This area is about the breath and the practice of Qigong: what studies show about slow breathing, how the internal traditions describe posture, stillness and inner practice, and where Qigong comes from. You’ll also find the work of Professor Zhang Guangde and a plain summary of what the research reviews say, and don’t say.
Breath science and practice
All Breath science & practice articles
- Slow breathing and heart rate variability: what actually happens in your body: what studies of breathing at about six breaths a minute show, and what they don’t.
- Long exhalation and the vagus nerve: what’s known and what’s hype: the studies on the out-breath, and where the claims go too far.
- Humming and nitric oxide in the nose: what small lab studies measured, and what that does and doesn’t show.
- Breath in the classics: tuna, fuqi, lianqi and embryonic breathing: what the old breathing terms mean in the Chinese classics.
- Stillness and posture: sitting and standing practice in the internal traditions: what the classics say about quiet sitting and standing.
- Song 松: relaxed and rooted: sōng, relaxing without collapsing, as the old texts describe it.
Inner practice
- What is neigong? An introduction: what the word 内功 (nèigōng) means and how it relates to Qigong.
- The three dantians: what the classical texts say: where the upper, middle and lower dantian lie in the classics.
- Jing, qi and shen: the three treasures of inner alchemy: three key words in plain language.
- Neidan, inner alchemy: an introduction for practitioners: Daoist inner alchemy, from its key texts to what it means for breath work.
- The triple burner: “a name but no form”: the san jiao in the classical medical texts, the long debate over its form, and its link to the sound xi.
- Ren, du and the microcosmic orbit: channels in medicine and inner alchemy: what medical and alchemical texts say about the two vessels and the “microcosmic orbit”.
- Guiding with the mind: yi, intention and visualisation in the internal traditions: what historical texts say about intention in breathing and movement practice.
History and lineage
- What is Qigong? An introduction: what the word 气功 (qìgōng) means and where the practice comes from.
- The Six Roots of Qigong: the Medical, Martial, Daoist, Buddhist, Confucian and Ethnic roots.
- Daoyin: from the Mawangdui chart to modern Qigong: “guiding and pulling”, from the oldest sources to today.
- The making of modern Qigong: Liu Guizhen, Tangshan and Beidaihe: how modern Qigong took shape in 1950s China.
- Health Qigong: how China’s standard forms were made: how the official forms were compiled, from official Chinese sources.
- Internal and external: neijia, waijia and the epitaph of 1669: where the idea of “internal” martial arts comes from.
- How neigong came West: Chia, Frantzis, Cohen and the English word: how the word and the practices reached English-language teaching.
- Zouhuo rumo: when practice goes wrong: what traditional texts and modern psychiatry say about inner practice going wrong, and their limits.
- Learning Qigong today: how to choose a form, a teacher and trustworthy information: a practical guide to finding your way in.
All Tradition & History articles, including Inner practice
Professor Zhang Guangde
All articles on Professor Zhang Guangde
- Who was Professor Zhang Guangde?: his life and career.
- The Twelve Daoyin Exercises: Zhang Guangde’s Health Qigong form: how the form was made and what its movements are called.
Qigong research
- Qigong and tai chi: what systematic reviews say: what the reviews report, the quality problems, and what is and isn’t supported.
- Who should be careful with breathing practices: when to talk to your doctor first, and the signs that mean stop.