Week 3: Interviews Part 2

Hello everyone! This is the one and only Joleen, and I am back with another blog post! This week, I did interviews with the second half of my participants and prepared myself for some data entry. Instead of going into the interview process, which is similar to last week’s post, I will explain more about Qigong and its history. 

Many of you might still be wondering: what exactly is Qigong? It combines movement, breathing, meditation, and body posture. It is used mainly for purposes related to health and medicine. People across the world practice Qigong for health benefits, recreation, and spirituality. Now, let’s break down the word. “Qi” means air or energy. “Gong” means work or to achieve something through effort. Combined, the two words mean to use effort and balance life energy, especially for well-being. Although there is evidence of Qigong dating back to over 2000 years ago, this practice did not become well known until the 1950s, when the Chinese government integrated various Qigong approaches into one system. In addition, many people wanted to prove from research that Qigong brings positive benefits to the human body. The practice of Qigong grew rapidly in the 1990s, with over 60 million people across the world practicing it. 

There are many types of Qigong, ranging from dynamic to static to meditative practice, with each type of practice emphasizing one specific focus. Qigong also has many forms and purposes, such as medical Qigong, intellectual Qigong, and life-nourishing Qigong. Some principles are in place no matter the practice or form one chooses. All forms of Qigong involve intentional movement, rhythmic breathing, and awareness to produce a calming and relaxing effect. Because of this, Qigong is often viewed as more than just a common physical exercise. Many believe that it produces specific psychophysiological benefits. 

According to research done in 2013, qigong has numerous physiological effects, such as improved respiratory and cardiovascular function. Some studies have been done using randomized controlled trials. Clinical research has been conducted for conditions ranging from quality of life to immunization. Various studies have also indicated that Qigong practice decreases cortisol levels. However, research is limited because there is little financial and medicinal incentive to research in this field. I wanted to do research involving Qigong to learn more about the positive benefits it brings to us. 

Thats it! I hope you learned more about Qigong in this week’s blog. Next week, we will look at how I input my data and analyze some previous research on how Qigong impacts insomnia symptoms. Stay tuned! 

Sources:

https://web.archive.org/web/20111017031024/http://www.literati-tradition.com/qi_gong_origins.html

https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/complementary-alternative-or-integrative-health-whats-in-a-name

https://web.archive.org/web/20140201235840/http://sactaichi.com/what-is-qi-gong/

https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/a-z/tai-chi-and-chi-gong