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Qigong taking off as UK seeks a better lifestyle
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DRESSED in bright yellow uniforms, 14 children from England’s Fibbersley Park Academy were performing baduanjin, the ancient movements of Chinese qigong, together with nearly 300 adult competitors at the opening ceremony of the Third European Health Qigong Games.
After one year of practice, these future qigong stars, aged from 6 to 11, were invited to demonstrate their knowledge and practice of qigong at the EHQG, which was launched this week at the University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield.
Rheeya, 11, says that she was lucky to be selected to join the qigong club at school and she now likes practising it every day by herself at home.
“Because it’s very fun and it’s very slow. It’s a great thing to do,” she says. “I want to learn lots more and become better at it.”
The children’s qigong instructor Nicola Day, a member of the British Health Qigong Association, has started to bring qigong, a holistic system of coordinated body posture, movement and meditation, into the UK school curriculum one year ago when she began teaching the ancient Chinese health practice once a week at Fibbersley Park Academy.
“As a teacher I have noticed that the children in the UK are becoming stressed by school work and life in general,” she says.
“Many children and adults now spend a considerable amount of time in the day gazing at electronic screens of phones and tablets and much less time interacting with other people face to face.”
“The UK education system is also putting pressure on the children to be successful in national exams. I know that through the practice of qigong and mindfulness, the balance of social interaction, fitness, stamina and mental health can be redressed.”
Day, a middle school music teacher, first encountered tai chi and qigong during her time at university in 1980s and immediately fell in love with Chinese martial arts. Fully aware of the healthy benefits of qigong, she wanted to seek a school that would give her the chance to prove the impact of qigong practice on young students.
Long-term advocate
Li Hui, chair of the BHQA, says the association, established nine years ago focusing on training of professional qigong instructors in the UK, has seen increased number of Europeans who are interested in learning more about the benefits of this ancient Chinese healing system.
A long-term advocate for the dissemination of traditional Chinese culture, Li has trained thousands of tai chi and qigong enthusiasts and instructors all over the UK and Europe. Her group started research and cooperation two years ago with an National Health Service hospital in Nottingham to train the therapists about how to use qigong to deal with chronic fatigue syndrome.
Oliver Darkow, vice president of the Swiss Health Qigong Federation who led his team to the third EHQG, also believes in the healing effect of qigong.
“I think it’s so amazing. I started practicing health qigong three years ago and now still do it in Switzerland,” he says.
“It is very good because I feel healthier. I really appreciate that I can concentrate and focus and be more in harmony with myself,” he says.
He adds that qigong also made him become more interested in Chinese traditional medicines and sports culture, and his qigong team is planning to go to China next year.
About 300 participants from 20 countries and regions, including France, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Greece, Canada and Sri Lanka as well as China, gathered at the Third EHQG and also a scientific symposium on health qigong hosted by the BHQA.
Suzy Harvey, High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, says she hopes the seven-day event will promote cultural exchange and encourage people of all ages to embrace qigong for health, fitness and personal growth.
Xiang Xiaowei, an official with the Chinese Embassy in London, calls health qigong “a gem of Chinese culture.”
“It is not only the most ethereal embodiment of Chinese health culture accumulated through history, but also serves as an alternative solution to the health issues we all face today.”
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