The most profound value of Gun Fu is the way its slow movement stretches and encourages energy flow along the meridian lines in the body. Simply put, the practice of energy movement and energy development exercises found in the Gung Fu generates an inner calm, strength and reserve of energy. Most people never reach optimum health because they breathe too shallow to tap their maximum potential. Shallow breathing causes toxins to accumulate in the lower portions of the lungs. This is a major reason people feel sluggish and unmotivated.
Tension constricts our lungs, taking away their suppleness and flexibility.
We learn shallow breathing early in life as an accumulative response to unpleasant events, and then it's reinforced daily by the multiple stress producing situations of our modern urbanized environment. In order to head off this trouble and recondition our reaction to stress, we need to place a special attention to breathing and its effects. Today the Chinese Medical community commonly refers to Chi Kung as Breathing Exercises Therapy. These ancient techniques of breath control used to train the vital energy have been raised to a higher level by today's modern scientific methods. Today, in Beijing alone, more than 1.3 million people practice Chi Kung and tens of millions practice throughout Mainland China.