The Path to a Tranquil Mind.(qigong)

Just off Beijing's main shopping street, Wangfujing, patients with every imaginable malady line up to see qigong doctors in the Hall of the Tranquil Mind clinic. Director Zhang Xiaotong first became a believer in the spiritual art after he was immobilized by three slipped discs. When a qigong doctor tapped on acupuncture points on Zhang's arms and legs to free up the flow of qi, or bioenergy, his pain subsided. "Qigong masters can't explain it. Modern science can't explain it," says Zhang. "Only Chinese medical theory can explain qigong's curative powers."

That theory holds that circulating qi energy through the body can not only restore health but also slow or reverse aging, as well as increase strength and mental acumen. As far back as the third century B.C., a Chinese medical canon called "The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic" described "regulating the flow of blood and qi, taking medicine while observing yin and yang, and calming the mind by relaxing the bones and muscles." Today China has hundreds of styles of qigong, exercises that combine elements of yoga, meditation, massage and martial arts to regulate breathing, mental activity and posture. Like yoga, qigong is intended to integrate body, mind and spirit, and its practitioners seek enlightenment as well as health.

Numerous studies aimed at determining the medical value of qigong have proved inconclusive. But that hasn't stopped the Chinese government from promoting the art as a low-cost health-care alternative-- especially now that the state is dismantling its welfare system and transferring health-care costs to citizens. Last month the government began requiring all qigong doctors to take a standardized national test--not ...