Qi Gong--My I-Search Topic

For my I-Search research, I'm learning about Qi Gong, another form of ancient Chinese medicine.  My interest in herbal treatments, acupuncture, and Qi has lead me here, to Qi Gong. 

As I understand it so far, Qi Gong means "developing Qi."  While herbs and acupuncture needles are external stimuli designed to push the Qi around, Qi Gong has more to do with getting in touch with the power of Qi inside you and learning how to manipulate it yourself.  You do Qi Gong to yourself; there's no need for an expert (a herbalist or an acupuncturist, for example) to intervene.

Qi Gong is something that you practice daily.  It consists of a series of movements or exercises--but not "exercises" in the traditional, physical, rigorous sense.  Some of the exercises involve small, slight movements and postures; others involve different types of meditation.  It's NOT like yoga.  There's no stretching (well, hardly any) or vigorous training of muscles.  It's not about muscles; it's about Qi.  It's about getting in touch with the flow of Qi in the body and learning to concentrate in a way that will regulate this flow.

If you think of Qi as an energy flow, Qi Gong is a little easier to understand--a little.  The meditative portion of Qi Gong is all about learning to sense this flow of energy inside of us, and the more active portions are about intensifying this flow.  Think of Qi Gong as a way of putting the flow of energy (Qi) in our bodies into a state where it's functioning and flowing correctly.  Like a tune-up.

Like acupuncture, Qi Gong identifies specific points where the Qi is focused, and the practices of Qi Gong focus on these points.  However, whereas acupuncture involves many, many points, Qi Gong seems to only involve nine or so.

Next: How to practice Qi Gong.