Book Notes: From Fatigued to Fantastic

Chapter 8: Qi Gong Article by Ken Cohen

Qigong—A Chinese Energy Medicine Approach to CFIDS

by Kenneth S. Cohen, M.A.

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Qigong is an ancient Chinese system of posture, gentle movement, respiratory technique and concentration used to improve health and prevent disease. It is the preventive and self-healing aspect of Chinese medicine.

Today, with an estimated 90 million practitioners in China and tens of thousands in the United States, Qigong is the most widely practiced form of alternative medicine in the world. Although Qigong can be used to combat specific illnesses, most practitioners consider Qigong a way to tap into hidden human potentials and enhance health and life beyond the “normal” or “average.”

Chinese medicine is based on the belief that life energy, qi, flows through energy channels to reach all of the tissues of the body. When the flow is impeded, a person has too much energy on one side of the dam—creating a condition of congestion, inflammation, stagnation and/or pain and too little energy on the other side—leading to depletion, weakness and a feeling of disempowerment.

In the practice of acupuncture, fine needles are inserted into points that control qi flow. As obstructions dissolve, areas of excess are drained and places of insufficiency are filled. Thus homeostasis is restored.

Qigong has been called “acupuncture without needles.” Instead of needles, the practitioner balances his or her own qi flow with meditative exercises and meditation. Qigong techniques appropriate for CFIDS require about as much energy as standing still for five to ten minutes and are thus non-taxing on energy reserves.

One of the greatest benefits of Qigong exercise is that most practitioners find that they have more energy after a session than before and the energy gain is cumulative with regular practice. The specific routine can be tailored to the needs and ability of the patient. If movement is impossible, qi can be mentally directed with Qigong healing imagery. Chinese Qigong literature is filled with thousands of visualizations. A typical one appropriate for CFIDS would be to imagine that as you inhale through the nose (allowing the abdomen to expand gently), deep, ocean-blue light suffuses the kidneys and adrenals with healing qi. While exhaling gently through the mouth, imagine that all of the stagnant, toxic or unneeded energy is leaving. By improving self-awareness and learning self-regulation skills, the practitioner learns to control aspects of the metabolism that are conventionally considered involuntary, such as hormonal levels, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen delivery, etc.

Most importantly for CFIDS patients, Qigong emphasizes a systemic approach to healing: improving functioning in large areas of the body, rather than focusing exclusively on presenting symptoms of individual organs or body parts.

Qigong is complementary therapy and works well in conjunction with both allopathic medicine and other alternative modalities such as massage, orthomolecular medicine, biofeedback, and so on. Thousands of controlled scientific experiments have shown concrete evidence for Qigong’s healing effects on conditions such as chronic pain, headaches, cancer, asthma, ulcers, bronchitis, hypertension and numerous other disorders.

A Qigong computerized data base is available in English that includes more than 1,000 complete research abstracts. Unfortunately, there has been no research to date on the effects of Qigong on CFIDS. Nevertheless, the experience of students and the clinical observations of Qigong therapists demonstrate that Qigong may be powerful therapy for CFIDS. Its multifaceted, systemic and holistic approach seems made-to-order for this complex condition. Qigong can lessen the intensity, duration and frequency of many CFIDS symptoms and improve overall vitality and quality of life. It has the strongest positive effects on:

1. Fatigue—Qigong reduces fatigue by energetically, yet gently stimulating the internal organs. Abdominal respiration (belly out on inhale, belly in on exhale) massages the internal organs. When combined with deep relaxation and mental quietude, stress hormones and stress levels decrease.

According to Chinese medical theory, the body switches from an energy draining mode to one of energy conservation. Qi, life energy, is actually stored in the body, filling subtle energy reservoirs so that more is available for self-healing, self-repair and improved vitality.

In today’s world, learning to conserve energy resources is important for everyone, besides CFIDS patients. Qigong teaches this essential stress-coping skill. The levels of positive hormones, such as DHEA increase (dehydroepiandrosterone, the body’s most abundant hormone and precursor to the sexual hormones). DHEA levels are inversely linked with many CFIDS symptoms. Higher DHEA levels are correlated with improved immunity, memory, energy and decreased pain. According to C. Norm Shealy, M.D., Ph.D., founding president of the American Holistic Medical Association, “DHEA is the biological equivalent of qi.”

Fatigue is also reduced by learning to tense only those muscles necessary for a task and eliminating unnecessary tension, such as that caused by poor posture, stress, pain or emotional reactions to pain. Qigong philosophy states, “If you need four ounces of force, do not use five.” That extra ounce is unnecessary wear and tear on the body.

Recent research has shown that some biochemical processes occur as much as sixty times quicker in CFIDS patients compared to the general population. This may partially account for the tendency towards low adrenal function, decreased libido and an intolerance to stress, cold and prolonged exercise. Qigong’s energy enhancing benefits may be due to a lowering of the metabolic rate in those areas that are on “overdrive” in CFIDS.

2. Pain—Musculoskeletal causes of pain can be significantly reduced by learning to use the body more intelligently. For instance, an important Qigong principle is guan jie song kai, “relax and open all the joints” (that is, do not lock the joints). Imagine them in a state of relaxed, open flexibility rather than tense contraction.

Let’s look at a specific application of this principle: it is generally unwise to lock the knees. The knees are the body’s shock absorbers. By keeping them slightly bent during Qigong practice and in such everyday activities as standing and walking, movement will not jar the spine. The lower back also remains more flexible and alive.

Qigong also reduces pain by improving relaxation skills. For instance, Qigong emphasizes sequential relaxation and sinking (song chen), imagining that each body part, starting at the head, is relaxing downwards; tension flows downhill like water and dissipates into the ground. Qigong promotes the release of endorphins, the body’s good mood chemicals. Research shows that endorphins can reduce pain and stimulate the immune system.

3. Brain Fog—The brain, which comprises 2 percent of the body’s weight, requires 20 percent of the body’s available oxygen.

Brain fog is probably related to the 81 percent reduction in cerebral blood flow among CFIDS patients compared to controls. Numerous experiments have confirmed that Qigong can improve blood circulation in even the very small capillaries and areas most distant from the heart.

For instance, one way of testing peripheral blood flow is to use a medical device (the photoelectric sphygmograph) to shine a laser beam through the earlobe or finger tip. If there is more blood flow, the light beam is blocked and less light passes through the body part. Scientific experiments have demonstrated that Qigong practitioners, compared to controls, have significantly more blood flow. This means warmer hands and feet, less intolerance to cold and better brain blood supply.

Additionally, slow abdominal breathing, emphasized in Qigong, allows improved vasodilation and the most favorable conditions for oxygen delivery to cells. Qigong has the potential to improve concentration and optimize brain functioning.

Several studies have demonstrated the presence of a Qigong Electro-encephalogram (EEG), a unique brain-wave signature found among Qigong practitioners, consisting of an unusual quantity of alpha waves. Alpha waves indicate the ability to maintain a relaxed focus, as when one concentrates on a pleasant image. Qigong alpha waves have a strong electric charge (a high amplitude) indicating that the mind is less fragmented or disordered. Amplitude goes up when more of the brain cells are active.

4. Empowerment—CFIDS symptoms are augmented by a vicious cycle of disability and the emotional reaction to disability.

One of the most important benefits of Qigong is the sense of hope and self-efficacy: a feeling that you can make a difference in how you feel. This lessens anxiety, improves confidence and may increase the awareness of psychological options—perhaps reducing the hold of chemical depression.

The feeling of empowerment and inner strength engendered through Qigong make it essential training in the Chinese martial arts. For the CFIDS patient, Qigong may turn the odds more in their favor, giving them a better fighting chance against an enemy that seems to attack on all fronts.

Kenneth S. Cohen, M.A., health educator and China scholar, is the author of the internationally acclaimed book The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing (Ballantine, 1997) and numerous healing visualization audiotapes (Sounds True Audio).