This interview with qigong practitioner Jeff Primack, conducted by nationally recognized mindfulness speaker and author Damon Damato, is part two of a two-part series. Primack is founder of Supreme Science Qigong Center and has shared qigong, breathing and food-based healing techniques with tens of thousands of people worldwide in live seminars.

Why is qigong healing so profound compared to other remedial modalities?

Qigong works directly with your life energy to a greater degree than yoga or traditional exercise by using slower movements. Postures are “rooted” in one place, where grounding and electrical charges build stronger. Graceful hand motions move the qi and blood in profound ways while the person is very relaxed. Qigong’s relaxation response allows for greater microcirculation in the frontal lobes of the brain. Qigong practice can improve intelligence and even deepen one’s connection with God, the source of life.

You coined the phrase, “Press on qi!” Why is this emphasized so often in your healing forms?

“Press on qi” is describing subtle movement on the edge of your magnetic field. When a person practices qigong and learns to press on the energy field, it immediately strengthens blood circulation, digestion, metabolism and improves important body functions. I trademarked the term “Press on qi” as our way of expressing this idea unique to our qigong style. 

How did your father’s work in the medical field impact you as you grew up?

My dad is a pharmacist at a hospital, and he loves people. He knows pharmaceuticals have side effects and believes in preventing disease using food. At first, my dad didn’t believe in qigong. Once he felt the energy for himself, he began practicing qigong and studying Chinese medical models. My choice to enter the wellness field was influenced by my dad and his emphasis on a scientific approach. I have a healthy skepticism and present with scientific method.

What was the driving force behind your absorbing so much from the most respected masters of qigong?

As a graduate from University of Florida College of business, I founded Supreme Science Qigong Center to be successful and took my job seriously. Many qigong teachers I found did not provide the training I was looking for. I did a lot of research and found a qi master, Paul Dong, who wrote a book entitled Empty Force. I flew him from China to Florida in 2001, because he claimed to have practiced qigong every day for over 20 years. We arranged a seminar and I gathered a hundred people to hear Paul share his forms, which were light-years ahead of any qigong learned previously. His presence activated my qi, and I practiced more because of coming in direct contact with him.

After Paul flew back to China, I craved to find another qigong expert who could explain more. Master Weizhao Wu was my most influential teacher for qigong, and he practiced since age 7. Although he passed away, his memory lives in the most excellent posture corrections that he carefully gave. He would open my thumb and relax it so the tendons were not hard anymore. That thumb correction makes a huge improvement to qi flow and has been passed to my forms.

Through this process of education and discipline, how long did it take for you to create the Supreme Science Qigong healing forms?

After five years traveling and producing seminars for other qigong masters, I finally created my Level-1 Qigong Healing Form. It was first published in our books in 2003, and only a few dozen instructors memorized it, but by 2007 we had certified a thousand people to teach the routine. Our videos were “qi-animated” to show energy graphically and it assisted people in becoming sensitive to energy. In 2013, we upgraded our qigong videos to HD animation, and in 2017 we finally released our remastered Level-2 video with Ultra HD 4K animation. Spirit continues to reveal better ways for us to share these healing practices.

Will participants get to experience these forms at the Qi Revolution Event?

All three levels of our qigong program are shared in detail, along with Breath Empowerment, 9-Breath Method, acupressure, foot reflexology and Food Healing. Qi Revolution is balanced in presentation and practice. After the event, most people choose to continue practicing qigong at home.

Fitness classes normally get me amped up. Strength training you share at Qi Revolution challenges me, but it has more mastery of breath than any workout I’ve done. What is significant in your qigong strength practices for longevity?

Most important is to slow down breathing in qigong strength training, but most athletes increase respiration when using force. Slowing breathing during pushups changes hormones we make. To demonstrate this relaxing skill during exercises, I performed 750 pushups with twenty students counting and making sure I went up and down all the way. Qi breathing allows for the ATP to replenish faster so that muscle contractions can occur sooner. This also dilates arteries and increases production of nitric oxide to lower blood pressure during strenuous exercise.

If there were only one takeaway at the end of the Qi Revolution, what would you wish for each person to embody?

The most important embodiment I’d like people to walk away with is that we can breathe through life’s challenges and allow God’s healing qi to bring strength and guidance. Attendees will personally experience a higher energy from the qigong. For the last 15 years, people have written to us, thanking us for the powerful breathing exercises at crucial life-challenge points. Qigong helps people process stress, but most of all it brings us into a higher state of well-being. We make our seminar affordable at three days for $199 so that more people can reclaim their qi.

Advertorial / Qi Revolution will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on January 18 through 20 at the Ukrainian Cultural Center, 135 Davidson Ave., Somerset, New Jersey. For more information, call 800-298-8970 or visit QiRevolution.com. See ad, page 33.