In Chinese, Qi (sounds like “chi”) represents the life force energy that every human being and living organism possesses. Gong (sounds like “gong” or “kung”) denotes a skill that has been refined and perfected through consistent practice over an extended period of time. Someone who practices qigong is working on cultivation of energetic skill. This could be for oneself or guiding others in the process.

Qigong is a Chinese method of supporting health that includes movement practices, meditation and energy work. Most people I have come across who know about qigong are aware of “health qigong,” which is usually taught as physical movement exercises that individuals can do to enhance health and well-being in a general way.

Medical Qigong requires extensive training over several years to develop energetic skill, understand diagnostic criteria and Chinese medical theory. This training allows for exercises and sessions to be focused on specific energetic meridians, organs, or aspects of a person's energy body based on the need for reconnecting with optimal health. This ability to customize in a more individual and nuanced way is essential when interacting with people who might be working through various levels of illness or health.

I have found that the study of Medical Qigong with my teacher, Dr. Bernard Shannon, DMQ, DTCM (China), has helped me to bridge my understanding of allopathic medicine and health from a Western paradigm with an Eastern understanding of Chinese medicine, which includes an appreciation of energetic awareness in a way that is grounded in a lineage that goes back across the centuries for thousands of years. This has provided me with a common language that I can use to discuss what I might be observing energetically during a session with clients as well as other practitioners.

Chinese medicine excels at long-term management and provides a variety of different ways of understanding and interacting with obstacles to health. The study of Chinese medical theory and diagnostic criteria enables predictive modeling based on energy flow patterns observed during sessions. This knowledge base, paired with energetic sensitivity, assists in making recommendations for ways that an individual can take active steps towards improving their health and supporting their healing after a session is completed.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is often thought of in the context of five main branches: Energetics, Acupuncture, Herbal remedies, Nutrition, and Massage.

Each of these areas or branches of Chinese medicine has a slightly different focus, but they can work holistically together or overlap, as Chinese medicine is considered a complete medical system that includes diagnostic criteria and the possibility for prescriptions to be provided, whether that is an herbal remedy, a movement exercise or a meditation that an individual could perform to work with a specific issue.

Energetic awareness of life-force energy is as old as life itself, so qigong may be part of the oldest branch of Chinese medicine, as much of the theory in the other branches comes from an awareness of energetics refined over centuries. Qigong is inherently energetic in focus and deeply influenced by Daoist understanding, as it pairs an understanding of energy and physicality with meditation, prayer work or physical movement exercises. As we work with our cultivation it becomes possible to support optimal energetic meridian flow patterns for maintaining harmonious health and wellness.

https://www.fivebranches.edu/about-five-branches/what-is-tcm/the-five-branches/

I do not see Western and Eastern perspectives as being in opposition to each other. They have different approaches and understandings, but these differences can be beneficial as they help to deepen our understanding of what truly holistic medicine can be. I am happy to hear that clients are willing to explore various options, as this increases the likelihood that they will be able to find an approach or intervention that might be beneficial for their current needs.

In China, there are hospitals that include both Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medical options all under the same roof, such as qigong, acupuncture, Chinese herbs, as well as surgery and pharmacology. This way patients get referred wherever their issue might be addressed most beneficially. Personally, I see Western Medicine to be ideal in dealing with acute emergencies that require rapid intervention to support life for a short time. If I were to end up in an ambulance, I would be happy if they would take me to the hospital where a team of professionals can do what they can to support my body in maintaining life as quickly as possible. On the other hand, Chinese medicine seems to work best at long-term management. It is especially helpful for those who are interested in options beyond the Western medication focused approach. For example, acupuncture is often something that patients turn to when they are still experiencing pain that seems unaffected by medication or surgery and don’t know where else to turn.

I find that the Chinese medical approach is helpful at providing a road map to help patients look at their life holistically and start optimizing what they can as part of the journey back to ideal health. This may be a slower road, and it does often require change and discipline, but many find it to be worth it if they are able to begin feeling better and can see how the changes are bringing about lasting results toward their goals.

I am not an allopathic medical doctor, so I am not able to provide prescriptions for medication or give referrals in that way. However, I am happy to discuss my perspective and share information that you as a client can review to decide for yourself if medical qigong is something that you want to explore further. Any information I share should be viewed from an understanding that my unfolding energetic awareness and learning on medical topics is ongoing and continues to develop and deepen. I seek to empower you and remind you that you are the best person to decide what makes sense for your life goals and present circumstances.

I first heard about qigong from one of my professors in medical school. I mentioned something about sensing energy, and he shared with me that he had a martial arts background and that I really might benefit from learning qigong. At the time, I didn't know what qigong was, so he explained a bit more about how it was a method for learning to work with energy as part of Chinese energy healing. This all sounded interesting, but I was a second year student in medical school at the time and did not feel that I had any extra time to devote to exploring something that was not a requirement for my coursework. So I thanked him and moved on with my day.

Years later I went to have a session with a practitioner of Integrated Energy Therapy, and out of the blue she started talking about the fact that it would be really beneficial for me to learn some qigong. I thought, “Wow, that's weird. It's been years since I've even thought or heard that word… and now when I start exploring energy work, it is coming back up out of the blue here.” I had never told her anything about qigong or that I had had a teacher mention it to me before. She didn’t offer it or have a background with it, so I thought maybe there really is something here that I should explore further?

I looked online and found some videos of people doing health qigong, which I tried for a few days. It was interesting but just felt like there was something missing, and none of them felt like the right fit to explore as a teacher. So, qigong was put on the back burner again with the intention that I was willing to learn if circumstances presented for further study when it felt like the right fit.

A couple years later, after exploring energy work a bit more, I felt that I had learned how to connect with my intuition more easily, but my practice was still missing a level of deeper structure. It was then that I had my first acupuncture treatment. I could feel the meridian flow being altered and adjusted in different areas of my body with the placement of each needle. I knew I could feel energy flow in general, but I had not noticed specific adjustment and modulation of energy flow in meridians in that way before. The acupuncturist walked away to let the needles “do their work” while I was waiting on the table for a number of minutes. While waiting I was puzzling through how curious and intriguing the sensation was and the fact that the practitioner could walk away during a treatment and it still continued having an effect that I could sense… “How could that be?” That’s when I saw a live image of the energy flow in my energy body. It looked like a live map of the meridians. It was totally unexpected, but I knew that there was something here that I needed to learn more about. It was time to learn more about Chinese energetic medicine which meant a return to qigong.

Soon after I found a school that was teaching medical qigong and met my teacher Dr. Shannon. Within a few minutes of the first workshop, we were standing up and doing some postural adjustments, and I could feel the energy moving through the meridians in my body in ways that I had never experienced before. It was strong; it was clear; it was optimal flow. I knew that I was in the right place and that I was ready to begin this journey of going deeper to see what medical qigong had to offer.

After I complete the qigong movement practices as part of my daily routine, I feel much more settled and grounded and ready to take on my day. I have noticed that feelings of physical tightness or lack of flexibility that had been with me for many years have decreased, and the clearing and the daily practice have assisted in that process. In some ways, I feel that I'm accessing the flexibility that I don't even think I had access to in childhood. Now, with deliberate practice, I'm meeting myself anew each day and continuing to listen to the wisdom of my body and explore that leading edge of cultivation towards optimal health. It has allowed me to respect and honor my whole being instead of ignoring my physicality and just focusing on my mind or my emotions. This has provided a solid foundation for my continued development of energetic awareness over time. For those reasons and many more, I am extremely grateful.

Finding medical qigong with its structure, depth and scope of understanding energy anatomy has been very humbling and inspiring. This is a system where I can continue learning in deeper ways and levels about energetic meridians, acupuncture point locations, chakra gates, the ideal functions and virtues of the different organs energetically, as well as advanced techniques that can assist the effectiveness of the energy work sessions that are offered to clients. I look forward to continuing practice and cultivation as I deepen in understanding over the years to come.

I usually sense the energy during a Medical Qigong session as a strong bright white, shining energy. It is both grounded and heavenly. It often feels pure, patient and kind. It has a very harmonious and profound feeling to it. During a qigong session, we are connecting with heaven and earth and allowing ourselves to be part of that divine flow each and every one of us as humans participates in, whether we realize it or not. In Daoism, there is teaching that mankind is in optimal alignment when we are allowing ourselves to be in that middle place between heaven and earth, mediating, moderating, and harmonizing.

I view any energy work session as team work because you and I are both present facilitating as it takes place. You are the one who is deciding energetically what you are ready to shift during or after the session is completed. There is no forcing needed as things can let go naturally when the timing is right and support is available. The more both of us are able to relax and feel safe and settled, the more likely deeper shifting can occur.

At the beginning of a medical qigong session, I offer prayers of protection and clearing for the space, myself and the client that I'm working with for the highest good of all. Then, after a brief check in conversation, I will scan to see what is presenting energetically to be worked with at that time. As we work through a standard session, there are opportunities to tune in to the resonance of the various organs. It's like we are asking them how they're doing, what they need, and giving them an opportunity to be listened to. Many of us can unintentionally go through life ignoring what our bodies are trying to tell us so there can be dramatic relief and shifting energetically from this initial step of tuning in and listening.

One of my areas of cultivation is to maintain a deep stillness that allows a client to be acknowledged and heard energetically on all levels: physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, for they are a human being who is all of those things and more. It can be challenging at times as a practitioner to maintain that calm, almost disinterested perspective, but it can also be deeply beautiful and intimate, as it is a space where what needs to unfold can do so without judgement.

We might work with various aspects of your energy anatomy, specific points along an energetic meridian or the energetic meridian itself and the organs associated with it. Sometimes there's work done with the chakra gates, deeper work with the extraordinary meridians or the central channel of light that moves through the body. Forgiveness work is beneficial for releasing energetic cords or deeply set patterning that are no longer serving your highest good. Each one of these is a unique experience and can be difficult to put into words but can be deeply transformational when experienced for oneself.

Of course, how much shifting can occur during a session is not up to me as the facilitator. The person receiving the session knows (even if subconsciously) what they are ready to work through, and that will assist things in unfolding in optimal divine timing. It can be quite amazing to witness how much transformation and change has been welcomed by the person receiving the session when I re-scan at the end of the session.

There is often a palpable quality of relief from the client’s energy body, as if there was so much energetic stagnation going on that it was like they were holding their breath and unable to breathe. As the session progresses, an optimal energy flow pattern is able to establish itself and move through smoothly, bringing relief. That is amazing to witness, that opportunity for someone to interact with themselves (and the world) in a deeper way with less difficulty, and it routinely happens during qigong sessions. Some clients have described it subjectively as a feeling of peace or well-being after the session is completed.

Each modality is unique, which makes comparisons difficult to do with clarity, but I will try to explain with an example. Let’s say you have a cup with some dirt in it. There are a few ways that you can clear out the dirt, but which way is best?

You could turn on the faucet and just let fresh water pour into the cup. It might take a while, but eventually, as the water overflows, most of the pieces of dirt will leave. There might still be a few pieces of dirt near the bottom of the cup that are hard to get out because you're just putting more and more water in as the cup overflows. This is how I would describe the Reiki approach, as it focuses on letting the energy flow where it wants by continually bringing in fresh energy. It can be very gentle and have results depending on the issue at hand, but it can take quite a while to be maximally effective.

A Medical Qigong session is almost like taking that cup with dirt, turning it over, pouring it out, scrubbing it, washing it and then filling it up with fresh water. It's a deeper type of clean as we work with clearing out energetic stagnation directly and then bring in fresh energy to fill up the space that was just cleared out. It can also be quite a bit faster because of the fact that it's deliberately working in this way.

I have found that some people benefit from that slower Reiki approach because it's very gentle. I've had times where that has been needed in sessions, so we can do it when needed. However, I've found that the tools of Medical Qigong have such variety that they can meet nearly every scenario, which seems to come up during a session. Medical Qigong is one of the most complete methods that I've come across so far. It provides a way for me to offer more comprehensive sessions for clients where the depth can be adjusted to meet you where you are with whatever you are working through that day.

Yes and no, there are aspects of medical qigong that can be learned online from my teacher Dr. Bernard Shannon in Tennessee at the International Medical Qigong College. He offers online instruction for various aspects of the training, but the majority is done in-person.

The training that I received was done almost exclusively in person through intensive workshops. Part of the reason for that is because each one of us experiences energy in a very individualized way based on constitution and sensitivity. When we are trying to build up our inventory of awareness of different energy patterns, it's very beneficial to have a teacher who is able to identify something and then share with the group. By saying something like, "Okay, if you put your hand here and feel or sense, this energy has a quality of a certain type of elemental qi or emotion, etc." He's able to share with us his expertise, and then we can learn and build our own inventory of how we perceive it for ourselves in a way that's much easier when training is done in-person.

Some practitioners feel that distant energy work is easier than in-person and if it can be done at a distance it can be done in-person as well, but there are others who might feel that they struggle to do it at a distance. So, I think that there is merit to having at least some of the instruction in-person because everyone can benefit from that format. Especially for the movement exercises where quick adjustments can be made physically to assist in posture and form in a way that might be challenging to describe clearly over Zoom. In short, in-person training is very beneficial for those of you who can manage it and are willing to commit to multiple years learning this skill set.

No, I do not currently teach as I have not completed teacher training in medical qigong.

I have been a student learning from Dr. Bernard Shannon over the past several years, and I am happy to share what I have learned about this modality with others whether it's in a session or in an informal setting. I view myself as a student who is still discovering the depths of this method and the Chinese medical system in general. This path with medical qigong is a deepening process that unfolds over years or decades and I believe I will know if and when the timing is right to make that transition in the future. For now, I am able to refer potential students to teachers who are connected with the lineage and have been developing skill in this area longer than I have been.

For more information about learning Medical Qigong from my teacher Dr. Bernard Shannon please see: https://medicalqigong.org/

The training at my school takes at least 2 years with 500 hours of study which includes passing written and practical tests to demonstrate mastery of the necessary skills. However, even after completing this training, the process of cultivation and the ongoing deepening that can be achieved through qigong and the various levels of internal skill (neigong) is a lifelong process of development. Those who reach the level of medical qigong therapist are committed to ongoing learning and continued cultivation. It seems to me that the time it takes to develop mastery is based on the depth of one's desired level of mastery.

Yes, anyone can learn Qigong, especially “Health Qigong.” We all have a physical body and an energy body, energetic meridians. We can all benefit from doing these exercises and learning how to interact with our bodies in a different way. However, not everyone feels that this is the system for them. There are many people who would prefer an approach like yoga, which can also have a spiritual dimension to it, but the exercises and approaches may be very different. Qigong is much more about gentle, smooth, rhythmic flowing movements that are repetitive and very calming, rather than strength training or tightening muscles. It's really very much about relaxation and easing into stretching as opposed to forcing certain poses or positions.

There are those who might choose not to study Qigong if they feel that their life circumstances are overwhelming or if they have a significant history of trauma or mental instability, such as schizophrenia.

The process of Qigong is very potent and while that can lead to dramatic transformations, it does require a certain respect and diligence with how it is approached so that we don't overwhelm our system. If our nervous system is getting overtaxed and we're not able to rest and relax into the process, then it can make the process of clearing and releasing much more difficult. It's hard to let go if you feel like you are in crisis mode and don't feel safe enough to let go of something that no longer serves you. There are certainly people who might come for one workshop at Qigong training, and it brings up material from the past that they don’t want to dive into just yet. That's totally okay! What that means is that if there is a time in the future when that person does want to do that deep dive, they know Qigong can offer it when they are ready.

I started learning Qigong at a time in my life where I was committed to change and continuing to go deeper and deeper. I had times where I had to recommit to the process, and I was considering if it was appropriate to take a break or to pause and just give myself time to breathe, settle and stabilize. What I found is that as long as I had enough time to integrate the changes and I had the support of my family and friends, choosing to delay would have just been pushing off something that I knew I did want to do and I could do if I just continued forward and allowed myself to figure it out along the way. Yes, things came up that challenged me to find forgiveness for the past before I could feel acceptance and peace for how things are now, but it has been worth it. As I continued forward recommitting to the process the necessary help and support I needed always seemed to find me along the way just when it was needed most.

You know what the circumstances are in your life and you know yourself best. So at the end of the day, it's your decision. The last thing that I would want to do is put you in a position where you feel like you've bitten off more than you can chew, and it's unsustainable or untenable to continue forward. There may be things that could be beneficial in the future, but maybe not right now. Having an awareness of that is extremely important as we move forward on this healing journey. This is a journey of discovery, deepening and exploration. It needs to be respected as such by each one of us.

If you're interested in learning about Qigong and you are concerned about whether or not it might be the right fit for you at this time, I would encourage you to set up an exploration call or sign up for a session so that we could have that conversation. I can answer any specific questions you might have which might help you make that decision for yourself.

I wish you well on your Qigong journey.