The history of qigong exercise can be dated back to the days of the Yellow Emperor and the Taoists.

The name, Qigong is derived from Qi. It means "breath" or "vital energy". The name Gong (or Gongfu) refers to the time spent to acquire a skill. Combining these words, Qigong can be translated as "breathing exercise" or "energy skill".

Qigong is a useful self-help exercise to improve your health and vitality. It is also an important therapeutic technique. In China, most of the Traditional Chinese hospitals have a qigong department where masters teach the technique to patients to combat chronic diseases. Let just hope the Western would soon acknowledge the benefits of Qigong and consider using Qigong to enrich the Qi.

Qigong Massage

.Experienced Qigong masters sometimes use their Qi during strengthening massage treatments for the severely ill. Beside treating patients, massage therapy is also used to restore yin-yong balance:

• gentle manipulation and stroking are used in deficiency syndromes to restore balance;
• While in excess syndromes heavy manipulation is used to inhibit and reduce the surfeit.

Yang massage includes energetic pushing, pressing, pounding, and knocking techniques, while the yin group focuses more on stroking, smoothing, lifting limbs, or kneading. Yang treatments are used to clear oedema and swellings, to reduce pain associated with stagnation, and for insomnia. Yin treatments are used and blood deficiency, for general debility and weakness, or associated with cold and dampness.

Qigong Exercise

Mastering Qigong takes time. Experienced practitioners will often spend many hours holding a standing pose, focusing and controlling Qi throughout the body.

Qigong exercises are divided into three main groups:

• Quiescent Qigong - a type of meditation or "training of the mind";
• dynamic qigong, which focuses on breathing routines; and
• Dynamic-quiescent Qigong - which is probably the form most known in the West. It includes various postures and movement, or "training the body", and can look very similar to "tai chi" exercises.

Qigong is a simple self-help exercise to improving health and well-being. But it takes dedication and practice. The Chinese say, "the most important thing in doing qigong exercise is perseverance."