What is chikung?

Chikung basically is a holistic method for promoting longevity focusing on these three things: strengthening the human body, concentrating the mind, and promoting the human spirit. It is a practice combining physical, mental, and spiritual components through different forms of training which can be found in Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Simply put, it is a powerful and extremely effective method for both promoting health and healing people in ill health.

The breathing methods, stretching methods, and mind control which are the keystones of chikung provide a number of benefits. These practices increase the concentration and storage of our energy; purify our energy; expel poisonous elements from our body; and increase the efficiency of our circulatory system and metabolism.

There are two aspects to the practice of chikung: a physical practice (physical exercises) and an internal practice focusing on the mind and spirit. Obtaining any benefit from physical exercise first requires a good physical and mental foundation. Exercise alone will strengthen our muscles and increase our physical power, but it may also result in dire physical damage because too much emphasis is placed on pumping up our muscles rather than strengthening our internal organs. Statistically speaking, 3% of people involved in sports for a long period of time will unexpectedly drop dead owing to circulation problems related to the brain or heart while others will be plagued by arthritis, pulled muscles, bone fractures, tight muscles and/or exhaustion, or they may become too hyper or be unable to concentrate, among other things. In doing these exercises without an internal practice, our internal organs have to work harder to supply more energy to our muscles, which leads to the weakening of our internal organs. As our internal organs get weaker, the related meridian systems become weaker, too.

Chi Kung Culture Society of TAIPEI