Q

qi (ch’i) The Chinese word (pronounced chee) for
“vital energy,” or “life force.” According to Harriet
Beinfeld, L.Ac., and Efrem Korngold, L.Ac., O.M.D.,
authors of Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chi-
nese Medicine(New York: Ballantine Books, 1991),
qi’s“can be understood as the creative or formative
principle associated with life and all processes that
characterize living entities. All animate forms in
nature are manifestations of Qi. Qi is an invisible
substance, as well as an immaterial force that has
palpable and observable manifestations.
“Qi has its own movement and also activates the
movement of things other than itself. Qi begets
motion and heat. Within the context of the human
person, Qi is that which enlivens the body and is
differentiated according to specific functional sys-
tems. All physical and mental activities are manifes-
tations of Qi: sensing, cogitating, feeling, digesting,
stirring, propagating.... Qi governs the shape and
activity of the body and its process of forming and
organizing itself. Qi also means the totality of Blood,
Moisture, and Qi, earth, sea, and air, the total sum-
mation of the life of the organism, body, or world.”
Zheng qirefers to the normal flow of energy
through the meridians and body organs. Zong qi
refers to the energy that accumulates in the thorax,
or gathering qi. Wei qi, known as defensive qi, flows
under the skin and protects against environmental
or external bacteria and other potential pathogens.

qigong Also rendered chi gong orch’i kung, qigong
is a physical and spiritual Chinese discipline geared
toward helping energy (qior ch’i) move through-
out the body for optimal functioning. Often
referred to as a branch of energy medicine, the
qigongphilosophy is that clogged, impure, or pol-
luted qicauses disease or dysfunction and that it
can be removed or cleansed so the body may be

restored to health. Qigongis reported to relieve

stress and anxiety, improve general fitness, counter

insomnia, and relieve migraines. In addition, qigong

has been reported as beneficial to individuals with

cancer, asthma, heart disease, acquired immunod-

eficiency syndrome (AIDS), arthritis, hypertension,

prostate problems, impotence, diabetes, hemor-

rhoids, constipation, myopia, and presbyopia.

The practice of qigong may involve breathing

exercises, meditation, and hands-on manipulation

of energy (or laying on of hands) along the body’s

meridians, energy pathways that in traditional Chi-

nese medicine are represented as a sort of road map.

“Medical” qigongmay be used as a self-healing tech-

nique and as an aid to help others heal. Qigongmas-

ters, as they are known, make a conscious effort

through focused mental intent, meditation, or

prayer to send healing ch’ito ailing individuals, or

in a technique called “external qi healing” or exter-

nal qigongthey draw excessive energy, which may

also be damaging, away from an individual who is

experiencing dysfunction or pain. Internal qigong, a

practice with 3000 or more variations (including t’ai

ch’i) centered on self-healing, involves exercises

that are easily adapted to an individual’s condition,

strength, and circumstances.

InReinventing Medicine: Beyond Mind-Body to a

New Era of Healing (HarperSanFrancisco, 1999),

Larry Dossey, M.D., wrote of two qigongmasters,

Ronger Shen and Yi Wu, who “were among the

first in China to learn a technique called Soaring

Crane qigong, which was introduced to the public

in China in the 1980s and which soon attracted

more than 20 million adherents. When the mas-

ters came to the United States they collaborated

with a research team at Mt. Sinai School of Medi-

cine to test the effects of qigong in a sophisticated,

well-controlled experiment published in 1994. In

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