People of all ages can benefit from Qigong and there is no age, gender, religious or nationality discrepancy for learning.
Qigong simply means working with the energy in the body and balancing it to achieve optimal health and wellbeing. Regardless of where you are in life in terms of growing up or experiencing a wind down in years, keeping your energy balanced as much as possible is important to your overall health. Doing Qigong exercises helps your body adjust and balance the energy it comes into contact on an everyday basis, whether it be through the food you eat, the people you interact with, or the places you go to. These practices are important because from a Qigong standpoint, everything is energy but in different forms that are constantly changing.
Unlike working out too intensely at a young age, which may stunt growth in a child’s body, Qigong arguable aids in the development of a child’s learning and development, as it stimulates meridian centers throughout the body and helps them remain open. Interestingly enough, many Qigong practitioners and Chinese medical professionals have argued one of the main reasons why the brain cuts of ability to absorb languages naturally at a young age is that the corresponding meridian channels close as the body’s energy changes begin to clog following certain sages of muscle growth.
While this may be up for debate, one thing we have seen is how healthy kids remain at a young age from practicing Qigong. Some of the longest living Qigong practitioners in China who remained healthy and fluid throughout their whole lives such as Nan Huixin argued that starting from a young age will help the body’s natural process of growing as well as strengthen a child’s immune system, helping he or she fight off otherwise nasty illnesses that may cause a child to become ill. Qigong helps the immune system through stimulation of the lung and kidney meridian channels, and aids in blood circulation, all of which are important factors to remaining healthy.
Possible Dangers?
There has never been a documented case in China of Qigong negatively affecting a child’s growth, and in fact has been used in accordance with various herbs and remedies form Chinese doctors to help kids recover and prevent disease. However, it is important to find a qualified teacher that can explain and recommend a given exercise for a child just as is the case with adults to make the best of your practice.
When performing Qigong people almost always sweat. This sweat is generated form the pores opening up in the body, which when open are susceptible to being more sensitive to outside influence. Therefore, it is always recommended to do Qigong in an environment with as little wind possible, as cold wind especially when blown onto open pores can cause people to catch a cold. Many videos show people practicing Qigong outdoors, which is fine if the temperature is moderate and there is less wind, otherwise practicing indoors in a controlled environment is recommended.
Are there any Recommended Practices?
We highly recommend Spring Forest Qigong. If you are unavailable to practice in person at the organization’s main center in Eden Prairie, MN, we highly recommend seeking out one of the many associated trained teachers that exist throughout the US, Canada and many other places across the globe. Additionally, the organization provides a cheap, all inclusive practice video called SFQ Fundamentals that is equipped with guided exercises, meditations and a booklet filled with theory about Qigong.
To find more about medical studies on Qigong, Spring Forest has listed a whole page dedicated to the studies done on Qigong as well as the organization’s exercises specifically.