There are so many different types of exercise and meditation out there that it’s hard to determine which is the best for your particular needs. Because of that, it’s important to take a look at what’s going on and what the differences are between all of the different types of exercise and meditation plans.

In this article, we’re going to take a look at Qigong and how it can play a role in assisting those who are looking for help with their fibromyalgia symptoms.

What is Qigong and What Is Included In It?

Qigong is a practice from ancient China that has had a lot of significance in recent years. Basically, Qigong is the practice and the refinement of your Qi (some people say or write this word as “Chi.”).

The Qi is the center of yourself, who you are, your essence. The thing with Qigong is that it helps you to get to the center of yourself, by allowing you to be more in touch with yourself and who you are as a person, while making sure that your entire self is being taken care of as it should.

There are a lot of things that you can do as a part of Qigong. Breathing exercises are at the core of it – these exercises are meant to help you center yourself and have control over the energy around you.

Breathing in and out has a number of benefits, many of which we have discussed in other articles. These include relaxation, anxiety reduction, concentration improvement, and more.

Many people don’t actually know how to breathe correctly, and because of that, the brain and the rest of the body are not getting what they need in order to function at their fullest potential. And, as you likely know, you need to be at your fullest potential to deal with chronic illness and other similar problems.

Another part of Qigong is exercise. In some ways, Qigong is similar to yoga. It’s about stretching out your body and meditating, which results in a general feeling of control.

You want to center yourself, and the motions of your body help you to do so in a healthy wan that allows you to feel at peace with yourself and with the world that is all around you. Now, granted, this isn’t the only area of exercise.

Walking, lifting, and other types of exercise can be integrated into it as well, as long as you are maintaining that feeling of centering yourself as you do it.

Some people will do Qigong once a day – other people, especially those who are looking to get more relief from their symptoms and need a little more help in order to do so – will practice more often, as many as 3 times a day.

Since Qigong is low impact, it’s incredibly healthy to practice it this often, thus making it really beneficial to anyone who has the time and the ability to do it multiple times a day. You can switch up how you’re doing it, or you can repeat the same sequence every time you go through your exercises.

All that being said, Qigong isn’t just one thing. You don’t just fit everything into this little box and say that it’s Qigong. It’s very personalized, and you will find some things that work for you and other things that you dislike and/or don’t work for you at all.

Like most forms of meditation and spirituality, there are literally thousands of forms of it. There are almost as many ways to practice Qigong as there are people who practice it on a regular basis.

Therefore, you will want to make sure that you work with someone in order to learn the techniques of Qigong and so you can move forward with it however you wish.

How Can Qigong Help Fibromyalgia Symptoms?

While looking at what we discussed above, it’s actually pretty simple to see what Qigong can do for those who are struggling with the symptoms and pains of fibromyalgia.

Since mental health is such a big part of what is going on with fibromyalgia, Qigong can really play a huge role in helping you to feel a lot more secure in your mental health. Anxiety and depression symptoms can both be alleviated by practicing Qigong.

But, that’s not all. Breathing exercises, especially those with Qigong, have been shown to help relieve stress and it can also help your mind to be clearer.

Breathing exercises also help more oxygen to be distributed all over your body, and not just to your brain, which means that your circulation is better.

This, in turn, helps to reduce pain and swelling throughout your body, which can also play a role in helping you to move around more easily.

Qigong can also just give you a better sense of well being as well. If you suffer from fibromyalgia, it can really cause you to struggle with your self esteem, or you may feel as if you don’t really “feel well” at all.

Qigong can help you find your worth and give you a feeling of stability, which can go leaps and bounds in helping you to feel better a majority of the time. This, in turn, also gives you a bit of hope and will make you more likely to follow through with other types of therapy and treatment you may be in.

Exercise and meditation have always been a big part of fibromyalgia treatment, and Qigong is just another way for you to find the relief that you have been looking for.

Fibromyalgia treatment comes in many forms, so you may have to experiment before you find the one(s) that fit what you’re looking for and what you need in order to have relief from your symptoms.

Your doctor can recommend types of therapy to you and give you guidance about possible ideas that you can utilize for your relief, whether it’s at home or during therapy.

Further reading:

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/WBL02312/Qigong-Eases-Fibromyalgia-Pain.html

http://www.cortjohnson.org/blog/2014/04/10/the-best-exercise-fibromyalgia-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-laurie-hope-qigong/

http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/fibromyalgia_qigong.html