Generally speaking, Qigong has three variations: martial, medical, and spiritual. They are all based on the Chinese Medicine perspective of the body and are used for building the capacity for and working with Qi, but they have different purposes. Martial Qigong focuses on power, agility, and endurance. Spiritual Qigong is for spiritual evolution and transformation. Medical Qigong is used for healing oneself and others. Qigong for oneself is often just called ‘Qigong’ or ‘Health Qigong.’ When a practitioner uses Qigong on another person, this is called ‘Clinical Qigong’ or ‘Medical Qigong.’

It depends on how energy healing is defined. This link provides a definition of energy healing that does align with Medial Qigong. The site also provides a good overview of energy healing that is generally applicable to Medical Qigong.

There is no fixed prescription for how many sessions are appropriate for a person to receive. This depends on the person’s interest in pursuing healing with Medical Qigong and the practitioner’s assessment of the nature of the energy imbalances to be treated. For general wellness, monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly sessions may be appropriate. For more intense work for specific symptoms, weekly sessions for 6-8 weeks may be appropriate.

In most cases, Medical Qigong sessions serve as a complementary healing therapy to Western medical care. The practitioner can advise you on your particular situation. It is also advisable to discuss any complementary health care, including Medical Qigong, with your doctor(s).

The practitioner can advise you on activities you can do between sessions to support the energy work you received in a session. These activities are often Qigong methods for self-healing that can involve meditation, breathwork, visualizations, or gentle movements.

During a Medical Qigong session the practitioner provides an overall cleanse and boost to a person’s major Qi systems. For each system, the practitioner purges excess Qi, tonifies deficient Qi, and then harmonizes the Qi. The particular manipulation methods the practitioner uses in a session will vary based on the practitioner’s assessment of the client’s Qi.

Both Medical Qigong and acupuncture are Chinese Medicine healing modalities. (Other Chinese Medicine healing modalities include herbs, massage, and diet.) All Chinese Medicine healing modalities are based in the Chinese Medicine conception that Qi (life-force energy) circulates throughout the body and plays a critical role in mental, physical, and spiritual health. Healing, in Chinese Medicine, is about correcting Qi imbalances that are interfering with some aspect of a person’s health.

Acupuncture and Medical Qigong both have long histories in Chinese Medicine. Acupuncture addresses Qi imbalances by having a practitioner insert very thin needles into specific places on a person’s body. Medical Qigong addresses Qi imbalances by having a practitioner emit Qi into a person’s body involving no or gentle touching. The scope of healing possible may vary depending upon individual Acupuncture and Medical Qigong practitioners.