The National Qigong Association seeks to nurture all forms of Qigong and support the freedom for its members to train, teach and work clinically, with proper training. To this end, the Board of Directors has adopted a legislative position to support responsible Qigong practitioners, teachers and clinicians against overreaching legislation.
READ NQA POSITION PAPER
Points to Ponder
· Should you be required to have a license to practice Qigong on a personal level?
· Do you have the right to teach Qigong, in all of its divisions, without having to be licensed?
· Are you concerned you won’t be able to practice Clinical/Medical Qigong unless you are licensed?
· Are you aware that the licensing boards currently mentioned in bills will NOT provide proper representation for Qigong?
· Do you want Qigong to be considered massage?
· Do you want the local massage boards to govern Qigong?
SB1930
The status of this bill is still pending in the Senate Assignments Committee. This is a bill that the NQA was involved in crafting alongside the AOBTA and Thai bodywork practitioners.
H350 & S220
These bills have been sent to "Study" as of January 31, 2022. This means that they'll not be voted on during this session. It's been our experience that this simply means that they are dead but there's always an outside chance they could be re-introduced but not likely for this session.
Health Freedom Bills H2343 and S1380.
These bills are still in committee and we should find out about their outcome shortly.
HF1275 and SF1074
Licensing Massage and Asian Bodywork Therapists did not make the scheduling deadline of March 25, 2022. As a result, a new strategy for next session will begin. Qigong was not a part of the bill as we chose to stay under the current protection of MN statutes146A.01 Subd.4 regarding Complementary Health Care Practices.
This may sound farfetched to some, but in reality, it is being proposed in some states. All bills in question as presented, require licensing for Holistic and Energy based modalities.
States that offer protection to Alternative/Complementary medicine through general law, Health Freedom Act and/or Safe Harbor laws are now getting bills proposing the elimination of said protection. No one is safe, not even in those states!
The total loss of self-governance and representation could be on the brink of happening to Qigong. You will be required to have a massage therapist, bodywork or acupuncture license depending on the state.
Please join us in our fight to keep Qigong our own and to self-govern.
We are looking for individuals to help at the state level. We need boots on the ground to contact others in like-minded organizations, speak to legislators and serve as liaisons.
Please contact our Legislation Committee:
The National Qigong Association is a 501c3, volunteer led, non-profit corporation whose mission is to educate people about Qigong, in its many forms, providing opportunities to come together, share, explore and grow as a community. Our volunteers are the heartbeat of the association and help us fulfill our mission which includes protecting the energetic arts we love from those who seek to control or eliminate our ability to practice and teach in our communities. Please consider joining us and help keep Qigong available for all who seeks its many health benefits.
