Students often ask me why we do certain movements in Qigong — what they’re for, how they work. While curiosity is natural, it’s not the most important part of the practice. Real transformation happens through consistent practice and direct experience, not through intellectual dissection.

The problem with a reductionist approach to Qigong

In the pop-culture landscape of spirituality and healing, there’s an excessive focus on the 'why' behind each form. This analytical approach — while useful in some contexts — is a very Western way of thinking. We’re conditioned to dissect, categorize, and explain. But Qigong isn’t meant to be understood in that way.

When I studied in China, there was very little explaining. No academic breakdown of why we were moving the way we did. It was all about watching, doing, and feeling. The wisdom was absorbed through experience, not through intellectual analysis.

Academia, derived from Plato’s Academy, was originally a sacred place dedicated to wisdom and skill — knowledge gained through practice, not just memorisation. True understanding isn’t a stack of facts but something that arises from deep embodiment.

It is Heartmind—a fusion of awareness, presence, and lived knowing.

Why understanding Qi matters

When we truly embody Qigong, its expression, experience and function shift. We’re not just performing movements — we’re engaging with the liquid crystalline light within us. We are cultivating and guiding our source energy, allowing it to flow through our meridians, our tissues, and every cell of our being.

Qi is life-force
Qi is light
Qi is consciousness
Qi is source

Through Qigong, we expand our capacity to hold light, embody higher consciousness, and step deeper into our true selves. We enhance the conductivity of our internal crystalline network, refining how our cells communicate—both within and beyond us.

So when we reduce Qigong to a set of physical shapes and forms, we strip it of its essence. The movements alone are just shadows of the real practice.

In esoteric traditions, it is said that the mystical cannot be understood through the intellectual mind. To grasp Qigong, we must unlearn the rigid ways we’ve been taught to acquire knowledge and instead cultivate understanding through embodied experience.

How Qigong works from a physical perspective

That said, it’s reasonable to seek an understanding of how Qigong functions as a natural healing modality. One of its most immediate and profound effects is its ability to regulate the nervous system.

The gentle stretches, fluid motions, and mindful presence create neural mobilisation, helping to release and lengthen the nerves. This can ease tension, increase circulation, and enhance the flow of blood, lymph, and Qi throughout the body. Many practitioners report sensations of spaciousness, warmth, tingling, or simply a greater sense of ease and vitality after practice.

Whether a movement is dynamic or static, whether muscles are engaged actively or passively, the practice mobilises Qi. Sensations of energy—shaking, warmth, lightness, pressure, or expansion—are simply the body's response to increased conductivity.

But ultimately, Qigong isn’t a reductionist therapy designed to target specific symptoms. The key isn’t in a singular movement or a prescribed sequence — it’s in the regularity of the practice. Any Qigong, when practiced with dedication, will cultivate transformation.

Qigong is everything you do

If you truly seek to optimize your energy and wellbeing, take a step back and assess where Qi is being nourished, stagnated, or drained in your life.

Qigong isn’t just a set of exercises—it’s the way you live. Reflection on the following areas is essential:

Nutritive Qi - food, beverages, water
Breath Qi - natural breathing, presence of dysfunction, complementary breath-work
Body Qi - biomechanics, posture, alignment, stance
Emotional Qi - healthy release, shadow-work, trauma healing
Mental Qi - detrimental self-talk, thought patterns, beliefs, ideas
Environmental Qi - home toxicity, climate compatibility, EMF exposure
Relational Qi - interaction with people, places, events
Nature Qi - immersion in the natural world; sunlight, mother-waters, clean air, trees, sand and soil.

Modern lifestyles, with their endless distractions and convenience-driven habits, often suffocate Qi. If you’re serious about building your energy and essence, you must be willing to step away from the busyness, the heavy energies, and the distractions that drain your life force.

Qigong isn’t just movement therapy. The physical practice is just one small part of the whole.

Simple changes in these areas enhance Qi:

Posture
Movement
Breath-work
Stillness
Presence
Service to others
Purposeful contribution
Connection to and stewardship of the natural world
Choosing actions that increase Qi and light
Tending to the garden of the mind

Qigong is simple

Once we understand this, we see how focusing solely on the purpose of an individual movement misses the point entirely. Qigong isn’t about performing the right shape — it’s about cultivating Qi, refining our essence, and embodying more of who we truly are.

Start incorporating these principles into your daily life, and the results will speak for themselves. The promise of Qi is simple: more energy, harmony, joy, and a deeper connection to all that is.

The only requirement? A sincere devotion to your own cultivation.

Ready to deepen your practice? Start with my latest Qigong mini-course, Natural Dao Qigong, or join the Yang Sheng Fa membership for access to an abundance of class recordings and guided practice videos. Cultivate your Qi, refine your essence, and step into your full vitality today.