The winter season has left most of us faced with a narrowed scope of choices for outdoor activities. For people who are repelled by the idea of hitting treadmills or bending bodies for yoga, Chinese qigong could be worth a try.

"Qigong is an easy and simple practice which takes a good care of one's spirit and body through the cultivation and rejuvenation of one's qi. It can be practised anywhere, anytime by any people," said Cao Manliang, founder of Beijing Heroes Wushu Club who is also a veteran qigong practitioner.

Born in 1952 in Beijing, Cao started practising the Chinese martial art (wushu) at the age of 11. He became skilful in the major martial art styles and also taijiquan (shadow boxing). In 1983, he began to learn qigong from master Zhang Yulin, which he called "a practice of the consummation of one's spirit."

A mystery-hued branch of Chinese culture, qigong has a long history that can be dated back many thousands of years in China. The earliest descriptions can be found in primitive records and more detailed interpretations in Buddhist doctrines, classics by philosophers like the Confucius and Laozi in ancient time also give mention.

The word qigong stands for qi and gong respectively in Chinese characters. The word qi means internal vitality, energy or life force while the word gong refers to cultivation, practice and refining. Qigong has been regarded as an effective measure for self-adjustment and healing through the meditation of one's spirit which results in a desired improvement of one's physical condition.

"In fact, the knowledge of qigong is so profound that it is unnecessary and impossible for ordinary practitioners to fully grasp it. To put it simple, qigong is a kind of self-determined exercise to better your spiritual and physical condition by tuning your visceral organs with the primary five elements Chinese philosophy believes exist in the real world while retaining a balance between the yin and yang," said Cao.

The qigong Cao teaches is quite simple for anyone, as long as they put their mentality in the right direction. Actually, Cao is reluctant to call what he demonstrates before students as teaching because he thinks one's own mentality plays an important role in qigong practice. "The ideal state for qigong practice is called wuwei, which means you do not have a specific desire, but instead let the natural reaction of your spirit and body decide your behaviour during the practice," he explained.

According to Cao, there are no particular requirements for people wanting to practise qigong as long as they are mentally healthy. Although he has trained thousands of people from home and abroad, he usually limits his class numbers to no more than 10 people.

"My teaching to new practitioners can be as short as several words and the rest of the cultivation is left for the practitioners to do themselves, anytime, anywhere as they want to. They don't have to be with me and follow every move I make every time," Cao said.

The club offers different training programs including wushu, taijiquan and qigong. People interested can visit its website www.qyclub.com.cn for details.

(China Daily 11/17/2005 page9)