External-Qi Therapy: Theory and Application

Excerpt from “Chinese Qigong Outgoing-Qi Therapy” by Bi Yongsheng, translated by Yu Wenping,
published by Shandong Science and Technology Press, 1992

What is External Qi Therapy

1. Definition
Qigong therapy falls into two categories: internal Qi therapy and external Qi (WaiQi) therapy. The former, as the term may imply, refers to Qigong practice by patients themselves to keep fit or to cure their own illnesses, while the latter is the skill used to treat patients by emitting Qi.

The therapy requires the Qigong therapist to undergo a strict training experience of Qi, guiding Qi and emitting Qi to get his intrinsic Qi be substantial and to facilitate Qi circulation all over his body before emitting it toward the channels and collaterals, the points or a certain location of the patient’s body surface to activate the patient’s Qi, dredge the channels and collaterals, balanced yin and yang, regulate Qi and blood, readjust solid and hollow internal organs (Zang and Fu organs), replenish deficiency and purge excess, and eventually, cure the illness.

2. Characteristics

2-1 Treating Diseases by Regulating Qi
This is the main application of external Qi therapy. The therapist treats diseases by emitting internal Qi to regulate the patients’ Qi activity.

It is believed that the disorder of human body is mainly due to two factors: abnormal function of internal Qi and overmuch of evil-Qi. The former denotes inOld Taoistsufficiency, disorder or stagnation of internal Qi, while the latter the affects caused by pathogenic factors in terms of wind, cold, summer-heat, dampness, dryness, fire and turbid-Qi. So, the therapist can treat the diseases either by emitting internal Qi to patients to replenish vital-q, dredge his/her channels and activate his/her Qi activity in order to restore the normal function of each organs, or to guide the flow of the patients’ channel Qi and drive the evil Qi out of the body. Patients with pain in a certain location cannot be given a correct diagnosis as to the cause even by using biochemical or mechanical examinations, and it is a common case that the treatment with Chinese and Western medicine often fails. However, detection with external Qi method may tell where the stagnation of Qi is located and the treatment can quickly bring the disappearance of syndrome.

2-2. Verified Qi-emitting Methods
Many parts can be taken as Qi-emitting locations and a great variety of hand gestures may be used. Besides the commonly used palm or finger postures, Qi can also be emitted from places such as the eye, and the point Tianmu (around the forehead), Shanzhong (Ren 17). Dantian (the elixir field) and yongquan (K 1), etc.

2-3. Distant Emission of Qi
!n massage (Tuina), acupuncture, physiotherapy and surgical operation, treatment effect may have only when the doctor or device touches the body of the patient while with external Qi treatment diseases can be cured by distant emission of Qi toward the patient; and the therapist may not touch the patient’s body surface at all.

2-4. Requisite Competence for Emitting Qi
Bacpuzi Neipian carries such message as follows: The human being lives in a world of Qi and Qi exists in the human being; the Heaven, Earth and all the things in the universe cannot exist without Qi, all living person has Qi and everyone can practice distributing Qi.

However, emission of Qi needs rich experience in Qigong practice. As stated in Eight Annotations on Health Preservation – Records of Longevity and Disease Prevention that a person can distribute Qi to treat diseases only when he is versed in cultivation of Qi and can carry out embryo breath.

2-5 Wide Range of Indications
As the functions of the internal organs, channels, collaterals, bones, muscles and tissues of the human body are all closely related to the nourishment and the activities of Qi, those who gain Qi will live and those who lose Qi will die. Diseases of the human beings are no doubt closely related with the function of Qi. As a result, therapy through regulation of Qi can heal many functional and organic diseases or at least relieve the symptoms. This is why Qigong has so wide a range of diseases to be used to treat.

2-6. Satisfactory Curative Effect with No Side Effects
No much facilities and medical equipment are required for external Qi therapy. Instant curative effect may be achieved very quickly. More important, unexpected good curative results may frequently present in company in the treatment of some knotty cases. Much clinical practice for many years has proved that there is no side effect of the therapy provided that the diagnosis and Qi-emitting methods are properly administrated.

3. The Relationship between External-Qi Therapy, Massage (Tilina) and Acupuncture

Zhou Qianchuan, the eminent Qigong master and scholar in traditional Chinese medicine, says in his Qigong Diet Therapy and Deviation-redressing Techniques, “Definitely speaking, all the well-known masters and Seniors of acupuncture, bone-setting and massage or various generations gained consummate attainment in Qigong, or at least know something deep in Qigong.” These remarks are conclusions made on the basis of his rich experience and penetrating analysis of external Qi therapy theory.

No doubt, external-Qi therapy, massotherapy and acupuncture treatment are all important prevention and treatment means in traditional Chinese medicine.

In external Qi therapy, diagnosis or treatment of diseases is performed by the means of Qi-emitting, and its prominent feature lies in Qi-regulation; while in modern Chinese massotherapy and acupuncture, the treatment of diseases is carried out through massage manipulations and needl-puncturing and needle-manipulations, with its prominent feature lying in stren8th regulation. Both the brilliant masseurs and acupuncturists of the old days laid emphasis on practice of Qigong and on the combination of qigong with manipulations of massage and acupuncture. By combining Qi-regulation with strength-regulation in treatment. they raised the durative effect to a great extent and, this, according to Zhou Qianchuan, may be where the wisdom of the well-known masters of acupuncture, moxibustion, bone-setting, massage, etc. lies.