Qigong (pronounced chee gung) is a five thousand year old Chinese energy exercise that helps balance the body, mind, and spirit. Qigong means "breath work" and key to the many forms or styles of Qigong is working with one's breath. In traditional Chinese philosophy, the "sky" refers to the spirit and "earth" refers to the body, thus the human is viewed as the intermediary between heaven and earth; thus to fulfill one's purpose, one has to be balanced and aware of the unique role the human has — to have a compassionate interaction and relationship, not only with other humans, but nature as well.

Qigong, through gentle stretching movements, breathing exercises, self-massage (Tao yin), and meditation helps raise one's bodily awareness, and reestablish one's natural body rhythms . This helps to reduce stress and its all-too-familiar symptoms. Qigong has been shown to enhance one's immune system, increase flexibility and balance and develop a sense of well-being and deep inner peace with continued practice.

The word Qigong (Chi kung) is actually two Chinese words meaning "energy practice." The focus of this art is strengthening the body, the mind and the spirit by cleansing, enhancing and circulating one's life energy (Qi) using the breath, movement, meditation and self-massage. These practices result in increased vitality, better health, a stronger immune system and a more peaceful mind and body when in stressful situations.

For centuries Qigong was a secretive and little known discipline passed on in the ancient oral tradition from the master to a few pupils. Only in the past few years has Qigong become more widely shared. There are many styles of Qigong, like a tree with many branches, such as medical Qigong and spiritual Qigong. Most martial arts have their roots in Qigong which in turn derives its roots from Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist philosophy.

In contrast to Western style exercise, these forms of Qigong consist of various slow stretching movements which benefit circulation by gently relaxing the joints and tendons while reestablishing individual awareness of the body in a direct way. Because the movements are non-aerobic there are minimal increases in muscular exertion and respiratory rate making Qigong appropriate for all ages. Qigong, like Yoga and Tai Chi, promotes flexibility, balance, and tones the muscles.

Meditation, breathing, healing sounds and self-massage help relax, clear and balance the deep organs of the body, such as the heart, lungs, spleen, liver and kidneys. By harmonizing the body, the mind and the spirit, Qigong encourages realization of personal potential on all levels and becomes a means to come to life more fully.