Qigong

Qigong (also spelled qi gong or chi kung) is a Chinese practice of coordinated movement, breathing, and focused attention used for health, relaxation, and self-cultivation. It shares roots and principles with tai chi, and many practitioners use the two together as complementary training. This guide introduces the basic idea of qi, how qigong exercises work, and a few simple movements beginners can try today. See also our overview of tai chi.

What Is Qigong?

Qigong is an umbrella term for a huge family of Chinese exercises that combine gentle movement, breath regulation, and mental focus. The word itself breaks down into two parts: "qi" (often translated loosely as vital energy or life force in traditional Chinese thought) and "gong" (skill or cultivation developed through steady practice). So qigong literally means something like "working with qi" or "energy cultivation practice."

In practice, qigong ranges from very simple standing postures held for a few minutes to elaborate sequences of flowing movement. Some styles are medical qigong, developed within traditional Chinese medicine; others are martial qigong, used to build the body condition needed for arts like kung fu; and some are more meditative or spiritual in orientation. What unites them is the pairing of movement (or stillness), breath, and attention.

How Qigong Relates to Tai Chi

Tai chi and qigong are closely related but not identical. Tai chi is a specific martial art with its own forms, applications, and lineage history, built around principles like rootedness, yielding, and continuous circular movement. Qigong is broader and older, and many of the breathing and internal-focus principles found in tai chi were shaped by qigong theory.

A useful way to think about it: every tai chi form is, in a sense, a form of qigong in motion, but not every qigong exercise is tai chi. Many tai chi teachers use qigong sets as a warm-up or as a way to isolate a specific skill, such as sinking the weight or coordinating breath with movement, before layering on the more complex choreography of the tai chi form itself. This is why you'll often see "tai chi and qigong" taught side by side in the same class.

Understanding Qi and Breath

Qi is a foundational concept in traditional Chinese thought, generally described as the animating energy that moves through the body and connects it to breath, blood, and vitality. It is not a concept from modern biomedical science, and qigong should be understood as a traditional practice and a form of gentle exercise rather than a medical treatment.

Whatever view one takes of qi itself, the practical training in qigong is concrete: slow, low, diaphragmatic breathing paired with relaxed, unhurried movement. Beginners are typically encouraged to breathe through the nose, let the breath settle into the belly rather than the chest, and match the length of the inhale and exhale to the pace of the movement. This breath-movement coordination is the throughline of nearly every qigong style.

Core Principles of Qigong Practice

Most qigong exercises share a small set of underlying principles regardless of style or lineage:

• Relaxation: Joints and muscles stay soft rather than tense, including the shoulders, jaw, and hands.
• Upright but easy posture: The spine is lengthened without stiffness, the head balanced lightly on top of the neck.
• Slow, even breathing: The breath is smooth and unforced, never held or strained.
• Focused but calm attention: Awareness stays with the breath, the movement, or a specific part of the body.
• Consistency over intensity: Short, regular sessions build skill more reliably than occasional long ones.

Simple Qigong Exercises for Beginners

You don't need special equipment or a lot of space to start. These are a few widely taught, beginner-friendly qigong exercises that pair well with early tai chi study:

• Standing meditation (zhan zhuang): Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees softly bent, arms rounded as if holding a large ball in front of the chest. Hold for one to three minutes, breathing slowly and keeping the shoulders relaxed.
• Eight Pieces of Brocade (baduanjin): A classic set of eight simple, repeatable movements, such as reaching overhead or drawing the bow, each one linked to a breath cycle. It's one of the most commonly taught qigong exercises worldwide because it's short, structured, and gentle.
• Belly breathing in stillness: Seated or standing, place a hand on the lower belly and breathe so the hand rises on the inhale and falls on the exhale, without moving the shoulders.
• Cloud hands (a shared tai chi and qigong movement): A slow, weight-shifting side-to-side movement with the arms circling gently in front of the body, often used to link breath and motion before practicing tai chi form.

Beginners generally get the most benefit from practicing a small number of movements consistently for five to ten minutes a day, rather than trying to learn many forms at once.

Read more in our main guide to tai chi, or explore benefits of tai chi and tai chi moves and forms.

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