CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE QIGONG

Qigpng Feats

Making the Body Light

Various Types and Uses ot Qigong

CHAPTER TWO QIGONG AS A SCIENTIFIC

DISCIPLINE

History of Qigong

Classification ofQtgong Exercises

CHAPTER THREE WHY CAN QIGONG

CURE DISEASES?

The Story of a Life Saved by Qtgmig

Case Examples Treated with Qigong

Qtgong as a Prospective Measure to Control

Cancer

Slimming by Qigong

What Diseases Can Be Treated with Qigong?

Why Does Qigong Have a Curative Effect?

CHAPTER FOUR SCIENTIFIC EXPERI-

MENTATION ON QIGONG

Sdentific Evidence ofQi

Detection of the Infrared Rays and Infrasonic Waves

ofQigong

Immunological Experiments

Change in Microcirculation and Hemorrheology

Breakthrough in Qigong Research

CHAPTER FIVE IDEAL MEASURE FOR

PROMOTING HEALTH

Three Key Elements ofQigpng

Three Requirements for Exercising Qigong

Points for Attention in Qigong Practice

CHAPTER SIX QIGONG EXERCISES

Recuperative Qigong

Strengthening Qigong

Health-Building Exercises

Walking Exercises

Eyesight-Improving and Eye-Movement Qigong

The Six-Character Formula

Qigong with Badnanjin (Eight Graceful Forms)

CHAPTER ONE

QIGONG

People are becoming more and more interested in

ancient Chinese qigong so that there is now a "qigong

craze."

Qigong is a kind of exercise. According to traditional

Chinese medical theory, the qi in qigong is not only the

air people breathe, but also the vital energy in the body,

which is also called "genuine qi' or "internal qi." In

terms of modern medicine, "vital energy" is equal to

disease resistance adaptability to the environment and

the healing ability of the body. That is why the exercise

of vital energy is emphasized in traditional Chinese

medicine.

What is qigong? How does it work?

Let us first take a look at qigong feats performed by

qigong masters in order to get a better understanding

ofit.

Qigong Feats

Yuan Xiyin, a sixty-year-old qigong master in Beijing,

stood in front of a granite tablet, one metre high, thirty-

five centimetres wide and twelve centimetres thick.

Having prepared for a little while with his body bent, he

suddenly hit his head against the block. Instantly, the

block broke into two pieces. This is called "splitting

stone with the head."

Another fascinating skill is "turning thc body on a

fork." Having directed his qi to Dantian (Dantian is also

called the elixir field, and is located in the upper two-

thirds of the line joining the navel and pubic symphysis,

the joint between the pubic bones of the pelvis where

one concentrates the mind while performing qigong),

Yuan Xikui, a qigong master, lay on a sharp three-

branched fork fixed on a frame, with the fork support-

ing his body on his exposed abdomen. Then he rotated

his body several times. The observers were breathless

with anxiety, but after the performance his abdomen

was not at all injured and the abdominal skin was intact.

Dr. Ding Zhaozhong, winner of a Nobel prize in

physics, said after watching these qjigong performances:

"These martial arts are so formidable and mystenous

that our Institute of High-Energy Physics is not able to

explain them."

The following is also a unique feat. Another qigong

master, Hou Shuying, broke an iron bar 30X30 mm into

two peices by a knock with his head in which qi had

been directed.

It was estimated by the Institute of Mechanics,

Chinese Academy of Sciences, that a force of at least

1,500 kg was required to break such a bar. That is to say,

the qigong master can create a force of more than 1,500

kg when qi has been directed to the vertex of his head.

Another marvellous feat of Hou Shuying's was "tying

the neck with a steel bar." Holding one end of a steel

bar with the other end fixed, he twined the bar around

his neck by turning his body in the opposite direction.