The Effect of Nourishing Qigong Practice on Physical and Mental State Changes: Using the Nourishing Qigong, Nei Yang Gong Dong Gong, Yi Jin Xing Qi Fa

Nourishing qigong is a body exercise which includes slow body movements or keeping the stable posture with one’s own respiration. It gives practitioners mental health, a sense of well-being, and balance of the autonomic nerve system as well as physical strength. Nei Yang Gong was developed as a nourishing qigong system about sixty years ago. The Nei Yang Gong system is comprised of three elements, Jing Gong (quiet work), Dong Gong (moving work), and Bao Jian an Mo Fa (protect health press rub method) according to the official website of The National Medical Qigong Hospital and Training Centre (http://www.neiyanggong.us/index.html). We focused upon the intermediate level moving work called Yi Jin Xing Qi Fa. According to the website above, Yi Jin Xing Qi Fa enhances strengthening the muscles and regulating the flow of qi (natural energy) around / inner the body. In this report, we are going to demonstrate the effect of Yi Jin Xing Qi Fa practice on physical, mental, and spiritual state of a qigong practitioner. We quantitatively analyzed the first author’s backbone skewness and body balance comparing before and after a 2-year qigong practice. Furthermore, by the technique of research with the first person’s view, which is recently used in the field of embodied knowledge research, we qualitatively analyzed awareness of body movement and qi sense change. We obtained suggestive findings as follows. First, the body continued to move as if flowing compared to two years ago when the exercise was started. Second, the author’s backbone skewness has been decreased consequently the mid-spinal-line was aligned with the gravitational axis. Third, the magnitude of body sway was decreased more than practice was started. Fourth, hyperacusis and tinnitus were moderated and became less than before the qigong exercise. Fifth, the fluid motion of the body was related to the respiratory pattern. Sixth, the impression of timeless (time stopping) seemed to be related to increasing the clear sense (vivid visualization) of qi flow. In this presentation, we discuss these findings from the viewpoint of oneness that awareness, qi energy, and physical power merge together (yi qi li heyi), which is emphasized in learning Yi Jin Xing Qi Fa.