Tracking and Mapping the Qi in QiGong Healing

A new therapeutic perspective

(c) Copyright reserved Christopher Low Ph.D.

Healing the split between matter and spirit

REPETITION, REORGANISATION, RENEWAL

Activity within a healing ‘space’

Feeling and sensation can occur

Information exchange

Aims of presentation• History of Daoyin and Qigong• What is external Qigong?• Review of scientific research into Qigong• New data on physiological impacts of

intention during daoyin healing (RCT)• The need for a new therapeutic paradigm

What is QIGONG?

Modalities

of Qigong• Internal• External• With touch (e.g.

Massage)• Artificial (e.g. ‘Qi’

emission devices)

Internal vs. External Qigong

Internal• Health-promotion practices

applied to oneself• One person is affected by

the process i.e. ‘self-healing’ is considered to occur

• E.g. Qigong, taiqi chuan, xingi chuan, etc.

External• ‘ Therapy’ /’Healing’ given to

another person or group• All participants are affected

by the interaction, with the healer facilitating ‘healing’ in the others

• E.g. Daoyin healing,external qigong, bu qi, variants of acupressure using daoyin principles rather than physical pressure

External Qigong

• Mobilisation of QI• Tends to be physical separation• Implicit notion of a healing space• Interactions possible on many

levels from the extremely subtle to the mundane.

INTENTION:

• Imagination - ‘mental’ daoyin• Physiological - ‘breathing’ daoyin• Form - ‘postural’ daoyin

daoyin

“[Way of] guiding and pulling”

Daoyin tu (168 BCE.)

daoyin

‘yin’ also means: “to pull close and

expel”

Roadmaps to Truth:

MYTHOS

• Right Brain• Creativity & Imagination• Inductive process• Altruistic/empathy• Values feeling• YIN

LOGOS

• Left brain• Rational & Analytical• Deductive process• Pragmatic• Values thinking• YANG

MYTHOS & LOGOS

‘Mythos’Qualitative

point descriptions

‘Logos’Systematic

point sequences with precise loci

‘Mythos’ Interactions upon external qi affecting both practitioner and patient

‘Logos’Precise conduction of heat to a specified locus

Scientific evidence for external Qigong

• Systematic Reviews• In vitro and laboratory studies• Clinical studies

–Healthy humans–Specified pathology

Tracking QI through the correlates of QI

Electrical Biochemical Bioluminescence Consciousness

Systematic Reviews

Hypertension 12/121

Pain conditions 5/141 Cancer 4/9

Biopsychosocial effects [Speculative review]

Healthy Ageing 36/36[Synthetic review]

• Lee, Pittler, Guo et al., 2007

• Lee, Pittler, Ernst et al., 2007

• Lee, Chen, Sancier et al., 2007

• Chow and Tsang, 2007

• Rogers, Larkey and Keller, 2009

A western theoretical framework for Daoyin & internal Qigong?

• 3 Psychosocial theories for mind regulation:Cognitive behaviourDistractionSocial interaction• 3 Physiological theories for breath & body

regulation: Cardiovascular fitness [HRV] Amine theory [Neuropeptide]Endorphin theory

RANGE OF EFFECTS OBSERVED IN QIGONG RESEARCH:

IN VITRO / LABORATORY STUDIES• Increase in biomagnetic field strength(1992)• Plasma cortisol reduction (2001)• Immuno-modulation (cytokine production)• Enhanced brain functions (2001)• Enhanced neutrophil function (2005; 2006)• Cytotoxicity in cancer cells (2006)

CLINICAL STUDIESOrofacial pain (2002)Chronic fatigue syndrome (2005)Fibromyalgia (2006)Heart regulation [HRV] (2005)Premenstrual syndrome (2004)Heroin detox (2002)Autism in children (2007)

THERAPEUTIC RANGE OF QIGONG RESEARCH:

ROGERS CE, LARKEY LK AND KELLER C (2009) A REVIEW OF CLINICAL TRIALS OF TAI CHI AND QIGONG IN OLDER ADULTS.WESTERN JOURNAL OF NURSING RESEARCH, 31(2):245-79.

Internal Qigong in Healthy Ageing“..interventions utilizing TC (tai qi) & QG (Qigong) may help older adults improve physical function and reduce blood pressure, fall risk, and depression and anxiety.”

Issues for External Qigong research

• Receptivity to Qi• Role of intention• Origin and persistence of external Qi

‘field’• Use of touch• Is objectivity possible, or even

desirable?

Chen KW, Perlman A, Liao JG et al. (2008) Effects of external qigong therapy on osteoarthritis of the knee. A randomised

controlled trial. Clin Rheumatol. 27 (12): 1497-505.

• 112 adults with knee OA were assigned to 1 of 2 healers (‘healer 1’ & ‘healer 2’). Each person was randomised to received either EQT or sham healing

• - Each EQT healer performed active intervention individually for 5-6 sessions over a 3 week period

• - Sham healing mimicked EQT for the same number of sessions and duration

• OUTCOMES - WOMAC pain and function & McGill Pain Questionnaire, time to walk 15m, and range of motion when squatting

Chen KW, Perlman A, Liao JG et al. (2008) Effects of external qigong therapy on osteoarthritis of the knee. A randomised

controlled trial. Clin Rheumatol. 27 (12): 1497-505.

• Both active treatment groups (‘healer 1’ and ‘healer 2’)showed a significant reduction in WOMAC pain scores

• ‘Healer 2’ group also reported greater reduction in pain and more improved function than control group, with a reduction in negative moods, but not anxiety or depresson

• ‘Healer 1’ group experienced no additional benefit and were similar to controls

• Results of interventions persisted at 3 month’s follow-up for all groups.

Shao, Zhang, Chen et al (2009)Effects of External Qi of Qigong with Opposing Intentions on Proliferation of Escherichia coli.

J Altern Complement Med15(5):567-571

A key question:

“Is there a way of thinking about qi which will enable us to bridge the gaps between the measurable certainties of clinical science, the embodied experience of ‘energy’ and metaphysical description?”

Towards a Wholistic Evaluation External Qigong

• Notion of a healing [liminal] space

• Newer approaches to physiology• Complexity, chaos and self-

organisation.

Heartbeat interval data during different phases of the intervention session [45min.]

Mythos & Logos

Mythos & Logos

Rhythmic order: how to quantify?

Measure is ALPHA

• ALPHA = 0.5 Minimal fluctuation• ALPHA = 1.0 Fractal fluctuation• ALPHA = 1.5 Large fluctuation

Type of behaviour

• Random - no order but range of values relatively small

• Persistent rhythmic order indicative of self-organising process

• Random walk - weak short term correlations, with widely divergent range of values over time.

Short-term ‘memory’ of rhythm

Long-term ‘memory’ of rhythm

A Healthy ‘Functional Space’

Heartbeat locked into a pathological rhythm. This arrhythmia creates a stereotyped dynamic

response as the attractor shows

A. 5 minutes before Daoyin healing

B.5 minutes during Daoyin healing

C.5 minutes during Sham Healing

D.Last 5 minutes of post-active phase

4 phases of whole session :

Vertical axis represents the delay between successive beats to map the fluctuation in time-segments (A)-(D) (A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

A. 5 min. Before Daoyin

B. DaoyinC. ShamD. Last 5 min. Of

session

Creating new therapeutic perspectives based on energy

Therapeutic agency (e.g. ‘External qi’, prana, ‘subtle energy’) is distinct from the specific active components of the treatment itself

Focus is on maintenance of health, rather than symptom removal as the prime criterion of therapeutic efficacy

Primacy of the Mind-Body Connection Role of intention in potentiating efficacy.Focus on top-down causation (wholistic)