SB  Last November, Oprah's doctor, Dr. Mehmet Oz, recommended qigong (pronounced  chi kung) for anyone who wants to be healthy and live to be 100 years old. His experience with patients who do qigong is that they lose weight, have improved energy, and are able to reduce their medications and look and feel younger. I guess the first question, Master Gu, is, 'how is this possible?'

MG  Qigong practice affects the human energy system in several ways, including improving the quality, balance and availability of energy to the body. It keeps energy flowing through the body's energy channels, nourishes the body's organs, tissues and cells with steady supplies of energy, and allows the body to perform all of its vital functions. As millions of people in China have discovered, qigong essentially reverses the aging process, while reducing stress, preventing illness, curing disease, and enhancing the overall quality of life.

SB  Can you say more about the nature of qi and how it can affect our health?

MG Qi (pronounced "chi") is quite simply the Chinese word for "life energy." It expresses itself in many forms, including electromagnetic energy, bio-energy, auras, light, sound and other tangible forms , as well as in intangible forms, like thoughts.  All phenomena are expressions of pure energy and this subtle essence actually forms our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies. In addition, the strength and quality of this energy affect our state of health on all levels.

SB So, our body is actually just qi.

MG  Yes, exactly.  Our body is one form of qi, and so are our pets, our plants, and, for that matter, our thoughts. As scientists have discovered, matter is simply energy manifesting as form. This energy can also be returned to formlessness. Ancient Chinese philosophers maintained that the universe originated from this continually transforming "primordial" qi. When qigong healers dissipate tumors with healing energy, it is simply one manifestation of this primordial energy moving from "form" to "formlessness." From tumor to no tumor. When they heal broken bones, energy is simply moving in the opposite direction. From "formlessness" to "form." From a break to a whole. Of course, it is easy to understand, but one must cultivate one's mind to accomplish such feats.

SB  Which brings us to the role of the mind.  It sounds like there is more to qigong than learning a simple form.

MG  Qigong, which literally means "cultivating life energy and achieving its creative power" is a profound system of knowledge. Part of that system of knowledge includes an understanding of the role of the mind, or consciousness in healing.  By learning how to control the flow and distribution of qi, practitioners are able to cure and prevent disease.

SB  How does one control the flow and distribution of qi?

MG  Any disturbance in the flow of qi creates illness. When qi is flowing freely, body processes normalize and illness naturally disappears. The most effective qigong exercises are designed to collect and exchange qi with nature in order to open the energy meridian system for the free flow of qi throughout the body. Wisdom Healing Qigong amplifies this natural exchange process. By first opening our body to the universe and directing our thoughts to infinity and then bringing our consciousness back to our body, we are dissolving blockages so that qi can flow vigorously, bringing life energy to every cell.  Without blockages, we become healthy, happy, and full of energy and vitality, not just free of illnesses.

SB   How does Wisdom Healing Qigong differ from other forms of qigong?

MG  In Wisdom Healing Qigong, we cultivate our own qi through accessing universal qi. The practice involves movement, visualization, sound, and conscious integration of our energy body with external energy. We are one drop of water, and we are literally placing ourselves into the ocean, into the flow of energy. In this flow, our minds take conscious control of energy, directing healing energy to injured or blocked parts of the body. At the same time, we practice a type of moving meditation, which promotes the natural processes in the body, creating greater flow, opening and balance.

SB  I know from my own experience that the effects of qigong are magnified when many people practice together.  Can you explain why this would be true?

MG  What you are sensing is what we call the "qi field." When we connect and organize ourselves in a unified way for a common purpose, for example, healing, the power of the energy is magnified through this healing "qi field". One of the qualities of pure energy is its power of connecting us all with each other and with nature. When we cultivate qi in our body and life around us, we are connecting with the nature of energy. Qigong allows you to feel this energy in every cell of your body, and what you are feeling is the power of the source, the power of qi and the power of mind.

SB  Have there been studies that support the healing benefits of qigong?

MG  Clinical research on the medical applications of qigong, both in China and the US,  has shown that many chronic conditions, including cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, asthma, allergies, and neuromuscular problems have been improved with qigong practice. The main conclusion from many of these studies is that qigong practice helps the body to heal itself. As a result, qigong is becoming increasingly accepted among the Western medical establishment as a preventive treatment and for treating chronic conditions.

SB Qigong sounds a little magical.  Is it hard for people to believe it can be so helpful?

MG It can be difficult for people to accept the powerful and miraculous benefits that come from practicing qigong. Initially, most people concentrate on curing illness in their physical bodies.  As their health improves, they begin to understand that qigong has benefits on the mental, emotional and spiritual levels as well. The intelligent energy they are cultivating with qigong is activating well being on all levels, affecting the entire body.  This intelligence can impact a person's DNA just as it can activate a person's immune system. In short, the regenerating power of cells lies in the intelligence of the body.

SB  How does qigong activate that intelligence?

MG  With the mind's intention. Energy responds to your mind. We say, "Where the mind goes, qi follows."  You see, healing really comes down to will power.  The will has to go beyond the body's experience.  So when you are projecting energy you also need a strong will to stabilize the energy for healing.  Over time, the mind becomes more powerful by serving the body in this way. 

SB  So how does this energetic transformation take place, say, for healing?

MG  Manifesting anything is a function of working with energy, and when we are dealing with energy, we are really in a different reality. We go beyond the usual perception of time and space. We are no longer in the world of linear cause and effect. In the energetic world, the mind has the ability to access the energy patterns of the past, present and future simultaneously. Because the future is a potential in physical linear reality, but already exists energetically, the creative power of the mind can access change for the better (by thinking and harmonizing positively) or change for the worse (by thinking about and resonating with negative outcomes).

SB  It sounds a little bit like "The Secret."

MG In a way it is. The Secret is about manifesting what you want in life.  But there is more to it than "What you think will attract what you want." The ancient secret of qigong teaches that what you think is only a part of your energy field. More important is what you FEEL, and even more important, is what you ARE, which includes your conscious and unconscious structure. So the "Qigong Secret" can be summarized as "What you are inside will attract the same outside."  The key is to harmonize what is within you with what you want. Doing so often requires an energetic transformation, and the knowledge and practice of qigong is the "technology" required for such a transformation.

SB  What is "qi field" which you speak of often?

MG  When we cultivate qi in our body and life around us, we are connecting the nature of energy. One of the qualities of pure energy is its power of connecting us all with each other and with nature. One of  Qigong students described, through her experience, as "God without cloth". Some may call it Tao or other names. It doesn't matter what name you use. But Qigong allows you to know it and feel it, in every cell of your body. When we connect and organize ourselves with it in an unified purpose, that is healing in this case, the power of healing is magnified through this healing "qi field". After all, we are most likely in perfection in the experience of Oneness. This is the power of the source, power of qi and power of mind.

 
Master Mingtong Gu is the Founder of the Chi Healing Center and the Wisdom Healing Foundation. He received the highest training in the Master Training Institute at the Zhineng Qigong Center of China and has been teaching Wisdom Healing Qigong and leading retreats both in China and the US for many years.  For more  information, visit www.chicenter.com.
Shelly Benford, Ph.D.,  interviewed Master Gu in Boulder, Colorado in the winter of 2007. She is a business consultant and teaches qigong in Boulder, Colorado.