What is the difference between Qi Gong and Tai Chi? This is a question that has come up recently with the scheduling of Dr. Shipe’s Qi-Gong class at the Tranquility Haven Center in downtown Stuart. Qi Gong and Tai Chi are both ancient Chinese traditions similar to that they are mind-body practices but different in their ways.
Both practices promote health, fitness, and wellbeing in
countless individuals over hundreds of years. Both cultivate chi or Qi, which
is known as the life energy that flows through the body’s energy pathways. By
combining movement, breathing, and meditation, they both have the basic
property (Qi), fundamental principle (relaxation), and fundamental
method(slowness). In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Qi is the life force that
permeates the universe and all living things. It flows through the body’s
meridian pathways to help maintain health. When Qi in the body becomes stagnant
or blocked, the body can become unwell. Qi Gong and Tai Chi work with this
energy but in different ways, intensities, and postures.
Qi Gong, the oldest of the two practices, translates to
“life energy work”. Qi Gong is a way of healing that cultivates
physical, spiritual, emotional, and psychical health. Originating about seven
thousand years ago, it was fundamental to the creation and growth of Chinese
medicine. There are three different forms of Qi Gong and thousands of different
exercises that comprise the art and styles of Qi Gong. There is medical Qi Gong,
which can refer to the healer transmitting Qi into the patient’s body or simple
movement practices to aid in health. Medical Qi Gong is a slow, relaxed exercise
for a light physical workout in coordination with the breath. Medical Qi Gong
was designed to nurture Qi and massage internal organs for better health in
varying patients. Meditation Qi Gong was created with the purpose of mind-body
integration, Qi cultivation, and healing. Meditation Qi Gong has many
variations and techniques all focused on moving Qi around the body, breathing
patterns, and visualization to relax the body. Lastly, Martial Arts Qi Gong is
a more dynamic and strenuous form used by martial artists to supplement Qi in
the body. This training typically entails repeated tensing and loosening of
muscles combined with deep breathing. Martial Arts Qi Gong strengthens internal
organs and develops strong muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Qi Gong forms are
practiced in a repetition of three or four to nine times. This repetition
allows for Qi to be replenished and benefit the body in numerous ways.
Tai Chi is a series of continuous, circular, relaxed, and smooth flowing movements that have numerous health benefits for people of all ages and health conditions. This motion and breathing combined circulate Qi throughout the body. In its forms, Tai Chi is more refined with certain rules and intricate body mechanics to stimulate Qi. Performed correctly Tai Chi can remove blocks and allow Qi to flow freely in the body. Tai Chi is a precise sequence of forms or exercises that flow in a natural style of movement from one to another. This precision takes more time to properly learn. Tai Chi is more of an elaborate choreography where tendons and ligaments are strengthened like a workout while incorporating breathing and Qi into the body’s energy blocks. It is considered a more energy-dense practice compared to Qi Gong. In the end, Tai Chi is a higher form of Qi Gong. It takes the practice of Qi Gong and the more structured fundamentals of Tai Chi to make a practice that can be a real power in one’s health.
Both practices and their many forms can be used in a variety of ways to aid in mental, physical, or emotional health. The use and practice of these art forms are individually based. Regardless of the use for those who practice these forms, they can aid in many areas of life.
Join us Friday, June 26th from 12:30-1:30 pm for an OUTSIDE MEDITATIVE QI-GONG Class!
Dr. Stuart Shipe will be leading the class followed by a short informational lecture.
Hosted by Tranquility Haven Center, Stuart’s first and only meditation center.
Network, MD Anderson. “The Difference between Tai Chi and Qi Gong.” PHC Cancer Awareness, 2015, www.piedmontcancerwellness.org/Article/406.
Rodgers , Nathan. “Differences Between T’ai Chi and Qigong.” Gaiam, 2020, www.gaiam.com/blogs/discover/differences-between-tai-chi-and-qigong.
Chia, Great Grand Master Kellen. “TAI CHI.” Difference between Tai Chi and Qigong | Great Grand Master Kellen Chia, 2011, www.taichisociety.net/difference-between-tai-chi-qigong.html.