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Thread: Qigong as Medicine

  1. #136
    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Chiang Po View Post
    I cannot give you a name for it, but I can attempt to explain it. I have several different exercises. Some are purely physical, others mostly meditation, and a couple that are both.
    For healing in my abdomen I did a breathing exercise that entailed humming with a deep gutteral tone in an effort to vibrate the wounded area. I would imagine the generation of chi and mentally try to channel it upward. At first it made me feel ill and nausia. Eventually, I felt something that felt very strange, as it seemed like waves of sensation moving upward in my belly. By then I was standing. No strength, but able to stand for the first time in many months. I would place my palms over my wound as I hummed deeply, and then slowly brought my hands up my center line as high as I could reach, then brought my hands out to a 45 angle over my head and held that until I had expended all the air in my lungs. Then as I inhaled deeply and slowly I would bring my hands down and place them over the wound again. I was told that imagination was a great healer, so I would imagine pure energy flowing again from my center core. I would also sit for hours doing sil lim in my mind. I would not move except in my mind and thoughts. I would do it very slowly at first, then faster with time. This was a form of meditation, and my body responded by flowing energy through my body. This was my intention, whether or not it really happened.
    If the mind can heal, this could be an example of it. I had been given up to the grim reaper, and it was said that nothing else could be done for me. I gain strength daily I feel, but due to the loss of heart I am now severely limited. But, I am also still alive for now.
    Thank you for your generosity in sharing this.

  2. #137
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    Weight Loss For Diabetics

    If qigong could market itself as good for weight loss alone, it would take off in America.

    Qigong Helps Weight Loss For Diabetics - New Research
    on 08 August 2014.

    Qigong helps diabetics lose weight. New research conducted at the Bastyr University Research Institute (Kenmore, Washington) concludes that qigong “has a positive impact on body weight in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).” The Yin Yang symbol, shown here, depicts balance and harmony. Measurements of body weight, body mass index (BMI), insulin resistance and fasting glucose confirm that medical qigong exercises benefit patients with diabetes.

    Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) includes several methods for the purposes of improving health including herbal medicine, acupuncture, Tui-Na massage, Qigong and Tai Chi (Taijichuan). Qigong is the art of movement exercises combined with breathing control. In this most recent study, the style of Yi Ren medical qigong was used. Participants practiced in a group setting for 60 minutes per week with instructors and practiced at home at a rate of twice per week for 30 minutes per session.

    The study team notes a very interesting phenomena. Qigong reduced the BMI (body mass index) for patients with high BMIs and raised the BMI for patients with abnormally low BMIs. This suggests a natural homeostatic response to Qigong in human subjects. Beneficial effects on weight loss for overweight subjects were measured and decreases in insulin resistance were significant. As a results, the researchers conclude that medical qigong provides important benefits for weight loss, BMI control and improvements in insulin resistance.


    Below is an image from a scroll dating back to the Han Dynasty. It depicts several Qigong exercises.



    This Han Dynasty scroll image depicts Qigong movements and positions.

    Reference:
    Sun, G. C., X. Ding, X. H. Zhou, A. Putiri, and R. Bradley. "Effects of Yi Ren Medical Qigong on Body Weight in People with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Pilot Study." J Integrative Med Ther 1, no. 1 (2014): 5.
    Author Affiliations:
    1 Institute of Qigong and Integrative Medicine, Bothell, Washington.
    2 Bastyr University Research Institute, Kenmore, Washington.
    3 University of Washington, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, and HSR&D VA Pudget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, Washington.
    4 Bastyr University Research Institute, San Diego, California.
    - See more at: http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture....9jMzWHw2.dpuf
    Gene Ching
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  3. #138
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    Numerous therapeutic applications

    Qigong gaining popularity as healing tool in the West
    Published: 1 June 2015 7:22 AM


    Qigong: a thousand-year-old discipline that integrates physical postures, breathing techniques and focused intention to heal the body and mind. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, June 1, 2015.Qigong: a thousand-year-old discipline that integrates physical postures, breathing techniques and focused intention to heal the body and mind. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, June 1, 2015.

    Qigong is a thousand-year-old discipline that integrates physical postures, breathing techniques and focused intention to heal the body and mind. Some of its therapeutic benefits, scientifically proven in China, are now being studied and promoted in the West.

    Qigong is accessible to all: young and old, from the sporty to the less inclined, can participate in the ancient art, whose name signifies the mastery of energy and which is based on breathing exercises in conjunction with slow, non-violent movements that aim to reconcile the body with the mind and restore vitality.

    In China, where it has been practised for centuries, qigong is said to aid the circulation of energy and help release tension as well as relax the body. There, and more recently in the United States, doctors have applied qigong in hospitals and clinics to treat individuals suffering from a variety of ailments, though in countries such as France, the practice is reserved for practitioners with a medical degree who have completed a five-year curriculum in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), of which qigong is one of the four main branches, along with acupuncture, herbal medicine and medical massage.

    The discipline is thus utilised there as adjuvant to treatments for cardiovascular, rheumatic and neurological problems, while in Germany and Switzerland, qigong is actually reimbursed by social security within the framework of preventative medicine.

    In the United States, the National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) is continuing its research into unconventional approaches for health such as tai chi and qigong, which, according to Gary Jiang, president of the American Tai Chi & Qigong Association, “is a formal recognition by the Congress and American people that the effectiveness and the safety of the unconventional approaches like tai chi and qigong have been proven by reliable evidences”.

    Known for preventing disease thanks to better oxygenation and nutritional intake by the organs, the practice can heal different illnesses such as nervousness, insomnia and constipation. It also can put an end to back pains and weight issues.

    Numerous therapeutic applications

    Most of the current research on qigong being conducted and published in Asia indicates that there are benefits across multiple medical sectors.

    In 2007, a journal published a series of 12 randomised clinical trials in which almost 1,000 people participated. The results indicated that the regular practice of qigong could have positive effects on lowering blood pressure but that they would need more rigorously designed trials to ascertain for sure.

    Another study relating to qigong practiced alone and a second to qigong practiced with a teacher reveal that the discipline could prove efficient in relieving chronic pain. In 2010, further research corroborated this fact and indicated that the participants of a qigong group experienced a reduction in pain intensity after four weeks of treatment.

    Scientific literature has also shown the benefits of qigong in improving the quality of life after cancer by playing notably on things like mood, fatigue and inflammation and reducing the undesirable side-effects of chemotherapy.

    Other studies with limited clinical scope have revealed that qigong could improve the quality of life for older people or those suffering from cardiac problems and that it could have positive influences on the immune system. – AFP/Relaxnews, June 1, 2015.
    This is somewhat of a cursory overview (I hate articles that mention 'studies' but don't actually cite the source). I'm just trying to feed this subforum here.
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  4. #139
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    New Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

    This article looks interesting but you have to be a member to access it and there's no abstract.

    Effect of Health Qigong Baduanjin on Fall Prevention in Individuals with Parkinson's Disease
    Authors
    Chunmei Xiao MEd,
    Yongchang Zhuang MEd,
    Yong Kang MEd
    First published: 14 September 2016Full publication history
    DOI: 10.1111/jgs.14438
    Gene Ching
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  5. #140
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    Psychosocial well-being among hidden elderly

    This is a significant beneficial aspect of Tai Chi & Qigong now with the ever expanding elderly community.

    This is just the abstract. Follow the link for the full article.

    Effects of tai chi qigong on psychosocial well-being among hidden elderly, using elderly neighborhood volunteer approach: a pilot randomized controlled trial

    Authors Chan AW, Yu DS, Choi KC

    Received 13 October 2016

    Accepted for publication 29 November 2016

    Published 5 January 2017 Volume 2017:12 Pages 85—96

    DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S124604

    Checked for plagiarism Yes

    Review by Single-blind

    Peer reviewers approved by Dr Lucy Goodman

    Peer reviewer comments 3

    Editor who approved publication: Professor Zhi-Ying Wu

    Aileen WK Chan, Doris SF Yu, KC Choi

    The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR

    Purpose: To test the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a tai chi qigong program with the assistance of elderly neighborhood volunteers in strengthening social networks and enhancing the psychosocial well-being of hidden elderly.
    Patients and methods: “Hidden elderly” is a term used to describe older adults who are socially isolated and refuse social participation. This pilot randomized controlled trial recruited 48 older adults aged 60 or above who did not engage in any social activity. They were randomized into tai chi qigong (n=24) and standard care control (n=24) groups. The former group underwent a three-month program of two 60-minute sessions each week, with the socially active volunteers paired up with them during practice. Standard care included regular home visits by social workers. Primary outcomes were assessed by means of the Lubben social network and De Jong Gieveld loneliness scales, and by a revised social support questionnaire. Secondary outcomes were covered by a mental health inventory and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale, and quality of life by using the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey. Data was collected at baseline, and at three and six months thereafter.
    Results: The generalized estimating equations model revealed general improvement in outcomes among participants on the tai chi qigong program. In particular, participants reported a significantly greater improvement on the loneliness scale (B=-1.32, 95% confidence interval [CI] -2.54 to -0.11, P=0.033) and the satisfaction component of the social support questionnaire (B=3.43, 95% CI 0.10–6.76, P=0.044) than the control group.

    Conclusion: The pilot study confirmed that tai chi qigong with elderly neighborhood volunteers is a safe and feasible social intervention for hidden elderly. Its potential benefits in improving social and psychological health suggest the need for a full-scale randomized controlled trial to reveal its empirical effects.
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  6. #141
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    Boosting cancer patient's survival chances

    Qigong boosts cancer patients' survival chances by factor of 18
    Cancer patients can improve their prospects by doing an hour of qigong exercises every morning, write Chinese researchers from Guilin Medical University in Medicine. In the group of patients that the Chinese studied, practising qigong increased their survival chances by a factor of 18.

    Study
    The Chinese studied 122 patients with cancer in the respiratory system for a period of 10 years. Most had lung cancer, but some also had nasopharyngeal cancer. Out of the group 76 patients chose voluntarily to do an hour of qigong almost every morning; the other 46 could not be persuaded.

    Qigong consists of gentle movement with static postures in which breathing exercises are done. The participants in the qigong groups practised on average 279 times a year.

    Results
    Qigong increased the survival chances of the cancer patients. After ten years, of the patients who had not done qigong [Non-MBE], 2.2 percent were still alive. Of the patients who had done qigong [MBE], 39.5 percent were still alive after 10 years. So qigong increased the 10-year survival chance of this group by a factor of 18.

    Click on the figure below for a larger version.



    The breathing of the survivors in the qigong group changed. The participants were able to suspend their breath for longer after exhaling. In technical terms, their end-tidal breath holding time increased gradually over the 10-year period from 17.5 to 21.3 seconds.



    At the same time, the number of times per minute that the survivors in the qigong group inhaled and exhaled went down from 24.2 to 18.6.

    Mechanism
    In the 10-year period the researchers observed that the people in the qigong group gradually started to exhale a little more carbon dioxide and a little less oxygen. The Chinese believe that this explains how qigong increases the survival chances of these cancer patients: qigong inhibits cancer by making more oxygen available to the body's tissues.



    "Oxygen-carbon dioxide homeostasis via normal breathing is crucial for health while disturbance of the homeostasis may cause many disorders, especially cancers," the Chinese speculate.

    "Kunz and Ibrahim [Mol Cancer. 2003 Apr 17;2:23.] have proposed that tissue hypoxia may serve as a central factor for carcinogenesis, invasion, aggressiveness, and metastasis. Distant metastases in human soft tissue sarcoma can be predicted by tumor oxygenation. [Cancer Res. 1996 Mar 1;56(5):941-3.] Generally, the difficulty in one's breathing is parallel to the cancer invasion."

    "Moreover, hypoxia can compromise the function of macrophages, enzymes and other cytokines and lymphocytes of the immune system. [Oncol Res. 1997;9(6-7):383-90.]"



    "In addition, hypoxic conditions modulate biological responses including activation of signaling pathways that regulate proliferation, angiogenesis, and death. [Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1986 Aug;12(8):1279-82.] [Mol Cell Biol. 1998 May;18(5):2845-54.]"

    Conclusion
    "An individualized exercise program such as morning breathing exercises may be essential in cancer management," the researchers wrote. "Collectively, morning breathing exercises might be beneficial for long-term survival of lung cancer patients and nasopharyngeal cancer patients."

    "Given the fact that each and every day, thousands of people are diagnosed with cancers, morning breathing exercises may offer a cost-effective approach to people living with cancer."

    Source:
    Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Jan;96(2):e5838.
    The form shown in the diagram is a baduanjin with variations.
    Gene Ching
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  7. #142
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    Ptsd

    Military Researchers Collaborate With University on Opioid Crisis
    By Sarah Marshall Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

    BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 25, 2017 — Opioids are the main driver of drug overdose deaths across the United States, and West Virginia has been among the hardest hit by the crisis, experiencing the highest overdose death rates in the country.


    With the military, West Virginia and the nation experiencing over-reliance on opioids for pain management, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and West Virginia University have established an official collaboration to pool their resources to help in solving the problem. Graphic courtesy of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

    With a shared vision of combating this growing epidemic, health care providers and researchers from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences here and West Virginia University have established an official collaboration to pool their resources.

    In 2015, the overdose death rate in West Virginia was an estimated 41.5 per 100,000 people, an increase of about 17 percent from the year prior, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cabell County in southern West Virginia has a population of 96,000, and an estimated 10,000 of those residents are addicted to opioids.

    Additionally, the state's indigent burial fund, which helps families pay for a funeral when they can't afford one, reportedly ran out of money this year for the sixth consecutive year, largely due to the high number of overdose deaths.

    As the opioid epidemic continues to have a substantial impact on the state, leaders from WVU reached out to USU's Defense and Veterans Center for Integrative Pain Management, aware of their efforts to successfully combat opioid misuse in the military over the last several years with the idea that lessons learned in the military would be applicable to their state's current crisis. Earlier this year, leaders from both universities developed a cooperative research and development agreement allowing them to formally share pain management resources developed by DVCIPM.

    Adding Value to Civilian, Military Medicine

    The agreement also allows the DVCIPM an opportunity to measure the efficacy of the tools they've developed in a new environment – a collaboration that these leaders believe already is adding value to both civilian and military medicine.

    Nearly a decade ago, at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, physicians were seeking to help troops get their chronic pain levels to zero as they survived combat injuries in record numbers. This was often achieved by using opioids – and using opioids as a single modality – which the military quickly realized was not effective, because this approach was affecting many service members and their relationships with loved ones, work, and daily living.

    In 2009, then-Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Eric Schoomaker chartered the Army Pain Management Task Force, which sought to make recommendations for a comprehensive pain management strategy, ensuring an optimal quality of life for service members and other patients dealing with pain. It became clear to the military that pain should be viewed as more than just a number, and over the last several years, the military has been dedicated to researching and developing more effective tools for pain management, ultimately reducing the number of those potentially exposed to opioid addiction.

    The task force's efforts led to the development of DVCIPM, which was designated as a Defense Department Center of Excellence last year.

    Schoomaker, now retired, continues to lead these efforts, serving as vice chair for leadership, centers and programs for USU's department of military and emergency medicine, which oversees DVCIPM.

    "We now have good evidence for the use of non-pharmacologic, non-opioid treatments, such as yoga, guided imagery, medical massage, chiropractic, acupuncture, Tai Chi, as well as a closely related movement therapy called Qigong, and music therapy," he said. "We have pretty good research to endorse their use."

    Because these practices might not work the same for each person, he added, it's important to use a variety of these modalities as part of a comprehensive program, tailored to the needs of an individual with chronic pain. Now, thanks to the official collaboration between USU and WVU, DVCIPM will have the opportunity to continue researching the efficacy of various integrative modalities and the pain management tools and resources they've developed.

    "We owe it to our patients, and we owe it to practitioners, to only use tools that have good evidence for their use," Schoomaker said.

    Gathering, Measuring Data

    DVCIPM Director Dr. Chester "Trip" Buckenmaier said the center's tools and resources have mainly been used in a fairly selective population within the military. Studying their efficacy in a smaller system within a state's civilian infrastructure will allow them to gather and measure data on how successful they can be in a broader population, which will continue to help illustrate the potential these tools have.


    Battlefield acupuncture is a unique auricular (ear) acupuncture procedure providing an integrative modality to help treat chronic pain. It’s being taught to qualified providers in the military. Now, thanks to a new collaboration between Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and West Virginia University, it’s also being employed in a new pain management center in West Virginia to help combat the opioid crisis. Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences photo by Sarah Marshall

    "It's important to have relationships like we have with West Virginia. … They pay off in so many different ways that you can never anticipate," Schoomaker said.

    Dr. Mike Brumage, WVU's assistant dean for Public Health Practice and Service, initiated the collaborative effort by reaching out to USU about two years ago, wanting to do something about the issue affecting his native West Virginia. At the time, he had just retired after a 25-year career in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, and was able to connect with former military health colleagues, including Schoomaker and then-Army Maj. Gen. (Dr.) Richard Thomas, who was serving as the Defense Health Agency's chief medical officer. Thomas is an alumnus of WVU's undergraduate, dental and medical programs, and is now USU's president.

    This quickly led to several more meetings and discussions, led by Dr. Clay Marsh, vice president and executive dean of WVU's Health Sciences Center, and Dr. Bill Ramsey, assistant vice president of coordination and logistics for the center. Ultimately, they arrived at a CRADA, signed off by Thomas and Marsh, and have since continued looking for ways to make the most out of their collaboration.

    The hope is that this joint effort will galvanize further interest from other entities, Schoomaker said, leading to other similar collaborations, ultimately continuing the fight against a crisis that's impacting the entire nation.
    Medicinal Qigong & Tai Chi may ultimately be their greatest gifts (Acupuncture is intrinsically medicinal).
    Gene Ching
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  8. #143
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    Tai Chi and Qigong for cancer-related symptoms and quality of life

    Tai Chi and Qigong for cancer-related symptoms and quality of life: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
    December 12, 2017
    This study aims to summarize and critically evaluate the effects of Tai Chi and Qigong (TCQ) mind-body exercises on symptoms and quality of life (QOL) in cancer survivors.

    A systematic search in four electronic databases targeted randomized and non-randomized clinical studies evaluating TCQ for fatigue, sleep difficulty, depression, pain, and QOL in cancer patients, published through August 2016. Meta-analysis was used to estimate effect sizes (ES, Hedges' g) and publication bias for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methodological bias in RCTs was assessed.

    Our search identified 22 studies, including 15 RCTs that evaluated 1283 participants in total, 75% women. RCTs evaluated breast (n = 7), prostate (n = 2), lymphoma (n = 1), lung (n = 1), or combined (n = 4) cancers. RCT comparison groups included active intervention (n = 7), usual care (n = 5), or both (n = 3). Duration of TCQ training ranged from 3 to 12 weeks. Methodological bias was low in 12 studies and high in 3 studies. TCQ was associated with significant improvement in fatigue (ES = - 0.53, p < 0.001), sleep difficulty (ES = - 0.49, p = 0.018), depression (ES = - 0.27, p = 0.001), and overall QOL (ES = 0.33, p = 0.004); a statistically non-significant trend was observed for pain (ES = - 0.38, p = 0.136). Random effects models were used for meta-analysis based on Q test and I 2 criteria. Funnel plots suggest some degree of publication bias. Findings in non-randomized studies largely paralleled meta-analysis results.

    Larger and methodologically sound trials with longer follow-up periods and appropriate comparison groups are needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn, and cancer- and symptom-specific recommendations can be made.

    TCQ shows promise in addressing cancer-related symptoms and QOL in cancer survivors.

    Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice. 2017 Dec 08 [Epub ahead of print]

    Peter M Wayne, M S Lee, J Novakowski, K Osypiuk, J Ligibel, L E Carlson, R Song

    Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, 900 Commonwealth Avenue, 3rd floor, Boston, MA, 02215, USA. pwayne@partners.org., Clinical Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea., Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, 900 Commonwealth Avenue, 3rd floor, Boston, MA, 02215, USA., Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies and Healthy Living, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA., Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada., College of Nursing, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.

    PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29222705
    More medicinal Qigong & Tai Chi
    Gene Ching
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  9. #144
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    Dayan @ PAMF

    Qigong gets popular in Bay Area
    By Lia Zhu in San Francisco | China Daily USA | Updated: 2018-05-29 22:51
    With a badge reading "I'm Cancer Free" on his chest, Ken Adler headed to the middle of the room with six other elderly people.

    They moved through a series of slow-motion exercises as mood music played in the background.

    "Feet on the ground, look forward, unlock your knees," Edith Chiang, the instructor of the qigong class said as she demonstrated the movements.

    The qigong program was being offered by the oncology department of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation free of charge to the public. Most of the participants were patients receiving treatment and not capable of much movement.

    "Qigong is an ancient Chinese form of exercise, which enhances the circulation of qi, or life energy. In traditional Chinese medicine, when qi flows freely in a balanced fashion, health is restored and disease is prevented," said Chiang.

    She has been teaching qigong in the Bay Area for more than 10 years at major hospitals, including Keiser Permanente, Palo Alto Medical Foundation and El Camino Hospital. More than 500 people have attended her classes.

    Many of the participants turn to qigong as an alternative recovery therapy when conventional medicine fails to produce satisfying results, said Chiang.

    "For someone who's going to cancer treatment, the treatments are harsh, to say the least. And it just wreaks havoc on a person's body. This is a way of exploring your body's sensations in a more pleasant and affirming way," said Adler, a trainer in Live Strong Live Well, a strength and fitness training program for cancer survivors.

    He introduced qigong to his program and the participants "love" it. It provides a different way of thinking about strength training, he said.

    "It's a proactive engagement with oneself," said Adler. "Keeping people motivated, encouraging them to stay the course even when they feel the awful effects of the treatment - these are important elements of emotional and psychological endurance training for our participants."

    Though little understood in the Western world, qigong is becoming popular in the Bay Area.

    "Qigong is being increasingly accepted by the mainstream, as its benefits are being recognized," said Jean Yu, manager of the Chinese Health Initiative at El Camino Hospital. Her program plans to offer its first English-language qigong class this summer.

    A study by the National Institutes of Health showed that qigong can help reduce stress and pain, improve balance and prevent falls, said Yu.

    The form of qigong practiced by Chiang is called Dayan qigong, based on the movements of the dayan, or wild goose. There are movements representing the animal, like touching toes and flapping "wings".

    Unlike other forms of qigong, Dayan qigong requires no special breathing techniques or mental images to facilitate the circulation of qi, so it's easy and safe for beginners, said Chiang.

    "You definitely can (feel the energy). I get a lot of warmth in the palm of my hands," said Karen Michael, who has just finished five years of cancer treatments. "When you are doing this stuff, you are bringing the energy to different parts of your body. It's all about energy.

    "I'll call it a healing practice. It's really taking your body's energy and deploying it to help yourself," she said.

    For Adler, who has been learning with Chiang for four years, the next level of challenge is to learn the entire repertoire of the Dayan qigong set.

    "One of these days, I'm going to surprise Edith with all the 64 movements," he said.

    Contact the writher at liazhu@chinadailyusa.com
    THREADS
    Wild Goose Qigong aka Dayan Qigong
    Qigong as Medicine
    Gene Ching
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  10. #145

    Internal Kung Fu


  11. #146
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    Qigong as Medicine

    Lawmaker proposes regulation of ancient Chinese practice
    by Phil Cross Monday, January 21st 2019
    The Oklahoma Capitol, in the early morning, on the last day of the regular legislative session on May 26, 2017 (Phil Cross KOKH)

    OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — The state would be tasked with regulating the practice of something that is may not be measurable under a proposed bill in the state senate. The bill seeks to create a regulator and licensing board for the practice of Qigong, a Chinese practice of physical exercises and breathing.

    Senate Bill 190, introduced by Tulsa Republican Senator Dave Rader, would create a board that would issue licenses to anyone who is offering Qigong as a cure for medical conditions. The bill said the licensing would not apply to those practicing Qigong for personal benefits.

    “It is a medical system that works on just about every disease known to man,” said Tom Bowman who operates a Qigong practice in Tulsa. He is both a teacher and student of the ancient practice and told FOX 25 it is vital to be properly trained before treating anyone.

    “You can't just start transferring energy to that person without having the knowledge as to why and where that disease started,” Bowman said.

    Qigong is a growing practice in Oklahoma and it focuses on a person’s Qi, which can be described as their life force. The Qi, Bowman explained, runs along the “meridians” referenced in the practice of acupuncture.

    Bowman said the practice of Qigong is largely misunderstood and sometimes dismissed because people are confused by the language involved. He said what the practice defines as Qi, actually represents the bioelectricity that scientists can measure in human cells.

    “It is the flow of and the quality of the bioelectricity in your body that determines your health,” Bowman said.

    He believes clinical practice of Qigong would add legitimacy to those who have truly studied the practice and potentially open the door to insurance coverage of Qigong.

    The feeling is not universal among Qigong practitioners.

    Tirk Wilder is one of those who believes legislation is unnecessary. He has practiced Eastern Martial Arts for more than five decades and has incorporated Qigong into his personal practices.

    “Qigong is a mind body skill is the way I would put it,” Wilder told FOX 25, “It is supposed to create harmony with the universe and I believe it does when it is practiced properly.

    Wilder said while the legislation would not directly impact his practice of Qigong, he sees it as a “slippery slope” which could entangle anyone who suggests the health benefits of many of the martial arts that incorporate Qi.

    “We don't regulate karate instructors we don't regulate any martial arts instruction, yoga instructors and that's why I’m saying ‘Why is this necessary,’” Wilder said.

    “Why do we need this?” Wilder asked “Is somebody being hurt by improper Qigong practice? I'm really hard pressed to believing that.”

    There is little scientific evidence to back up many of the claims of Qigong proponents. Bowman said proof comes from practice and that non-believers may never experience the benefits because they have closed their minds to the possibility it could work.

    Senator Rader told FOX 25 he supports the idea of a board because of the requests from his constituents like Bowman.

    In recent years Oklahoma has sought to identify unnecessary occupational licensing. However, Senator Rader said he does not believe his legislation will create an unnecessary barrier to entering the practice of Qigong.
    I'm copying this to Qigong as Medicine and launching an indie Qigong Regulation thread, but I imagine this will only be regarding medical qigong.
    Gene Ching
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  12. #147
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    Sheena Crowley

    Nice story.

    Cork Lives
    10.01.2020 09:48


    Sheena Crowley. Picture: Michael Keenan

    'He told me in six months I wasn't going to be able to move... so I took up kung fu,' says Cork fitness instructor
    By Ellie O'Byrne

    AT just 18, Sheena Crowley was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Throughout her twenties, she battled the agonising condition. By the time she was 30, her doctor was telling her to prepare for her future by installing wheelchair ramps at her home and modifying her kitchen.

    “He said that in six months’ time I wasn’t going to be able to move, and scheduled me a meeting with someone to arrange a wheelchair and give me advice on the house,” Sheena says. “He told me that the less I moved the better.”

    “So I took up kung fu.” She smiles.

    Now, 23 years later, Sheena is far from immobile. In fact, she runs her own business, Gingko Mind & Body Wellness, and teaches Slow Motion Fitness classes, based on the ancient Chinese discipline of Qi Gong.

    Her journey into Qi Gong practice started with those weekly Wing Chun Kung Fu classes with instructor John O’Riordan.

    “I don’t know what made me think of starting Kung Fu, but I did,” Sheena recalls.

    “I trained with John once a week, and it took over my life. It still hurt me, and even now it still does; walking can be painful. But you come to realise that pain is just there to give you a message. The more I did, the more the peripheral pain lessened.

    “You balance the external work of kung fu, that’s very demanding on the body, with the soft, internal work of Qi Gong.

    “For a long time, to me it was just like the pleasure at the end of your training session, but then I became sick, so I turned to Qi Gong fully.”


    Sheena Crowley. Picture: Michael Keenan

    Sheena’s father, Michael, was a well-known figure in Cork as proprietor of Crowley’s Music Store on McCurtain Street. The much-loved iconic store had catered for generations of Cork musicians. One of its numerous claims to fame was that Rory Gallagher bought his first guitar there.

    Following Michael’s death in 2010, Sheena found herself trying to rescue the floundering business.

    In 2013, it was a sad moment for the city when she finally conceded and shut the doors on Crowley’s. But the personal toll was devastating; stress had a profound impact on her health.

    “It took nearly three years to close the business and I was hanging on for dear life,” Sheena says.

    “I was trying to save it because I loved it. I worked from early in the morning until late at night.

    “My kidneys were shutting down, my blood pressure was going through the roof. When I went to the doctor, I was just offered medication.

    “My kung fu instructor came to my house every day for a month, and we did Qi Gong, and I started to feel a difference.”

    While Sheena, who went on to study as a Qi Gong instructor in the Philippines, isn’t “anti- medication,” she sees our current over-burdened healthcare system as symptomatic of the blind eye our fast-paced lives make us turn to our health.

    The benefits of knowing our bodies and caring for them are, she says, preventative: “I think we need a system of therapies that people can turn to before they get to the stage of going to the doctor.”

    Qi Gong, she says, is all about slowing back down and restoring the connection between mind and body.

    Your Qi (pronounced ‘chee’) is your life-force energy, Sheena explains. By learning about balancing Yin and Yang, practitioners learn to cultivate their Qi, which exercises impact on different bodily organs, the foods to support your body type, and the interactions between different emotional states and the healthy balance of different organs’ energy.


    Sheena Crowley.
    Picture: Michael Keenan

    “These were exercises designed by Chinese philosophers and monks 5,000 years ago, and that turned into kung fu, and then tai chi came from that,” she says.

    “The exercises are designed to maintain your health and to give you responsibility for your body.

    “In Qi Gong, we believe that stress and emotions make up 90% of why you’re sick.

    “Your spleen is affected by worry, the liver is anger; our emotions are much bigger than we understand, and we invest in them so much and we keep going back to them.”

    It seems that in recent years there’s been a backlash against alternative therapies; we’re in an era when science and rationality, however dogmatically they’re asserted, are prized above all else.

    Sheena knows that for many Irish people, talk of the body’s flow of energy and of balancing the elements and Yin and Yang can be off-putting.

    “I’m reluctant to talk about moving energy around the body, because people are very resistant to things like that in the West, but it’s scientifically proven that the body has an electromagnetic field,” she says.

    “The heart has an electromagnetic pulse.”

    “The people who are cynical about what I do tend to be the ones who don’t know anything about it.

    “How can you dismiss something when you don’t even understand how it works? I think it’s sad that there’s so many naysayers.”

    In China, there are 38,000 Qi Gong styles, people can be seen practicing it in parks and public spaces, and the traditional system of medicine is based on the same concepts of Yin and Yang and the elements. But in Ireland, these are new ideas to many.

    “I call my classes Slow Motion Fitness because a lot of people haven’t heard of Qi Gong and I thought ‘slow motion fitness’ would give them a sense of what it is,” Sheena says.

    “But also, I’m not a purist. I also trained as a personal trainer and so I use some western methodologies mixed in.”

    Gingko Mind & Body Wellness classes run in Douglas Community Centre, Ballinlough Youth Centre and Ardfallen Methodist Church Hall, as well as one-on-one sessions, begin in early January. Info: www.facebook.com/GingkoMindBodyWellness/
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  13. #148
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    I've been waiting for the 'qigong' response. This is not what I expected.

    Indoor exercise boom among Chinese amid efforts to curb novel coronavirus epidemic
    Xinhua, January 31, 2020

    JINAN, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Fan Dongquan, a fitness coach with Jinan Hot Blood Fitness Studio in east China's Shandong Province, on Thursday conducted a 90-minute fitness course on-line for free.

    The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has kept millions of Chinese like Fan from outdoors activities since late January, so indoors exercise has become an important way to keep healthy.

    The Chinese sports community, from individuals like Fan to the sports authorities at all levels, stood forward to actively promote indoors exercises to fight against the epidemic.

    China's State General Administration of Sport has called upon sports departments at all levels to promote simple and scientific exercises at home and further fitness knowledge, and advocate a healthy lifestyle via various media during the epidemic.

    "I believe that regular physical exercise can protect against illness, especially in a time of the novel coronavirus epidemic," said Fan, adding that the number of participants increased from 243, the first time, to more than 300.

    In fact, sports departments around the country have already released a series of indoors exercise programs with accompanying text, pictures and videos.

    For example, the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau released a complete set of workouts at home, including stretching and strength training, on Wednesday.

    Rizhao Municipal Sports Bureau of Shandong Province has also released some instructions of Taichi, Yoga and 'Five Animals Play.' Meanwhile, they invited local social sports instructors to demonstrate the methods in videos, so that citizens can follow experts to learn how to work out at home.

    Sports Bureaus of Qingdao and Yantai also released on their Wechat platforms, the health-promoting ancient Chinese exercises-Baduanjin with detailed instructions. Beijing Sports University on Wednesday issued a video of Baduanjin via their Wechat account and had more than 100,000 comments.

    Chinese Health Qigong Association released on Wechat a combination of Chinese therapeutic exercise; Qigong, which was closely related to Chinese martial arts in the past is free of restrictions like venues and equipments.

    The State Council, China's cabinet, issued a new Healthy China guideline in July 2019, which promised support for fitness programs with Chinese characteristics, including Tai Chi and Qigong, which channels the body's inner energy to achieve physical and mental harmony.

    Cui Yongsheng, staff with Health Qigong Management Center of State General Administration of Sport, noted that practicing Qigong will play a positive role in the fight against the epidemic.

    "In the future, we will make more efforts to promote Qigong, so that more people can benefit from it," said Cui. Enditem
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  14. #149
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    Yoga, Tai Chi, and Qigong for Back Pain

    Whenever the Tai Chi & Qigong newsfeeds have several articles on the same topic, it's the result of a recently published study. I always search for the original source to post here. This is the back pain study that's getting a lot of play right now.

    Holistic Nursing Practice. 34(1):3–23, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020
    DOI: 10.1097/HNP.0000000000000360,
    PMID: 31725096
    Issn Print: 0887-9311
    Publication Date: January/February 2020
    A Narrative Review of Movement-Based Mind-Body Interventions: Effects of Yoga, Tai Chi, and Qigong for Back Pain Patients

    Juyoung Park;Cheryl Krause-Parello;Chrisanne Barnes;

    Abstract
    This narrative literature review evaluated the effects of movement-based mind-body interventions (MMBIs; yoga, tai chi, and qigong) on low back pain. A search of databases was conducted to identify relevant studies. Thirty-two articles met inclusion criteria and were included for this narrative review. Of the reviewed studies, the highest number focused on yoga intervention (n = 25), 4 focused on qigong, and 3 focused on tai chi in managing back pain. The selected articles showed MMBI to be effective for treatment of low back pain, reporting positive outcomes such as reduction in pain or psychological distress (eg, depression and anxiety), and improved functional ability. However, little is known about the effects of MMBI, in particular qigong and tai chi. More clinical trials are needed to determine how to reduce back pain, improve physical function, and minimize behavioral and psychological symptoms associated with low back pain. Nurse practitioners may introduce such mind-body interventions for managing pain, especially for patients at high risk for adverse effects from pharmacological treatment, and refer them to a yoga therapist, tai-chi instructor, or qigong instructor.
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  15. #150
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    Our newest web article

    Got the pandemic blues? READ How to Boost Your Immune System by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming

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