Health value of Qigong secures support from scholars

The health value of Qigong has gained more theoretical support from scholars who gathered in New York on Sunday at the first International Health Qigong Forum.

Present at the forum were scholars, doctors and experts from six countries and regions, who presented keynote addresses and introduced the latest research findings on the heath value of Health Qigong.

Victor W. Henderson, chief of Division of Epidemiology of Stanford University, gave an academic lecture entitled "The Influence of Heath Qigong on the Health Cognition of the Elderly." Henderson and his research team systematically studied the potential influence of Health Qigong on age-associated cognitive decline and dementia, providing some new theoretical support for the health value of Health Qigong.

Practicing Qigong should focus on adjusting the physical, breath and mental condition and finally achieve the 3-in-1 condition of the three. This is the substantive characteristic of Health Qigong compared with other sports.

Liu Tianjun, chief physician, professor and doctoral supervisor of School of Acupuncture of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, interpreted why and how people can achieve the 3-in-1 practicing condition, which provides Qigong practitioners the correct Qigong practicing methods and help them get a better fitness effect.

After conducting 30 studies with 1,175 participants, Willi Neumann, director of Prevention and Health Institute, professor and doctor in Hochschule Neubrandenburg of Germany, confirmed that Health Qigong is an effective stress management method.

Health Qigong will increase the alpha activity on the EEG (Electroencephalo-Graph) and make people relaxed. Results of Wolfgang Immanuel Schollhorn, professor of University of Mainz, Germany, indicates that alterations of brain activation patterns will be promoted by a long-term training process.

According to his study, subjects with long-term Health Qigong experience, when asked to conduct Qi into their right hand, were able to increase the temperature of the hand by 1.6 to 2 degrees Celsius within six minutes. During the concentration phase, increased EEG theta activity was detected in posterior regions.

Bobby H.P. NG, senior professional therapist in Hong Kong Kowloon Hospital, demonstrates that Health Qigong may be an effective rehabilitation exercise methods of pulmonary disease. Consecutive Practise of Health Qigong for more than three months will help chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients alleviate the airflow obstruction and improve their athletic ability.

His research has demonstrated that Health Qigong could have better curative effect to cure pulmonary disease when combining with modern medicine.

Jae-Bum Lee, director of College of Arts and Physical Education in Myongji University of Korea, believes that the health problems of aging people are chronic and compound, so the key of health management should not be focused on treatment but maintain healthy function to prevent and alleviate health problems.

Lee has verified the positive influence of Heath Qigong on the alleviation of the pain and depression of Korean aging female and proved that Health Qigong is an exercise that could make aging female feel peaceful.

Pierre de Keukelaere, president of the Belgian Health Qigong Federation, pointed out that although people are getting wealthier, they are suffering from more stress and more physical and mental diseases. He believed that Health Qigong is an effective solution to the problems.

In order to verify his supposition, Pierre designed 24 questions to survey the Belgian Health Qigong practitioners. And most respondents confirmed that Health Qigong is helpful in allaying their anxiety, loneliness, reducing medicine usage and improving their physical and mental health.

Shi Aiqiao, director of School of Chinese Martial Arts of Wuhan Sports University, offered more evidence on the health value of Qigong after tracking and analyzing more than 3,000 practitioners.

Practising Health Qigong helps improve physical and psychological health as well as the function of internal organs, Shi said in his presentation.