From the point of view of traditional Chinese medicine and wushu / qigong practices, the following five stages of disease progression are distinguished:
1. Energy Imbalance (Qi Imbalance)
The disease begins not with pain or external symptoms, but with an internal disruption of energy circulation. Fatigue, mild discomfort, and sleep disturbances appear—but the person usually doesn’t pay attention to these. This stage occurs primarily on a mental level.
2. Blockage of Qi and Xue (energy and blood)
Energy begins to stagnate, tension, stiffness, and a feeling of heaviness appear in the body, colds may become more frequent, and headaches may occur.
3. Functional Organ Dysfunction
External signs can be detected—high blood pressure, digestive problems, irregular heartbeat, and creaking joints. The body still compensates, but its resilience diminishes.
4. Organic Tissue Damage
At this stage, changes in tissues already occur – chronic inflammation, arthrosis, spinal problems, metabolic disorders.
5. Deep Illness and Depletion of Vital Energy
The body loses its ability to compensate. Serious diagnoses arise.
What is Behind the Onset of the Disease?
In most cases, this is a mental component. Tension is often caused by either mental overload—a constant, unrelenting thought process—or negative emotions—resentment, fear, anger, anxiety, and so on. Persistent exposure to such states leads to the development of certain Qi blockages—subtly perceptible tensions in certain parts of the body. This then gradually progresses to the second stage.
Essentially, we can experience Qi blockage as tension. Because tension is acquired gradually throughout life, it is extremely difficult to track this process without specific practices, as the body and mind simply adapt to it over time. And this gradual adaptation is a further progression of these five stages, which evolve over time.
The main goal of working with this process is to identify tension in the body by observing the state of both body and mind. It sounds a bit abstract, but this is accomplished through specific methods and practices. I Liq Chuan is one of these practices. For example, the 13 points and the practice of Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation) can serve as a starting practice for observing.
It is worth noting that in addition to acquired disorders, there are also congenital and genetic predispositions, which are much more difficult to work with.
The Impact of Practice on Physical and Mental Health
When we begin to consciously monitor processes in the body using the correct method, we can begin to feel and hear more. Consequently, a practitioner can detect and resolve tensions and disturbances in the first and second stages, while a non-practitioner often only notices them in the third stage.
Tensions, blockages, and distortions of the body’s axis and overall structure are acquired throughout life, and since the mind and body adapt to them and perceive them as normal, unblocking these blockages is not a matter of a day or even a month. Yet the real challenge is not only to unlock them, but to rediscover the body’s natural, inherent alignments and states—and then to maintain them, without falling back into tension again.
Practice here is not a cure-all for disorders; rather, health should be seen as a pleasant bonus for the practitioner.
Conclusion
Internal practice does not “heal” in the direct sense — it restores the conditions in which the body can open naturally. Conscious movement with attention to structure awakens the connection between breath, joints, the body’s axis, and various tissue layers. Softness here is not weakness but a method of dissolving stagnant areas where Qi does not flow. Working with the vertical alignment provides a sense of grounding; the breath begins to sink downward, and the body remembers its center. In this way, we move toward harmony and balance — the ability to recognize internal and external processes and interact with them effectively.
