Qi gong

Qi gong is a form of energy medicine.  Derived from Traditional Chinese Medicine, qi gong is practiced widely in clinics and hospitals throughout China.  Qi gong involves the coordination of various breathing patterns with certain postures and bodily motions. Qi gong exercises may contribute to the person's health in a variety of ways.  Among other things, Qi gong is said to reduce stress, enhance range of motion, and improve flexibility. The very fact that the practice of qi gong requires physical movement, contributes the person's overall level of health.  Qi gong may be taught as part of a traditional Chinese approach to health maintenance or as part of Chinese martial arts.

While most practitioners of conventional, Western medicine are likely to agree that qi gong exercises can help to improve and maintain health, they are unlikely to agree on the traditional explanation for how qi gong works.  In certain translations from Chinese, Qi means breath or to breathe, while gong means technique or work. Thus, qi gong literally means "breath work".   According to Chinese medicine,  the body has an energy field , known as qi, that is generated and maintained by the natural respiration of the body. Thus, the exercises that comprise qi gong are intended to harness the flow of qi and direct it to overcome illness.