Author: Singing Dragon

Singing Dragon author Lorraine Nicolle to speak at the Nutri Centre Bookshop, London

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Free Talk at the Nutri Centre Bookshop!

Functional Medicine

A Nutritional Practitioner’s Approach

with Lorraine Nicolle, Nutritional Therapist

In recent years, the growing demand for a more integrative approach to healthcare has led to the increasing adoption of the functional medicine model.

Using examples from her recently published book Biochemical Imbalances in Disease, Lorraine Nicolle will give a brief introduction to the functional model by showing how a focus on the individual’s biochemical imbalances, rather than on his/her disease or symptoms, is of the utmost importance in improving the patient’s health.

With reference to users’ feedback, and to the case study in the book, there will be opportunities to discuss how the model is used in practice.

Lorraine Nicolle MSc is a nutrition practitioner with a regular clinic at a London-based natural health centre. Lorraine is also a lecturer in nutrition and nutritional therapy at Thames Valley University. In addition, she undertakes nutrition consultancy and training for various organisations in the healthcare, educational and business consultancy sectors.

You can watch live via the webcast at www.nutricentre.com.

Details:
Wednesday, 24th November
7.00-8.30 PM
The Nutri Centre Bookshop
7 Park Crescent, London W1B 1PF

More Info:
bookshop@nutricentre.com
Tel. +44 (0)20 7323 2382
www.nutricentre.com

The Yang Tàijí 24-Step Short Form – An Interview with Singing Dragon author James Drewe

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James Drewe is Vice-Chairman of the Longfei Taijiquan Association, a member of the British Council for Chinese Martial Arts (BCCMA), and is a registered instructor with the Tai Chi Union for Great Britain (TCUGB). He currently teaches Yang, Chen, Sun, and Wudang styles of taiji, including various sword and fan forms, and is the author of Taiji Jian 32-Posture Sword Form, published by Singing Dragon.

Here he answers some questions about his new book, The Yang Tàijí 24-Step Short Form: A Step-by-Step Guide for all Levels.

How did you come to practice Tai Chi?

Back in 1975, I was running back home because I was late for something, and banged into a guy who was coming out of a betting shop. He’d obviously lost rather badly, because he ran after me. When I slowed down for a breather he caught up with me, grabbed me by the front of my shirt collar, and was probably only stopped from thrashing the daylights out of me because I turned into a gibbering wreck. I decided that I didn’t like how that felt and should therefore do something about it.

Within a few weeks of this meeting with the unsuccessful gambler, I took up Kung Fu, which I ended up doing for 5 years. There was a t’ai chi class that followed after the Kung Fu, and I joined this the next term as well.

I didn’t do the 24-Step until many years later. I was very impressed by its succinctness and by its clarity. I was teaching the Yang Long Form at this point, and realised that the 24-Step was a much more approachable form for beginners.

Why did you decide to write this book, and who is it for?

I wrote the book because I enjoy teaching, I enjoy trying to describe how to move, and from a more practical point of view, because I’m always being asked to recommend a book for the 24-Step.

The book is for several levels, and is divided into a ‘Brief’ description, a ‘Detailed’ description, and there are then ‘Notes’ at the end of every movement.

A beginner will possibly find the ‘Brief’ the most useful – this acts as a reminder only of the movements.

As you might expect, the ‘Detailed’ goes into slightly greater depth, explaining the coordination of the movements, angles of the limbs and body, etc.

The ‘Notes’ are more advanced points, often showing variations (not everyone teaches it exactly the same), and explaining how the body functions within each movement – rotations of elbows, knees, connections between the joints, the opening and closing of the limbs and torso, rotations of the centre to produce the movements effortlessly, etc.

Who is the ‘modern tai chi student’, and how does your book cater to them?

The ‘modern’ tai chi student is the person who is trying to cram a thousand things into his/her week, whilst holding down a job, and possibly a relationship/family.

The longer forms take up to 20/25 minutes to perform, and many years to learn, so the 24-Step form is great for those with less time to spare, but who would still like to do some t’ai chi.

The book caters for them because it explains the movements, and hopefully will serve as a reminder after learning the moves in a class.

Grounding, posture, balance, etc. – which areas usually require the most practice and attention for new and for experienced practitioners of the Yang Tàijí 24-Step Short Form?

This is a very difficult question, because everyone is different. Some people are naturally well-grounded, others have a natural grace of movement, others could balance on one toe if necessary, some are tense, others relaxed.

For beginners, the most common problem is coordination of the arms and legs with the torso – for example, a movement may require the left foot (which is already placed ahead of you) to move back alongside the right foot, at the same time as the body turning to the right, the right arm bending at the elbow, whilst the left arm pushes down towards the floor. Beginners find this difficult.

More experienced practitioners may well be able to manage the limbs successfully, but find that making the movements come from the centre is particularly difficult; many experienced practitioners are ‘disconnected’, in that their joints do not operate in a coordinated way with the rising and falling, turning left and right, and opening and closing of the centre.

This book tries to covers all of these aspects as far as it is possible with words. What is particularly hard to explain with words is the feeling of the various movements; I have tried to do this by using analogies, but am aware that this very much depends on the reader. For example, if I use sailing as an example, this might not work very well for those who haven’t had the experience of using the wind to move a small boat; on the other hand, some people have vivid imaginations, so….maybe it will help!

What do you mean when you say that thai chi is “Understanding the Absolute by practising in the Relative”?

For me this is what t’ai chi is about. If everything in the world is a microcosm, then ‘life’ should reflect Divinity, and anything that happens in our lives (any skills that we learn, all interactions, etc.) should reflect Divinity and ‘life’. Therefore, t’ai chi should be able to explain 1) Divinity, and 2) how the structure of ‘life’ operates (although, these are probably the same, as it’s arguable that ‘life’ is ‘Divinity’ in process), and how best to function within this structure of ‘life’.

It is said that we live in a world that is ‘relative’; everything is relative to something else (i.e. we have yin and yang – up/down, left/right, deep/shallow, yesterday/tomorrow, etc., etc. …the list is endless), and that, in order for us to be able to experience, this is the way that it has to be. In other words, without those opposites, experience is impossible.

It is also said that, in a state after death, we cease to experience in the same way – time no longer exists, and neither does up/down, in/out, forward/backward etc. We are just in a state of ‘being’ – the ‘Absolute’.

So, to understand the ‘Absolute’ (God/Heaven), you need to study the ‘Relative’ (Earth), and in order to understand both Heaven and Earth (i.e. the way that God ‘functions’ and the way that ‘life’ operates), you can study t’ai chi because it is a microcosm.

Having said that, I think you can probably study absolutely anything and come to the same conclusions. Mine just happens to be t’ai chi, and writing music!

In the book you talk about different kinds of teachers. What kind of teacher do you aspire to be?

I’m not a performer, and in fact have absolutely no desire to be one; but I would like to be a good teacher. I trained as a teacher (class music) in the 70s, then taught music in schools for 11 years, and very much enjoyed the challenge of explaining, and trying to understand the way in which individuals learn. Whether it is music or t’ai chi, the challenge remains the same; different people have had different experiences, and therefore will learn in different ways. Trying to find the right way of explaining something is like searching through a bunch of keys to find the right key for the lock. Hopefully the book will help some people!

Copyright © Singing Dragon 2010.

The 12 Chinese Animals: Singing Dragon author Master Zhongxian Wu on the complexity of Chinese astrology

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Since 1988, Master Zhongxian Wu has instructed thousands of students, both Eastern and Western. He synthesizes wisdom and experience for beginning and advancing practitioners, as well as for patients seeking healing, in his unique and professionally-designed courses and workshops.

Master Wu is the author of several Singing Dragon books, including his latest title, The 12 Chinese Animals: Create Harmony in your Daily Life through Ancient Chinese Wisdom. Here, he answers a few questions about the book.

How did this book come about?

I grew up in a traditional fishing village in southeast China, and for my entire upbringing, I saw that people commonly used astrology to help make decisions about important events (finding a spouse, setting a wedding date, building a house, opening a business, health issues, etc). Because our village had no electricity, pipe water, or roads larger than a foot path, we all lived very closely with the rhythms of nature.

Chinese astrology is the art of living in harmony with the hourly, daily, monthly, and yearly cycles of life. When I was young, my mother always consulted the people living in the local temple when she needed help. I was astonished by the accuracy of their advice and their ability to predict outcomes. I became interested in learning more about astrology and its connection to Chinese medicine and the Yijing prediction system. My main focus is teaching Qigong, Taiji and the Yijing to help others to create harmony in their life. Through over 20 years of teaching these ancient Chinese wisdom practices, I realised that Chinese astrology is a great tool to help guide people through their life and their inner cultivation.

Chinese astrology is far more complex than most people realise. What accounts for this misconception, and how does your book contribute to a deeper understanding?

In the West, most people think Chinese astrology is only about their yearly animal sign. The knowledge of Chinese astrology system is extremely complicated, and I think perhaps difficult for most people to understand. In China, we call astrology BaZi (8 characters) or MingLi (principle of your karma), but only a small amount of people actually understand how to put together and interpret a chart. Most Chinese have to find an expert to help them, and finding someone really qualified and skillful can be challenging. Of course, you may easily find a fortuneteller on the street, but they are usually not very accurate.

I think the misconception in the West is mostly for convenience sake, to make it more simplified, more available for the general public and more for entertainment value. The yearly animal sign is a small percentage of what influences your entire chart. In my book, I also discuss the monthly and daily animal sign, which will help people develop a fuller understanding of their chart. It is important to realise that the 12 animals is just one aspect of Chinese astrology – creating and understanding a whole chart for the sake of prediction is a much more complicated process.

Most people do not realise that the 12 animals also relate to the 12 tidal hexagrams of the Yijing. The Yijing, of course, is a method of understanding the rhythms of nature and of life. When I wrote this book, I wanted people to get a little taste for the complexity behind the Chinese astrological system.

What does it mean to have an energetic month, day or year?

The energetic day, month and year are based on the rhythm of the sun and moon, which is different from the Gregorian calendar. For example, the energetic year is not from January 1 (the Gregorian new year) or the first new moon of the first lunar month (the Chinese new year), but rather, it the begins at the time where the sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 315 degrees, which usually occurs on Feb 4th or 5th in the Gregorian calendar.

How does understanding one’s Chinese animal symbols help them make better choices?

The use of Chinese animal symbols is a key to understanding the principles of your life and of your karma. They can help you understand your strengths and your weaknesses. Becoming conscious of your own patterns will give you information about how to cultivate your gifts and refine your challenges, which will help make your life flow more easily, with less struggle, and bring you success in your pursuits.

In the final chapter of the book, you discuss the Daoist concept that ‘life is not controlled by fate or karma alone’. What does this mean in the context of astrology?

If you want to change your karma, you have to know what your karma is.

A good understanding of Chinese astrology doesn’t only help you understand your karma and predict the future. The purpose of the reading is to guide you to make changes in your life, from daily lifestyle habits to larger life decisions that will allow you to change your karma, to help you remain centered when something unexpected happens, to steer clear of trauma, and put you on on the path of health, prosperity, and longevity.

How do you integrate your Chinese animal symbols into your own daily life?

I use the practices to guide my inner cultivation in order to balance and strengthen my astrological chart (which varies depending on the hour, day, month, season, year, or external life event), so that I feel more harmonious with my self, my family, and with nature. For example, I will check the Chinese calendar to pick out dates for travel or signing a contract. Based on the animal symbols, I also chose special colours for home and office in order to create the right fengshui for those environments. My wife and I make meals according the the principles of the Chinese animal clock to create a healthy daily rhythm for our family.

Copyright © Singing Dragon 2010.

Singing Dragon attends the 7th World Congress of Chinese Medicine in The Hague

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This past weekend, Singing Dragon attended the 7th World Congress of Chinese Medicine in The Hague, Netherlands.

The theme of this unique and important congress was “The Clinical Practice and Scientific Research of Chinese Medicine”, with a focus on the topics of andrology, the treatment of infertility, anti-aging, and research and development in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

Over 600 acupuncturists, TCM practitioners, physicians, health professionals, students, researchers and educators were in attendance from all over the world, making The World Forum, located in The Hague’s international zone, an ideal venue.

Thanks to all the delegates who stopped by our stand! We were so pleased to have the opportunity to spread the word about our fantastic books and authors.

Titles in the series edited by Zhu Bing and Wang Hongcai were of particular interest, as well as those from The Chinese Health Qigong Association. Master Zhongxian Wu’s books and DVDs, and titles concerning the use of Qigong to manage health conditions, were also very popular. See below for details.

For more info on new and forthcoming titles from Singing Dragon, check out the new Complete Catalogue, Autumn/Winter 2010-2011.

We’d also like to thank the congress organizers, the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies (WFCMS), for making the event such a fantastic experience – one we very much hope to repeat in 2011.

www.singing-dragon.com

Singing Dragon author Gordon Faulkner on Managing Stress with Qigong

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Gordon Faulkner, demonstrating a standing stress prevention Qigong exercise from Managing Stress with Qigong.

In this interview, Gordon Faulkner – Principal Instructor at the Chanquanshu School of Daoist Arts in Scotland – answers some questions about his new book, Managing Stress with Qigong.

How did this book come about?

The first input to lead to the book was at International Daoyin Qigong Symposium in Portugal in 2005 when European teachers were encouraged to start working to develop daoyin for the health needs for their own countries. Further impetus arrived shortly afterwards when I was invited to teach qigong at the 37th International Traditional Chinese Medicine Kongress in Germany the following year. The theme of the congress was to be ‘Stress’ so I did a lot research and then created the routines presented in the book.

Not long after the congress I was contacted by the Head of the Maggie’s Cancer Care Centre in Inverness and asked if I would be interested in running qigong classes there. This seemed a very good opportunity to verify the effectiveness of the stress routines so I agreed. The results of these routines and especially of the stress prevention routine went far beyond even my own expectations.

Memory can be a major problem for people undergoing cancer treatments so it seemed only logical to start writing a book for them and the general public.

Do you need to have a high level of proficiency in Qigong before you can experience its effects for stress relief?

The Stress Management Qigong is designed for people of all levels of proficiency – for people who have been practising for years to people who have never heard of qigong.

You talk about the ‘non-specific’ nature of stress. What do you mean by this? How does this make Qigong uniquely suited for coping with stress?

One of the biggest problems with stress is that the stress response can vary dramatically; what impedes one person can boost another person, and because of that there is not one thing that can be described as a specific stress reaction to a specific stress input, the stressor.

Qigong also affects different people in different ways, one person’s reaction to qigong can be quite different to another’s, which makes qigong also non-specific – qigong and stress were made for each other because an individual’s stress reaction is often matched by their qigong responses to bring the person back into mind/body harmony.

Can people use certain Qigong movements or exercises in the book to relieve particular symptoms of stress?

On the larger scale, the stress relief routine is designed to deal with the physical stress reaction while the stress prevention routine is geared more toward dealing with the mental stress reaction. The book does mention some other possible combinations of exercises.

Which Qigong exercises do you practice yourself for stress relief?

As I teach these routines continuously I am always practising everything.

I was once at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam trying to catch an alternate flight after two of my fights had been cancelled and the third was late when the assistant at the transfer desk remarked that I was remarkably calm considering my circumstances. I responded that I was now late for the seminar I was due to give on stress management and so I could do no other than be calm.

Gordon Faulkner is a Certified International Judge of Daoyin Yangsheng Gong and President of the Scotland and Wales Daoyin Yangsheng Gong Association. Gordon is a closed-door student of Professor Zhang Guangde, founder of the modern Daoyin Yangsheng system taught at the Beijing Sports University.

For more information about Gordon Faulkner, visit www.quanshu.co.uk.

Copyright © Singing Dragon 2010.

Workshop: ‘Healing, Yijing, and Cultivation’ with Master Wu

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This weekend, Singing Dragon author Master Zhongxian Wu will be holding a workshop on ‘Healing, Yijing, and Cultivation’ in Stockholm, Sweden, 11-12 September.

Learn more about this workshop.

Master Wu has devoted himself to the study of Qigong, martial arts, Chinese medicine, Yijing science, Chinese calligraphy, and ancient chinese music for over 30 years. He was Director of the Shaanxi Province Association for Somatic Science and the Shaanxi Association for the Research of Daoist Nourishing Life Practices, and has written five books and numerous articles on the philosophical and historical foundations of China’s ancient life sciences. Visit www.masterwu.net for more info about Master Wu.

Singing Dragon, an imprint of Jessica Kingsley Publishers, is an independent publisher of authoritative books on complementary and alternative health, bodywork, Tai Chi, Qigong and ancient wisdom traditions for personal and professional development.

www.singing-dragon.com

An Interview with Singing Dragon authors Steve Haines and Ged Sumner on ‘Cranial Intelligence’

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Steve Haines has been working in healthcare for over 20 years, and as a bodyworker since 1998. He studied Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy with Franklyn Sills, Michael Kern and Katherine Ukleja. He is a UK registered chiropractor and also trained as a shiatsu practitioner. Steve lives and works between London and Geneva, and teaches cranial work internationally, including in Switzerland, North America and Malaysia.

Ged Sumner is a practicing craniosacral therapist, craniosacral therapy trainer and chi kung teacher. He has also studied shiatsu, healing and attachment based psycho-analytical psychotherapy, and has a degree in Chemistry. He is the director of Body Intelligence Training, which offers biodynamic craniosacral therapy practitioner courses in Europe, North America and Australasia.

Here, Steve and Ged answer a few questions about their new textbook, Cranial Intelligence: A Practical Guide to Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy.

How does your book support hands-on learning of Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST)?

We were quite shocked to learn that there are videos out trying to teach cranial work as a distance learning course. In the first instance, watching cranial work being performed is like watching paint dry and secondly, students really need constant hands on feedback to support their developing perceptual skills. In the history of cranial work there is a strong oral tradition and preference for teaching by transmission. One of the senior biodynamic cranial osteopaths (Jealous) refuses to write and reluctantly, it seems, has recorded some CD’s of him talking. We do not go as far as that, we think there is a value in articulating theory and writing down exercises that people can practice for themselves. Our book is full of meditations and protocols that we have learnt from our teaching experience can work really well to help people more clearly feel their own bodies, other peoples bodies and our common relationship to the natural world. The book is aimed to compliment study on a two year training course.

The book talks a lot about ‘potency’. What do you mean by ‘potency’, and what is its significance for BCST practice?

Potency can be thought of as the cranial word for energy. Energy means lots of things to different people and is often a very fuzzy concept that is used as a catch all to explain interactions that are not well understood. My favourite definition of energy is that it is information moving through a field – a ‘field’ here meaning a zone of influence. Potency is a term used by Sutherland, the founder of cranial work. In a slightly more precise way than the common usage of energy, it allows us to describe the felt experience of BCST practitioners of an inherent potential in nature and in the body that organises, animates, and communicates. Sutherland used the image of potency as ‘liquid light‘ and the phrase ‘the fluid within the fluid’ to describe his experience of potency. He was very clear that expressions of potency are mediated through the fluids of the body. Other words commonly used alongside potency are tingling, shimmering, light, vibration, electricity, something moving and wind-like. Like the wind in a sail or the heat of the suns rays or the falling to earth of an object, we can perceive the effects of potency but its actual nature is illusive.

The book includes a practice development chapter that covers questions such as ‘Why do you want to become a Craniosacral Therapist?’ and ‘How do I earn a living as a Craniosacral Therapist?’ Why was it so important to include those questions?

Our observation, from running a teaching clinic for CSTs in London, of noticing and talking to other CSTs, of supervising students and practitioners, and being involved in teaching at four different biodynamic schools is that many people struggle to set up a practice once they qualify as a practitioner. They have life changing skills that can dramatically enhance the lives of their potential clients by helping them be in less pain, less emotional distress and have more vitality. However being a skillful therapist does not mean you will be a busy therapist. There are big issues to explore, and additional skills to learn, about being a self-employed, small business person in a competitive private health care market. Adult learners engage with training courses for many reasons, often at transition points in their lives. The questions above are an attempt to get people to think through some of these issues at an early stage in their training. The two year training is very demanding and requires a degree of maturity, self reflection and personal growth. Our experience is that this work can help a wide range of human suffering; people in chronic pain, people who have experienced trauma, people living with serious physical illness and people in profound emotional distress. It is good to realise the likely territory of their future professional life and to understand the commitment it involves if they want to become a practitioner of excellence.

For more info, watch this video with co-author Steve Haines.

Copyright © Singing Dragon 2010.

VIDEO: Steve Haines on Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy and his new book, Cranial Intelligence

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In this video, Singing Dragon author Steve Haines talks about his new book Cranial Intelligence: A Practical Guide to Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, which he co-authored with Ged Sumner.

At the deepest level of our physiology, all living tissues and fluids expand and contract with the ‘breath of life’. Through gentle touch, the skilled practitioner can interact with these subtle rhythms to address physical aches and pains, acute or chronic disease, emotional or psychological disturbances, or simply to promote enduring health and vitality.

This new and important textbook demystifies the biodynamic approach to craniosacral therapy and shows how and why it can be so effective at bringing about a natural realignment towards optimal health.

Steve Haines has been working in healthcare for over 20 years, and as a bodyworker since 1998. He studied Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy with Franklyn Sills, Michael Kern and Katherine Ukleja. He is a UK registered chiropractor and also trained as a shiatsu practitioner. Steve lives and works between London and Geneva, and teaches cranial work internationally, including in Switzerland, North America and Malaysia.

Copyright © Singing Dragon 2010.

Qigong for Multiple Sclerosis: An Interview with Singing Dragon author Nigel Mills

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Nigel Mills, is an accredited Clinical Psychologist, Craniosacral Therapist and EMDR therapist. He is also an experienced teacher of Qigong. Nigel currently works as an independent therapist in Abergavenny, South Wales, UK.

Here, Nigel answers some questions about his new book Qigong for Multiple Sclerosis: Finding Your Feet Again.

Your book is the result of a research study funded by the NHS. What motivated you to launch this study of Qigong and MS, and to write the book?

In the late 1990’s I was employed as a clinical psychologist in the NHS, and part of my role was to see people with MS to try and help with their feelings of anxiety and depression. It became apparent that a lot of people’s psychological problems stemmed from a sense of vulnerability and helplessness, which in turn stemmed from a sense that the body was out of control and somehow alien. It seemed to me that rather than ‘just talking’ it may be more useful to explore some practical ways to re-connect with the body and to improve confidence in being able to balance and move. My own practice of Qigong led me to think that Qigong might be very useful for the sort of difficulties faced by people with MS.

How does Qigong benefit people who suffer from MS both mentally and physically? What difference can it make to their lives?

One of the most important specific benefits is an improvement in balance and a greater sense of ‘ownership of the body. Qigong encourages a way of moving which is very stable and integrated, and the mind ‘enters’ the body in a fuller way. The subsequent improvement in balance goes on to help people regain their confidence in movement and thus improves confidence generally. Secondly people report a greater calmness and an enhanced ability to cope with stress. This can make an enormous difference to the quality of life for someone with MS

Can Qigong benefit people at any stage of MS?

Yes, different people gain different things from the programme depending on their stage of MS. But the programme has something to offer everyone. People with mild symptoms report benefit from the greater calmness and sense of being grounded and the feeling that they are doing something to maximise their functioning for as long as possible. People who may be wheel chair users, like the fact that many of the exercises can be adapted for a sitting position and still benefit from the sense of being able to inhabit their body in a fuller and more compassionate manner.

Research has shown that certain exercises can be harmful for people with MS. How is Qigong different from other forms of exercise?

The essence of Qigong is softness and flowing. Not forcing anything, but allowing movement to come forth. The mind doesn’t coerce the body, as in some forms of exercise, rather the mind follows the body and follows the breath.

What is a ‘Qigong attitude’, and why is it particularly important for people with MS to develop this outlook?

‘Being with’, rather than ‘doing to’. Using the attention to follow rather than lead. Softening and flowing rather than forcing. Compassion rather than blame. These are elements of a ‘Qigong attitude. It is important for people with MS not to ‘enter into battle’ with their body. This will only increase their sense of stress. The task is to befriend the body and then everything can calm down and slow down.

Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2010.

An Interview with Dr. Kevin Chen on translating the official textbook of Medical Qigong in China

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Kevin W. Chen, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Center for Integrative Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, in the USA. Educated at top universities in both China and the USA, and with a PhD in research psychology and statistics, Dr. Chen has many years’ experience and training in blending Eastern and Western perspectives.
Dr. Chen is one of the few scientists to have a hands-on knowledge of Qigong practice and be actively involved in scientific Qigong research. Dr. Chen is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other foundations to conduct clinical studies into the feasibility and efficacy of applying Qigong and meditative therapy in the treatment of arthritis, addiction, and anxiety disorders.

Here, Dr. Chen answers some questions about the new English translation of the textbook Chinese Medical Qigong, for which he is the Associate Editor in Chief. Professor Tianjun Liu, OMD, is Editor in Chief of both the English translation and the original Chinese editions.

Dr. Chen, how did this project come together?

The first time I met with Professor Liu was in 2002 at an international conference in Tokyo. We both presented some research and reviews of external Qigong, and found a lot of common interests in research and in our personal Qigong cultivation. We are among the few in academia who consider Qigong research as a career, and soon we became good friends.

Later Professor Liu invited me to assist him in translating his book – the only official textbook of medical Qigong in China – into English. In the beginning, I was really hesitant to take the challenge, (though I felt the endeavor was important for the field of Qigong study) since I haven’t really studied medical Qigong in a systematic way, and was afraid that I might mislead readers if I could not reflect the true meaning and values of the original book. After some lengthy discussions on other alternatives for this project, Professor Liu convinced me that the few people who might have both the language capabilities and the necessary experience in medical Qigong would never have the time to do such a big project in the near future – a project for which we did not yet have any financial support, a publisher or an assistant for editing.

After reading the book carefully, I realized how important the subject is for the field of mind-body medicine, and for the entire academic study of complementary and alternative medicine, and I felt an obligation to help the project become a reality. I also realized that I might need help with my ancient Chinese to understand the ancient literature of Qigong, and my English might not be good enough to reach the level of academic publication. We figured that those who had good knowledge in ancient Chinese might not have good English, while those who had both language skills might not have the necessary experience and knowledge of Chinese medicine and Qigong. Medical Qigong is really a special field that requires expertise across four fields – ancient Chinese, modern academic English, Chinese medicine and Qigong cultivation. Therefore, we decided that the most practical way to get the original Chinese text translated and published in English was to form a collaborative team with experts in all four areas.

It took more than five years to accomplish such a large project. First a group of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) professionals in China translated the modern and ancient Chinese into English, focusing on respecting the original Chinese meanings. Then a group of bilingual American Chinese with TCM training double-checked and edited the accuracy of the English translations against the Chinese texts and smoothed out the English as best they could. Finally, a group of native English-speaking Qigong scholars and professionals edited and finalized the text for English language readers.

It is a great honor and privilege for me to have worked with so many professionals and to have participated in organizing such a rewarding project.

What differentiates medical Qigong from health Qigong?

Although there might be more similarities than differences among health Qigong and medical Qigong, the main differences may be found in three aspects:

  1. The difference in purpose of practice. Health Qigong is for preventive care or general well-being, and can be practiced by anyone in any condition; while medical Qigong is mostly designed for specific medical or healing purposes, and used for clinical applications of treating disease or disorders. Of course, it could be used for preventive care as well.
  2. The difference in delivery channels. Health Qigong can be taught by any Qigong instructor without much restriction or other requirement in health or medicine, while medical Qigong is created and practiced by medical practitioners, and delivered with specific prescription by them. This may require special clinical license or knowledge of other clinical and medical training so that the patients or practitioners can benefit from the holistic perspective of TCM.
  3. The difference in the practice method or limitation. Medical Qigong, especially those prescribed by medical professionals, may have certain restrictions on timing and quantity of practice, and sometimes, the practitioner is required to stop practicing once the specific symptoms disappear, just like other prescriptions in medicine, while health qigong does not have these restrictions.

Qigong hasn’t yet been fully adopted as a clinical healing modality in western healthcare systems. Why is there skepticism about the utility of Qigong to diagnose, treat and prevent illness? How does your textbook help to resolve such doubts?

It is true that there are not many qualified medical Qigong practitioners in the healthcare field, mainly due to the fact there has been no systematic training available to the healthcare professionals in our medical system, and partially due to the fact that not everyone who goes through medical Qigong training could actually become a qualified medical Qigong healer.

In general, most people who go through medical school training will get their medical license and become a doctor, but this may not be true in medical Qigong. Appropriate training with qualified instructors (who are lacking to start with) alone may not be enough to make the trainee a medical Qigong doctor. They must also commit long-term to quality Qigong practice, as well as to the Wù or Wù Xing (悟 or 悟性) for mind-body integration – the illuminative understanding or the instinct of comprehending the ineffable; in other words, an indirect way to comprehend things in energy healing. In Qigong practice, Wù may also imply the ability to integrate the comprehended knowledge, or the ineffable, into one’s Qigong practice so as to eventually be united with the Dao. Those who complete their full medical Qigong training without such a nature would never become a qualified medical Qigong healer. That is why there are so many stories from Qigong history in which the capable medical Qigong teacher seeks out the student who possesses such a Wù Xing, instead of just students searching for good teachers.

As to people’s general skepticism of Qigong, it is understandable. The concepts of Qi and Qigong healing are still new and unproven to western medicine and the general public, people tend to believe only in those things they can see or touch. There are indeed quite a few fake Qigong masters or Qigong tricksters out there disturbing the development of medical Qigong. However, as more and more research in medical Qigong becomes public knowledge, and more and more people practice Qigong or mind-body exercises themselves, I am sure there will be more acceptance of medical Qigong since the potential healing capability of medical Qigong without any side effects will really make a difference to our health and to healing.

What do you think is the significance of this book to the field of mind-body medicine in general, and specifically to Qigong practice?

Chinese Medical Qigong provides a solid foundation for bringing Qigong into the formal clinical setting as a healing tool, and establishes medical Qigong as an important academic discipline in research and teaching. It demonstrates that Qigong is not just another mind-body exercise, or mere preventive-health practice, but an important healing modality in traditional Chinese medicine that precedes herbal, acupuncture and other modalities. The book contains systematic theories, developmental history, documented knowledge and practical techniques. It has the potential to integrate different mind-body exercises, perspectives and traditions into a commonly acceptable foundation for more practical regulations, instructions, and clinical applications.

What would healthcare look like if Qigong was adopted more widely?

Because Qigong introduces the concept of self-healing and mind-body integration into health care and daily life, it has the potential to change people’s general lifestyles and philosophies of health and healing. The term “Qigong” sounds very Chinese, but the practice of mind-body-breathing exercises that have been called Qigong in China can be found in many different cultures. As you will see in the book, meditation, yoga, Reiki, Taiji quan, deep breathing and guided imagery are all described thoroughly in ancient Qigong literature, and all mind-body or energy practitioners can work under the same theory and principles to promote a similar healing philosophy: self-healing, cultivating the mind or spirit, and achieving mind-body-spirit harmony or balance through practice.

If these mind-body-spirit integration practices were adopted into our healthcare, and practiced by most people, their lifestyles and attitudes towards life would improve. As we have seen, Qigong practitioners live a less stressed, happier life in general:

“Remain detached with empty mind, the genuine Qi will follow easily; keep essence-spirit within, no illness will arise.”

– from The Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic, regarded as the most important book in the early history of TCM.

Qigong may be the most powerful stress management tool we know today. At the same time, stress is the number one reason why people get sick and go to the doctor, accounting for 80% of primary doctor visits! Following this example, if Qigong were more widely implemented, healthcare costs would be reduced significantly and most people would feel healthier and happier.

Although we do not have hard evidence of the benefits of Qigong in double-blind, placebo-controlled trials yet, I cannot help but mention the study cited in my book introduction. A survey study in China of 500 Qigong practitioners, conducted by the Xiang-Tan City Bureau of Senior Cadres and Health Department, indicated that healthcare spending between 1992 and 1995 for those 500 government officials, mostly retirees between 50 and 70 years old, was decreased by 83% on average, in sharp contrast to the increased spending typically seen in this same age group, and 232 of them (46%) reported no medical spending at all during the same period of time. Given this stunning example, can you imagine what kind of change medical Qigong might make to our lives, and to our healthcare system?

Copyright © Singing Dragon 2010.