QI GONG – MOVING MEDITATION: FOR HEALTH, PREVENTION AND RECOVERY FROM BREAST CANCER
QI GONG- MOVING MEDITATION: FOR BREAST HEALTH, PREVENTION AND RECOVERY FROM BREAST CANCER
Qi Gong (Chee Kung) is one of the five baskets of Chinese medicine.
The five staples of Chinese medicine are
- Qi Gong (movement exercise that includes body, breath, and mind)
- Nutrition
- Acupuncture
- Massage (Tui-Na)
- Herbal remedies.
All or most disease according to traditional Chinese medicine comes from blockage or stagnation of the body’s fluids, lymph flow, energy, breath, food, thoughts and emotional issues from the mind. All of these fall under the term “Qi” which is loosely translated as “life force, vapor, steam, and energy”. Most of the Chinese medicine is centered upon the movement and cultivation of our Qi, allowing the body to self-regulate, work in harmony and empower us to help strengthen our own immune response.
Cancer is a human experience, physical, emotional and spiritual. The effects of both the disease and treatments of the disease can leave us with all kinds of physical and emotional trauma or pain. When using Integrative and functional medicine at Thrive, we strive to address the body as a whole. Not a partial, singular body part of the disease, but to recognize and teach our patients the importance and tested theories of the mind/body connection. Cancer hospitals all across the US and worldwide are incorporating these integrations showing promising results with the management of cancer diagnoses and cancer rehabilitation. Studies have shown that Qi Gong can help with some of the symptoms of fatigue and chemo-brain to name a few. Studies have also shown that Qi Gong and Mindfulness Meditation may alter genes inhibiting signaling pathways necessary for cancer metastasis. As well, research has shown reduced levels of blood inflammatory markers and improvement in immune function with these complementary therapies.
Qi Gong is simple movement meditation exercises that can yield profound healing effects of the mind/body, enhancing your own ability to turn on the “healer within”, allowing you to make your own medicine for no cost. With the three elements of Qi Gong- Body, Breath-Mind, we can open the energy portals of the body or what I like to term, “perform acupuncture without the use of needles”.