Regular qigong  practice: combination of movement, deep relaxation, and breathing can improve strength and flexibility, reverse damage caused by prior injuries and disease, and promote relaxation, awareness, and healing. Qigong practice can range from simple calisthenic-type movements with breath coordination, to complex exercises where brain wave frequency, heart rate, and other organ functions are changed intentionally by the practitioner.

  According traditional Chinese Medicine, qigong stimulates and nourishes the body's internal organs by circulating qi. Qigong can break down energy blocks and facilitate the free flow of energy throughout the body, promoting blood and lymph flow and the even flow of nerve impulses necessary for proper health maintenance. Roger Jahnke, O.M.D., of Santa Barbara, California says, the overall benefit of qigong is to mobilize and harmonize the body's naturally occuring healing resource (known as qi in China). 

  Like acupuncture, qigong activates the electrical currents that flow along the meridian pathways of the body. According to Dr. Jahnke, qigong stimulates human bioelectrical conductibility. Dr. Jahnke explains that the human body has the ability to conduct an electrical charge. This affects the entire body, and it is responsible for maintaining the function of the organs and tissues. For example, one qigong exercise involves breathing regulation and deep relaxation while lifting the arms and rising upward on the toes. According to Dr. Jahnke, this exercise can help prevent tension headaches, constipation, insomnia, and other disorders by improving circulation of the cardiovascular and lymphatic systems, as well as modulating brain chemistry.

  In the United States, qigong is now being taught by qualified instructors at innovative hospital programs, at adult education centers, and in community fitness programs. Useful to young and old, and for people in any state of health, qigong is unique among fitness programs as it can be performed standing, walking, sitting, or lying down. Qigong exercises can even be performed by those confined to bed or a wheelchair.

  In a thorough overview of applied physiology and qigong research, Dr. Jahnke cites a number of current studies in which the following physiological mechanisms are enhanced by regular qigong practice:

• Initiates the "relaxation response" which decreases the sympathetic function of the autonomic nervous system (triggered by any form of mental focus that frees the mind from its many distractions). This decreases heart rate and blood pressure, dilates the blood capillaries, and optimizes the delivery of oxygen to the tissues.
• Alters the neurochemistry profile (neurotransmitters, also called information molecules, bond with receptor sites on tissue, enzyme, immune, and other cells to excite or inhibit their function) moderating pain, depression, and addictive cravings, as well as optimizing immune capability.
• Enhances the efficiency of the immune system through increased rate and flow of the lymphatic fluid.
• Improves resistance to disease and infection by accelerating the elimination of toxic metabolites (metabolic by-products) from the interstitial spaces in the tissues, organs, and glands through the lymphatic system.
• Increases the efficiency of cell metabolism and tissue regeneration through increased circulation of oxygen and nutrient rich blood to the brain, organs, and tissues.
• Coordinates right/left brain hemisphere dominance promoting deeper sleep, reduced anxiety, and mental clarity.
• Induces alpha and, in some cases, theta brain waves which reduce heart rate and blood pressure, facilitating relaxation, mental focus, and even paranormal skills; this optimizes the body's self-regulative mechanisms by decreasing the activity of the sympathetic nervous system.
• Moderates the function of the hypothalamus, pituitary, and pineal glands, as well as the cerebrospinal fluid system of the brain and spinal cord, which mediates pain and mood and potentiates immune function.