Qigong forms (Baduanjin, Yijinjing, Wu Qin Xi, Liu Zi Jue)

Domain X · Body, movement, breath & physical · China

What it is

This is not a single psychotherapy but a family of standardised, gentle movement sets that combine slow movement, breathing and focused attention. The Singapore Health Promotion Board describes Health Qigong as a "Mind Body Exercise" with three focus areas: posture and movement, breath, and…

Format

• Preparation (one or more therapy sessions): psychoeducation including the possibility of unusual sensations and how to stop (4.3); choosing the set and teacher (4.4). Move on when the client can name what they will do if they feel unwell during practice.
• Learning (a course of classes): learn the movements first and add breathing later; keep range of movement small at first. Move on when the client can follow a set without strain or distress.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Route B (therapist teaches): a psychotherapist who has completed recognised Health Qigong instructor training (a CHQA/IHQF-affiliated national association course, or in China the social sports instructor or exercise-prescription practitioner route) may lead a group using the standardised sets. IHQF-linked instructor training has been run as intensive multi-day courses with theory, Chinese medicine seminars, practice…
• How change happens, in the tradition's own terms: practice is said to regulate body, breath and mind and so to harmonise the flow of qi (气, often rendered "vital energy") through the body; the movement names themselves encode claims about organs, "heart fire" and the "triple burner" (see 4.5). These are concepts of Chinese medicine and Daoist-influenced self-cultivation, attributed to the tradition and not…
• Who holds teaching authority: in mainland China, Health Qigong is administered as a sport by the state sports authority. The 2006 Health Qigong Management Measures (《健身气功管理办法》, effective 20 December 2006; a departmental rule issued as General Administration of Sport Order No. 9) set ranks of social sports instructor (社会体育指导员（健身气功）) at national, first, second and third grade, conferred by sports authorities at…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• So et al. (2019), 7 studies meta-analysed: small effect on depression (SMD about −0.27); authors call for higher-quality studies.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• the same physical and psychological signs as with qigong. Working: enjoyable, safe routine.
• spacing out, emotional flooding, shame about being watched. Working: client is more present after the movement.
• overstretching, pain that persists after class, pushing range to "open" the body. Working: comfortable range, no lasting pain.
• freezing when touched, unreported discomfort, boundary violations. Working: client reports feeling in control of physical contact.
• client framing alarming sensations as spiritual achievement; fear-based avoidance after hearing the risks. Working: client can repeat the stop rule.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.