John Dolic’s journey into the world of Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is as remarkable as it is inspiring. As the first Westerner to graduate from a six-year full-time program at the prestigious Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, John has paved the way for a new understanding of Chinese health practices in the Western world. His profound expertise, which includes teaching and lecturing at top institutions like the Acupuncture Colleges of Australia and Endeavour College of Natural Health, along with his leadership roles within Chinese medicine associations, has made him a prominent figure in the field for over three decades. But John is more than just a scholar. Fluent in multiple languages and a respected instructor of over 20 Qigong styles, he’s dedicated his life to bridging Eastern healing traditions with Western health needs. Whether through his private practice in Sydney, his seminars and workshops worldwide, or his contributions as the editor of Qigong Chinese Health magazine, John is on a mission to empower people with the transformative power of Qigong. His unique perspective, blending rigorous academic training with authentic experience in China, has earned him a respected place on television, radio, and in print. In this Mystic Mag‘s interview, John Dolic shares his passion for Qigong, the ancient secrets of energy cultivation, and how these practices can be seamlessly integrated into modern life to promote health, vitality, and well-being.
How do you integrate Taoism, Buddhism, and Feng Shui into your Qigong teachings, and what role do these spiritual and philosophical traditions play in enhancing health and well-being?
Here is how it works.
Most styles of Qigong come from Buddhism and Taoism. So, they are inherently influenced by their respective traditions. More or less, because some are purely energy / physical / mental exercises without any theory / philosophy attached.
As for Feng Shui, I am not an expert. So, if as a part of a particular style / teaching it is to be done in front of water, under a tree, indoors or outdoors, at a certain time of day or night, facing certain direction e.g. east / west / north / south, I simply follow these instructions as well as pass them onto my students for best results.
The role these spiritual and philosophical traditions play in enhancing health and well-being is, to me, by simply putting things in right perspective and that is: we are spirit beings who came to a material world to experience things that are impossible to experience anywhere else.
In doing so the body is the major tool and even though in itself it is not precious we should still look after it (like any other tool) by using it properly and wisely. Having a peace of mind and being in touch with it will guarantee it. And that is what all these traditions teach.
According to some estimates there are more than 100,000 Qigong techniques today in China and they all come from 6 major sources (or origins).
Buddhism (over 70,000)
Taoism (around 30,000)
Confucianism (several thousands)
Kung Fu
Chinese medicine
Others (popularly called people’s or folks’)
Obviously, each technique / style was serving a particular purpose e.g. to give speed, strength and precision in combat for Kung Fu; to treat disease, improve the quality of life as well as to extend it for Chinese medicine; to reach spiritual enlightenment in Buddhism and Taoism…
But, unlike in the west where religion, medicine and martial arts do not mix, many Kung Fu masters and Chinese medicine practitioners were Buddhists or Taoists at the same time, so some of the styles that originated in Buddhism proved to be very effective in fights too (case in point Shaolin Kung Fu) or, some others, in Taoism (case in point Tai Chi Chuan and Bagua Zhang).
Or, some that were purely Kung Fu practices became a part of Chinese medicine due to their remarkable healing properties. In other words, many styles became mixed and intertwined so it is not always that clear-cut where some styles belong And no-one is complaining :).
You’ve been involved in both martial arts and healing practices like Tai Chi, Kung Fu, and Qigong. How do you see the relationship between martial arts and the healing aspects of Traditional Chinese Medicine?
I’ve been asked this several times in the past so I put together this short article to address that aspect:
Everybody knows that Kung Fu is a martial art. So what does Kung Fu have to do with Chinese medicine?
Well, it’s not just any martial art. It’s a Chinese martial art which means that it’s deeply influenced by the Chinese way of thinking. This makes it have a lot to do with Chinese medicine.
How is this so?
Well, to start with, they both use a holistic approach and they are both based on yin and yang principles. Let’s first see how Chinese medicine sees a disease:
Yin is negative energy and yang is positive energy. If we want to be healthy our positive energy (i.e. our constitution, immunity) should be strong enough to protect us from negative energy (i.e. diseases e.g. viruses, bacteria, parasites, heat, cold, dampness, stressful situations) including physical injuries.
Which is exactly the same with Kung Fu. All the many scenarios of what can happen to you in the street or in a pub are seen as yin and yang.
There is our positive or protective energy (i.e. our self-defense skills) and the negative energy (i.e. somebody trying to attack us).
Here it doesn’t matter whether it’s one or five attackers, it’s all seen as one negative energy, only, in the case of five it’s much stronger. So, if our positive energy is strong enough, the negative energy cannot harm us.
Practicing Kung Fu, even if we never use it in self-defense, is one of the best available fitness exercises around. Unlike many fitness programs that come glamorously and take the world by storm for a couple of years (or less) then vanish without a trace, Kung Fu has been there for thousands of years and today is bigger than ever before.
It’s enjoyable, it covers every single joint and muscle and is also beneficial to the inner organs. Many Kung Fu masters never had the flu in their lives (and they had very long lives). Some inner styles of Kung Fu e.g. Tai Chi Chuan or Bagua, can at the same time treat all sorts of chronic diseases – high blood pressure, asthma, allergies and ulcers, to name a few.
But, being a martial art in essence, this “fitness exercise” becomes very handy in some life-threatening situations. It can prevent physical injuries, mental trauma, and most importantly it can save your life.
“Treat disease before it happens” is written in the classics of Chinese medicine, meaning ‘prevention is better than cure’ and Kung Fu is the best prevention against potential bruises, fractures and cuts caused by unexpected attack that can happen to anyone of us.
Not only that, Kung Fu teaches us how to recognise and avoid danger, control our emotions and use the environment to work for us when faced with danger.
Sometimes, just the fact that we are able to protect ourselves can give us such confidence that even the potential opponent(s) can sense it and pull out without confrontation.
What type of services do you offer?
Basically Chinese medicine and Kung Fu.
As for modalities of Chinese medicine I either recommend one of the 12 Qigong styles that I teach, alone, or in combination with acupressure, food therapy and holistic health advice. And I do it both in person as well as online. Of course, for online consultations, I suggest the best acupuncture points and teach the patients how to massage them instead of me doing it.
When it comes to Kung Fu styles that I teach, they all belong to the so-called Northern styles: Bagua Zhang, Tai Chi Chuan, Long Fist (Chang Quan) and Shaolin.
For those interested to know more about Qigong I wrote a book Qigong Demystified which is sold on Amazon and many bookstores.
In addition to Qigong, your practice offers a variety of treatments like acupressure, reflexology, cupping, and moxibustion. How do you determine which combination of therapies will be most beneficial for each client?
Chinese medicine is very rich in modalities and often can offer a wide range of treatments for almost any condition. Sometimes we combine them, sometimes we don’t. Since each one of them, on its own, can do the trick.
Now, some people are much more responsive to some of them and some not. So, we offer accordingly and they can choose.
One thing is important to clarify here and that is: regardless of which modality is being recommended and used, they all aim to rebalance the flow of life energy or chi by removing blockages in the meridiens and / or by strengthening it.
As someone who promotes non-toxic personal care products and health supplements, how do you ensure that the products you offer align with the holistic health principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine?
Let’s first address what Chinese medicine is. It sees the human body as a complex system (or: The Small Universe) in which every part is connected to all other parts in a certain way by the life force (chi) where everything affects and is being affected by everything else.
But not only that. It is also a part of a greater whole, the nature and universe where, again, everything affects and is being affected by everything else.
According to Chinese medicine, if we live in harmony with the The Large Universe, we won’t get sick and will live long because the body, by design, is capable of looking after itself.
However, when being attacked by millions of harmful factors on a daily basis, ranging from thousands of deadly chemicals found in our food, water, personal and home care products, land and air, electromagnetic radiation, plus lack of nutrients, genetic manipulation, fear mongering… it reaches the point when it is unable to deal with them and gets sick.
Chinese medicine sees all the many factors that we are affected by as either positive (yang) or negative (yin). So, its whole wisdom is to use / apply / be exposed to as much as possible to yang and to reduce / avoid / eliminate yin.
Therefore fresh, healthy, organic food is yang. And so is clean water, exercise, fresh air, rest, sleep, sunshine, joy, peace…
On the contrary all the above earlier mentioned, plus stress, anger, lack of sleep, no exercise, alcohol, drugs, smoking… is yin.
So, to answer the question, there is no conflict here at all. What we call ‘conventional’ or ‘normal’ simply because it is being widely accepted by (or rather pushed onto) the whole population is not normal at all.
Organically grown food is normal and was normal for millions of years. The other one is (and should be called) ‘toxic’ or ’empty calories’ to differentiate, since it has been around for only about a hundred years.
Health is knowledge or good advice. And so, in order to treat disease and recover health, someone has to educate the patient (or, even better, the whole population), not only give them acupuncture or prescribe herbs.
As a matter of fact, so many times, the condition improves and even gets cured without any treatment by simply applying that knowledge.
It is sad that so many people are, for example, unaware of all the harm caused by the electromagnetic radiation simply because no one told them how to protect against it.
