Qigong (pronounced chee-gong) is an ancient Chinese exercise and healing method that involves meditation, controlled breathing, and movement exercises. It is an active way of connecting with one’s body, mind, and energy. “Qi” is a concept from traditional Chinese culture that means vital energy, breath, or spirit, and “qigong” means life force practice.

Qigong practice invites improved focus, meditation, and movement, which helps relax the body and mind. The benefits of qigong include all aspects of health:

• From a biological perspective, qigong helps loosen the fascia, soothe the nervous system, reduce muscle tension, and open the lymphatic system’s flow. 

• From the mental perspective, it increases one’s awareness and mindfulness. 

• From an emotional perspective, it can help decrease depression, increase relaxation, reduce anxiety, and decrease the fight/flight response. 

• From a spiritual perspective, it can bring peace and reconnection with vital energy. 

This course is for nurses who want to feel more confident in their ability to help people:

• experience relief from chronic back and neck pain

• improve their quality of life

• decrease their dependence on opiates

Nurses who work in medical-surgical units, doctor's offices, nursing homes, oncology, and community health will especially benefit by learning how back and neck pain can be relieved through qigong practice. 

• As Western medicine becomes more integrated with complementary and alternative modalities, it is the nurse's responsibility to offer holistic treatment plans.

• Qigong is an elegant modality that gives nurses and patients a safe, gentle alternative to using pharmaceuticals.

• Nurses can integrate this information into their practice and recommend the safest and most effective approaches for their patients suffering from chronic pain and stress symptoms.

Holistic nurses have been promoting stress-reducing modalities for decades and are now being seen as experts in this area. 

The American Nurses Association (ANA) believes that nurses have an ethical responsibility to relieve pain and the suffering it causes. According to the CDC, 20% of U.S. adults experienced chronic pain in 2016, while an additional 8% of U.S. adults suffered from high-impact pain. Those numbers are rising, and holistic nurses can find opportunities to teach complementary and integrative approaches within these patient populations.   

Holistic nurses enjoy a broad spectrum of options for treating pain, and one that is gaining attention is the practice of Qigong, a process of exercises from China. The translation of the word qigong means cultivating or enhancing the functional essence (energy) of a human being. 

People have practiced Qigong for more than 5000 years. Many studies document qigong’s efficacy in maintaining structural integrity, flexibility, and ease of movement. Qigong is a series of slowly orchestrated movements that focus on body posture, breath control, and meditation, drawing upon inner forces to create a focused, relaxed, and balanced state of being. Holistic nurses may enjoy learning qigong for their own benefit and for teaching this gentle, natural form of pain relief to their patients and clients. 

Brooke Benincosa, RN, BSN, teaches a series of Qigong movements that provide five physiological benefits for her patients, including:

• Physical benefits: Qigong can strengthen the five kinetic chains connecting the musculature within the body through the coiling and uncoiling of its twisting motions. These motions help decrease body toxins, lubricate fascia, increase hyaluronic acid, and increase blood flow to bone marrow. These benefits can help improve balance to reduce the incidence of fall-related injuries among the elderly.

• Mental benefits: Increased awareness and mindfulness.

• Emotional benefits: Decreased depression, increased relaxation, and reduced anxiety.

• Spiritual benefits: Qigong helps restore peace and inner balance because qigong incorporates meditation and harmony into the movements.  

Brooke Benincosa, BSN, RN, employs medical White tiger qigong to bring together breathing, mindfulness, and precise movement for wellness and disease prevention. Studies of those who practice qigong suggest increased immune markers and decreased inflammatory measurements in participant blood tests.

Among these benefits, the remediation of pain is one of its most potent. 

Nurses realize chronic pain is not “just in a patient’s head.” Addressing the mind-body connection through breathing and gentle movements gives a patient the ultimate control in his/her rehabilitation. Self-healing is not something we can do for our patients but requires shifting the burden to our patients in self-determinate ways. 

Holistic nurses find themselves uniquely positioned to teach and advocate for complementary, integrative, and holistic approaches to health for the whole person. The public will benefit when nurses suggest well-researched alternatives to pharmaceuticals for alleviation of pain.