HYGIENIC EXERCISES
Ch’i-kung Chin., roughly “working the energy” (ch’i); physical exercises important in Chinese medicine. These health exercises combine Buddhist and Taoist elements and cover a wide range of practices, such as techniques for regulating the body, the mind (by reducing and quieting thought activity), and the breath (e.g. t’u-ku na-hsin); movement exercises (e.g., t’ai chi chuan and tao-yin), self-massage, etc.
In a wider sense the various martial arts (wu-shu) are also a form of ch’i-kung. Instructions for performing certain basic ch’i-kung exercises can be found in Zoller 1984.
Ch’i-kung exercises are usually classified as either active (tung-kung) or passive (ching-kung). The former are performed while standing, sitting, or lying down and are aimed at relaxing the body, regulating the breath, and turning the mind inward. They are also known as inner exercises (nei-kung). The active exercises consist of sequences of physical movements of the body and with which the consciousness and breath of the practitioner have to be coordinated. They are also known as outer exercises (wai-kung).
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Books on Ch’i-kung