What is Chi Kung Health Therapy?
Chi Kung, also know as Qigong, is a self-healing art that combines movement and meditation. This type of therapy has been in existence for thousands of years. Its popularity recently increased in the Western corner of the world due to the belief that a calm and clear mindset decreases the chances of disease and depression.
Visualizations are employed in this therapy to enhance the mind/body connection and assist healing. Chi Kung is the ancient Chinese practice for health, therapy, and longevity thought to balance the one’s life force and promote healing. It is a self-healing art that combines movement, relaxation, mind-body integration, breathing and meditation. “Chi” means vital energy of the body, and “Kung” means the skill of working with, or cultivating, self-discipline and achievement. Psychotherapists and pain management clinicians alike find that this sense of self makes recovery more effective. This type of therapy is especially beneficial to those with great levels of stress and those attending depression treatment facilities. Chi kung health therapy might also be helpful to someone in an eating disorder treatment center or to a person attending alcohol treatment rehab.
Practice of Chi Kung Health Therapy
The emphasis of Chi Kung is on complete relaxation, conscious breath control, balance, and in maintaining present moment focus while moving through a series of slow, graceful, rhythmical postures. There are thousands of different forms of Chi Kung, each varying in degree of difficulty. Chi Kung is typically composed of simple and controlled movements, making the learning of this form much easier than some other therapies. Styles may incorporate sitting, standing, lying down or may be action involved Chi Kung.
At times this therapy may also be taught as a form of martial arts. One style of Chi Kung taught in the form of martial arts is Tai Chi Chuan. This is the most popular form of action involved Chi Kung therapy.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, each form of life has a source of energy or life. This life force is called “Chi” or “Qi”. When this energy is blocked or slowed in the body, a person becomes sick and exhausted and is more prone to injury. In order to restore health back to a person, the “chi” must be shifted back into balance. During the practice of Chi Kung, one develops awareness of chi sensations (energy) in their body and uses their mind to guide the chi. Chi Kung promotes health and vitality by stimulating and balancing the flow of chi throughout the body. This balance of chi in the body provides relief to many people, including those attending alchol rehab, drug rehab facilities, depression treatment facilities and trauma treatment centers.
Benefits of Chi Kung Health Therapy
Benefits of this therapy include:
- Stress and anxiety release
- Hormonal balance in the body
- Improved sleep quality
- Lowered blood pressure levels
- Greater range of motion in the body
- Healing in heart complications, namely heart disease
- Lesser amount of negative thoughts
- Better posture
- Increased health of the nervous system
- Respiratory capacity expanded