Qigong as Holistic Healing to Counter Health Harms of Social Injustice

Abstract

Social injustice damages people’s health in many ways, causing an urgent call for comprehensive effective treatments for these harms. However, a holistic approach is needed for several reasons, foremost among them: to help people recover from both physiological and psychological afflictions; to prevent their persisting impacts from creating further damage; and to maintain bodily and mental well-being in the midst these systemic threats. Extensive research evidence indicates that qigong, a traditional Chinese practice for promoting health, provides an efficacious holistic means of meeting the multifaceted needs for this kind of health recovery. The aim of this paper is to offer a review of the research on both the health impacts of social injustice and also the holistic healing capacities of qigong to address the multipartite health harms involved. Finally, the limitations and implications for research and practice are discussed.