Fragrant Qigong Beats Smoking 

It's hard to believe but I have been cured of smoking by the simple, non-strenuous, Chinese exercise called xianggong or Fragrant Qigong. I made no mental effort, took no drugs, applied no nicotine patches or attended smokers anonymous groups - I did nothing but Fragrant Qigong. Here's my story. I had been smoking for over 40 years and despaired of ever being able to stop permanently. This greatly troubled me. I was in my 60s and hopelessly addicted to nicotine. Over the years I had tried many ways to give up; you name it, I did it. I was firm in my resolve to beat this addiction but, despite all my honest efforts, nicotine craving inevitably won. (It is not for nothing this addiction is compared to heroin.)

It didn't matter how expensive cigarettes became, I'd just buy less food. If people didn't like me smoking at their place I wouldn't visit. But each time I tried to stop smoking my withdrawals from nicotine were awful. I would lose interest in everything, become depressed and irritable, my head felt as though it was stuffed with cotton wool, I became constipated and couldn't sleep at night. On two occasions, with some years in between, I stopped smoking for one whole year. I did it cold turkey. The withdrawals eventually eased but not the desire to smoke. It was as though I had lost a precious friend - I grieved. Every day I wanted to smoke and envied the people still smoking. Waiting to cross the street I would inhale a smoker's tobacco smoke.

I refused to use nicotine patches or chew nicotine gum. It didn't make sense adding more nicotine to my system to get over a nicotine addiction. Inevitably emotional upsets would provide the excuse to start again.  But, fortunately, release was on the horizon. I started Fragrant Qigong over four years ago for health reasons (not to stop smoking) and was still smoking when I began the practice.  But three months later I got a really bad cough and each time I coughed my body fell sideways, as though I had lost power. This scared me and I stopped smoking. To my surprise this time I had no withdrawals and have never smoked again.  The desire to smoke has completely gone and now I dislike even the smell of tobacco smoke. Fragrant Qigong has cured me totally of nicotine addiction. I was so thrilled about the power of this amazing Qigong I wrote to the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and told them about it. I got a very nice letter back but no real expression of interest. That's life!

But, more than that, the consistent practice has brought me an inner calmness that is superior to any drug. And that calmness is growing. Not even anger or resentment stays with me now - such negative emotions pass very quickly and my inner peace is quickly restored. I am astonished by the power of Qigong.

I have a 75 year old neighbour who practices Fragrant Qi gong also. She loves it. It brought her unexpected results. For years she had lost her peripheral vision and had also developed glaucoma. But after a year's practice she and her eye specialist were astonished to find that her peripheral vision had returned and the glaucoma had gone. People say to me ‘Oh, it worked for you, doesn't mean it will work for me.'  My reply is ‘Does breathing work for you?'

Non-smoker

Blue Mountains

Writer - Samantha Mckay