Effects of qigong on psychosomatic and other emotionally rooted disorders


Author: Pavek Richard R

Affiliation: USA [1] 
Conference/Journal: 1st World Conf Acad Exch Med Qigong
Date published: 1988
Other:
  Pages: 150   ,  Word Count: 494  
    SHEN, a specific form of qigong, has beneficial effect on psychosomatic and other emotionally-rooted disorders. A review of 25 selected cases show that Shen qigong is highly effective in ending these disorders. The cases further demonstrate that there is a body-site relationship between the background emotions involved in these disorders and the organs or other body parts that have dysfunctioned.

 The mechanism behind disorders such as the irritable bowel syndrome, premenstrual distress, chronic non-biologic psychogenic pain and migraine has been poorly understood. Many of these disorders have been labelled 'psychosomatic', meaning that psychological or emotional factors are heavily involved in their etiology. However, while the transpersonal psychological factors that predispose one to these disorders have generally been determined, the precise, internal mechanism by which these external events convert to biological dysfunction has remained a mystery. Because of this, effective treatment methods for these disorders have remained elusive. At the Shen Therapy Institute we have found that applying specific Shen qigong protocols can result in positive, permanent improvement for a number of these disorders. Some of the disorders successfully treated with Shen qigong include menstrual and premenstrual distress, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, eating disorders and chronic low back syndrome.

 More specifically we find that:
1. Applying appropriate procedures of Shen qigong to patients suffering from premenstrual distress has resulted in nearly complete amelioration of the grosser and most debilitating symptoms in the majority of cases treated.

2. Applying Shen qigong procedures to over 40 patients suffering from migraine not only ended most episodes of the disorder but has revealed the psycho emotional underpinnings in much of this condition, which had not previously been determined to be of psychosomatic origin. Many who had suffered from this complaint weekly or biweekly and received a short series of Shen Qigong treatments now report episode intervals of a year or more. In several of these cases no further migraines have occurred.

3. Shen qigong treatments given to a large number of sufferers of unremitting chronic low back pain. both pre-surgery and post-surgery resulted in a high percentage of permanent reduction of pain, considerable improvement in range of motion and an increase in emotional well-being.

4. Additionally, we find Shen qigong procedures to be extremely useful to those who do not present psychosomatic symptoms. Shen qigong treatments have been found useful to patients suffering from anxiety, depression. blocked grief and sleep disorders. Shen qigong is useful in accessing and releasing troubling suppressed and repressed emotion and, sometimes, memory of debilitating early life events. Release of these emotional factors has frequently led to positive behavioral changes.

 Furthermore, we have demonstrated that Shen qigong procedures can be taught successfully to most health professionals and that the majority possess enough natural qi to be effective. Thus, Shen qigong gives evidence of being a uniquely useful therapeutic modality for a broad range of formerly difficult-to-treat disorders, specifically those disorders where repressed and/or suppressed emotional factors are involved.

 These discoveries considerably extend the previously known range of qigong treatable disorders.