As China has begun to open her cultural doors, we have been introduced to fascinating medical
alternatives such as acupuncture and herbal remedies.
Now another highly effective treatment system has arrived.
It's called qigong, a 5,000-year-old healing modality which may soon change the face of
healthcare for Westerners in the 21st century.
On the surface, qigong is an exercise that builds the immune system and strengthens the
body through a series of slow yoga or tai chi-like moves performed in synchrony with deep breathing
rhythms.
Upon closer inspection, qigong reveals itself to be a self-healing tool using a moving form
of meditation.
The practitioners carry to an intimate understanding of the connection with nature, the universe,
and other human beings.
Realizing this connection comes with understanding the essence of qi, the vital life force energy
that animates the human organism.
According to traditional Chinese medicine theory, qi is derived from the air we breathe,
the food we eat, and the environment in which we live.
Qigong is not limited to a self-healing system, but is also a treatment method for healing
others on a body, mind, and soul level.
Qigong's deep breathing and gentle exercise techniques improve our health by vitalizing
our tissues, organs, muscles, and bones, relieving pain, eliminating stress, and strengthening
our ability to emit qi for use in healing others.
In the past, qigong techniques were kept secret and practiced only by martial artists and
the wealthy elite of China.
Since the Cultural Revolution, however, scientific studies have shown qigong to be a cure for
diseases ranging from hypertension to cancer.
Over 80 million people practice this self-care system each day in China.
For the world's most populated country, qigong seems to be the only financially viable health
care option.
For westerners who are searching for alternatives to conventional medicine, qigong may be the
key to a more complete system of healing.
The result of regular qigong practice is a peaceful mind, a healthy and invigorated body,
and a calm spirit that is more capable of dealing with daily stresses and disease.
This documentary will take you inside the fascinating health care system of qigong.
We will look through the eyes of history, exploring its religious and cultural evolution,
and then through the eyes of some contemporary qigong masters.
We will see how the current trend in searching for an effective low-cost health care strategy
is helping to create a place for qigong in our future, a future that puts health care
back in the hands of the individual.
Not all Chinese accept the claims of qigong on face value.
To some, it is simply an antiquated practice based on superstitious beliefs, and in a country
that is rapidly embracing things western, the old is being discarded at an alarming
rate.
In what may seem counter to this trend, teams of western-trained medical doctors are taking
a serious look at the potential for qigong to play a vital role in the increasingly
demanding health care needs of the world's most populous country.
In the heart of Shanghai, China's largest city, doctors Wang and Xue have amassed the
most thoroughly tested data in the world on the effects of qigong for treating hypertension.
Their 30-year study shows conclusive evidence that qigong can indeed lower high blood pressure.
In Purple Bamboo Park, hidden amidst the hustle and bustle of Beijing, a loyal group of terminally
ill cancer patients has formed a club.
Frustrated by the hopelessness they felt from their western-trained physicians, they follow
a technique of walking qigong developed by the late Dr. Guo Lin in hopes of reversing
their illness.
These club members have all outlived their own terminal diagnoses by many years.
The actual word qigong was only coined in 1962, but the principles upon which it is
based are found in records thousands of years old.
These items are buried in hopes that a deceased, a wealthy nobleman, would have good health
in the afterlife.
This tortoiseshell has survived nearly 3,000 years to tell us through its ancient inscriptions
that people of that time believed deep breathing and specific stretching exercises would infuse
them with the energy of qi and keep them healthy and vital.
At the Shaolin Temple, the revered 1,500-year-old Buddhist stronghold in Hanan province, the
gentle monks eventually became known across the nation for their extraordinary skills
in battle.
Originally, this Chan sect of Buddhists we are more familiar with as Japanese offshoot
known as Zen live ascetic lives and consume their time in deep sedentary meditation on
the Buddha and a qigong that focused on building a strong spirit.
The core of the fighting techniques lie in qigong breathing and energy-focusing principles.
Bodhidharma, coming from India, brought ancient Hindu yoga techniques with him, and it appears
that some of these premises are incorporated into Chinese qigong.
Forms of qigong styles developed over the millennia, some evolving into formalized routines
that have become known as Tai Chi.
Another influence on the development of qigong in China was Taoism.
Taoism is an ancient philosophical belief system with roots that go back thousands of
years to the writings of the Chinese sage named Lao Tzu.
As a Tao teaches, life is an ever-changing process.
The beginning of this century saw China in a state of moral and social decay, civil infighting
and eventually war with Japan.
The hope for a unified and stronger country led to the Cultural Revolution, which would
dramatically force people to re-evaluate their traditional way of life.
Ancient practices such as qigong, which were feared as old-fashioned, were outlawed and
forced underground.
Ironically it was Mao himself who instigated research on qigong to test its viability.
Evidence was overwhelming that this healthcare modality would actually be a great benefit
to the people.
Its easy-to-learn techniques and ability to maintain health at a low cost brought it great
favor in a country with over one billion people and a government responsible for socialized
medical care.
For this reason, qigong has continued to be heavily researched and promoted by the government
of China.
The traditional method of learning qigong is from a master, a teacher who has the experience
to impart the subtleties of their unique system.
One of these great elder masters is Duan Jiu Liang.
He has lived most of his 90 years in Beijing.
On the outskirts of Beijing is a unique clinic specializing in bone setting, of what we may
think of as a combination of chiropractic and physical therapy.
It's a family-run business founded by the 92-year-old master Luo, the matriarch of
a healing dynasty that spans five generations.
I have a very experienced thumb.
I've used my big finger for more than 70 years.
It's very important.
And if you invite me to America to teach, I only have to bring my thumb.
Dr. Wan Sujian is a unique example of the new generation of qigong masters to emerge
in modern China.
At 43 years old, Master Wan has been studying qigong and traditional Chinese medicine for
36 years.
It is believed that everyone has a qi field around and through them.
The proper manipulation of this field is a step in the process of healing.
This manipulation is done by the passing of the practitioner's hand through this field
and helping to bring about a shift and restructuring of qi while infusing them with qi from nature.
Some practitioners seem to have better success than others, and Master Wan's unique style
of having several qigong doctors working on a single patient has proven to bring about
profound and lasting results.
Qigong has also captured the interest of the scientific community.
Their hope is to somehow quantify qi and then regenerate it.
The leading pioneer in this area is Lu Yanfang, affectionately known as Engineer Lu.
Her groundbreaking work at the Electroacoustical Research Institute is well respected around
the world.
Fifteen years ago, Engineer Lu had the idea that the qi emissions from qigong masters
could be somehow measured acoustically.
In the Institute's anechoic chamber, she suspended a highly sensitive microphone near the laogong
point in their palms, the traditional acupressure point where its healing qi is emitted.
Upon demand, these masters could emit a low-frequency audio signal in the 8 to 14 hertz range.
It was a chaotic signal with an ever-changing pattern.
She tested many average adults who showed no such pattern, but did find that young children
exhibited similar audio emissions.
The result of this research was the development of the qigong machine, a handheld device that
actually replicates this audio portion of the qi emission.
Applying scientific research methods to obtain results on the healing properties of qi has
its challenges, but is leading us to a deeper understanding of this elusive force.
Dr. Kenneth Sancier, President and Founder of the Qigong Institute in Menlo Park, California,
is considered one of the foremost authorities on this field of research.
The Western and the Eastern approach can be worked together and they should be complementary
because they're dealing with different aspects of healing.
Most of the exploration into the healing powers of qigong is going on outside of the laboratories.
In parks throughout China, over 80 million people practice qigong each day.
You can witness the myriad styles in any town and province you visit.
This Taoist temple is typical in that all of the monks are trained to apply their qigong
to creative outlets.
A small group has been trained since childhood to develop their qi in order to perform extraordinary
physical feats.
Much like the Shaolin monks with their acts of supreme skill, these young men focus much
of their waking energy to mastering techniques that defy physics.
These extreme feats serve to inspire others to practice even basic qigong techniques for
self-healing and general well-being.
In Tibet, qigong seems to be incorporated into the very fabric of daily life for these
gentle Buddhists.
When we think of this country, we are reminded of the austere life of the monks who live
in the few remaining temples throughout this magical land.
Where qigong is practiced in prayer, mostly performed in silence or with gentle chanting.
Many authorities agree that healing is heavily influenced by one's state of mind.
It is thought that if a person is more positive and at ease, they will successfully contribute
to their own healing.
Qigong appears to have the potential of being a simple technique that can be learned by
anyone and provides tangible results that even scientists can quantify.