Measuring the Effects of Self-Applied Qigong and Emitted Qi on the Body

Introduction:

This presentation will outline research studies that measured the effects of qigong and emitted qi on the body. Clinical studies in China have shown that qigong can improve chronic conditions such as hypertension, asthma, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Experimental studies of the effects of emitted Qi on animals, plants and cell cultures rule out psychological mechanisms.

Several measurement techniques have demonstrated that emitted Qi can affect the body. An infrared camera showed that emitted Qi raised the skin temperature of the patient, suggesting that blood circulation was increased. Electroencephalography, electrocardiography and ultrasound techniques showed that emitted Qi and self-applied qigong had profound physiological effects on the body. Self-practice of qigong improved blood pressure, immune response, cholesterol and estradiol levels, and bone density, and decreased drug dosages required for maintaining patients with hypertension and asthma. Another measure is cost effectiveness that was reported for asthma patients who practiced qigong, such as savings in drug costs, emergency care and lost work time.

I have used arm-muscle testing, a form of applied kinesiology, to demonstrate that emitted Qi and internal qigong can affect arm-muscle strength. For this experiment, I designed an instrument to measure the force applied and the vertical displacement of the arm. In the case of emitted Qi the qigong master used intention to weaken or strengthen the arm strength of eight subjects (p<0.0001). In the case of internal qigong, a blind study showed that when 12 out of 15 subjects viewed a card marked 'sick' their arm strength weakened, while viewing a 'well' card resulted in strengthening of the arm muscles (p<0.01 to 0.0001).

Electrodermal measurement of the effects of qigong on the body.

I will discuss my recent research that employed electrodermal measurements (EDM), such as by Electroacupuncture According to Voll and the Ryodoraku. EDM techniques depend on the observation that acupuncture points, which are located along the energy meridians of the body, have higher electrical conductance than that the surrounding skin. Such measurements have diagnostic value by providing means to determine which organ functions are unbalanced. When the electrical conductance is outside of a physiologically acceptable range, the energy of the corresponding organ function is said to be unbalanced.
Two EDM studies showed that self-practice of qigong balanced the energy functions of the body. In one study, 7 out of 11 practitioners who practiced 10 to 15 minutes qigong balanced the Qi of all their organ functions. In another study, EDM was also used to measure energy changes that occurred in students over a 2-day qigong workshop during which each student was measured in the mornings and afternoons of each day. At the end of the weekend, the organ functions of 27 out of 29 students became better balanced (p<0.0001). The criterion of balance was that the standard deviation from the mean of all readings decreased, where the standard deviation of the mean would ideally approach zero when the organ functions were perfectly balanced.

Conclusion:

Clinical and experimental measuring techniques have shown that emitted Qi and self-applied qigong can affect the body. These techniques may be applied to evaluate the efficacy of different qigong forms, given qigong therapies, as well as the effectiveness of qigong masters.