Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/72093
uses various techniques—from vibration to deep-tissue work—to affect qi along the acupuncture meridians in the body. It is helpful to know that in China, qigong massage was developed for healing within the field of qigong. Yang says qigong, in fact, is defined as "any training or study dealing with qi that takes a long time and a lot of effort." Qigong involves learning about the way of qi, how to remove resistance from the qi channels, and how to increase the electromotive force in the body. In China, qigong includes the study of how our bodies relate to heaven qi and earth qi, Yang says, and it consists of the fields of acupuncture, herbs, martial arts qigong, qigong massage, qigong exercises, and qigong healing, as well as religious enlightenment. How, then, does one affect the qi in qigong massage? It starts with knowing the theory and experiencing the flow of qi in one's own body through practice of qigong. "If anyone wishes to get a deeper understanding and training of qigong massage, he or she should first understand the theory of qigong and its scientific interpretation," Yang says. A WESTERN PATH TO QIGONG MASSAGE Ed Litter, a massage therapist in Loveland, Colorado, was drawn to massage and qigong by an interest in qi, which he developed as a boy growing up in New Jersey. Like many boys, he was awed by martial arts practitioners and the mysterious powers they displayed in fighting and in influencing others. "I was fascinated by energy work," Litter says. "Before I even took karate, I read books on it, and I read about a martial arts expert who stacked up five cinder blocks and threw a punch downward and broke only the middle block. I was amazed. This guy was focusing the force of his punch to go through and not disturb two cinder blocks, and then burst the middle one. As a young man trying to assert myself in the world, I thought all sorts of glorified thoughts—I wanted to learn martial arts and be able to throw punches around corners, read people's minds, and liquefy people's innards with a thought!" "As silly as my thoughts of those martial powers sound, I think that my curiosity is what led me to study energy work as a healing modality," Litter says. He read widely about psychological journeys, healing, the power of human beings to heal themselves, and the underlying causes of injury, illness, and emotional problems. "I had this vague awareness that there are forces on the planet that we don't understand," Litter says. "And these ideas, as well as this love of rubbing people's muscles and getting them to feel good, came together, and it dawned on me that those were all incorporated into the field of massage." Acting on his epiphany, Litter enrolled in the Boulder College of Massage Therapy and found that half of its curriculum was energy work. "I loved it," he says. "I literally went to massage school to learn about energy work, and I learned about muscle massage, too." It is helpful to know that in China, qigong massage was developed for healing within the field of qigong. Celebrate ABMP's 25th anniversary and you may win a refund on your membership. ABMP.com. 91