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Are you tired of going to the
doctor for your chronic aches and pains, only to be told, “Take
two ibuprofen and don't call me in the morning”? Are you
weary of paying exorbitant amounts of money for medications
that only make you fall asleep during the day?
There may be an alternative.
Millions of Americans are waking up to the power of qi.
Qi, pronounced “chee,”
means “life force” in Chinese; "gong" means
work or self-discipline. “Qi-gong,” or “life-force
exercise,” is a popular and inexpensive daily ritual for
over 80 million people in China. And now, due to the booming
popularity of alternative medicine, it has finally made its way
to the U.S.
Mentioned as early as 3,000 years
ago in the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine,
qigong promises to bring relief for many common ailments often
resistant to Western therapies, including allergies, asthma, arthritis,
diabetes, digestive complaints, insomnia, obesity, high blood
pressure, and heart disease.
Qigong has also been shown to
enhance immunity, reduce pain and stress, and end chronic fatigue.
It has even been used to treat serious illnesses like cancer.
“We’re not living
the miracles we can,” says Effie Chow, a qigong master based
in San Francisco. In addition to alleviating knee pain and sore
muscles, Chow claims to have healed many severely disabled patients,
including victims of cerebral palsy, cancer patients and even
quadriplegics, using the healing power of qi.
According to traditional Chinese
medical theory, qi, or life energy, is said to flow through the
body via a series of “meridians” or channels. A weakness
or blockage in any one of these meridians can lead to illness.
Qigong exercise, like the other Chinese healing arts of herbs
and acupuncture, is thought to enhance the flow of qi through
the body, balancing the push and pull of the opposing “yin”
(passive) and “yang” (active) forces that exist in
all living organisms.
Like yoga, the alternative
exercise from India, qigong involves stretching, breathing and
meditation. But qigong adds the conscious mental focus of one’s
brainwaves on weak areas of the body in order to produce increased
circulation, a more efficient delivery of nutrients and removal
of waste products.
“A tenet of qigong is that
the mind leads the qi and the qi leads the blood,” says
Kenneth Sancier of the Qigong
Institute for Research in Menlo Park, California. Relaxing
the mind relaxes the body, allowing one's qi to flow more freely,
freeing up blockages and improving health.
Sancier first became captivated
by qigong while watching Effie Chow teach the exercises on a San
Francisco television show. He introduced himself, and the two
founded the Qigong
Institute and the East-West
Academy for Healing Arts, the duo’s clinical arm.
One of the main Chinese
healing arts, qigong is often used in conjunction with its sister
arts of acupuncture, herbs, massage, and proper nutrition. All
of these therapies operate on the same energetic principle of
balancing and harmonizing the qi.
But qigong is not just for healing.
Aside from medical qigong there are three other main traditions:
wushu or martial arts qigong for strength and flexibility,
Taoist or spiritual qigong for developing cosmic awareness and
Confucian or scholarly qigong for enhancing intelligence and developing
character.
Qigong is considered "basic
training" for many of the martial arts. It is considered
an “internal” martial art because it strengthens the
internal energy necessary to master practices like kung fu.
In China, some qigong masters
have given the art a dubious reputation by performing “magic
tricks” in public, like bending steel bars with their bare
hands, seeing through concrete walls, and being run over by cars
without being injured. Due to such reports of superhuman strength
many look askance at qigong as superstition or black magic, including
the Chinese government.
A number of scientific studies
have shown that, if not miraculous, regular qigong practice can
greatly alleviate pain.
In 1995, Dr. Wen-Hsien Wu of
the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry, received the
first National Institutes of Health grant to study the clinical
effects of qigong. Wu’s subjects were afflicted with a rare
and painful illness called reflex sympathetic dystrophy, which
makes the nerve endings of the skin so hypersensitive that putting
on a pair of socks is said to feel like being cut with razor blades.
Dr. Wu’s research proved
highly effective: Within months, his subjects’ excruciating
pain was reduced to a manageable level for the first time in years.
Their mobility increased, and they were able to resume normal
activities.
Similar studies have shown qigong
to be effective in managing and alleviating severe back pain and
hypertension. A number of recent studies have shown that medication
is more therapeutic when accompanied by qigong exercise. And in
China medical researchers have inhibited cancer growth in mice
and substantially improved the general physical condition of advanced
cancer patients using emitted qigong.
As little as 10-15 minutes a
day over a period of months can greatly enhance one’s well-being,
according to qigong experts. But it is important to practice daily.
“You have to keep practicing
qigong to keep the energy level high,” says Thomas Winkler-Parenty,
a martial arts instructor who incorporates qigong into his classes.“It’s
like getting water to boil – if you turn off the heat, the
water will get cold again and you’ll have to start over.”
Daily practice is as much preventative
as it is curative. Healthy Chinese incorporate qigong into their
daily regimen to enhance vitality and stave off illness, practicing
their slow, gentle movements in parks and squares around China
in the early morning hours, when universal qi is said to be greatest.
Some practice under a pine tree to enhance their supply of oxygen.
There are special qigong exercises
for different parts of the body, one to strengthen the heart meridian,
another to fortify the kidneys.
Within medical qigong there are
hundreds of variations. One popular style is “Wild
Goose” Qigong, consisting of 64 graceful movements that
emulate the behavior of the wild goose. Another is Five-Element
Standing Stake Qigong, a stationary style considered by many practitioners
to produce the most powerful healing effects, down to the cellular
level. Each qigong variation may utilize either internal or external
qi. Internal qi involves moving one’s own “energy
ball” . External qi involves aiming it at others.
For more serious conditions like
cancer, qigong experts recommend 4-6 hours per day of intense
practice. This intensity level is common at the qigong hospitals
scattered around mainland China. It is important to be guided
by an experienced instructor; in rare cases, overzealous practice
has led to hallucinations and other mental disturbances. Because
qigong thins the blood and increases circulation it is not recommended
for pregnant or menstruating women or for patients with internal
bleeding or acute infectious diseases.
While there are currently no
licensing standards for qigong practitioners, patients must use
their own judgment when choosing a qigong master.
“There is a tremendous
amount of charlatanism in qigong, says Qigong
expert Kenneth Cohen, who has twenty-five years of experience
in the field. “I would say only about ten percent of qigong
teachers have an adequate fund of knowledge.”
Cohen suggests choosing an instructor
with at least 5-10 years of training and a broad knowledge of
the history of qigong. While it is possible to find free qigong
classes, especially at senior centers, most structured classes
will average between $10 and $15 and are usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours
in length. For example, WITHIN
Wellness Center in Miami offers a sliding scale class with
a suggested donation of $15, and a Spanish-speaking instructor.
While major insurers do not cover
qigong at this time, some alternative medical insurance providers
do.
Kenneth Sancier, Effie Chow’s
partner at San Francisco’s East-West Academy of Healing
Arts, scoffs about the likelihood of qigong finding full acceptance
within the health-care delivery system.
“Medical doctors themselves
are not excited about qigong because it cuts into their income.”
As for insurance companies, he adds, “If everyone were to
use qigong, premiums would have to be lower.”
This lack of understanding reflects
the chasm between Eastern and Western healing approaches. While
Chinese medicine aims to prevent illness, Western medicine focuses
on treating the patient once symptoms set in — too late,
according to Chinese medical theory, for effective treatment of
many chronic degenerative conditions. The consensus among a growing
number of American health professionals is that the two approaches
complement each other: the former best for prevention, the latter
suited to treating acute conditions like fever and injuries.
Chow herself looks forward to
the day when Eastern and Western healers and scientists cooperate
to fully integrate the two systems into American health care.
“It took a white male journalist
like Bill Moyers” — who first introduced Americans
to qigong in 1993 on his popular PBS series Healing and the
Mind — “to give alternative medicine the clout
it needs,” says Chow. Now, hopefully qigong masters, many
of whom are Asian, will get some respect.
WITHIN Wellness Center offers
weekly qigong classes with a Spanish-speaking instructor.
In March 6-7, 2004, WITHIN will
also offer an intensive weekend workshop in Chi-Lel® Qigong.
For more information, visit the
WITHIN website at http://www.withinwellness.com/
WITHIN
Wellness Center
7800 Red Road, suite 325
Miami, Florida 33143
email: carinilza@withinwellness.com
phone: 305 668 0570.
fax: 305 668 0670
In Fort Lauderdale, The
Atlantic Institute of Oriental Medicine will offer qigong
classes by a qigong master.
Contact: 954-463-3888
The University of Miami
Qigong Self-Healing Workshop
Contact: 305-284-5433
Qigong, Intro — $12, 6/$60. Ctr
for BioTherapeutics, 430 S. Dixie Hwy #211, Coral Gables, 305-666-2243.
More
Links to Qigong classes and teachers in Miami/Dade and Broward
County
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