How to Practice Qigong to Boost Well-Being After Breast Cancer
Qigong is a modern term that describes traditional Chinese practices combining body movements, breathwork, and mindfulness.
It’s one of the four branches of traditional Chinese medicine, based in Daoist teachings from thousands of years ago. Qigong has become more popular in the West in the last few decades as a way to support physical and mental health.
The practice is rooted in the idea that everybody has a vital energy, called qi (pronounced “chee”), that flows through the body and supports essential functions like circulating blood, powering organs, and preventing disease. Through slow, deep breaths and intentional movements, qigong can help optimize energy throughout the body, mind, and spirit.
What’s the difference between qigong and tai chi?
Qigong is an umbrella term for hundreds of body-mind-breath practices, including tai chi.
Tai chi started as an ancient Chinese martial art. Today, most people practice it for its health benefits and it’s considered a form of qigong. It emphasizes physical movement, while some other forms of qigong emphasize still meditation and visualization.
Other popular forms of qigong include Baduanjin (Eight Brocades), Liuzijue (Six Sounds), and Yijin Jing (Muscle and Tendon Changing Classic). There’s currently no one form that’s considered the most helpful for people with or recovering from cancer. You might want to try a few styles to find the one that feels best for your body.
What happens in a typical qigong session?
Qigong sessions include elements such as:
a warm-up to loosen tight muscles
centering exercises to calm your mind and focus your breath
breathwork to inhale and exhale in tune with movements
flowing movements, like slowly waving your arms, swinging back and forth, twisting your torso, and shifting your weight from side to side
still postures, in which you hold a standing or seated pose to find balance
a cool down with quiet breathing or gentle self-massage
Unlike some other mindfulness-based exercises, you can practice qigong standing, sitting, or even reclining. It doesn’t often require as much mobility or balance as some other mindfulness-based types of exercise, like yoga.
“People that go to yoga class regularly often feel very tranquil, peaceful, and grounded. Qigong does the same thing, but it is more accessible to more people because you don't need a mat and you don't have to do downward dog,” says Rose Wippich, a certified qigong instructor and a member of the board of directors for the National Qigong Association.
There’s no one way to do qigong — you can spend 10 minutes practicing it at home or take an hour-long class with a group. Wippich says that after taking some classes, you may remember a few qigong movements. Whenever you feel like practicing on your own, you can string together the moves that feel good at that moment.
Benefits of qigong for people with cancer
Several small clinical studies on how qigong affects people with cancer and people with a history of cancer suggest that it can have a positive effect on symptoms like anxiety, mood, quality of life, posture, fatigue, and inflammation.
One study involving 96 women in Shanghai asked half the participants to attend five weekly qigong classes while undergoing five to six weeks of radiotherapy for breast cancer. The women who did qigong reported fewer depressive symptoms than the control group.
A 2017 systematic review looked at 22 studies measuring if qigong was helpful for managing symptoms in cancer patients. Many of the studies that measured cancer-related quality of life suggested that qigong was helpful. Some studies also showed some benefits for sleep, depression symptoms, and muscular strength.
Participants in some studies experienced significant benefits, while those in other studies showed no meaningful improvements. Many of the studies on qigong for people with cancer have some major limitations, like few participants, high drop-out rates, and difficulties comparing qigong to control groups.
How qigong compares to other exercise
It’s well known that physical exercise like running, lifting weights, and biking is great for both the body and the mind. Both mindfulness-based exercise and other kinds of exercise can help reduce inflammation caused by cancer and cancer treatment. They can also reduce cancer-related fatigue and improve sleep.
But compared to other kinds of exercise, mindfulness-based exercise seems to particularly boost psychological health. Adding components like breathwork and meditation to exercise helps to relax our fight-or-flight response when we’re stressed, anxious, or in pain, explains Jamie Myers, PhD, an advanced practice oncology nurse at the University of Kansas.
“The benefits that you see with mindfulness-based exercise are similar to the benefits of aerobic resistance training,” says Myers. “Both decrease the products of inflammation that are created by cancer and cancer treatment, both reduce fatigue, and both improve sleep. Mindfulness-based exercise also reduces anxiety.”
Myers authored a study in 2018 of 50 breast cancer survivors who did qigong, other gentle physical movement, or nothing. Those who did qigong said they felt like their cognitive function improved and reported feeling fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety. The participants who did qigong or another kind of gentle exercise could more quickly solve puzzles than those who didn’t exercise.
Myers emphasized that these findings aren’t strong enough to draw any major conclusions about whether or not qigong improves post-cancer cognition. But there’s certainly no reason to think it would hurt it. And because qigong is so easy to modify for your own needs, she says it may be easier for most people to stick with than aerobic and resistance training.
Not only does the practice build strength, it can also help loosen up tissues that are tight after treatment, Wippich says. For example, gentle movement can stretch fascia — the body’s thin connective tissue. After breast cancer surgery, the fascia around scar tissue can tighten.
Qigong can also help move lymphatic fluid through the body, which Wippich says can “get really stagnant.” Moves like gentle shaking and stomping the feet can get the lymphatic system going.
Wippich has had breast cancer herself. She says that many of her students start doing qigong because they want the physical benefits of the practice, like less back pain, looser hips, or better posture. But over time, she says they start to notice improvements in their mental health, too.
Qigong works on building the Wei Qi — an energetic armor around you. She says that regularly practicing qigong can help people build resilience and create boundaries around their space and bodies. “These are sometimes new concepts for women, who've put others first until they say, ‘I've got breast cancer now. I really have to think about myself.’”
Modifying qigong if you have or had cancer
Qigong is generally a safe and gentle practice. If you’re recovering from surgery or other intensive treatments, it’s always best to check in with your care team to be sure your body is ready for it.
In qigong, some movements are big and expansive. Wippich says that instead of using the full range of motion, you might do smaller and gentler versions of those moves. For instance, if you had a mastectomy, you might skip exercises that could pull on the chest tissue, like large arm sweeps and above-the-shoulder movements.
“You cannot compare what you're doing in class to the person who's standing or sitting next to you, because you're two totally different people,” Wippich says. “You have to do what feels right for you.”
She also recommends being attuned to what your body needs and not pushing through its signals to stop. If you’re receiving chemotherapy, you might feel tired and depleted. Qigong could help you feel more energized. But if you need a nap, don’t force yourself to do physical activity — give your body the sleep that it needs.
How to start practicing qigong
Attending in-person qigong classes and workshops can be a great way to ease into the practice and learn the movements in a safe way. Tell your teacher that you have or had breast cancer and where you’re feeling pains and stiffness. They can help you modify the movements so you’re comfortable and let you know if you need to make any adjustments.
There are many basic qigong video tutorials online for people who can’t find an in-person practice, feel more comfortable in the privacy of their home, or who want to practice between in-person sessions.
Some teachers offer virtual classes so you can learn in community with other students without having to travel to an in-person class.
The National Qigong Association offers a directory of certified instructors in the United States. You can also find local and online classes through organizations like:
Your hospital or health system
Your local YMCA
The Qigong Association (classes are available to paid members)
“Probably the most important tip or advice is to ease into anything that you're doing, including qigong, and have fun with it. Don't be hard on yourself. You're going through so much. Have compassion for yourself,” Wippich says. “Know that whatever you're doing, even the littlest of movements, is helping you.”