Conference-demonstration in person and live on the museum's YouTube channel

The body-mind ancestral practices (Qigong) of Chinese Medicine and the martial arts share two fundamental concepts: Qi and strengthening (of the body).  Chinese medicine uses special methods of body-mind practices to cultivate the "positive Qi (breathing/energy)” of the body, strengthening the organism and preventing and treating illnesses. On the other hand, every posture and technique in the martial arts is based on the search for strength.  The goal of Qigong in Chinese medicine is to reach a profound level of relaxation and calm. The key elements in its training are learning to regulate the mind, Qi and form, using intention but not strength.  Starting in the 1980s, western countries began to take notice of the ancestral practice of Qigong. In Germany, Qigong was added to the national healthcare system. In the United States, the NIH (National Institutes of Health) finances fundamental scientific research and clinics on Qigong each year. Qigong has gained ground in fields where modern medicine tends to demonstrate its limits, such as depression, hypertension, diabetes, fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s Disease, lower back pain, chronic fatigue syndrome and cancer.