What on Earth is Qigong? Part 1 - A Critical Overview

Critical Mind, Embodied Spirit

Qigong is a dazzling minefield of rare treasures and disingenuous nonsense, all wrapped up in a language destined to confuse both the casual practitioner and the professional meditator, be they from China or from anywhere else. Where most books on Qigong use the currency of myth, mystery, and a misplaced deference for the esoteric, I’ve taken my encounters with the greatest Qigong masters in China and systematic long-term study of Chinese medicine, meditation and Daoist martial arts as material to make a rational overview of Qigong in plain English to help orient the critical thinker as she or he approaches this tricky topic. From its shamanic roots in Neolithic pre-history to modern biochemistry, I’ve looked at the storied history of Qigong, the difference between structural and bioelectric Qigong, as well as going deep into how modern biology can understand some of the mechanisms that makeup Qigong – like mitochondrial biogenesis and the role of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. This episode is designed as a follow up to the episodes ‘What on Earth is Tai Chi?’, ‘What on Earth is Qi? Part 1 – The Linguistic Perspective’ and ‘What on Earth is Qi? Part 2 – The Physiological Perspective’. Enjoy for free!