Defining Qigong is major undertaking, as the word is a catch-all applied to a wide variety of shamanic, martial, yogic, spiritual, and healing practices. In fact, the word has only been in use for less than a hundred years, but the various practices it describes are thousands of years old. Qigong is much like its cousin Yoga, in that the practice most commonly associated with the word is only a small example of the many practices that lay claim to that title. Rather than a specific identifiable practice, Qigong is more a category under which many different but related practices fall. Qigong has roots in Taoist spiritual practice, Classical Chinese Medicine, Buddhist spiritual practice, Martial Arts, and many other shamanic and holistic disciplines. There are easily thousands of practices that can be considered as Qigong, including approaches to positive thinking, diet, prayer, and herbalism. So it may be better to consider Qigong as an approach to life rather than a specific practice or set of practices.
Granted, this definition leaves one with a bit of ambiguity as to what Qigong is. However, in the long run it does Qigong a great service in not limiting it to a set definition. Qigong as a practice is found in dynamic movement and tranquil stillness, and through the development of intention. In short, Qigong is a life practice for achieving integration of mind body and spirit. It is a wonderful, amazing, and rewarding template for living life to the fullest.
We are nothing less than individual expressions of the Universal Energy (Qi) that underlies all existence. Accordingly, practice is the exercise and acknowledgement of this Oneness. It's all Qigong.
Granted, this definition leaves one with a bit of ambiguity as to what Qigong is. However, in the long run it does Qigong a great service in not limiting it to a set definition. Qigong as a practice is found in dynamic movement and tranquil stillness, and through the development of intention. In short, Qigong is a life practice for achieving integration of mind body and spirit. It is a wonderful, amazing, and rewarding template for living life to the fullest.
We are nothing less than individual expressions of the Universal Energy (Qi) that underlies all existence. Accordingly, practice is the exercise and acknowledgement of this Oneness. It's all Qigong.