However, it should be mentioned that in the big, overpopulated cities this old tradition is often abandoned. As a preventive health care the western countries have also adapted Qigong as a known method to maintain health based on specific exercises.  If a health disorder occurs, the doctor first tries to establish the initial cause of the illness. In the case of serious illness the doctor assumes that the body's inner harmony has already been disturbed for a long period of time. Various treatments are applied to cure the body, including massage, specific diet, acupuncture, moxa and medicinal herbs. 

 Treatment is based upon various principles:

Cleansing (qing); releasing body heat

• Dispelling (xiao); find the causes and eliminate
• Sweating (han); stimulate perspiration
• Harmonising (he); stimulate the flow of the organs and improve body functions
• Vomiting (tu); to expel waste and poisonous materials
• Stocking (bu); use good food and recuperative herbs.
• Letting down (xia); to remove waste and poisonous materials.

The doctor will choose the combination and sequence of the different treatments according to the patient and his condition. Chinese medicine is also based upon the belief that all living creatures contain five elements: fire, earth, metal, water and wood. Especially acupuncture is based upon these five elements. In traditional acupuncture needles are inserted in the skin right till yjey reach acupuncture points in order to improve body functions. Acupuncture points are specific points on a meridian. A meridian is an energy channel. The body has many meridians and hundreds of acupuncture points. 

In China acupuncture is often combined with moxa. Moxa is a method to introduce warmth to the body, using the dried leaves of a plant, the Artemisa Vulgaris. The leaves are tightly rolled or pressed into bars. These bars are lit and the burning tip is held near or on the inserted needle, or without acupuncture, held just above the skin. The warmth penetrates deeply into the body beyond the skin level and will have a wholesome effect. The dried Artemisa leaves may also be pressed into little cones (about 2 inches in height) that are applied and lit directly upon the skin. The cone will burn the skin. Of course, these moxa cones will leave scar tissue after burning, which is done on purpose because the infection of the skin where it was burned will help cure the disease. Sometimes a protective layer is applied between the moxa cone and the skin, for instance a slice of fresh gingerroot.         

Also massage is an often-used method to improve body functions. In China there are many types of massage: tuina (pushing and seizing), dianxue (touching cavities) and anmo (pressing and rubbing). 

Now back to qigong: on the one hand, qigong is passing healing energy from the doctor to his patient. On the other hand, qigong is known as a system that can be used by both healthy and sick people based on exercises to improve the physical and mental abilities and hence improve or establish a healthy constitution. Qigong is practised under supervision of a competent teacher.

Chinese medicines also have a long tradition. Plants, minerals and animal substances constitute the ingredients of Chinese medicines. The ingredients that are used are categorised as follows, based on smell and taste: salt (xian), sour (suan), spicy (xin), sweet (gan), bitter (ku), tasteless (dan) and harsh (se). Chinese medicine is also applied in the West. In Holland there are good schools, which are sometimes annexes of schools in China.

Specialised kinesiology, which I work with in my practise, uses the attainments of Chinese medicine in some parts. For instance the use of the five-element-theory and the meridian system. These are used for determining the diagnosis as well as for treating health problems. Correction of meridians and the acupuncture points on those meridians is an important part of kinesiology. In my practice I apply laser-acupuncture and electro- acupuncture. I do not apply classic acupuncture with needles nor do I work with Chinese medicines.