Local study finds pain relief through Qigong
Posted: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 4:29 pm
By RUTH ANN HAGER
Staff Writer
WASECA — A year ago, Jane Coleman set out to discover the effect of Spring Forest Qigong (pronounced “chee-gong”) on people suffering from chronic emotional or physical pain.
With the assistance of a master teacher and 86 volunteers from the Waseca area, she found her answer.
Coleman became interested in the Asian energetic cleansing movement and meditation exercises as a way to link the cleansing and nutrition services offered by Healing Hands Wellness Group in Waseca where she does “bodywork” and operates her business, Waseca Integrative Therapy, “to help people clean up and build up their bodies on a daily basis.”
“Research shows that Asian cultures have little chronic disease and Cancer. So, in addition to examining how they care for their bodies nutritionally, I became interested in what other practices they employ to maintain good health. A common thread was qigong practice, the art of cultivating, harvesting, and storing what they call “life force” (breath, energy),” Coleman said.
“Just as we do this to supply our bodies with adequate nutrition to function well (calories = energy), the gentle movement and meditation practices of Spring Forest Qigong may serve to support our systems as well. I wanted to see if there is any truth to this assumption, so I designed a simple study.”
It turns out that while she was looking for a PhD dissertation topic, a Chinese Healer named Chunyi Lin, who teaches SFQ in the Twin Cities, was looking for a nurse to do research on Spring Forest Qigong. Lin’s vision of “a healer in every family and a world without pain” appealed to Coleman, a board certified holistic nurse.
With the carrot of a session with Master Lin, Coleman set out to find participants for her study. Her goal was to demonstrate that SFQ knowledge is easily accessible, self-regulated, cost effective and has measurable health benefits. Research has shown that SFQ has decreased blood pressure, cholesterol, lipids, pain and depression and increased bone density and immunity, she said.
From 148 persons screened, 86 people from the Waseca area met the screening criteria and were part of the study conducted last fall.
While the majority of the volunteers cited physical pain, some of them came because of emotional distress and many had both, Coleman said. The participants were evaluated at orientation, at the mid point and at the end point of the study. They agreed to practice 30 minutes a day.
Reporting the results of her study provides her with an opportunity “to thank the study participants for their time and effort,” she said. There was both anecdotal and statistical support for her hypothesis with an overwhelming number of respondents reporting a reduction in their pain as a result of qigong, according to Coleman.
One woman in the group who had not been able to become pregnant, became pregnant. Another showed an increase in bone density when the only thing she had changed in her life was the addition of SFQ.
Twenty-seven people reported reductions in pain medication and one person lost 26 pounds.
The study found that people who “practiced the method as advised experienced reduced anxiety, physical pain and related symptoms.”
As a result of her study, Coleman received the 2008 Cheraskin Research Grant award from the Clayton College of Natural Health where she is a PhD candidate in Natural Health and a scholarship from Sigma Theta-Tau, the International Honor Society of Nursing.
Coleman’s PhD will be conferred upon approval of her dissertation, which she intends to publish. She presented the results of her study in June and has plans to present it to a group of rheumatologists and to the National American Holistic Nurses Association in 2010.
Since 1978, she has studied healthy choices for self care. She says the mind, body and spirit all work together. “When they are in balance, we generally experience health. Spring Forest Qigong is about finding that balance.”
Learn and practice, said Coleman, because the more people integrate SFQ into their routine, the greater the benefit. She calls it “one more thing that should be taught in kindergarten.”
For more information, go to
www.SpringForestQigong.com or
www.healinghandswaseca.com
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