Thousands of years ago channels were discovered in the body that are different from the blood vessels of modern science. These channels were erroneously translated as meridians when described in European languages. The real meaning in the Chinese healing arts is that these are channels; accessory channels of blood and energy. Opening them by touch from you or a practitioner and through Qigong exercises has incredibly beneficial effects on health.

Each channel corresponds to the functions of an organ or an overall body function. On each channel are points that can stimulate to have specific beneficial effects on the body and mind.

The Hundred Meeting Place is a point on the Governing Vessel channel. The English translation of the Chinese name for this pressure point, Baihui, refers to the place at the top of your head where 100 channels of blood and energy meet. It is numbered Governing Vessel 20.

It is known as the gathering place for yang qi (chi) of the body. The yang qi of the body is the outgoing and motivating active energy in the body that generates and maintains warmth. It can be equated with hyper-metabolic qualities which affect all organic processes including warmth, libido, appetite digestion and assimilation. Its normal manifestation is comparable to our concept of zest for life. Stimulating this point aids these life functions.

Governing Vessel 20 is located on the top of the head directly in the center between your ears. It can be pressed lightly for several minutes daily with 3 fingers to help to activate the yang outgoing and motivating force in the body and the mind. The location is slightly depressed.

This point has many uses in Chinese and Asian medicines. It helps to raise energy  into the head creating mental calmness, clarity and composure. Some of the common medical applications are for depression, prolapse of the stomach, uterus, anus, headaches, stiff shoulders and insomnia.

I utilize Hundred Meeting Place and other pressure points in my Somatic Bodywork sessions and Somatic Qigong private lessons/sessions. This and other pressure points can help bring relief from uncomfortable symptoms people experience.

https://www.macrobiotic.com/energy-healing.html

According to the World Health Organization, a quarter of the people in the world do not get enough physical activity. In industrialized countries, many of the jobs are sedentary. There is less activity in the physical trades such as construction than in the past because of labor saving devices.

Some people in industrialized nations decide to make balance for the lack of exercise in their lives by adopting a popular exercise regimen. Types of exercise regimens range from mild to extreme. The fitness craze is big business and promotes these systems widely. People do a range of practices including spinning classes, aerobics, jogging, plyometric training, weight training, exercise bikes and elliptical machines and treadmills, Pilates, Gyrotonics, dozens of different yoga methods, stretching classes, core strength workouts and balance training.

Most modern western exercises and some eastern systems that have been incorporated in the west focus on external methods for gauging fitness such as aerobic capacity, endurance and weight lifting.  These are measurable ways but they have limits in describing true fitness and well being.

Exercise has to be appropriate for one’s goals. What is appropriate exercise? An exercise routine used by a professional sports team or designed for 18-year-old US Marine recruits may not be appropriate for the average person who simply wants to improve and maintain health and vitality.

When goals or exercise methods are not appropriate for people, injuries are common from using modern exercise systems including yoga. There are many reasons for this including the wrong use of the body, isolating muscle groups for stretching and weight lifting, excessive amounts of exercise for the person causing exhaustion and too many repetitive motions when the body is out of alignment. 

When stretching is done too long or too quickly, the body becomes tighter. This aggravates body misalignments. Weight training for the muscles also locks in body misalignments.

If we want to see examples of smooth coordinated movements, look at wild animals. Graceful movement is a dance of the various parts of the body in coordination. If we want that kind of desirable movement, we should do exercises that imitate in some ways their movements.

Unfortunately, when people get injuries from accidents or exercise, physical therapy can make the situation worse. Isolated muscles are focused on to strengthen or stretch. People can gain more movement but also more pain by forcing muscles to work.

In physical therapy, it is recommended not to move injured parts. A few years ago, I had injured my knee doing a body weight exercise. The advice that I got was not to use my knee. No twisting movements were recommended. I proceeded after the strong pain went down to begin gentle twisting motions which I believe aided in healing the knee.

The Chinese refer to frozen shoulder as “fifty-year-old shoulder.” The reason this condition is more prevalent in older people is largely because they move less. Movement is important and the kind we do makes a huge difference.

In addition to doing exercise incorrectly for a human body, people seem to be more attracted to movements that come easy. Men who have naturally stronger muscles do weight lifting and women who are hyper flexible do yoga. This also sets us up for injuries.

Exercises that engage the whole-body motion are best for health. These include walking, rowing, kayaking, dancing, Qi Gong, modern restorative body practices, internal martial arts, yoga and certain sports if done according to the person’s capacity.

Qi Gong and body balancing exercises such as Hanna’s Somatic s and similar practices like Physio-Synthesis can play unique roles in restoring bodies that are out of alignment and balance. It can help develop capacities that normally people don’t access in their bodies.

Chi Gung or Qi Gong is a different kind of exercises. Records have been found which reference Qi Gong for healing from the Han Dynasty (206 BC- AD 220). Over centuries these exercises were refined and expanded to include movements and exercise routines that prevent illness, strengthen the functioning of the internal organs, relieve pain and restore normal functioning of the bones, joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles. Qi Gong is an exercise system that is more beneficial to modern people than it was to the ancient Chinese.
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The many benefits of Qi Gong are:

1. Qi Gong exercises are based on natural movements that move the joints, soft tissue and bones in accordance with their natural design.
2. In Qi Gong exercises the whole body is considered; each part in relation to all the other parts.
3. Qi Gong exercises teach the body to move efficiently by balancing tension and relaxation.
4. Qi Gong exercises work with the joints in their correct alignment.    
5. Qi Gong exercises reeducate the body, restoring its natural movement patterns through a kind of neuro-muscular re-programming.

One caution that I’ve discovered in Qi Gong learning is that Qi Gong is either taught today often as a meditation only or incorrectly by  not truly engaging the muscles, fascia and tendons. The deepest type of Qi Gong is Nei Gong. Nei Gung works all of the body’s energetic pathways, and opens and closes all the body’s tissues (joints, muscles, connective tissues, internal organs, glands, blood vessels, lymphatic pumps, respiratory system, cerebrospinal system and brain) simultaneously to produce a powerful synergistic effect on the mind, body, and spirit
  
http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity