Archive for January, 2022

Qigong As a Great Health Meditation for Every Senior Citizen

January 11th, 2022

For the last several years, some Eastern approaches to health and fitness are gaining popularity all over the world. One of these approaches is Qigong. It can be considered as a form of health meditation that makes use of breathing techniques and graceful movements. We may picture out a Qigong session as an early morning activity that normally takes place wherever it is green or traffic-free like parks or gardens. However, we may also notice that many of the people who are practicing Qigong are in their sixties, seventies or even older. There are many reasons on why older people are doing this kind of ancient practice. This article presents some major reasons on why older people should practice Qigong.

As a Way to Treat Various Diseases

Statistically, older people tend to suffer from various kinds of diseases such as asthma, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, etc. This shows the proportion that as you grow older, there is also a high probability that you will contract various diseases.

Meanwhile, Qigong is known to treat many diseases. From its term itself, Qi means life energy while Gong means to cultivate. Thus, Qigong means the art of cultivating energy. The practice of Qigong ensures that the energy is functioning naturally. It believes that the Qi (life energy) is responsible for providing the feedback system, producing just the right hormones in the body, repairing the wear and tear, disposing toxic waste, and developing the immunity and self-defense in your body.

With the right cultivation of Qi, you are able to fight off those various diseases. Qigong is also a wholistic therapy as it does not only treat one major condition, but all of them at the same time. For instance, one who is suffering from asthma, after practicing Qigong for some time improved his/her blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and cholesterol levels.

A Way to Prolong Life

With all of the health benefits of Qigong, we can therefore conclude that Qigong can lengthen life. If you can get rid of those diseases, then, you are on your way to a healthy living and to extending your life as well. Well, every Chinese person already knows that the long term practitioners of Qigong live much longer, not to mention the Qigong masters who are quite old themselves and as healthy as an oak.

Recently, there is study that found a way to predict and increase your life span. Human chromosomes have tips called telomeres, which has been linked to life span. Longer telomeres are associated with longer lives or vice versa. The telomeres’ length is decreased by stress while it can be increased by reducing stress. Qigong on the other hand, is a thousand-year old practice which is effective in reducing or managing

stress. As we grow older, we tend to have a lot of worries and discomforts. Qigong then addresses such issue as it has mental as well as physical maneuvering which simultaneously adjust body posture, breathing, and the mind.

Improves the Quality of Life

While Qigong has several health benefits, it can also improve the quality of life in many different ways. As some old people practiced Qigong because of their illnesses, this just came as an instant reward. Many older people who are practicing Qigong embraced the fact that they can feel hungry and enjoy their food again, stop feeling lethargic, have better concentration, better memory, feeling alive and happy, being useful to their families and the community, or at least not needing anybody to look after them. It is also common for older people to be irritable, have mood swings, fear death, etc. Qigong can help them as it balances everything including their emotions, making them happier and easier to communicate with.

Joseph E. Wright is a Qigong Meditation [http://mxqigong.com.au/] e