Qigong styles can be as simple as swaying one's arms or counting one's breaths and as complicated as holding a difficult posture (such as sitting with legs crossed in the ‘full lotus position') for hours without blinking or imitating the movements of a wild animal. And there are lots of them. According to some statistics there are well over 100,000 chi kung's (or the ‘ways to practice life energy') in China today.
One of the main reasons why there are so many of them is because of the long history of Qigong. However, there are many other reasons too, such as: different styls have been devised for different purposes (Qigong can be, and often is, used in almost every aspect of life, making it not only easier but also much more enjoyable); different origins of the techniques (eg. Buddhism, Taoism, Confucian, Kung Fu, Chinese medicine) and many others.
To put things in perspective and make it easier to understand, let's compare the chi with iron or any other metal. We all have chi within our bodies like there is plenty of iron in the soil - but it has to be extracted in order to be used. So we first look for iron ore, then we dig it out, then process it until we get more or less pure iron.
And then we strike it until it is as sharp as a knife or a needle, press it into iron sheets and all kinds of shapes, pull it into wires, cut it into frames, twist it into springs...
Well, it is the same with chi. First we have to start practicing in order to activate it, then, using different techniques, we make it stronger (getting rid of many ailments in the process), then we press it, squeeze it, pull it, twist it etc. depending on what we want to do with it later on.
Did we mention that metals can be also used to produce cars and computers, planes and rockets? As well as conduct electricity, build weapons and satellites...
Well, now we are talking about high level masters of Qigong. What they can do with their chi is more like a ‘technology superhighway', as you can read in the section on Qigong Masters. And it is still evolving. New techniques are created almost daily, making them simpler, more effective, requiring less time to practice, and so on.
The following ten or so Qigong styles introduced here are some of the most popular and, at the same time, most powerful ones that exist in China today. Some of them were being kept secret for a very long time only to come out public in recent years while some others were indeed created not so long ago. However, even those ‘new' techniques are, without exception, all based on a solid foundation developed through thousands of years of diligent practice, constant improvement and being passed on from generation to generation.
Spontaneous Five Animals Play Qigong 
Imagine Reiki, Shiatsu, Kahuna, Rolfing, Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi and Spiritual Healing all rolled into one technique, tailor made to suit your individual needs. That is exactly what Spontaneous Five Animals Play Qigong is. It can treat a wide range of diseases, promote longevity and induce psychic abilities.
All one needs to do is focus one’s mind on certain acupuncture points on the body for a few minutes and the rest comes without having to consciously remember any steps or movements - making it a pure energy (chi) exercise.
The energy moves the body spontaneously according to each individual’s health needs. That means you will move your sore back or neck in the appropriate way for its recovery. You will find the right acupuncture points and apply Chinese massage on them without any knowledge of Chinese medicine, do spontaneous Reiki like energy healing and imitate some of the (or all) 5 different animals (tiger, bear, deer, crane and monkey) to get rid of your ailments.
Other spontaneous reactions that may occur during practice are: hitting, slapping, shaking, jumping, whistling, humming, laughing, crying, reciting mantras, doing Tai Chi and Kung Fu like movements and grounding (ie lying still on the ground for a period of time allowing the Earth pull negative chi energy out the practitioner’s body thus assisting the healing process). For more information regarding Spontaneous Five Animals Play Qigong, please refer to Qigong Chinese Health magazine – issue 1, page 10-15 or click on the link: Five Animals Play.
Sleeping Qigong
Sleeping Qigong is one of the most spiritual styles of Qigong. What that means is that, despite some gentle physical exercises practiced during the daylight, most of it is done at night in bed – mentally. Like all other Ruan (or soft) styles of Qigong, Sleeping Qigong is capable of treating various illnesses but, unlike many others, it can soon turn its practitioner into a high level psychic and clairvoyant. What it deals with, from the very beginning, are our hidden abilities disguised as dreams, intuition, sixth sense etc,. which we are all born with but, to many, they seem more like the most advanced computer programs without the instructional manuals. According to Sleeping Qigong the way to unlock that huge potential lies in our subconsciousness so, as long as we can establish a connection to it, the access to these hidden abilities is within our reach. Simply put, practicing Sleeping Qigong is not about building this most advanced computer because that would be impossible (God has already done that) but rather about finding the missing user manual.
Good thing about Sleeping Qigong is that, no matter how busy we are during our active day, and no matter what we do with our working schedule, we all have to sleep, and that is when most of it is practiced. Not only can you use that time to practice one of the most powerful styles of Qigong (up until recent years secret and only known to a few) but you can turn into a high level Qigong Master, psychic and clairvoyant without anybody ever seeing you practice anything. It can dramatically improve your health, your relationships, your business, your mood and even your sexual performance. It can completely change one’s life for the better. For more information regarding Sleeping Qigong, please refer to Qigong Chinese Health magazine – issue 2, page 10-15 or click on the link: Sleeping Qigong.
Fragrant Qigong
Fragrant Qigong is one of the biggest and most powerful styles of Qigong. It is a set of 15 simple arm movements that can be done either sitting or standing. It does not require any special breathing techniques or mind focusing and takes only 10-15 minutes to perform. During practice, one may smell amazing sweet fragrances, feel tingling, itchiness, hot or cold (all signs of chi energy rebalancing) and many chronic illnesses can be treated in the process, some as soon as after a couple of sessions. It is especially good for treating asthma, diabetes, ulcers, allergies, high blood pressure, skin conditions, hearing problems, migraines, depression, stroke and many other ailments. For more information regarding Fragrant Qigong, please refer to Qigong Chinese Health magazine – issue 3, page 10-15 or click on the link: Fragrant Qigong.
Walking Qigong 
Walking Qigong is best known in China as the ‘anti-Cancer Qigong’. For the last thirty years it has been widely applied in the treatment of all sorts of malignant diseases with very favourable results. Much more than just 'favourable' as a matter of fact. And it worked not only on cancer. There were tens of thousands of sufferers of other serious illnesses such as leukemia, lupus, nephritis, cirrhosis whose lives were spared and their health restored thanks to Walking Qigong. They are so confident in their results that Walking Qigong trainers will accept patients of any type of cancer and at any stage, as long as the person is able to stand on their two feet and walk (even if it is only a few steps at a time). They claim that there is still a realistic chance to conquer the disease and there are stacks of successful cases to prove it.
In China, Walking Qigong has not only been successfully used to treat malignant diseases, it also proved to be very effective in the treatment of many other, especially chronic, illnesses such as high blood pressure, rheumatism, hepatitis, allergies, heart diseases, as well as to significantly reduce negative side effects caused by western medical treatments such as due to chemotherapy, radiation, operation, damage caused by anesthetics, antibiotics, hormones… It is not often seen in the west that a treatment for cancer improves other, unrelated, conditions so that a patient with say lung cancer ends up not only getting rid of his cancer but also of his rheumatic heart, improves his digestion, sight and blood pressure… (it would more likely be losing all his hair, becoming bloated, constipated, fatigued and depressed, and after all that, the cancer still spreads elsewhere). Well, with Walking Qigong not only did many people get rid of their cancer but they got rid of many other illnesses along the way, to the point that some of them claim cancer was ‘the best thing ever happened to them’. For more information regarding Walking Qigong, please refer to Qigong Chinese Health magazine – issue 4, page 10-15 or click on the link: Walking Qigong.
Sight Improving Qigong
As its name suggests, Sight Improving Qigong is primarily used to treat all kinds of sight problems and eye conditions. So, apart from the most common problems like short sightedness, long sightedness and astigmatism, it has also been known in China to very successfully treat many other conditions of the eye such as conjunctivitis, glaucoma, early stages of cataract, detached retina, internal bleeding of the eye, atrophy of the optic nerve… It can even be used for some forms of blindness, including congenital ones, considered by all western medical standards as incurable!
Sight Improving Qigong combines both internal and external Qigong to treat disease. In other words, by practicing it, you rebalance internal chi and get rid of most energy blockages within the body. At the same time, by strengthening and accumulating your external chi energy, you can use your palms to project it into your own eyes to specifically get rid of any traces of energy blockages in that area. For more information regarding Sight Improving Qigong, please refer to Qigong Chinese Health magazine – issue 5, page 10-15 or click on the link: Sight Improving Qigong.
Weight Loss and Beauty Qigong
Weight Loss and Beauty Qigong – the name says it all! However, no sweating, no puffing, just sit and relax, and the kilos shed. Three special breathing/meditative exercises that effectively combat extra body weight and the problems associated with it. And it can do much, much more than ‘just’ improve your figure. It can dramatically improve the quality of your skin, hair, nails, stamina as well as treat many health conditions eg. high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, gastritis, chronic hepatitis… So, it is a top beauty therapy and an excellent health and longevity practice at the same time. For more information regarding Weight Loss and Beauty Qigong, please refer to Qigong Chinese Health magazine – issue 6, page 10-15 or click on the link: Weight Loss and Beauty Qigong.
Relaxation Qigong
Relaxation Qigong is one of the many static Qigong techniques that is simple, practical, can treat a wide range of illnesses, aid recovery from sports injuries, help with stress, insomnia, relieve pain, balance emotions. And the best part is - it can be done while sitting or lying in bed and involves no movements at all. In other words, it is a 100% mind exercise (in Qigong terminology “Jing Gong” meaning static style of Qigong as opposed to “Dong Gong” dynamic style) that requires minimum space, a little bit of concentration and can be practiced by anyone who is mentally capable, regardless of their age, sex, physical ability and fitness levels, making it a great exercise for the bedridden. For more information regarding Relaxation Qigong, please refer to Qigong Chinese Health magazine – issue 7, page 10-15 or click on the link: Relaxation Qigong.
Eight Strands of Brocade Qigong
Eight Strands of Brocade Qigong is one of the oldest Qigong techniques, dating back over 3,000 years. It is a dynamic set of eight special exercises, done very gently, with natural breathing and concentration, that promotes the flow of chi energy and blood, stretches the muscles, strengthens the joints and bones, improves coordination, flexibility, circulation, and is beneficial to all systems and organs – central nerve system, digestive system, respiratory system, urinary tract… Stress is on simplicity, repetition, relaxation, rhythm and harmony. For more information regarding Eight Strands of Brocade Qigong, please refer to Qigong Chinese Health magazine – issue 8, page 10-15 or click on the link: Eight Strands of Brocade Qigong.
Longevity Self-Massage (Sitting Eight Strands of Brocade Qigong)
Sitting Eight Strands of Brocade Qigong is also known in China as "Qigong Massage", “Bedside Eight Strands of Brocade” or “Longevity Self Massage”. It is a set of gentle self massage qigong techniques that cover the whole body, all major muscles and joints as well as many energy meridians and major acupuncture points. The First Strand of Brocade is known as “taking a dry bath” and consists of movements that imitate washing your body. It looks as if the person washes his arms, head, legs and body, but in reality, by using their palms and rubbing along those parts of the body, they clear the energy blockages within the yin and yang meridians (yin meridians on the inside and yang meridians on the outside of the limbs). Just look around and you’ll see that all the animals, small and large (from ants to tigers) do it all the time. Some do it with their tongue, some with their legs and some even use the tree or help each other.
The remaining seven strands of brocade, on the other hand, are designed to improve one’s sight, hearing, sinuses, teeth, digestion, back and sleep, thus include exercises and self massage techniques that cover the eyes, ears, nose, teeth and gums, belly, lower back and soles of the feet. And, of course, by improving the functions of all those systems and organs, one ultimately improves his/her stamina, memory, concentration along the way. For more information regarding Sitting Eight Strands of Brocade Qigong, please refer to Qigong Chinese Health magazine – issue 8, page 10-15 or click on the link: Qigong Massage.
Tai Chi Qigong (Shibashi)
Tai Chi is a martial art, Qigong is a life energy practice. Tai Chi Qigong is a style of Qigong that ‘borrowed’ its movements from Tai Chi Chuan so it is beneficial to both Tai Chi as well as to Qigong practitioners. This dynamic form of Qigong is a set of 18* gentle, slow paced movements that is not only attractive to practice but even to watch. Invented in the late 1970’s by Lin Hou-Sheng, a Qigong master from Shanghai, it is as popular in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia as is in China. In recent years, slowly but surely, it is spreading to other South-East Asian countries as well as to the west.
Tai Chi Qigong is very effective in loosening and strengthening muscles and joints, in reducing stress, energizing, uplifting, it gives a great workout without the need to do anything fast and strenuous, can improve coordination of movements and is generally beneficial to mind, body and spirit. If done regularly over a period of time (say months or, ideally, years) can bring many positive health results, even control the body weight.
* In Mandarin ‘shibashi’ means ‘18 movements’
Mobility Improving Qigong
As the name suggests, Mobility Improving Qigong is a dynamic form of Qigong that is specifically designed to improve one’s mobility, whether it is due to a sport injury, physical inactivity, arthritis or simply due to old age. It consists of 6 sets of 6 exercises each, targeting problem areas where pain, stiffness and other related symptoms most commonly occur. Such as the neck, shoulders, lower back, joints, tendons, soft tissue…
External Qigong
External Qigong is a common name for any Qigong techniques that enables its practitioner to project his/her chi energy to the other person(s) thus healing their illnesses or, when used in a fight, to temporarily paralyze the opponent. In other words, it is a sign of reaching a higher level of practice rather than practicing a specific style. Many great styles of Qigong can enable its practitioners to develop such ability too, eg. Five Animals Play Qigong, Sleeping Qi Gong, Fragrant Qigong, Sight Improving Qigong, to name only a few.
This particular style’s focus is to primarily develop wai qi (or the ‘external chi energy’) for healing purposes but, to do that, one has to first rebalance and strengthen his own nei qi (or the ‘internal chi energy’) and then, after at least a couple of years of daily training, can they start projecting it on to other objects and people. It is quite rigorous and demanding and is most suitable to young and physically fit (and above all very patient) practitioners. On average, it takes about four years of diligent daily practice of at least one hour at a time. Since one of its features is the so called ‘riding horse stance’ (ma bu) which is integral part of many Kung Fu styles, needles to say, it can be very beneficial to any martial artists as it can gradually take their skill to a high new level.
