QI WALKING

This week we will take advantage of our outdoor classroom to learn and practice Qi Walking, also known as Guo Lin Qigong or Walking Qigong.

Qi Walking is traditionally practiced in the morning, outside in the fresh air. This powerful practice is best known for its benefits to those living with cancer, but it is also a wonderful practice for anyone needing rejuvenation, cleansing, energizing, and transformation of low grade energy into higher grade energy. Those with chronic fatigue, adrenal fatigue, depression, high blood pressure, hormone imbalance, autoimmune disease, sluggish liver, anemia, diabetes, high stress, anxiety, and more.

The practice of Qi Walking was developed in the 1960s by qigong master Guo Lin. She developed the practice in response to a serious cancer diagnosis, and much conventional treatment. She claims to have Qi walked her cancer into remission and did, in fact, lived for more 40 years, eventually dying, not of cancer, but of old age. Today, this specific form of qigong has been studied scientifically, such as in a recent randomized controlled trial using women with breast cancer, which concluded the Guo Lin Qigong offered improvements in quality of life including in the areas of anxiety, depression and immunological function.1

Qi walking increases the oxygen level in the body without a big cardiovascular output. The theory is that with more oxygen cancer cells cannot grow. No matter what our health status, with more oxygen there is more circulation and more life force Qi flowing.

Its history and specific theories and proof of its effectiveness aside, Qi Walking is something that is best experienced for oneself. I find it fun and invigorating. I do it when I’m very tired or simply want to cultivate a feeling of optimism and empowerment. It is a wonderful practice for discharging what you want to let go of and filling up with whatever you need. You can practice it alone, but it is super powerful when practiced as a group.

See you soon for some Qi Walking. You can see my qigong class schedule here.

Namste,
Sandra

  1. Liu, P et al. The efficacy of Guolin-Qigong on the body-mind health of Chinese women with breast cancer: a randomized controlled trial. Quality of Life Research, 26(9), September 2017: 2321-2331. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28421384

© Sandra Tonn