Chi Neng is a meditation in moving.
To be healthy one must exercise regularly. Like the traditional Eastern yoga techniques, the Chinese Chi Neng is a very effective approach to getting exercise. Practiced by roughly100 million Chinese, Chi Neng is a type of moving meditation stemming from the classic Chi Gong. Chi means life energy and Gong stands for daily exertion. Chi Gong teaches you how to use your life energy in daily life.
Chi Neng was developed by the Chinese T’ai Chi and Chi Gong master and doctor Pang Ming. Not only is Chi Neng extremely effective, but it is simple and can be learned in one day. It takes very little time and can be practised anywhere. The simple movements, which are executed very slowly and to perfection, evenly distribute the body’s energy and have the effect of an inner massage. As a preventative measure, 15 to 20 minutes a day will produce considerable and immediate results. The effect of Chi Neng can be compared to an acupuncture treatment, which opens all your meridians (energy paths, ed.). Symptoms disappear, because they are often linked to an uneven balance of energy in the body. People with a headache, for example, have too much energy in their heads. Cold hands and feet disappear fairly quickly, as does back and neck pain and all kinds of other complaints. People with ME, a variety of fatigue symptoms, arthritis and rheumatism, also find relief.
To prove that Chi Neng also helps those with serious illnesses, in 1988 Pan Ming founded a hospital – the Huaxia Zhineng Qigong Center – that only works with Chi Neng. The results were spectacular: 95% of the patients experienced considerable improvement. In 1992 the first batch of statistics covering 7,936 patients were published. Of this group, 15.2% were fully recovered, 36.68% were nearly symptom-free and 42.09% showed a significant improvement. In 1998 the results were even better. A total of over 200,000 patients were treated for 180 different diseases. Over a period of eight years, Dr. Pang Ming documented 10,000 cases in detail. Afterwards his aim was simple: ‘We’re done. Now we can go and tell the world that we exist and spread the news about the advantages of Chi Neng.’ Unfortunately, things turned out differently. Despite the fact that a number of instructors in various countries are actively teaching Chi Neng, including Patricia van Walstijn in Europe, the hospital was closed. Since the emergence of the feared Falung Gong large gatherings are no longer allowed. There are, however, several smaller centres where Chi Neng treatment is still offered.
Every month, around 5,000 new patients came to Pang Ming’s hospital where they were completely screened, including sonograms, scans, cardiograms, blood tests, and the like. The diagnosis for most was very poor as many terminal patients came seeking treatment. After they were admitted, they spent a month doing nothing but Chi Neng, in many cases for eight hours a day – no television, newspapers or telephones. Those who could stand, did the exercises standing, while those who could only sit, did them in a chair or lying on their bed.
After a month they were tested again and a large percentage appeared to have been cured from their serious illnesses, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, paralysis and depression. The doctors called themselves teachers, so as to distance themselves from the traditional doctor-patient relationship and to point out to their ‘students’ that only they could heal themselves and that they should not be dependent on doctors. The doctors only intervened in acute emergencies. Their primary role was to diagnose.
