“It’s great for people who want a meditative practice and overall detoxification. [It] mentally and physically aligns the body and mind (like meditation) with some motion that helps people feel less distracted and frustrated,” says Gisele Wasfie, doctor of acupuncture and East Asian medicine who is also trained in qi gong and tai chi. The beauty of qi gong is that it can be practiced anywhere at any time. However, you may see added benefits if you do it outside. “Morning light exposure on your eyeballs is really helpful for those struggling with sleep,” says Sunjya Schweig, MD, founder of the California Center for Functional Medicine. “When you do it outside you’ll feel a different level of connection, as well when you do movements that pull up energy from the earth.” Qi gong is a relatively safe practice (but always check with your doctor first if you do have health issues) and gentle on the joints, which is why it’s popular to see the elderly population practicing in China and abroad. It’s great, too, for those with limited mobility who may be worried about injury from yoga or more intense exercise. However, don’t be alarmed if you may feel a slight headache or a bit of nausea when you first start out. “When you are doing this, you may feel energy in certain areas,” says Wasfie. This especially happens if that area of the body may be feeling less than optimal. “If so, back off a little bit and go slower.” RELATED: Restorative Yoga Is All About Relieving Stress With Gentle Stretches—Here Are 6 Beginner Poses to Try How often should you practice? Five to 10 minutes daily is all you need at first to start feeling the benefits of qi gong. Of course, if you can’t squeeze it in daily, you can still see some benefits. “Just breathing and moving can really make a difference,” says Wasfie. Similar to yoga, there are multiple types of qi gong practices, but they all involve gentle movement and focused, intentional breathing. Practitioners like Wasfie even use it in their acupuncture practice to further target certain body parts. Teachers must complete a certain number of hours of training in order to become certified. There are certain forms of qi gong designed to target particular body parts. Wasfie often works with her clients with what’s known as the Six Healing Sounds. Each sound targets a different body part with a certain way of breathing, movement and mantra. For instance, targeting the lungs you’ll breath out with a “sssssss” breath (think like a snake or radiator), breathing out judgment, grief, and clinging, and breathing in self-worth and detachment. The goal is to release the stressors and bring in positivity. This helpful video on the Six Healing Sounds of Qigong will give you even more of an idea of how this works. “When you move your hands around you can feel this tug in your fascia, and you can impact other body parts by manipulating this [fascia],” says Dr. Schweig who offers an online comprehensive qi gong course to his patients and practices himself. Dr. Schweig often sees it aid in things like joint health, a decreased risk of falling (by increasing balance), an increase in energy, and improved sleep. “It’s really great for recovery from severe illnesses, dealing with the post-condition malaise and fatigue,” he says. “Because of its gentle nature it’s just a good way to get back to movement.”
