At the root of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), human beings are believed to possess not only a physical body, but also emotional and spiritual bodies. All three are interconnected and play a vital role in overall well-being. Modern science is beginning to explore how emotions contribute to health, and growing research supports the benefits of a regular qigong practice.

Qigong is a traditional self-healing and self-cultivation form of exercise that originated in ancient China. It is characterized by coordinated body posture and movement, deep rhythmic breathing, meditation and mental focus based on TCM principles. The word qi can be defined as “energy,” and gong as a “skill,” so qigong can be understood as the practice of becoming skilled at working with energy. Damo Mitchell, the director of the Lotus Nei Gong School of Daoist Arts, suggests that qi can be seen as “the way in which our body and mind speak with one another.”

Qigong is simple in its movements; requires no props; and can be practiced while lying down, sitting or standing. The study of TCM is vast, but one way to understand the mind-body connection is through the five elements—wood, water, fire, metal and earth. Each element plays a role in maintaining balance through either a generating (sheng) or controlling (ke) cycle. The generating cycle ensures each element receives what it needs to thrive, while the controlling cycle prevents any one element from becoming dominant or deficient.

Each element is also associated with specific “inherit virtues” and “acquired emotions.” Inherit virtues reflect qualities like compassion and inner peace, while acquired emotions arise from life experiences and include anger and fear. Although a certain amount of fear or anger is necessary for self-protection and healthy boundaries, chronic emotional imbalance can lead to exhaustion or illness.

A complete qigong practice typically includes three key parts: purging, cultivating and regulating. Purging clears the energetic channels of stagnant or “turbid” qi that can accumulate from external sources such as food and air or internal sources like thoughts and emotions. These toxic energies are believed to be stored in the body’s cells, potentially overloading the organs and contributing to disease if not released.

Scientific research supports the benefits of qigong for emotional and mental health. In a study published in the June 2022 issue of The Journal of Taiji Science, 220 college students practiced qigong for 12 weeks and showed significant improvements in mental health. The study found that “interpersonal sensibility, obsessive-compulsive, paranoid-anxiety, depression, psychoticism and anger-hostility of the participants significantly differed (improved) from baseline.”

Sound also plays an important role in qigong for releasing emotions. The dynamic exercise known as “Old Man Searching for the Moon at the Bottom of Tidepool” is often used to move stuck energy. A stillness practice—the healing sounds meditation—uses breath and sound vibrations to release stagnant qi. Practicing this meditation before bed is a great way to help release the emotions of the day.

Whether practiced in a class or with a favorite online teacher, qigong offers a gentle yet powerful way to balance the mind and body—allowing emotional harmony to naturally follow.

Beth Baublitz has been a practicing ARCB-certified reflexologist for the past eight years and recently completed therapist-level studies in medical qigong. She offers her services and beginner qigong classes at ReWeaving Balance, located at 5A Harrisburg Pike, in Dillsburg. For more information, call 717-943-4833, email [email protected] or visit ReWeavingBalance.earth.