Qigong Institute

617 Hawthorne Ave.
Los Altos, CA 94024

The Qigong Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Officers and Directors

Qigong Institute Mission Statement

The Qigong Institute is a 501c(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting the scientific understanding of the basis of Qigong through research and education. Since 1988 it has been a clearinghouse for related news and scientific facts to aid researchers, writers, Qigong practitioners and teachers, members of the Western medical community, and the members of the general public who are interested in learning more about Qigong and Tai Chi. It's goals are

• Promoting a scientific understanding of Qigong via education, research, and clinical studies
• Improving healthcare by integrating Qigong into Western medicine
• Making information on Qigong available to medical practitioners, scientists, the public, and policy makers

The Qigong Institute programs and activities include:

Research

• Development and maintenance of the Qigong & Energy Medicine Database™ , which contains thousands of abstracts in English of scientific studies
• Providing an opportunity for graduate students to publish their findings in Qigong research
• Sponsoring and promoting Qigong research and publishing papers in peer reviewed journals on the profound health benefits of Qigong
• Participating in international conferences on Qigong and Energy Medicine and research
• Networking worldwide among medical professionals, researchers, teachers, the public, and public policy makers

Education

• Informing and educating the public on the profound health benefits of Qigong which include preventing disease, resilience, reducing stress, promoting anti-aging as well as healthy active aging, helping with chronic illness, and reducing health care costs
• Creating and maintaining the Qigong Institute website: https://www.qigonginstitute.org
• Providing a Directory of Qigong Teachers & Therapists
• Publishing complete copies of scientific studies by Qigong Institute staff
• Providing Current events and What's New in the world of Qigong, Tai Chi, meditation, and Energy Medicine on the Qigong Institute website and the Qigong Institute Facebook page.
• Maintaining copies of or links to published information on Qigong and Tai Chi
• Providing introductory information on all aspects of Qigong and Tai Chi, including medical, martial, and spiritual for the general public, health care professionals, corporations, policy makers, and the Western medical community
• Creating and maintaining of Qigong Institute podcasts.
• Recommending books and DVDs and providing advice via  and through Frequently Asked Questions
• Maintaining the Qigong Institute YouTube Channel
• Participating in professional healthcare and wellness conferences such as The National Expert Meeting on Qi Gong and Tai Chi and providing input to NCCIH and other governmental organizations
• Providing Qigong consulting for individuals, the media, publications, corporations, healthcare organizations
• Providing scientific information on Qigong and Energy Medicine

An Interview with Dr. Ken Sancier, Founder of the Qigong Institute

Listen to the complete podcast


"The goal of the Qigong Institute is to promote the scientific understanding of the basis of Qigong " Dr. Ken Sancier

[Interview recorded in 2006]

Why and when did you found the QI?

I FOUNDED THE QIGONG INSTITUTE AS NATURAL OUTGROWTH OF MY COLLECTING INFORMATION ON QIGONG FROM CHINA, AND I THOUGHT THAT THE CHINESE HAD DONE A WONDERFUL JOB IN PROMOTING AND REPORTING ON QIGONG, AND I WANTED TO BRING THAT FORTH TO PEOPLE IN THE WEST. 

Why did you decide to dedicate the whole of your retirement to Qigong?

I FOUND THE SCIENTIFIC ASPECTS OF QIGONG AS STIMUTLATING A CAREER AS MY FIRST AS A CHEMIST.

Didn't you start out as a skeptic? Basically you felt that the claims for the benefits of Qigong had to be proven?

WHEN I FIRST LEARNED ABOUT QIGONG FROM DR. EFFIE CHOW I COULD HARDLY BELIEVE SOME OF ITS CLAIMS FOR THE HEALTH AND MEDICAL BENEFITS. TO SATISFY MY CURIOUSITY, I CONDUCTED SOME EXPERIMENTS ON HOW QIGONG AFFECTS THE BODY. I PRESENTED THESE RESULTS AT SEVERAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES, INCLUDING BEIJING, SHANGHAI, TOKYO AND SAN FRANCISCO.

As a scientist and skeptic how did you come to appreciate and value Qigong? How did your thinking evolve?

FOR ME, THE SCIENTIFIC STUDIES OF MANY PEOPLE FROM OVER THE WORLD, ESPECIALLY FROM CHINA, HAS HELPED TO CONVINCE ME OF THE VALUE OF QIGONG FOR IMPROVING HEALTH AND HEALING.

Why did you create the Qigong Database?

THE QIGONG DATABASE ORGINATED AS A MEANS TO CATALOG THE VAST AMOUNT OF INFORMATION I HAD GLEANED FROM INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES...THE DATABASE ORGINALLY CONTAINED ABOUT 1500 ABSTRACTS IN ENGLISH.

What is the impression of a scientist on Qigong.

I BELIEVE THAT SCIENCIFIC STUDIES HAVE VALIDATED THE MEDICAL BENEFTIS OF QIGONG. THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF QIGONG IS SELF-PRACTICE.

Dr. Ken Sancier biography.

Qigong Institute Membership

Qigong Institute membership is a great way to support the activities of the Qigong Institute, including website operation and podcasts. Qigong Institute membership includes:

• A link to your website or a Qigong Institute web page
• A highlighted entry in the Qigong Institute Teacher Directory
• Directly supporting the operation of the Qigong Institute website and streaming of podcasts

To renew a membership or become a member, follow the directions on the Application for a Qigong Institute Teacher Directory Entry and/or Membership page.

Help the Qigong Institute Publicize the Health Benefits of Qigong

We encourage you to send us copies of articles in newspapers, magazines, journals, and from the web on the use and health benefits of Qigong. Submitting material to the Qigong Instititue constitutes consent to publish on www.qigonginstitute.org. Although the Qigong Institute does not publish original third-party Qigong research papers, we solicit published peer-reviewed articles (.pdf format preferred) as well as completed dissertations. Topics can include scientific research on other Energy Medicine modalites besides Qigong, such as yoga, meditation, reiki, and mind-body healing. We are also interested in short audio and video clips. Please send submissions to: 

As we continue working to help build the Qigong community and provide an educational resource for the public, we recognize our responsibility to grow and change with the needs of our supporters and users. This will manifest in both the evolving "look" of our website, as well as our continued commitment to provide sound scientific data to inspire you to continue your Qigong study.

We rely on your support through membership and donations. Funds collected go directly to operations. All Officers and Directors are volunteers and there is no paid staff, so we thank you for traversing our site and sharing in our enthusiasm to build a healthier world for all.

A Short History of the Qigong Institute

Dr. Kenneth M. Sancier (1920 - 2013)
Founder 

In 1984, Dr. Sancier retired from Stanford Research Institute (SRI) International where he had worked as a senior scientist for more than thirty years. His career as a chemist resulted in seventy publications and about ten patents. When he retired from SRI he sought an endeavor to replace the intellectual stimulation of research at SRI. He settled on Qigong because he thought that the many claims for its power for healing and the improving health needed scientific testing. He felt that his scientific training would provide the necessary ingredient to help resolve some uncertainties. The Qigong Institute was initially developed under the umbrella of the East West Academy of Healing Arts in 1988. Dr. Effie Chow was very instrumental in providing the first home, support, and funding for the Qigong Institute. The Qigong Institute became a separate organization and was incorporated in 1997 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization independent of the East West Academy of Healing Arts. In 1999 Dr. Sancier worked with Dr. Effie Chow to organize the Third International Congress of Qigong that was held in San Francisco.

Dr. Sancier searched the literature and found that almost all scientific research had been conducted in China. To become familiarized with the research in China, he presented his research at international conferences in Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and San Francisco. He developed the original Computerized Qigong Database™ to collect this vast amount of information. The Database's scope was expanded to include Energy Medicine and was renamed the Qigong and Energy Medicine Database™. Utilizing the information in the database and the results of many experiments to demonstrate the effects of Qigong on the body, Dr. Sancier published over 20 scientific papers on Qigong, including his seminal paper Anti-Aging Benefits of Qigong in 1996.

During its development and early years, the Qigong Institute sponsored a series of about sixty lectures by well-qualified teachers, practitioners and Qigong masters. These lectures were held in Palo Alto, San Francisco State University, and University of California, San Francisco. The Qigong Institute also sponsored the Scientific Forum that consisted of about twelve scientists who explored potential scientific studies of Qigong and reviewed those that had been published. 

The Qigong Institute’s income derives from membership and donations. It is operated exclusively by a volunteer staff. To donate, become a member of the Qigong Institute or see the Qigong Institute Donation Program for how you can help.

On a personal note, Dr. Sancier studied Qigong with many teachers and developed a routine that encompassed what he learned. In his later years he felt convinced that he should practice qigong with more dedication for his health.

In 2008 Dr Sancier retired from active participation in the Qigong Institute. Tom Rogers became President and CEO while Francesco Garripoli moved to Chairman of the Board.

Dr. Sancier was the first recipient of the National Qigong Association Lifetime Achievement Award and received the Meritorious Activity Prize from the International Society of LIfe Information Science (ISLIS). World Tai Chi and QIgong Day 2012 was dedicated to Dr. Sancier for his contribution to global health through the founding of the Qigong Institute and creation of the Qigong and Energy Medicine Database™. Dr. Sancier passed away at age 93 in 2013.

Dr. Effie Chow. 1933 - 2022

1988 Dr. Chow established the EWAHA Qigong Institute, with Dr. Kenneth Sancier, PhD, as a branch of EWAHA, to promote and compile a database on research and clinical work in medical Qigong. EWAHA assisted with funding for The Qigong Institute to become an independent non-profit 501(c)3 entity in 1997.

Dr Effie Chow was a true trailblazer in the Qigong community. From originating the World Congresses on Qigong which later expanded to include Tai Chi and TCM to serving on the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy, she brought her inexhaustible supply of organizational skill and enthusiasm to promoting Qigong to the world.

The Qigong Institute is especially grateful for Effie’s assistance in helping Dr. Ken Sancier found the organization. I always enjoyed our lively conversations and how she was forever planning new ways to introduce people to Qigong and improve their health. She would always be sure to remind me to get my eight hugs per day. Effie’s love of Qigong was obvious and boundless. She will be missed, but her legacy endures.

Tom Rogers, President, and the Qigong Institute Board of Directors.

Effie Chow eBook Memorial.