Qigong exercises, like all exercises, are beneficial for musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health. Certain exercises are similar to other flexibility and stretching methods, except that when done the Qigong way, the qi also helps to improve the range of movements, and correct any misalignments in the joints and skeletons.
The hard Qigong exercises build strength and stamina beyond that possible with ordinary physical training. Superb cardiovascular fitness is also achieved through this rigorous and disciplined art. Those practicing hard Qigong are often muscled and lean, and are excellent specimens of health. They are unlikely to suffer from the usual chronic problems like heart attack, stroke, hypertension and diabetes.
Qigong exercises have also been shown to increase the body’s ability to use more of the available oxygen. This probably contributes significantly to the ability of Qigong to reverse cancer in so many people. We know that cancer cells do not thrive under oxygen-rich conditions, and that cancer itself may be a result of chronic oxygen-deprivation. Combined with the yet-unexplained effect of qi, the healing effect of oxygen becomes more formidable.
In previous articles, I explained how qi is like the battery-energy that is necessary to start the car ( giving “life” to it ) whilst the energy from food ( the “calories” you eat ) is akin to the fuel or petrol that your car needs. Oxygen is essential for combustion of fuel, and a higher level of oxygen means more efficient and cleaner combustion. So, any increase in the oxygen utilization by the cell means that the metabolic processes in the cell can proceed more efficiently.
OXYGEN = LIFE
Oxygen is so essential for life, and is the most acute requirement to sustain it. Just several minutes of oxygen-deprivation can cause irreversible brain damage, as well as damage to other organs too. To put it squarely : ” Without oxygen, we could not have this grand experience called Life ” ( Tonita d’Raye ). Thus oxygen is the foundation of Life and Death.
We require oxygen at all times as 90% of our metabolism depends on aerobic respiration ( oxygen-dependent cellular energy-production ).
LACK OF OXYGEN = DISEASE
Some scientists view aging and most disease processes as being ultimately due to the lack of adequate amounts of oxygen necessary for cellular energy production, which in turn leads to cellular degeneration.
Based on this, then “All chronic pain, suffering and diseases are caused from a lack of oxygen at the cellular level”. ( Arthur C Guyton, MD, world-famous physiologist and author ).
We also know that the top killer in our society is heart disease, and that a heart attack occurs when there is insufficient oxygen supply to the heart muscles.
As mentioned above, lack of oxygen is also an underlying factor in cancer. Two-time Nobel Laureate, Dr Otto Warburg, stated that cancer develops when the normal aerobic cellular respiration is replaced by an anaerobic one ( without oxygen ).
With all the above roles of oxygen, it is a pity that we are actually facing a slow but sure decline in the oxygen content in the air that we breathe. This is mainly due to our continuous raping of the forests that produce oxygen through photosynthesis, and the pollutants from our factories. The industrial pollutants have also heavily contaminated our rivers and oceans, and suffocate the creatures living in them.
DEPLETION OF EARTH’S OXYGEN
| atmospheric Oxygen | |
| o DINOSAUR AGE o OLDEST FOSSILISED AMBER o PRE-INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION o 1900’s Year 2000 : o UNPOLLUTED CITIES |
50 % 38% 32 % 24 % 20% |
Already in some industrial cities in South America, all babies born in the hospitals have to be given oxygen due to the poor air quality. At the rate of depletion of 0.5% per decade, the worst of these cities will be down to the lowest level necessary for survival about 60 years from now. Then everyone has to walk around carrying an oxygen tank, just like many now carry their own drinking water-bottles everywhere they go.
AIR QUALITY (POLLUTION) INDEX
The outdoor Air Pollution Index (API) has been consistently in our country especially in the last decade. It is usual now to live in KL and see the Twin Towers blurred by the haze. Sometimes you cannot even see 100 meters ahead clearly.
When the haze is bad, many opt to stay indoors. Unfortunately, if there is no air treatment equipment being used, the air quality indoors can be many times worse. So we see more and more cases of health problems – eyes, nose, throat, headaches, dizziness, fatigue and chronic lung diseases (eg. asthma). For many, it now takes weeks to recover from a simple cough & cold, when it used to take only a few days.
SYMPTOMS OF OXYGEN DEFICIENCY
Since oxygen is so vital to life and health, its lack will lead to a myriad of health problems, including the following: fatigue, circulation problems, poor skin appearance, poor digestion, poor sexual function, muscle and joint aches, dizziness, depression, poor attention and memory, irritability, breathing problems, poor resistance to infections, frequent and prolonged coughs and cold, premature and accelerated aging, chronic/degenerative diseases, poor recovery from diseases, heart disease, stroke, auto-immune diseases, intractable diabetic wounds, cancer, and even death.
INCREASING OXYGEN INTAKE
If our overall health is so dependent on adequate oxygen intake, then obviously increasing oxygen will improve health. In other words, we also need oxygen supplementation! Increasing the quality and oxygen content can be done by various methods mentioned in an earlier article. Doing aerobic exercises will increase air intake, but be sure to exercise where the air is clean and oxygen-rich. As explained above, doing Qigong and other mind-body exercises will increase the utilization of oxygen.
The role of oxygen contained in water is very much underestimated. Although our main source of oxygen is that absorbed by our lungs, the oxygen in the water that we drink also matters, as it nourishes the friendly bacteria in our intestines ( friendly bacteria require oxygen ) as well as act as a reservoir for the body. Water makes up 50-60% of our body ( less with age ) and certainly the oxygen contained in this major body component is important. Many studies have shown the health benefits of drinking oxygenated water. Communities like the Hunza of northern Pakistan, who live where the air and water are fresh, clean and oxygen rich, are relatively disease-free and are known for their longevity.
OXYGEN CONTENT IN WATER
The quality of water can be determined according to various criteria – purity, sterility, acidity, oxygen content, energy content, and wetness. I have been testing the oxygen content of various water sources and the results are as follows ( in mg/l ) :
TAP WATER ~ 3.0 – 4.5
DISTILLED WATER ~ 5.5
RO (REVERSE OSMOSIS) WATER ~ 6.0
VITALIZED RO WATER ~ 7.5
BOTTLED OXYGENATED WATER ~ 7 – 15
OXYWELL FRESH OXYGENATED WATER ~ 60 – 90
The tap water O2 content varies with localities. Distilled water is of course the purest water, but the boiling removes some of the oxygen. However, you can see that pure distilled water still retains more oxygen than impure tap water. So tap water is more “dead” than distilled water. RO water is the next in purity and sterility, and has a higher oxygen content than distilled water.
Two brands of bottled oxygenated water were tested. They claim to retain the added oxygen ( though decreasing with time ) reasonably until the expiry date. However, for one brand, the test shows only an increase of less than 20% in oxygen content at a price of 4 to 10 times that of bottled RO water. And RO water can now be purchased at 20 cents per liter from roadside dispensers.
It is very difficult to retain oxygen over more than several hours. It’s best to make fresh oxygenated water if you really want the benefits.
Vitalized water is made using a magnetic water treatment system which spins the water into a vortex, energizes the water, and changes its molecular structure ( to hexagonal, micro-clustered crystals when frozen ). This has been shown to enhance the healing properties of water. The spinning vortex also oxygenates the water. Since this is a home device, the oxygen content is still high when consumed ( drink within five minutes ).
Fresh oxygenated water can be made using a special flask ( Oxywell ) equipped with a head that releases pure medical-grade oxygen from a mini oxygen cartridge. The freshly made oxygenated water should be consumed immediately after being released from the flask ( comes out with bubbles like the fizzy drinks ). This has the highest oxygen content.
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