Qigong (pronounced Chi Kung) is an internal exercise that uses movement and breath control to manipulate the flow of Chi along the body's meridians. It is both a physical and mental exercise. Inwardly, it is taught to cultivate the Jing, the Chi and the Shen. Outwardly, it is practiced to build a strong and healthy body.

It has been established that Qigong stimulates the immune system and is favourable for the healing of inflamed and degenerated tissue. It has a calming effect on the nervous system and is therefore beneficial in the treatment of anxiety, insomnia and depression.
The practice of Qigong is like brushing your teeth or taking a shower. Since you wash your body everyday, why not wash your energy? Qigong washes, cleans and purifies your personal energy, just like taking a shower on the inside. The feeling of regeneration is evidence of a slowing down of the aging process. However, the real stakes are not just living to a totally ripe old age. It is to live as long as possible in the best conceivable physical shape, both inside and out, as well as in peak mental and emotional form. This is a challenge well worth everyone's time and trouble.

The History of Qigong

Toward the end of the 5th Century AD Ba Tuo, an Indian Buddhist monk, was traveling through China, teaching Buddhism, helping and guiding. His great wisdom and kindness became known to the Emperor who summoned Ba Tuo to come to him.
Exact details of what happened at this meeting is not entirely clear but is seems that Ba Tuo was offered a place in the palace and riches.  He was encouraged to continue his teachings. Ba Tao politely declined this offer and asked for a piece of land far away from any civilized place in the province of Henan on the side of the Song sang Mountain. He was given a large piece of land and resources to build a monastery in an area called 'Wooded Hill or Small Forest which translates to Sil-Lum in Cantonese or Shaolin in Mandarin.

A holy man named Bodidarma (later called Ta Mo by the Chinese) left his monastery in
Southern India to spread the Buddhist faith to China, later called Ch'an Buddhism, in about 539 AD. (Ch'an is the Chinese translation for the Sanskrit word "dhyana" meaning Yogic concentration, also known as Zen in Japanese to where it moved from China.). After wandering hundreds of miles to reach Northern China and crossing the Himalayan mountains and the Yangtze River, he journeyed North to Loyang, the capital of Henan Province.
There of course he discovered the Shaolin Ssu (Temple). It was 40 years after it was founded, and had become famous for scholarly translations of Indian Buddhist scripture into Chinese. Bodidarma sought entrance to Shaolin but the abbot at that time, Fang
Chang would not permit him entry into the temple (as many sought entrance for various reasons).
Bodidarma was determined to see the Shaolin Ssu. He waited in a nearby cave on the side of a mountain (this cave can be visited when in Henan/Shaolin as well as climbing to the top where a 40 foot Buddha is erected in honour of Ta Mo), where he sat in meditation facing a stonewall. From this event many versions exist including;
•    That he sat facing a wall for most of the next nine years at the end of which Bodidarma’s deep blue piercing eyes had apparently drilled a gaping hole in the cliff wall. (we did not find such a hole but we did find what seemed to be a permanent shadow)
•    That he fell asleep meditating and when he awoke, he was so distraught that he cut of his eye lids so that this would not happen again (but this would be against Buddhist teaching and he was a devote Buddhist!).
•    That he was visited by monks (initially secretly as they were interested in the 'foreigner') and was even supplied with food and water; and that he in this way was able to demonstrate his knowledge and skill of Buddhism to such a degree that he was finally admitted into the temple.
No matter which story you believe, it is clear that Fang Chang at some time relented and allowed Bodidarma’s entry into the temple Shaolin.
Upon gaining entrance to Shaolin, Ta Mo (as he was now called by the Chinese) saw that the monks were weak and could not perform rigorous meditation.  He expected that Buddhist Monks should be practicing more strenuously. While meditating they often fell asleep or were very restless and were not achieving inner calm.
He spent some time in seclusion thinking on the problem. Considering the amount of time and health awareness at the time, Ta Mo came to a staggeringly accurate conclusion, that the monks were not fit enough to meditate. With this in mind he created three treaties of exercises.
These in-place exercises were later transcribed by monks as:
a.    "The Muscle Change Classic" or "The Change of the Sinews,"
b.    "The Marrow Washing"
c.    "The Eighteen Hand Movements later named The Eighteen Lohan Shou (Lohan meaning enlightened)
They marked the beginning of Shaolin Temple Kung Fu (meaning hard work and perfection). Ta Mo later devised some self-defense movements based on his knowledge of Indian fighting systems (Bodidarma was born an Indian Prince and was well versed in Yoga and Indian Kung Fu).