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Qigong: Chinese medicine self-health exercises for modern day people.

One of the many Qigong exercise movements

 

Patients often ask us at Geelong Chinese Medicine Clinic what they can do at home to aid in their recovery or maintain their health. Along with diet, the movement based Qigong (See Qigong under Services heading for further explanation) exercises are the most practical for patients to do at home. Qigong exercises involve slow and gentle body movements with deep breathing and mindfulness. They are easily learnt and can always be modified based on individual’s ability or injury and illness.

 

Available to Chinese medicine are many medical and health-promoting tools such as Acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, cupping, moxibustion, massage and food & diet therapy. Included under this umbrella are the self-health exercises of Qigong.

Qigong for health maintenance and healing has long been used throughout Asia, and one just has to stroll down to any city park in the early morning in China to see the population’s belief in self-health maintenance exercises.

 

Modern scientific understanding of our bodies confirms what we already know,

  • that exercise is good for you and most people don’t get enough;
  • that our body’s self-maintenance ability is assisted through movement of the body.

 

Here are the obvious advantages of Qigong exercises:

  • It improves strength, flexibility and balance in the muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints.
  • The internal benefits are assisting the transport of the nutrient/waste fluids eg. blood, lymph, interstitial, synovial, spinal and gentle massage of the internal organs.
  • Also Chinese medicine views Qigong exercises regulating the body’s energetic circulation, as well as inducing a meditative aspect that has been shown to reduce our overactive stress response.

 

Including Qigong exercises in your life is an easy way to help maintain a balance of the body and mind.

Paul teaches Qigong through Geelong City Yoga with Geelong psychologist Helen Handsjuk on Wednesday AM and through Geelong West Neighbourhood House on Thursday evening.