Learning and Experiencing Chinese Qigong in Norway

This article discusses the reception of Chinese qigong in a Western context by focusing on the learning and experiencing of qigong in Norway. Drawing on ethnographic material from fieldwork among participants of a style of qigong referred to as Biyun medical qigong, I in particular explore the variety of body–mind states that Norwegian qigong students experience. I have differentiated five “stages” of Biyun practice. Using these stages as a framework, I demonstrate the gradual progression in the learning of qigong. “Body,” “concentration,” and qi (“life energy”) are all important constitutive dimensions in the practice, but as the learning progresses, qi becomes more and more prominent. Drawing on a definition of the body as “learning to be affected” and “learning to affect” (Despret, Body Soc 10:111–134, 2004; Latour, Body Soc 10:205–229, 2004), I suggest that qigong may be perceived as a practice that, at its core, involves learning to be affected by qi as well as to affect qi.

Gry SagliEmail: