QiGong
QiGong is one of the most powerful self-healing tactics ever developed in human history. People may see it as an alternative healthcare approach in part because that they have no idea what it is except for seeing or having heard of it from alternative healthcare professionals.
In fact, the word “QiGong” is a Chinese phrase consisting of two words, Qi and Gong. Qi in traditional Chinese medicine means vital life force or energy; Gong means exercise or practice. When the two words put together, QiGong means an exercise or practice that cultivate, grow and regulate one’s vital life force or energy.
While QiGong may sound like having strong connections with Kongfu and other mysterious oriental cultures, its practical healing effect and health benefits are very well recognized by a wide variety of people all over the world, including China.
Quite different from other traditional Chinese medicine techniques, QiGoing is a self-healing tactic, meaning it needs practice by patient him/herself. Another key feature of QiGong is that it heavily involves in mind exercise for the purpose of mind-body integration. There might be thousands of different QiGong protocols that use different strategies to cultivate and regulate our energy or Qi, one common tactic for all, however, is to achieve a calm and soothing mental status for the health benefits. From that perspective, it is similar to meditation as familiar among Western cultures. In fact, at certain level, Tai Chi and Yoga are considered as variations of QiGong as well.
Without diving into the myth for how it may work mechanistically, what you need to know is that people who practice QiGong faithfully have less chances to get sick or if they do they may need less medications and get healed faster. Also, if you are getting acupuncture and other alternative medicine treatments, simultaneous practice of QiGong will facilitate with therapeutic process and improve the effectiveness.
On the other hand, most alternative medicine doctors in Kansas City know QiGong, and some may practice QiGong themselves, but not many practitioners offer QiGong class. Given more and more people knows about QiGong, it wouldn’t be a surprise that it soon becomes a viable holistic healthcare avenue in Kansas City.