Basic Knowledge of Qigong Health Care

The modern term "qigong" encompasses ancient practices such as "tu na" (breathing techniques), "dao yin" (guiding and pulling exercises), "cun shen" (mental visualization), "jing gong" (static exercises), "dong gong" (dynamic exercises), "nei gong" (internal skills), "wai gong" (external skills), "xiu lian" (cultivation), "zuo zuo" (sitting meditation), "ru ding" (entering deep meditation), "zuo chan" (Zen meditation), "jing zuo yang sheng" (still sitting for health), "xiu shen yang xing" (self-cultivation and moral refinement), "huxi yang sheng" (breathing for health), and even certain martial arts like Tai Chi, provided they are based on internal skills.Qigong is divided into two major categories: dynamic and static. Dynamic qigong is also known as external skills, while static qigong is also called internal skills. External skills are based on internal skills; stillness leads to movement. As the saying goes: "Train the essence, qi, and spirit internally; train the tendons, bones, and skin externally." When essence, qi, and spirit are abundant, tendons and bones become strong. Static qigong is not truly still—it is "externally still, internally active," a special state of physical movement. As Wang Fusheng said: "Stillness is still movement, not immobility." Stillness nurtures the spirit, primarily through regulated breathing; movement trains the body, primarily through physical motion. Whether static or dynamic, both require the three fundamental techniques: adjusting the mind, regulating breathing, and adjusting posture—also known as intention focus, breathing control, and postural alignment. Stillness generates yin, movement generates yang; combining both, integrating the "three adjustments," achieves harmony between yin and yang, leading to disease prevention and longevity. As Tao Hongjing wrote in "Yang Xing Yan Ming Lu": "Being able to move and be still, thus long life." From this, we understand that qigong is a mind-body exercise developed under the guidance of Traditional Chinese Medicine health care theory, aimed at disease prevention and longevity. It connects with modern preventive medicine, psychosomatic medicine, sports medicine, naturopathy, geriatrics, and physical education, martial arts, etc. Through self-regulation of intention, breathing, and body posture, it adjusts internal organ activity, strengthens the body’s self-stabilizing mechanisms, and thus achieves the goal of disease prevention and longevity.