Qigong And Stress Management

© 1998 All rights reserved.

Over the latter half of the 20th century, chronic stress and its debilitating effects have been cited as either primary or secondary causes in the onset of over one hundred diseases.

Oriental Medicine has, for its entire history, acknowledged the influences of stress, chronic negative emotions and their causative and contributory effects on health problems. An interesting fact is that many of the modalities of stress management used in Western medicine are drawn from Oriental medicine; in particular they are drawn from the branch of Chinese medicine known as qigong. These exercises include such methods as breathing exercises, visualization, meditation, progressive relaxation, and physical exercise. These "new" medical treatments are actually thousands of years old!

Breathing exercises are a part of every Western stress management program. The term "qigong" itself is sometimes translated as "breathing exercise." Sometimes the word "qi" is used to refer to the life energy circulating through the acupuncture meridians, the "inner breath of life"; in other contexts qi refers to the breath or air breathed in normal respiration. Respiratory qigong therapy is traditionally called tu gu na xin,, or simply tu-na, meaning, "Expelling the old, drawing in the new."

Why are breathing exercises so effective at reducing stress? Of all our basic requirements to maintain life, nothing is closer than our breath. We can survive without food for months, without sleep or water for days, but we can only live a few minutes without breathing. Breath is life.

Our breathing is a bridge between our conscious and sub-conscious mind. Breathing is regulated by our autonomic nervous system; it goes on whether we are conscious or unconscious, awake or asleep. Yet unlike most autonomic functions, breathing can also be easily regulated by our conscious intent. By controlling the pace and quality of our breathing, we can affect deep changes in our physiological functions.

Breath is also the link between our body and mind. From a stress management perspective, the ability of breath control to influence both physical and mental states is vitally important. As the bridge between mind and body, consciously controlling the breath can have a pronounced impact on both physical and mental tension. By gently guiding and allowing the breath to adopt the qualities exhibited during states of deep relaxation (breathing should become quiet, deep, smooth, even, soft, and fine), one can thus induce the accompanying physical and mental states of relaxation.

Breathing exercises have proven to be particularly effective in reducing anxiety, depression, irritability, muscle tension and fatigue, and are also used in treatment and prevention of agorophobia, hypertension, breath holding, hyperventilation, shallow breathing, and cold hands and feet. n n Another popular relaxation training method is progressive relaxation. One such method, known as such as Autogenic Training (AT), uses the mind to relax the body; AT uses mental suggestions, such as, "My body feels heavy and warm" (sensations associated with deep relaxation) to ease physical tension. This is classified as “passive progressive relaxation, as there is no physical exercise component; the subject simply uses relaxing mental imagery or affirmations to relax the body.

One passive progressive method used in qigong is Fang Song Gong (Relaxation Practice). Fang Song Gong applies slow deep rhythmic breathing combined with auto-suggestion messages such as, "I am quiet....I am relaxed." It can be practiced either standing, sitting or lying down, and is easy to learn.

Other progressive relaxation methods, such as physical exercise or "Active Progressive Relaxation", aim at easing mental tension by relaxing the body. More tha
60 years ago, Dr. Edmund Jacobsen, M.D., developed the first series of active progressive relaxation exercises for treating chronic stress and tension. Known as the “father of Western Stress Management” and also the founder of biofeedback, Jacobson was quoted as saying, "An anxious mind cannot exist in a relaxed body." This unique approach to mental health has its parallels in Tai Chi and many forms of moving qigong.

Other qigong methods, such as Liu Qi Fa (The Six Healing Sounds), involve healing imagery and visualization of the organs, their Five Element colors and positive qualities. These have proved effective in treating many physical and emotional maladies, including cancer. Patients experience an increased sense of well-being and peacefulness. Furthermore, they feel empowered; they are grateful that they can actively participate in the healing of their own problems, and don't have to suffer the indignation of helplessness or submissively having to totally rely on the medical profession (Eastern or Western) to provide a "fix" for their problems. n n Dr. Herbert Benson, M.D. was the first Western scientist to prove the health benefits of meditation. He has since written numerous bestselling books documenting his scientific research on the many beneficial health effects of meditation from a Western medical perspective. There are numerous meditation styles used in qigong: counting the breath, visualization, affirmation, and using the mind to guide the qi flow, to name but a few.

Qigong meditation is not limited to sitting practice. The Taoists speak of the Four Human Dignities: standing, sitting, walking, and lying down. Each of these postures has its own forms of meditation. Most of us are familiar with sitting meditation, walking or moving meditations such as Tai Chi, or lying down relaxation techniques such as the "corpse pose" in yoga. However, in the qigong tradition, the most important of all of these is standing meditation. Usually referred to as zhan zhuang (standing firm like a post), standing meditation is particularly tonifying, and is an absolutely essential foundation not only for promoting one's own health, but also for accumulating qi to heal others and for martial arts practice. n n Walking meditation is very relaxing as well as strengthening, and helps teach one to integrate meditation into the activities of one's daily life. It is also very soothing and relieves the stiffness after long periods of sitting, especially after seated meditation practice or following long periods in front of a computer! It has some features of active progressive relaxation methods, in that the natural weight shifting from one leg to another causes an alte
ating tension and relaxation in the muscles. This alte
ating action also acts like a second heart; it helps to pump the blood out of the legs and assists the venous blood return to the heart.

Lying down meditation is valuable for entering the deepest states of relaxation, since no muscular effort is required. It is especially recommended for people too ill to sit or stand. Taoist yogis practice lying down meditation for dream yoga, and as preparation for being able to continue meditation while dying, when they might be too weak to sit up.

There are lots of varieties of qigong meditation, in both outer posture and inner focus. Why so many? The answer is easy: different types of meditation work more effectively for different personality types.

For example, kinesthetic or physical personality types will prefer and excel at energy circulation meditations or progressive relaxation meditations that focus awareness on bodily sensations; they may also prefer standing or walking meditation as these variations are more active. For imaginative, artistic, creative and intuitive people, visualization exercises may be most effective. For heart centered and emotional people, meditations that focus on the transformation of negative emotional qi into virtuous qi as related to the Five Elements correspondences are appropriate.

Some people may have reservations about practicing meditation. They may be atheists, or their religious views may make them wary of engaging in "Eastern practices." To suit these people, there are "generic meditations" that require absolutely no faith to practice successfully. Those who follow a specific religion can find a meditation practice within their own faith; there are Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, and other systems of meditation which use the added benefit of what Dr. Benson has termed "the Faith Factor." Benson found that combining meditation with one’s faith greatly enhances its effectiveness in bringing about penetrating and lasting results.n n Active but gentle physical exercise is also one of the recognized tools used in modern Western stress management programs. Yoga, walking, and Tai Chi are three modalities popularly used in the West. In many ways, active exercise mimics the stress response (the sympathetic nervous system's "fight or flight response"): the heartbeat quickens, adrenaline rises, pupils dilate, blood flow to the skeletal muscles increases. When one finishes an exercise workout, the body's natural "cool down phase" self-activates: heartbeat slows down, muscles relax, and adrenaline secretions decrease. This "cool down phase " following physical exercise helps decrease the patient's overall level of accumulated stress.

In China, qigong and Tai Chi are the most common exercise modalities prescribed specifically for stress. The deep abdominal breathing combined with slow graceful motion helps to oxygenate the body, improve blood circulation, move lymphatic fluids, and release skeletal muscle tension.

Qigong therapy has been a part of Oriental medicine since its inception over 5,000 years ago. It is often the treatment modality of choice for many illnesses. As an adjunct therapy to acupuncture and other medical methods, people suffering from stress and other illnesses can improve their prognosis and feel empowered to be a part of their own healing when encouraged to practice qigong.

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