Harnessing Universal Healing Powers:

Yan Xin Qi­gong

 

What is qigong? Pronounced "chee gong," this is an ancient Chinese system of phy­sical training, philosophy, and preven­tive and thera­peutic health care. Qi means air, breath bioener­gy. Gong is discipline, achievement or mastery. This art of Chinese medical medi­tation com­bines ae­robic con­dition­ing, is­ometrics, isotonics, guided imagery and relax­ation. The goal is to gain control over one's own life force. Today, two hundred mil­lion peo­ple practice qigong world­wide. Numbers in North Amer­ica are vir­tually exploding. Each week a new practice group or class forms. Why? This art, newly available in the West, helps us experience the oneness of mind, body and the universe C and to tap into and use potent universal powers to prevent or cure dis­eases.

Unattached to any specific ideology or relig­ion, Yan Xin qigong is beneficial to people of all ages, walks of life and persua­sions. Yan Xin qigong helps people increase physical energy, im­prove work efficiency, and enhance wis­dom. It stimulates internal production of biochemicals we call "mood elevators." Qigong practice helps people understand connec­tions between the body and the mind, and the self and others.

Com­monly experienced benefits include: improved phy­si­cal health, increased energy levels, reduced stress, enhanced mental clarity and concentra­tion, elimination of compulsive be­haviors, increased kind­ness and compas­sion, recovery from acute and chronic illness, great­er mental and emotional bal­ance, heightened awareness, a strength­ened spirit, and effort­lessly achieved but sustained weight loss. Once North Ameri­can women learn this last fact, qigong will invade all the health clubs and weight reduction clinics. The growth potential here is enormous. People who practice qigong tend to eat less and to need less sleep, but to have a lot more energy. They learn to reach and sustain a high level of physical health and mental harmo­ny, and to fulfill their lives by contributing to the well‑be­ing of society and the natural environ­ment.

A partial list of specific ailments qigong helps cure in­cludes: allergies, arthritis, asthma, baldness, blepharospas­m, bowel prob­lems, diabetes, dystonia, gastritis, gout, head­aches, heart disease, insom­nia, high blood pressure and high choles­terol. The list goes on: kidney and liver disease, Mén­ière's dis­ease, myopi­a, obesity, neuras­thenia, back pain, paralysis, re­tinopathy (deterio­ration of the back of the eye), Renauld's Syndrome, rheu­matism, sciatic neur­algia, stress, tor­ticollis, writers' cramps and ul­cers. It is helpful in treating addictions of all kinds, aphasia (im­paired ability to speak), cerebral palsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and post‑stroke and post-heart attack syn­dromes. Fully compatible with all Western therapies, qigong does successful­ly help cure cancer, and it reduces ad­verse side effects from radia­tion and chemother­apy.

      Qigong is superb to treat any chronic pain, and chronic dis­orders of the diges­tive, respiratory, cardiovascular and ner­vous systems. This art helps one fight virtually any disease. Patients use qigong to cure many of the more than 50% of all diseases that Western doctors dismiss as untreatably "psycho­somatic." A qigong healer can cure a patient by projecting exter­nal qi into the patient's body, just as nurses do when prac­tic­ing "Therapeu­tic Touch." Whether induced from a healer or from internal practice, qigong cures are often rapid, thorough, sensational, dramatic and long lasting. Qigong also cures problems so sub­tle that people did not even fully realize they had a problem until it suddenly cleared up, and they only then learned what a thrill and joy it is to be really healthy.

What do we do? Now some mundane details. We meet on mondays from 7:30 p.m. to about 9:00 p.m. at the Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, in the pharmacy. Students wear loose clothing. Each course runs 12 weeks. The $106 tuition includes an audio tape and other class materials. Since the course teaches tacit knowledge rather than a purely academic subject, new students may enrol at any time, either before or during the course. Students who enrol during the term pay a prorated tuition, basically $10 per class session. Enrolment though is limited. We do not accept each and every person who applies to study. For informa­tion and registration, please contact me by phone, fax or mail (see be­low). I too may contact you for additional information.

Students first gain a basic knowledge about meditation in general, about traditional Chinese medical qigong meditation, and specifically the Yan Xin qigong philosophy, to ensure ef­fective practice. Students also learn the Yan Xin qigong Nine‑ Step Longevity practice method of guided visualization. Some students may come because they are nurses or other healers who want to ad­vance their Thera­peutic Touch abilities. Others are martial arts practitioners who want to build up internal qi-based strength and power. Many come for conscious­ness-rais­ing purposes, to learn the kinds of wisdom that meditation provides. All want to learn how to enhance that sense of oneness with the universe that permits the invoking of univer­sal healing energy. Some students simply wish to alleviate or overcome a particular ailment.

Students learn about doing qigong both through indivi­dual and group practice. Over time students come to acquire basic mastery of a highly effective system of mind, posture, and breathing adjustment methods. These allow students to re­duce daily stress, lessen anxiety, improve efficiency, and to grow stronger both physically and mentally. Helping students to develop a healthy mental attitude is an important course ob­jective. Yan Xin qigong in particular stresses the importance of cultivating "De" or virtue. As well as becoming more healthy, students become more admirable people leading richer lives.

This class series is sponsored by the Ottawa Yan Xin Qi­gong Cen­tre. I founded it in 1994 as a non‑profit organiz­ation and a local chapter of the International Yan Xin Qigong Associ­a­tion, which has its world headquarters at the Univer­sity of Ill­inois. I started this particular course series to help achieve the Centre's mission of introducing qi­gong to Cana­dian society.

The class organization is simple. Classes are limited to about 20 people. Dr. Jon Alexander and I together lead the ses­sions. The first half hour of each class consists of lecture and question and answer sess­ions. The last hour is taken up in practice time fol­lowed by ex­perience sharing and dis­cussion. Each lecture is in­teractive. The instructors prepare topics and materials to fit the needs of people who have little or no pre­vious knowledge. The empha­sis is on providing basic under­standing, and helpful suggestions on how to practice. On an as-needed basis, we distribute out­lines and other handouts before lectures. I often lecture from materials not yet trans­lated into English. We may go deeply into Chinese medical qigong philos­ophy and medita­tion techniques. Dr. Alexander keeps us a­breast of the bur­geoning information coming in from the In­ternet. A professor at Carleton Univer­sity, he is also an English editor for the International Yan Xin Qigong Association's World Wide Web page, and often edits trans­lated materials to help Western­ers learn about qigong.

Before each practice, we discuss basic knowledge and give suggestions about practice methods. Then the whole class does group practice following one of several Eng­lish instruc­tion tapes. Each session has its particu­lar focus of training to help new practi­tioners learn and get better at qigong practice. The full sequence is five courses given over two years. Advanced stu­dents learn to projectd their own qi externally to heal others.

Some typical topics.* Class 1. Introduction to the course, and an overview of Yan Xin qigong. A history of qigong, Tradi­tion­al Chinese qigong and Yan Xin qigong compared. The relation­ship between qigong and other Chinese cultural arts (taiji, martial arts, acupuncture, philos­ophy, etc.). Students get in­forma­tion about Dr. Yan Xin. Born in 1950 C and so still a rel­atively young man C he invented the qi-emitt­ing lec­ture, which he and others have used to cure many tens of thou­sands of people. He has initiated virtually all scientific col­laboration with western scientists to study qigong effects, showing that external qi can affect the molecular composi­tion of water, sa­line solutions, glucose solutions, and RNA and DNA C es­sen­ti­ally all the media within which the life pro­cesses take place. Dr. Yan is the world's leading qigong master because he spear­headed the drive to bring qigong to the West, and because his meth­od produces tangible benefits more quickly than any oth­er. We cover qi, the univer­sal life-force, and qigong benefits and initial prin­ciples. Students experience medita­tion through guided imagery. The initial emphasis is on the importance of the Nine‑Step qigong's ending procedure. Students must learn this well before they begin to practice qigong at home.

Class 2. Principles to follow in practicing Yan Xin qigong. Helpful hints for deriving the most benefits from prac­tice. Ini­tial principles include relax­ation, tranquillity, persistence, wisdom and happiness, identifying those from whom we can best learn qigong lessons. The necessary emphasis upon De or virtue. Helpful hints from experi­enced practi­tioners. There is an emphasis on the opening pro­cedure and its significance. Dr. Yan says practice technique accounts for only 30 percent of qigong advance­ment, while the practice of virtue should ac­count for the other 70 percent. Again we stress the need to master the ending procedure.

Class 3. What it is like to practice qigong regularly? What is a qi-field? Why do we do various exercises? Dis­cussion of unfamiliar feelings in qigong practice. Why do spontaneous movement reactions happen? What are their causes and impli­cations? How should one best deal with and benefit from qi­gong reactions? How do such reactions change over time? What are true reac­tions and what are not? Why is mind‑adjust­ment so important? Nine‑step Qigong C first step practice method, and the importance of inducement methods.

Class 4. Benefits of qigong practice: they can happen to you too C a few encouraging qigong stories. Spe­cific benefits our own previous students have experienced: cancer cures, disappearing myopia and chronic pain, gout symptoms gone, reversal of balding, cure of aller­gies, asthma and arthritis, weight loss, enhanced energy levels, etc. General benefits of practicing qi­gong include better physical condition, better un­derstand­ing of our physical selves, conscious adjust­ment of mental states and mental health benefits. How can attaining a high spirit help us get these benefits? What external conditions can thwart our realizing these benefits? How do we start from the here and now? What is Nine‑step Qigong, and how im­portant is mind‑adjustment before, during and after prac­tice?

Class 5. Looking back and looking forward. What have we learned about Yan Xin qigong? We should by now understand why we are doing the various exercises. Individual presenta­tions about what we learned, any new understanding of or any changes in our physical conditions, mental states, and our ways of viewing the world. The next seven classes follow the same principles of curriculum design.

A final note. Due to the special nature of qigong practice, par­ticipants must plan to stay throughout the whole class period, and not to leave the classroom until after we have performed the ending procedure. As part of the class require­ment, each participant should fill out a qigong practice survey form, and is encouraged to keep a "journal." There is no final exam or letter grade; the course operates on a pass/fail basis. We will help to ensure your success. The Yan Xin Qigong Centre issues an illustrated graduation Certifi­cate, suitable for framing, for each student success­fully com­pleting the course. Graduates become eligible to enrol in later intermediate and advanced courses and to receive reduced tuition for them.

The next class starts Monday, September 8th when we will being a new course series. Due to space limita­tions, students should pre‑register to ensure a place. I hope you will join us.

 

* We thank Shaoqiang Ma, Viktoria Dalko and Bill Crampton for sharing good ideas about how to teach qigong.

 

 

Yuqiu Guo, a Chinese M.D., did advanced (Ph.D.) study of West­ern medicine at Japan's Osaka University, and rose to the rank of Chief Doctor at China's famous Harbin Medical Uni­versity Hospital. She now runs an Ottawa clinic, the Chinese Medicine and Acu­puncture Centre, which includes a compre­hensive herbal phar­macy. Her general and family practice specializes in acupuncture, massage, and herbal medicine.