Qigong Meditation

What influences health the most?

When scientists ponder this, they arrange it in order of importance, based on the amount of time most people typically engage each area for health:

1. Breathing– Something we do all the time, and influenced by movements and stretches like Qigong & Yoga; there is much to try to directly work with breath itself.
2. Eating– a particular fascination in materialistic cultures
3. Exercising– movement therapies like Qigong, and good old walking

We will start at the bottom of this list and work our way up.

EXERCISE

All of this website is dedicated to a type of movement therapy called Qigong, one that re-defines exercise. Children in North America are taught to exercise harder and longer. The result is that most adults stop exercising as they go through life. What is missing for them? Are they just lazy?

In fact, there are clear benefits to aerobic exercise like Qigong, where the heart rate stays calm, over more vigorous anaerobic activity. The latter uses many fewer muscle fibers, but either one is much better than no activity. Children in China are taught more active exercises like martial arts, while elders are drawn to calmer forms of movement like Taiji and Qigong. Youngsters often have more energy than they know what to do with, while with advancing years we become calmer and more reflective in both mind and movement. In energetic terms, we move from Yang to Yin. Individual temperaments and needs vary in any case, so one should do any exercise that is suitable, that brings joy and peace.

One interesting idea came from a lecturer during a Qigong tour in Beijing in 1998: Our minds are influenced by our daily practice, so if we work out with machines, we will come to think and be like them. Since then, machines like computers have become more part of our lives, so finding a natural way as a point of comparison is increasingly rare. Qigong gives the opportunity to explore what natural movement is like, and what it can do for us.

FOOD AS MEDICINE

Food is a popular area of interest, with so many options and growing information. It is a powerful area, since most people in North America spend more time eating than exercising! Science relates to it well, since there is a material basis.

There are many theories and case studies in healthcare, including the field of nutrition. It is difficult to find quality research with tens of thousands of patients over decades. One outstanding exception is the work of a cardiologist from California, Dean Ornish. Decades ago, he consistently generated positive outcomes using the most rigorous research to test natural approaches to heart disease. The positive results led to congressional hearings in the 1990s, followed by government insurance coverage (Medicare) for his 4-part program. This program has 4 parts:

• Mostly plant-based, low-fat foods- with some basic supplements
• Exercise- up to an hour (results plateau after that)
• Meditation- an hour or more, since results only increase with more time; he terms it “stress reduction”, and includes Qigong, yoga, guided imagery, etc.
• Support groups- for love

Over the years, he branched out into other diseases and conditions, such as cancer of the breast and prostate, along with Alzheimers. For the latter, his approach is the only solid, positive research outcome for treating this type of ‘senile dementia’ that is all too common. There is presently no drug, herb or practice that is scientifically proven to make a difference in Alzheimers the way this approach does–and in about a month for starters.

After I was diagnosed with prostate cancer at age 66, Dr. Ornish’s results gave me confidence as I faced different treatment options. He also provided an inspiring, integrated vision for health and healing. The biggest lifestyle change for me was with what I ate: too many dairy products and eggs. (Chinese men have much less prostate cancer than American and European counterparts: While the causes are impossible to pin down, it is intriguing that Asians ingest less cow’s milk and eggs, while eating more soy–all involved in prostate cancer cell generation.)

Following his dietary guidelines led me within 2 weeks to:

• Lose 25 pounds and 2″ at the waist (which then stabilized), which reduced my risk for other cancers in the abdomen
• Increase both my energy (no more naps) and signs of circulation
• Clear active points on my abdomen that we use in acupuncture to diagnose and treat specific conditions and circulatory blockages
• Increase my enjoyment of food
• Reduce physiological cravings that are a sign of something missing
• Greatly reduce my food bill by a third to a half
• Reduce my carbon footprint- by more than all forms of transportation combined

A blood test after 3 months found a reduction of my ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol to well below the common goal of 70. My doctor had no problem with me going off my statin prescription prior to that test.

As of this writing, I’ve also not had a single upper respiratory infection. I used to fight these off with herbs and Qigong pretty regularly while living at altitude in Colorado, and damp climes before in Oregon. Not any more.

I found slightly different versions of his dietary guidelines as the knowledge evolved over decades, depending upon when the book or website was published. Later versions included some low-fat chicken and also non-fat dairy (although the latter is still contra-indicated for prostate cancers as of 2026). One should consult one’s healthcare team when contemplating big changes like this.

Also, the knowledge on supplements has changed significantly in recent years. For example, check each supplement with an online search for one’s particular diagnosis. Often, supplements are not needed or even detrimental.

Supplements are very tricky, but the more we know about whole, plant-based foods, the more reasons we find to love them.

BREATHING

Breathing is something we do all the time, albeit unconsciously. Imagine if we could find better ways to breathe, or heal specific conditions with it. Making breathing ‘fun’ has the potential to make it a more influential effect on health than what we eat.

It is difficult for conventional, materialistic science to grasp the subtleties of breath. Ancient civilizations, particularly in India, had no problem relating to it as a broader concept called prana, and developed investigations based on that. This was exported to countries like China, who termed it Qi. The proponents of different ways of breathing can be enthusiastic from their findings and case studies. However the outcomes and mechanism of action may not meet current criteria for science, which is purely matter-based.

Another challenge lies in teaching: Practices that focus on the breath, like pranayama from India, can be difficult for beginners without adequate instruction. We find in Qigong that some parts of forms that include conscious breathing can lead to uncomfortable feelings in the chest. I found this to be true for my students with a history of asthma.

A superbly developed form of breathing practice was pioneered by a Russian researcher named Buteyko (now deceased after a long life). I was introduced to this approach by a colleague, while teaching at NUNM, by Dr. Sussanna Czeranko, ND. She used it to heal pain and trauma after a car crash. The head of the organization she was part of, Patrick McKeown of Ireland, leads the world in generating free materials online from decades of teaching Dr. Buteyko’s research.

Encouraging outcomes were researched using this approach for patients with asthma. Buteyko breathing remains one of the best natural therapies for asthma patients. However the results are not as solid as Ornish’s finding with foods. We found the same challenges in researching acupuncture: how to make these subtle interventions consistent enough for research, while using research models that were developed for material drugs.

The basic ideas of several schools of slower breathing, as I understand it, is that the vast majority of us benefit from:

• Breathing through the nose
• Slowing the breath down- Qigong gives the opportunity and training for this to become a habit
• Using the diaphragm and belly instead of the upper chest- the focus on the ‘lower Dan Tian’ in traditional Chinese practices invites this
• Lengthening and emphasizing the exhale- in classical Chinese acupuncture writings, the exhale is the Yang breath, inducing a special calm like basking in the pure Yang of the sun.
• Stretching the chest, neck and lungs on occasion- Qigong standing forms are often perfect for this, such as Turtle Part 2

Many of us were taught to breathe more, instead of less. A finding is that this is like over-eating: too much of a good thing. The gas exchange at a cellular level shuts down when breathing too deeply or too much.

During my first minutes of practicing Buteyko’s counter-intuitive findings in 2012, I noticed changes in my joint pain and mood. I continued it while bicycle commuting to reduce my intake of air pollution.

After a successful prostate surgery 3 months ago, I came across the book Breath by James Nestor. He skillfully wrote about the history of a variety of schools of breathing, and from a very human point of view. This re-kindled my interest in Buteyko and other approaches to breath training. They have been very helpful in helping nerves relax after the stress of needed surgery.

It came at the right time for me: Nothing like surgery to open one’s mind! I started becoming conscious of breathing during walks outdoors, during Qigong, and sitting meditations.

For pacing the breath, one can use seconds, heartbeats, or walking steps. Nestor recommended about 4-5 beats per inhale, with 5-6 per exhale as a good, moderate one to start with. Then, as one teacher he studied with said, “you must find your own rhythm.”

Within days, I was comfortable walking to 3 breaths inhaling per step, and 7 out. If I went up one of the many inclines that we have in Colorado, I would ‘down-shift’ as with bicycling, to maybe 5 per exhale (depending on the slope). I tried to keep it just this side of “air hunger.”

Within the first week of these practices, a large mole fell off my chest. I had it for years (after getting laid off from my job during Covid). As an acupuncturist, I recognized the site of the mole to correspond to the right margin of the diseased prostate organ, the area of interest to my surgeon. (This is based on an ancient concept, that each part reflects the whole.) I was encouraged by this event. The chronic soreness where the non-cancerous mole had been, also disappeared under my fingers.

Lately, I enjoy breathing in for 2 steps or heartbeats, and exhaling for 10 or sometimes more. This has added more focused relaxation to my walks and depth to sitting meditations.

Ongoing healing is necessary with cancer. It is one step to remove a tumor with surgery –or with the spiritual means more often employed by necessity in parts of the world where free, hi-tech treatments are not given. no matter how the disease is initially removed, it is essential for the patient to do their own work to prevent recurrence. My own prognosis is excellent, but this experience was a great wake-up call for on-going engagement with health and life.

I am grateful for all forms of healing.