Kung Fu Enlightening: The Rise of QigongBoth the public and the Western medical establishment are increasingly embracing the health benefits of qigong, a pillar of Chinese medicine for over 5,000 years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health Interview Survey, the number of Americans practicing qigong increased 18.6 percent between 2002 and 2007, with similar growth between 2007 and 2012.