What are the Benefits of Qigong?

Qigong has a history of being applied to every aspect of life, and as such we can expect to find benefits from qigong practice in every area of life as well. Historically the main areas of application were to health and medicine, martial arts or peak performance, and spirituality, so we will group our discussion in this article of the many benefits of qigong into these broad categories.

How Does Qigong Work?

Before we get into the specific benefits of qigong, it may be useful for us to look briefly at how it is that qigong works that allows it to provide so many diverse benefits.

Qigong means energy work, or energy skill. So when we practice qigong we focus on the living energy or ‘qi’ inside us and seek to develop skill so that we can direct that energy in useful ways. This qi is a combination of all of the different types of energy we need to keep us alive. This includes warmth from the activity of our cells, electrical currents from activity in our nerves, kinetic energy from the movement of the fluids in our bodies and the activity of our organs, and chemical energy – most basically from the air we breathe and the food we eat, but also all the different chemicals and hormones our body produces as part of their normal living functions.

Focusing on our qi, or living energy, gives us a way to tune into all of the many different functions of our body, and direct them to find health, optimize performance, and find inner harmony. It is this awareness, sensing and directing the level, quality, and movement of qi within us that makes these practices so powerfully beneficial in all areas of our lives

Health Benefits of Qigong

Because of its broad application, qigong can literally be beneficial to every aspect of health, so there is no way we can possibly list them all in this article, but we will look at a few of the studied health benefits from qigong to give an idea of just how broad those benefits are.

1. Qigong Can Reduce Cortisol Levels. Cortisol is one of the main markers of stress in the body. This is not to say that there is anything inherently bad about the hormone cortisol, every hormone has its useful healthy function in the body, but prolonged elevated levels of cortisol in the body can be very harmful. Stress is a factor in 5 out of 6 leading causes of death, and it is estimated that between 75 and 90 percent of all doctor’s visits are for stress related illnesses[i][ii][iii]. So when we reduce cortisol levels we are helping with many other health issues.

2. Qigong Can Lower Blood Pressure. Numerous studies show that regular qigong practice can lower this key marker of cardiovascular health. These studies have included a variety of different styles of qigong, all showing the same positive benefits[iv][v][vi][vii].

3. Qigong Can Strengthen the Immune System. A study of healthy young adults showed statistically significant improvement in levels of leukocyte, eosinophils, and monocytes after practicing qigong daily for just one month, when compared to a control group[viii].

4. Qigong Can Maintain Bone Density. This is of particular concern for our health and wellbeing as we get older, and it is wonderful to know that gentle qigong practice can make such a positive difference[ix][x].

5. Qigong Can Improve Muscle Strength. Sometimes we can be led to believe that the only way to increase the strength of our muscles is to go to a gym and use machines and lift weight, but it has been shown that gentle qigong practice is also effective for improving this vital aspect of our health. Muscle strength is not just about athletic feats, but also our ability to safely support our bodies in their daily activities[xi][xii].

6. Qigong Can Improve Cognitive Performance. Numerous studies have shown that qigong practice can improve such factors as attention, brain processing speed, and executive control. Health and wellbeing is not just about the body, but how well the mind functions as well[xiii][xiv][xv].

7. Qigong Can Improve Cardiorespiratory Fitness. This goes beyond just blood pressure, and includes things such as VO₂ max, lung capacity, cardiorespiratory endurance, heart rate, stroke volume, and cardio output[xvi][xvii].

8. Qigong Can Improve Sleep Quality. Including ease of getting to sleep, length of sleep, how restful the sleep is, and how few disturbances there are to sleep[xviii][xix].

9. Qigong Can Provide Relief from the Symptoms of Arthritis. Including both Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis[xx][xxi][xxii][xxiii].

10. Qigong Can Improve Balance. This is probably one of the most studied benefits of qigong practice, as falls have a very significant effect on many other health outcomes for older populations[xxiv][xxv][xxvi].

Hopefully this short list gives you an idea of just how broadly beneficial qigong can be for our health, ranging from very general health improvement, to addressing quite specific disease conditions. And further research into the many health benefits of qigong is ongoing, so we can expect many more interesting studies to become available in future year. But what is really important is the health benefits qigong can give YOU! So many people all over the world find relief from complaints that have plagued them for long time, sometimes after even just a single session of qigong, or sometimes after a longer period of practice.

Peak Performance Benefits of Qigong

Because there have been so many studies about the benefits of qigong in improving various health conditions, this can sometimes lead to the erroneous impression that qigong is primarily for the sick or elderly. It is true that qigong is an excellent way to recover and maintain health, but there is the potential for so much more! Many of the studies referenced in the previous section were conducted on HEALTHY populations – and they still yielded positive improvements. Qigong is not just about making up what is deficient, but can also positively enhance what is already healthy as well.

To recognize Qigong’s potential to enhance peak performance, it may help to remember its long association with the martial arts. There are good reasons why kung fu masters put qigong training at the centre of their discipline, and even sometimes kept their qigong training methods a secret because they believed them to be so effective in enhancing their abilities. Through qigong practice kung fu masters were able to achieve many incredible feats of both mind and body.

Specifically, qigong training can be used to improve reflexes, develop strength and endurance, enhance mental focus, and gain extraordinary physical resilience. By tuning in to the functions of the body in fine detail through qigong practice, it becomes easier and easier to enter into what has become popularly known as a flow state, where you are able to make the best use of all of your physical capabilities in a state of relaxed concentration.

These benefits are not limited to the martial arts, but apply to all fields of human endeavour, and now some modern athletes are also starting to recognize these benefits and apply them to their sports. Probably the most famous of these is Tiger Woods who practiced qigong from a young age before beginning his golfing career, but there are many others as well in fields as diverse as professional hockey, and Olympic track and field. If you are an athlete and haven’t applied qigong to your sport yet, you may be missing out on the performance enhancing effects of qigong that more and more top level athletes are benefitting from.

Spiritual Benefits of Qigong

When we become aware of our energy, it opens up a whole new perspective on the world and our place in it. We start to really be aware of the connection between our mind and body – how simply thinking about different things affects the flow of energy through us. We start to recognize patterns in our interactions with others, and how they affect our energy. We perceive our environment with a new set of senses, and have a greater appreciation of how it shapes us, and how we also affect it.

All of this comes as a natural outgrowth from building awareness of qi and practicing to gain skill with it. This does not need to be attached to, or interpreted through, any form of religious belief or dogma. It is simply a new and more developed connection and appreciation for life in all of its parts, and the world around us.

As we start to perceive the world in this way it is natural that we will recognize areas of disharmony within us and want to resolve them. Many qigong practices are not just focused on physical health and performance, but on some of these broader aspects of wellbeing. They focus on things like balancing our emotions, and finding inner clarity.

This is one of the reasons why the monks of many orders in China, commonly practiced different types of qigong. Not only did it help to keep their bodies healthy and their minds sharp so that they could focus on their religious pursuits. The qigong practice also helped them to develop the specific characteristics they desired to attain at a deep level.

We may not all want to spend our live meditating in the mountains, but this more spiritual side of qigong can help each of us to live more peacefully and harmoniously, regardless of what other systems of belief we might have.

Conclusion

I hope this brief discussion of some of the benefits of qigong has given you some appreciation of just how positive an effect regular qigong practice can have in your life. I think by far the best way to truly understand these many benefits is not just to read about them, but to try doing some qigong yourself. Long White Cloud Qigong has many resources that can help you take the first steps in your qigong journey, including many free videos of qigong practices that you can try to get started, informative articles, and in depth courses that will help you to really understand every detail of the practices you engage in and how they work.

A good place to start is with the menu of courses that you can find here.

You may also want to subscribe to our mailing list to receive updates about new resources when they become available, and more informative articles like this one.

References:

[i] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24559833

[ii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11696251/

[iii] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/stress-and-health_b_3313606

[iv] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28735824

[v] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5359459/

[vi] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5424182/

[vii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15905884/

[viii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15173671/

[ix] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15129394/

[x] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17080541/

[xi] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16624847/

[xii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5359459/

[xiii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28735824

[xiv] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4886430/

[xv] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4055508/

[xvi] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4332633/

[xvii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28735824

[xviii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15161452/

[xix] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5359459/

[xx] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28953263

[xxi] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4718020/

[xxii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17443749/

[xxiii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27183035

[xxiv] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10555688

[xxv] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5359459/

[xxvi] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28736853