What is Qigong?

What is Qigong?

Today, qigong is often described as "gentle Chinese exercise" or a breathing technique. Yet this ancient practice goes far beyond such simple definitions. At its core, qigong is a path of inner exploration.

Qi, the Breath of Life

The word "Qi" (氣) in Chinese refers to all forms of movement, breath, and circulation. Within the human body, it is not separate from blood, breath, body heat, or the flow of the nervous, hormonal, or lymphatic systems. It is not some mysterious entity apart from the body: it is what connects, circulates, and animates.

But in truth, understanding intellectually what Qi is matters little. What truly matters is developing our ability to perceive its movements. The practice of qigong is about refining our awareness, training it to sense what is subtle, quiet, and often imperceptible to an agitated mind. Because transformation begins in the most delicate layers of the body.

Gong, the Living Practice

"Gong" simply means practice, effort, perseverance. Qigong is therefore a practice of observing and harmonizing internal flows. It teaches us to release what is rigid, to untangle what is stagnant, to soften what resists.

What is alive is warm and supple — think of a newborn. What is dead is cold and rigid — like a corpse. We are invited to move toward warmth, suppleness, and fluidity.

Qi stagnation manifests in all aspects of our being:

• In the mind: fixed thoughts, mental loops

• In the emotions: overwhelm, unprocessed anger

• In the body: localized pain, tension, stiffness

All of this is interconnected. Stress creates tension. Emotions affect digestion. The body tells the story that the heart has not yet expressed.

An Invitation to Inner Listening

Qigong requires neither performance nor belief. It requires presence. Attention. Curiosity. It invites us to slow down in order to feel more deeply. To inhabit the body as one would enter a landscape — with gentleness, patience, and respect.

It is not a fixed sequence of gestures, but a living map to be discovered. Each practitioner becomes the explorer of their own inner terrain.

In Summary

Qigong is a living practice for listening to the body, calming the mind, and harmonizing energy. It reminds us that health is not merely the absence of illness, but the ability to remain in motion — to remain alive.

It is a return to oneself, to the breath, to the simple act of being — fully, consciously, freely.