Medical Qigong: Yuan Shi Xin Qigong
Zhang Mingwu, 张明武, was known as a grand master in qigong and the creator of ‘Methods of Self-Healing through Qigong. Self- healing qigong is a set of qigong exercises, each exercise developed precisely to address a specific health issue. In the 1950’s, after Dr. Liu Guizhen founded Beidaihe Sanatorium and Hospital (Nei Yang Gong Qigong) in northern China and used Chinese Qigong Therapy to heal both chronic and acute health conditions, diagnosed in both Western and Chinese medicine, successfully. The Chinese government began opening up teaching clinics around the country to teach Chinese Qigong Therapy modeled after Dr. Liu’s clinic in Beidaihe. During this time qigong teachers and or doctors were considered healthcare professionals and the hospitals had a Qigong Department. During the Cultural Revolution all of this was shut down and reemerged in the 1970’s. A student of Zhang Mingwu, Mrs. Guo Lin, who is known for her qigong work with cancer, began teaching Guo Lin’s New Qigong in parks to thousands of people diagnosed with cancer. She utilized exercises she learned, including walking patterns, from Zhang Mingwu, to develop qigong specifically for cancer patients.
Zhang Mingwu’s approach to Chinese Qigong Therapy was to demystify qigong, making it less mysterious, using a scientific manner, to apply self healing exercises to health conditions in a clinic setting. His approach was used in the Qigong Departments at the hospitals and taught at the universities as part of the Chinese medicine programs. Zhang Mingwu was the honorary Chairman of Chinese National Qigong Association.
Dr. Sun Xingyuan, a student of Zhang Mingwu, is a Chinese medical scholar and a recognized master of qigong. He engaged in research on the therapeutic benefits of qigong for curing fatal diseases. He combined qigong with the theories in traditional Chinese medicine and Taoist doctrines. By examining the various techniques and principles of qigong, he gradually learned the nature of this great discipline and he designed a set of techniques which is comprehensive and highly original. He has taught many practitioners how to control and protect their qi, and how to regulate the internal energy. Dr. Sun Xingyuan co-authored his first book, Chinese Qigong Therapy, translated into English and French, in 1988, with Zhang Mingwu. This book reflects the depth of experience and practice of both of these qigong teachers. It explains the theory of self-controlled qigong practice, the five basic qigong patterns, the cancer-treating qigong patterns, the hypertension-treating qigong patterns, self-massage qigong patterns, and some specific deviation-rectifying methods. Some prescriptions for and case studies of common diseases are arranged at the end of the book.
This book, Chinese Qigong Therapy, served as the foundation for Dr. Sun Xingyuan’s second book, Yuan Shi Xin Qigong. According to Dr. Sun Xingyuan, “Yuan Shi Xin Qigong is aimed at keeping our health, prolonging our life, and enlightening our mind. It is supplemented with medical treatment. In order to keep healthy, we have to practice and learn how to regulate our body mechanisms. In order to apply it as a treatment, we have to learn and practice the techniques of discharging qi. By the regular practice, the transfer and the movement of the life force through our bodies will be optimized”. This book is titled Yuan Shi Xin Qigong. What does yuan shi mean? It can be interpreted as the way of being what we are. It also means qi, the original form of our universe. Xin is interpreted as new. Yuan Shi Xin Qigong is a new branch of qigong that keeps the traditional discipline but serves the modern generations.