SOARING Crane Qigong is the most popular qigong exercise in the world, practised in over 80 countries by more than 30 million people.

Its popularity stems from the story of the founder's miraculous recovery from a lung disease after spending eight years using a combination of qigong, meditation and traditional Chinese medicine to help cure the disease where western medicine failed.

"My lungs couldn't be operated on and western medicine didn't work. I had to turn to traditional Chinese medicine for a cure," said founder Zhao Jin-Xiang of China, who was here recently at the invitation of Persatuan Jasmani Hexiang Zhuang Malaysia.

"It was then that I started to read a lot of traditional medicine books and it was difficult because there were a lot of terms that I did not understand and had to refer constantly to other authoritative texts."

Zhao started learning and practising qigong in 1953. His health and vitality gradually improved and he was eventually cured of his lung ailment. Coincidentally, China faced an acute shortage of medical personnel after the Cultural Revolution and the government decided to implement qigong exercise programmes for the health of the general population.

Zhao's recovery had doctors, patients and friends excited and interested, and it was the beginning of the restoration of the people's faith in traditional exercise techniques once more.

Having recovered from his illness, Zhao sought to bring the benefits of qigong to the masses and started trials on seven of his closest family members and friends in 1980 with a specific routine of qigong exercises he had formulated after much research in the art of qigong.

Records were kept on the progress of each person and two months and 10 days later, the number of people who volunteered numbered 27, with everyone showing a 95.4% overall improvement in their health.

"I understand that meditating for eight years is not something everyone can do and it was important for me to make qigong exercise accessible to the average person," said Zhao.

He invented the steps of the Soaring Crane Qigong (SCQ) mimicking the movements of the Red Crested Crane. It is the simplicity of the exercise that captivates its many practitioners with only 52 steps to memorise in its five routines that can be completed in 30 minutes.

Explaining the workings of qigong, Zhao said the human body was kept healthy by the smooth flow of qi through meridians. In many people, these meridians are blocked because of stress, overworking and a poor lifestyle. SCQ became rapidly popular because it is easy to practice, with swift acquisition of energy (qi) and "clearance'' of these meridian channels.

The Chinese government approved SCQ for teaching to the masses after going through the figures and subsequently made it the official qigong exercise of China in 1982.

"I was informed by government officials that SCQ was picked as the country's qigong over other forms purely on its efficacy and merit. In addition, we do not compare or discredit other qigong forms," said Zhao.

"This is an important lesson because I have found out that many practitioners are now teaching qigong for a profit. I came up with the moves to help the masses achieve a healthier lifestyle, not to enrich a few people's pockets.

"By coming to Malaysia, I want to maintain the noble intention of spreading this exercise. I want it to be taught without prejudice."

The Persatuan Jasmani Hexiang Zhuang Malaysia was formed in 2003 with Datuk Jimmy Ng as chairman to provide a uniform administration for Soaring Crane Qigong enthusiasts.

In the Klang Valley, there are five teaching stations at Taman Sri Rampai Setapak, Section 14 Petaling Jaya, Taman Midah Cheras, Desa Primary School Kepong and Taman Wawasan Puchong.

For more information on the Soaring Crane Qigong, call Steven How at 012 382 8488.

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