhaps your staple pantry item is all used up and needs to be replaced. We move trash out of our homes, clean up and put things in their proper places, and bring in new supplies that we need to function smoothly. The house and its rooms and contents are your internal landscape and flow of Qi. The trash and lack of toilet paper and pantry staples reflect what is happening with your Qi. In some areas there is too much Qi, like the trash, and it needs to be moved out. In other places Qi is deficient, like the vacancies in the kitchen and bathroom and we need to bring Qi into those places to nourish them. Medical Qigong is this balancing act of Qi within and around the body.
Also, similarly to how an acupuncturist will prescribe herbs or a medical doctor will issue prescriptions, the Medical Qigong practitioner will often prescribe simple Qigong exercises to be done in between treatment sessions, based on observations made during the session and what the client is seeking assistance with. The combination of regular Medical Qigong treatments and Qigong exercises is where the magic really happens. The more you are able to contribute to your own healing process the deeper things can go in treatment. It is important for you to take a role in your own healing process.
While clients are welcome to come for a single session, a series of sessions in combination with regular practice of prescription exercises yields the best results.