From Wu Chi to Tai Chi: A Story of Ancient Beginnings
Richard Leirer is one of the most experienced and accomplished Qigong teachers in the US. He has been a serious student and practitioner of the internal arts for over 40 years. He is considered by many to be one of the few American Qigong Masters. Richard began his training in 1972 with the American Kung Fu and Karate Federation. He later was accepted as a student with Master Huang, Tzeng-yu, Lee Henn, Master Hao Tian-Yao, Grand Master Hu Wei-yu, and was trained in the lineage of Grand Master Zhong, Hong Bao . He has been officially recognized as a Master by the Chinese Qigong Society of Cleveland for his excellence in Neigong (Taoist inner alchemy meditation techniques). He has studied in China, and was certified as an instructor of Wu Ji Qigong by the late Master Zhu Wei from Tien Tai Mountain. Richard has been actively involved in the promotion of Tai Chi & Qigong in the United States. He was the founding vice president of the National Qigong Association (NQA). He was chairman of the standards committee of the NQA and created a consensus of national standards in Qigong. Richard was one of the first to create programs in Qigong Tai Chi Therapy for pain management and surgery rehabilitation for the world famous Cleveland Clinic. Qigong Academy instructors continue to provide these health care programs at the Euclid Hospital surgery Rehab Center In Cleveland.  Richards research programs for the VA Hospitals for Vets with PTSD showed the effectiveness of Qigong and Tai Chi as a leading stress reducer. The active attention needed to perform Qigong and Tai Chi helped the client move the thoughts away from the stressor and onto the movements at hand. The movements increase stress relief chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, creating a calmer and more relaxed individual. Richard also has participated in qi energy projection onto patients during active surgery. Clients receiving the Medical Qigong Treatment had less blood loss, faster recovery time and less use of pain medication then average. Richard is considered a leader in the complimentary and alternative medical field and has worked his whole life to create healing programs for those in need.