Mexico’s President Says She Practices a Chinese Qigong Discipline, Hopes to Set Up National Qigong F

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Aug. 12 that she practices an ancient Chinese mind-body practice, qigong, and wants to establish a Mexican Qigong Federation to let her country discover its benefits, reported SignoMx, a Mexican digital media/news channel. 

“As president, it’s very difficult to go out for a run, so now I’m practicing this discipline [qigong],” Sheinbaum said while addressing a press conference and welcoming a group of Mexican athletes who participated in the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo at the National Palace in Mexico City.

Qigong is an umbrella term for a broad group of Chinese practices that involve breathing, gentle or repetitive body movements, posture, relaxation and mental concentration or attention. The word qi (氣) traditionally refers to a vital energy or life force, while gong (功) means cultivated skill or practice. While the term “qigong” only appeared in the 20th century, historically such practices have existed in different forms, including health exercises, meditation, breathing practices, and martial-arts training.

Sheinbaum shared these remarks when asked about her favorite sport and said that she was introduced to the ancient mind-body discipline by Mexico’s head of National Sports Commission, Rommel Pacheco and she earlier had interest in Tai Chi, a well-known form of Qigong, as reported by The Epoch Times. 

“In fact, I told him, ‘Let’s see if we can set up a federation for that sport in Mexico,’” Sheinbaum said.

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The Mexican president said that she practiced ballet as a child and had to let go of her interest in dance to be able to focus on physics studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

“From there, I went to the other extreme—I took up rowing, I was on the UNAM rowing team … and later I competed in track and field at UNAM as well,” she said. 

According to the SignoMx report, Sheinbaum confirmed a 10 percent increase in sports scholarships in the country and advocated for sports as a right and a “tool for training, discipline, and development for children and young people.”