Comments on: World Tai Chi & Qigong Day https://justbreathetaichi.com/2011/02/world-tai-chi-qigong-day/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=world-tai-chi-qigong-day Breathe | Move | Live Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:46:22 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 By: Bob Ellal https://justbreathetaichi.com/2011/02/world-tai-chi-qigong-day/#comment-128 Fri, 04 Feb 2011 14:57:10 +0000 https://justbreathetaichi.com/?p=471#comment-128 Qigong—Chinese mind/body exercises–helped me immensely in my successful battles with four bouts of supposedly terminal bone lymphoma cancer in the early nineties. I practiced standing post meditation, one of the most powerful forms of qigong–as an adjunct to chemotherapy, which is how it should always be used.
Qigong kept me strong in many ways: it calmed my mind–taking me out of the fight-or-flight syndrome, which pumps adrenal hormones into the system that could interfere with healing. The deep abdominal breathing pumped my lymphatic system—a vital component of the immune system. In addition, qigong energized and strengthened my body at a time when I couldn’t do Western exercise such as weight-lifting or jogging–the chemo was too fatiguing. And it empowered my will and reinforced it every day with regular practice. In other words, I contributed to the healing process, instead of just depending solely on the chemo and the doctors. Clear 14 years and still practicing!

Bob Ellal
Author, ‘Confronting Cancer with the Qigong Edge’

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