Chi Kung for Health and Wellness: A Path to Inner Peace
David M. McMahon, ND

“I want to show you something.” With those simple words, Alma stood up.

That might not seem like a momentous occasion but it was. I teach Chi Kung (also known as Qigong) classes at Senior Centers in Forsyth, Stokes and Surry counties and Alma’s success story is one of many I have been privileged to witness.

Alma was 92 when we began a series of eight weekly classes at the Francisco Senior Center in Stokes County. At the beginning, Alma needed a walker to get around and if she was sitting, she was unable to stand without assistance. Alma told me that she wasn't sure she could do these exercises and I told her to just do what she could, but to try to do some each day. And, so she did.
In the fourth week Alma came to class using a cane instead of the walker. That was a lot of progress in a short time. I knew something was really up in the eighth week when Alma came to class with no cane and no walker. We began the class sitting down and Alma held up her hand and said, “I want to show you something.” And with that she stood up on her own! The whole class broke into applause, as it had been more than three years since they had seen Alma able to stand up without help.

I’m told by a friend of hers that Alma, now 94, is still able to navigate and stand up with no help. She even works in her garden, which she has always loved, and which she had been unable to do for some time. Chi Kung has quite literally turned Alma’s life around.

In Jonestown, Sheila, a student in her mid-50s, had suffered for many years with chronic migraine headaches. At least three mornings a week she would wake up with a migraine and that would pretty well knock her out for the day. It was affecting her home life and threatened her job situation.

I explain to my students and clients that the simple breathwork exercise with which we begin every class can actually help to reduce or eliminate pain. I tell them to begin the breathwork at the first sign of pain.

Sheila thought it was too simple and too easy to be of any real help. So she did not tell me and the class until the third week that her migraines had literally gone away. Whenever she would wake up with the beginnings of a migraine, she would do the breathwork and the migraine would stop. Cold.

At the King Senior Center, Wendi Uselton, RN, MSN, a nursing supervisor with Hospice, comes each week to take participants’ blood pressure before and after the class. From January to June of 2008, Wendi found that the average participants’ blood pressure dropped 17 points systolic, and 12 points diastolic. That is a significant reduction in blood pressure, comparable to results achieved with the most potent prescription drugs.

Over an eight week period, one King student saw her blood pressure drop from 160/110 to a normal reading of 120/70, without medication!

A student at the Surry County Senior Center in Mt. Airy had suffered asthma for many years, with two or three severe episodes every week. By the end of the first eight-week series of classes, she reported that the asthma episodes had decreased to less than one per week and those were relatively mild. She was, needless to say, ecstatic.

There are many similar success stories at each of the Senior Centers. These few are typical of what I have seen time and time again.

Chi Kung is an ancient program of exercise practiced for many centuries in China, and now gaining increasing popularity in the U.S. It is believed to be the parent of Tai Chi and is often likened to Yoga. It includes relaxing breathwork, gentle movements, and simple meditation exercises.

In its long history of use, and more recently in U.S. clinical studies, Chi Kung has been shown to improve strength, balance, coordination, flexibility, range of motion and stamina. It has been shown to increase immune system function; regulate blood pressure; and, reduce the frequency and severity of asthma and allergy incidents.

A recent American Heart Association study showed that activities such as Chi Kung helped lower hypertension and enabled some participants to reduce their blood pressure medication. Another study at Duke University found that stress reduction practices such as Chi Kung can reduce the risk of coronary artery disease by as much as 70 percent!

Chi Kung offers many health benefits on every level – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. World renowned heart specialist, Dr. Mehmet Oz, lists Chi Kung among the top 10 things he recommends for good health and long life. Chi Kung offers a simple, safe and gentle, yet powerful way to improve your health and wellness. It can be adapted for practice by anyone, even those confined to a wheelchair or to bed.

Research conducted by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health shows that Chi Kung is effective in relieving pain that lingers after an injury heals, as well as pain complicated by trauma, anxiety or depression. 
Chi Kung is a major part of the Whole Health Therapy that I offer to my clients and students. I tell my clients and students that Chi Kung cannot change what life brings to us but it will change how we respond to what life brings to us.

David M. McMahon, ND, is a board certified holistic health practitioner and certified Chi Kung instructor and practitioner. David’s Whole Health Center is based in Winston-Salem and Mt. Airy, offering local and distant healing. David offers a free bioenergy mini-session in his office so prospective clients can experience this healing work. For an appointment or more information call 336-793-2421, visit http://www.daystarr.com ; or, email David@daystarr.com.