This meditative movement practice has been shown to help relieve pain and other symptoms of fibromyalgia. My physical therapist (physiotherapist) says that it is an effective way to treat central nervous system sensitization – the favored explanation of the mechanism underlying fibromyalgia. On a handout she gave me it says that qi gong practice “increases the awareness of the body and helps with mapping movement and sensation in the sensor-motor cortex (the region of the brain that is responsible for sensations from the body and movement) . It also helps to facilitate deep abdominal breathing in an active, yet calm way. It loosens up the spine to decrease sympathetic nervous system up-regulation. It teaches you to move without tension, and helps to decrease stress. It is an active way to improve the mind-body connection.”
http://www.medpagetoday.com/clinical-context/Fibromyalgia/34120
I’d like to include some resources to consider. I started with a very gentle 12-15 minute program (warm-up, qi gong, cool down). I used a DVD by Dr. Paul Lam called Qi Gong for Health. It’s a little outdated but very gentle and accessible. It can be ordered online.
I looked up some other resources. ‘Heal Yourself with Qigong’ by Suzanne Friedman looks like an excellent book. There are also lots of classes in communities everywhere – but I would sit and watch to see if it’s the right level first.