For those interested in another's perspective of qi gong...
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionar...of%20Qi%20gong
Criticism of Qigong
Much of the criticism of qigong involves its method of operation. Both traditional Chinese and Western medicine practitioners have little argument with the notion that qigong can improve health by encouraging movement, increasing relaxation, and improving joint flexibility. However, the benefits of qigong become much more controversial when it is asserted that qigong derives its benefits from qi*acting as a external non-physical force. Most biologists and physicists are skeptical of these claims and see no reason to believe that qi exists in this manner.
Some proponents of qigong make the controversial claim that they can directly detect and manipulate this energy, but there are those who insist that they can only demonstrate this to fellow believers. Others, including many traditional Chinese practitioners, believe that qi can be viewed as a metaphor for biological processes, and the effectiveness of qigong can also be explained in terms more familiar to Western medicine such as stress reduction.
Controversies within Qigong
In the 1980s and 1990s, the increasing popularity of qigong and related practices led to the establishment of many groups and methods in China and elsewhere which have been viewed in a critical light by more traditional qigong practitioners as well as skeptical outside observers. In this view, a large number of people started studying qigong under inadequate supervision, indeed, perhaps the majority of people today who study qigong study from books or video without any supervision by a teacher. This can lead to several problems, according to those who view themselves as representative of more orthodox*schools. They say unbalanced circulation of inner energies leads to unbalanced effects on the various systems of the body, both mental and physical. Stories are told of people gradually developing chronic mental and physical health problems as a result of such training. A common term used by English*speaking practitioners for an example of this is "Qigong Psychosis."
This popularity also led to increased attention for quasi-religious groups teaching styles of qigong in an atmosphere of overt spirituality. As mentioned above, qigong has been associated in China with Taoist and Buddhist meditation*practices for two thousand years, and this association has been exploited, according to traditionalists, by many would be cult*leaders. Perhaps the parade example of a group promoting a New Age-like synthesis of spirituality with their qigong is the school known popularly as Falun Gong, whose worldwide popularity grew to the point that the communist*Chinese government banned their practice outright in the late 1990s.