Qigong is a meditation that combines self-massage, sound, movement, and breathing exercises. Its roots are found in traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine. As a component of traditional Chinese medicine, qigong—pronounced “chi gong”—was created in China thousands of years ago. Enhancing and preserving health and well-being entails exercising to maximize body, mind, and spirit energy. Qigong is a psychological and physical practice that involves controlling the mind, breathing, posture, and movement of the body.
Dynamic (active) qigong practices focus mainly on body movements, particularly those involving the arms, legs, and entire body. With virtually little physical activity, meditative (passive) qigong techniques can be performed in any posture that can be sustained over time. They incorporate breathing and mental exercises.
Qigong is based on the belief that qi, or life energy, moves through the body, just like other traditional Chinese practices. Health problems may arise if qi becomes obstructed, stagnates, or flows too rapidly. The goal of qigong is to restore the body’s equilibrium.
There are Four Parts to Qigong:
- Techniques for breathing: Deep, slow, and prolonged breathing. Abdominal breathing may give way to breathing that incorporates spoken sounds.
- Body postures: Usually smooth and gentle, the movements promote relaxation.
- Guided imagery: Attentional focus and visualization are two aspects of mind management.
- Meditating: Calming the mind, body, and spirit.
The practice has grown in popularity worldwide; in 2002, 5.8% of American adults practiced qigong, yoga, or tai chi. This percentage increased to 14.5% in 2017.
Qigong Types
Qigong comes in various forms and styles, some of which no longer reference Chinese philosophy. There are two general methods in classical qigong practice. Primarily a physical discipline, the “Wai dan” style emphasizes body positions. Practitioners refer to it as an “external elixir.”
On the other hand, the “Nei dan” method is a seated, inward-focused kind of qigong that relies more on meditation and visualization. Practitioners refer to this method as an “internal elixir.”
Qigong styles can also be categorized by their primary objective. This might be:
- Medical, which emphasizes recovery
- Martial arts, which enhances skill and physical fitness
- Spiritual, seeking enlightenment on a spiritual level
Qigong Sound Healing Techniques
People worldwide have used color and sound as healing tools for thousands of years. Humans are inherently drawn to sounds and colors that support the body and mind, even if they are unaware of it. Qigong teachers in ancient China were particularly aware of how color and music impacted humans. They soon came to understand that these natural occurrences had tremendous therapeutic potential that we might tap into.
So, let’s examine the history of color and sound healing in qigong and review some of the basic ideas that underpin these techniques.
Finding the Healing Sounds
The first known healing sounds were made during the Qin Dynasty, which lasted from roughly 221 to 207 BC in ancient China. Qigong, masters of the time, researched the bodily energies and patterns that supported health and well-being. Their findings about color and sound, among other things, are fundamental to contemporary qigong.
After they began investigating our relationship with sound, they discovered that people naturally use sound to heal. They observed that humans almost always make the same noises in comparable circumstances. For instance, people in every known society on the planet express themselves through the sound of laughter. We all know in our bodies that the “hah” sound is a sign that heart energy is being triggered, even if we are not aware of it intellectually.
In a similar vein, most people exhale in relief when a distressing event is over. This allows their bodies to naturally release stress and regain a more tranquil sense of being. When qigong instructors became aware of these organic relationships between sound and emotion, they began to investigate them further to learn how distinct sounds impact different body parts.
They chose to investigate how intentions could be used to enhance these healing benefits and how people unintentionally employ healing sounds in daily life. They found that the healing effects were not unexpectedly more potent when they performed the sound with a healing intention. Naturally, this aligns with how we practice qigong, which involves combining different techniques with the mental intention to experience a good energy shift within ourselves.
Devoted practitioners gradually better understood the connections between different sounds and body components. During the Sui Dynasty, which lasted from 590 to 618 AD, a Qi Gong teacher named Zhi Zhuan discovered six distinct sounds corresponding to a particular organ and having unique healing properties. Because of their capacity to rid the body of harmful energy, these were dubbed the Six Healing Sounds. When paired with breathing and exercise, they were extremely effective in treating a wide range of health conditions.
Colors’ Healing Potential
Color vision meditations are frequently used in conjunction with sound healing in qigong. In ancient Egypt, color healing began approximately 1550 BC. The Egyptians at the time believed that color played a significant role in healing. They frequently created various light displays and energies using stones and diamonds. Like qigong, they frequently drew inspiration for color’s therapeutic properties from the natural elements they saw. The ancient Greeks experimented with color healing as well.
Color healing and sound healing first appeared in China roughly 2000 years ago. Qigong practitioners investigated the connections between hues, emotions, and bodily energy to learn more about how color affects people. This method was similar to that of sound healing. From an energetic perspective, they found that every color represents a distinct energy within us. Similar to music, each color’s light waves are different and have energy properties that we can perceive.
In qigong, color and sound have healing functions, although they play slightly distinct roles. The color usually has a unifying impact, whereas sound is employed to release poisonous energy from the body. In other words, color is utilized to grow nutritious, vital Qi within the body, and sound is used to help the body release poisonous emotional or physical energy. Because of this, many healing techniques begin with sound therapy to release energy before cultivating with color. Color healing frequently includes color imagery meditations.
Similar to sound, certain colors are associated with various body parts. Red, for instance, is associated with the fire element and the heart. Blue is associated with the water element and the kidneys. Additionally, white has a purifying impact overall.
Practitioners can release toxic physical and emotional energy and replace it with rich, nourishing Qi by using Healing Sounds to purge noxious Qi and then using color vision meditations to cultivate feeding energy. Qigong movement is another essential component that aids in moving energy throughout the body.
Workshops for Self-Healing with Sound
Sound healing seminars primarily focus on teaching self-healing. The foundation of qigong practices is the cultivation of nourishing Qi throughout the body, removing harmful energy from the organs, and restoring emotional equilibrium.
These seminars typically combine experiential techniques with spoken instruction to provide students with a comprehensive grasp of sound and healing. Like sound baths or other sound healing experiences, it’s crucial to understand that these are not passive workshops. Instead, they are fun experiences that will help you learn the techniques and abilities you need to become your own healer.
Final Thoughts by Doc T Elliott
We encounter many emotions throughout our lives and simply from day-to-day activities. Positive or negative, these feelings can sap your vitality and jeopardize your well-being. The body regains equilibrium when repressed emotions are released. Additionally, stress and lifestyle choices can cause blockages in your body. Hence, the practice of qigong healing sounds is rooted in ancient Taoist methods that generate energy pulses or currents in the body through sound frequencies. Certain sounds can stimulate digestion, soothe the adrenal glands, lower blood pressure, and even regulate it since they resonate with different organs. In general, sound is a really effective tool to change your energy. Consider your feelings after listening to rock or classical music. Although the unique qigong healing sounds operate on the same principles, their efficacy has been supported by contemporary clinical research and millennia of case studies.