What is actually "alternative": drugs, surgery, and technology or enchancing your body's natural healing capability? Tom Rogers, President, Qigong Institute
"Although not proven conclusively from a Western Medical stand point, qigong is an accepted treatment option in the fields of complementary and alternative medicine [16][54][96]. Qigong treatment is also used extensively in China as part of Traditional Chinese Medicine and has been included in the curriculum of Chinese universities [97]. Qigong practice serves both a preventive and curative function. It is considered to be effective in improving the effects of many chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, allergy, asthma, arthritis, degenerative disk disease, cancer, depression, anxiety and addiction. Qigong works by improving the practitioners’ immunity response, increasing a person’s self-healing and self-recovery capabilities and enhancing one’s self-regeneration potential...."
Using Energy Medicine During the Treatment of Cancer
Traditional chinese medicine for cancer-related symptoms. "Informed oncology nurses can assist patients by making appropriate referrals to licensed acupuncturists and qualified TCM practitioners to help alleviate unpleasant symptoms associated with cancer and conventional cancer treatment."
Review of electromagnetic techniques for breast cancer detection. This paper focuses on reviewing the main electromagnetic techniques for breast cancer detection, including the cutting edge research in microwave imaging, electrical impedance tomography, diffuse optical tomography, microwave radiometry, biomagnetic detection, biopotential detection, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
For more information on energy-based device therapies for healing, regeneration of cells, stimulation of the immune system, and treating acute and chronic conditions, see Energy Based Medical Technologies and Therapies
THE LIVING MATRIX MOVIE
"Science has recognized that at least one-third of all healings including drugs, and surgery, and other allopathic interventions, one third of all healings has nothing to do with the process but has to do with the Placebo Effect." Dr. Bruce Lipton.
"The Placebo Effect is really another way of talking about the body's self healing capacity and anything that unleashes more of that is going to be a better system Rupert Sheldrake." Ph.D
Can your thoughts affect your health?
View a preview of The Living Matrix, a film on the science of healing. Listen to explanations of recent medical research that will transform your understanding of how to get well and stay well.
When Bill Moyers’ series, Healing and the Mind, premiered on PBS over 10 years ago, integrative medicine still lay on the fringes of the U.S. health care system. Today, it is booming. Even the most conservative health institutions are beginning to practice therapies once considered “new age”— acupuncture, visualization, self-hypnosis and mindfulness— alongside the more traditional drugs and surgery. Equally important is a new attitude that treats the patient as a whole person rather than a cog in an assembly line. The New Medicine, a two-hour documentary, hosted by Dana Reeve, takes viewers inside medical schools, healthcare clinics, research institutions and private practices to examine the rapidly expanding world of integrative medicine. Find out more about "The New Medicine" at
“Qigong is a truly holistic healing knowledge system. Our body has a complex diagnostic and healing system that I call the ‘internal hospital’, a hospital called Nothingness, all inclusive. Critical to genuine Qigong healing is the understanding that Qigong does not work at the structural level (anatomy), but at the Qi level, or Qi based knowledge system or framework, even beyond the Qi dimension." More
The Politics, Suppression, and Manipulation of Medicine
The attack on non-allopathic, energy-based forms of medicine by the American Medical Assocation, mainstream Western medicine, the pharmaceutical industry, and others started with the Flexner Report in 1910.
Flexner was John D. Rockefeller's "stool pigeon" in setting up the takeover of the entire medical school industry by Carnegie Foundation, which was a Rockefeller Foundation subsidiary at that time.......When you say "Carnegie Foundation", you're talking about something that has no substance. It's entirely under the domination of the Rockefellers. .................He (Abraham Flexner) did "The Flexner Report", and this changed the medical schools of the United States from homeopathic, naturopathic medicine, to allopathic medicine -- which was a German school of medicine which depended on the heavy use of drugs, radical surgery, and long hospital stays. That's what we've got today, allopathic medicine.---Eustace Mullins. [Interview 2003] by Tom Valentine
See Also: 'The Politics of Medicine and the Nature of Health' in The Rife Handbook of Frequency Therapy and Holistic Health . This includes facts and fallacies about clinical trials; preventable deaths; how drugs are marketed and publicized; the relationships between the pharmaceutical Industry and the United States Government, government officials, and universities; how drugs are approved; drugs in our drinking water and antibiotics in our food; and effects of psychotropic drugs on children.
What is Integrative Medicine?
The Center for Integrative Medicine (CIM) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine provides complementary medical patient care; is a National Institutes of Health research center on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM); integrates CAM in the School of Medicine curriculum; and disseminates information on CAM. The term "Integrative Medicine" is slowly replacing "CAM". As summarized on the CIM webpage:
Integrative Medicine blends the best of conventional and complementary medical approaches, addressing not only physical symptoms, but also psychological, social, environmental & spiritual aspects of health & illness. It believes in stimulating the innate human capacity for healing, empowering patients in their own care, while providing them with choices in healthcare that are proven to be safe and effective.
Although not all of these elements of well-being will have a significant impact on the price of your Aviva life insurance, or other such policies, and may not be seen to directly affect any physical issues, Integrative Medicine can be extrememly beneficial to your overall health.
"Chinese medicine is wellness based and its benefits are accomplished through functional enhancement. When a body heals any part, the whole participates. Only in the Western world do we, because medicine is pathology based and potentially dangerous, believe it is critical to attack specific pathogens or remove a particular diseased part very specifically. In the more primitive systems of medicine where the paradigm is based on healing by maximizing the function of the whole being on every level, it is well known that the whole body works together to resolve pain and heal disease. In the more whole person paradigm, the idea of treating a part or process pales next to the profound idea that, integrally, any part can only be transformed with the support of healing components, factors and processes that happen throughout the whole system." Dr. Roger Jahnke.
China‘s Ancient Solution to the Contemporary Crisis in Medicine
"Conventional medical science has been so busy creating new technologies for treating disease that we have forgotten about caring for health. In the West we incorrectly believe that health care and medicine are the same thing. While we in the West have a truly fantastic, though very expensive, system based on treating people after they are sick, China has a profoundly remarkable and quite inexpensive system of health care based on keeping people well." Dr. Roger Jahnke
Qigong was not associated with the word "medical" until the late 20th Century. In this interview on The Secrets of Qigong Masters on blogtalkradio, Dr. Roger Jahnke discusses the definition of medicine as it relates to Qigong, the historical definition of Medical Qigong, the political influences in China that affected the development of Medical Qigong, Medical Qigong in America, and more. What is Qigong Internet Radio.
Clinical Practice of Integrative Medicine with Medical Qigong Therapy
"Health Medicine" is a term being used to describe an integrative, holistic, person-centered, and preventive style of clinical practice. An example of a website and practice that embodies health medicine is DoctorSaputo.com. It is the brainchild of Len Saputo, MD and Francesco Garri Garripoli who have built this project on the foundation of their friendship that began in 1998. These two wellness advocates envisioned a new approach to health education and personal empowerment. Combining Len's concept's of "health medicine" and a true "patient centered" approach to medicine... and Francesco's emphasis on a holistic, body/mind/spirit perspective on self care and preventative medicine, DoctorSaputo.com is a true East-meets-West approach to health education. DoctorSaputo.com offers a library of nearly 2,000 media files featuring Dr. Saputo, his wife Vicki Saputo, RN, Francesco, and an amazing array of health and wellness experts from around the world discussing information that is custom-delivered to you. This is made possible utilizing the WujiTech Environment software.
Another example of the new style of holistic wellness practice is One Circle Wellness:
The mission of the Global Health Institute is to educate health professionals, students and the media community on the discoveries, cutting edge therapies and emerging knowledge that is shaping the integration of healthcare.
What’s Missing from Western Medicine: The Power of the Mind
What distinguishes Western medicine from all other healing traditions on the planet are several key concepts: the separation of mind and body, and the notion that all of nature can be explained via a materialistic world view. On the other hand, every single non-Western healing tradition recognizes the inextricable link between psyche and soma. “Dis-ease” is not limited to the physical body; thoughts and emotions are causative factors. And healing necessitates addressing these elements of our being. Getting well is not just about fixing the physical body. More.
Medical Qigong: A Vital Branch of Oriental Medicine
The early Taoist shaman/healers saw that through connecting to the natural powers through dance and movement they could restore outer harmony and balance with the forces of nature. It was not long before they transferred this same reasoning to the microcosm of their own bodies. Therefore, of the earliest know qigong healing forms, many were derived from the movements of animals. The Qi Gong Classic (Dao Yin Tu), discovered in the tomb of King Ma in 1973 and dating back to the second century BCE, illustrates in manuscripts written on silk over 45 qigong postures with descriptions of the movements as well as the names of the diseases which they treat; over half of these postures are animal movements. More.
The Doctor and the Healer
Anyone truly interested in health, illness, and healing, and, therefore, in medicine and psychotherapy, whether professional health-care practitioner or lay person, cannot help marveling at what is happening today in the medical profession and in the world! On the one hand, we have never had more knowledge, material resources, and on-going medical research. The medical technologies and sophisticated remedies that are available to us have never been greater or more accessible to more people on this planet. On the other hand, it is highly questionable as to whether these are paying off in terms of global health, longevity, personal happiness, and fulfillment! Social science statistics are very clear but rather pessimistic: the rates of psychopathology, suicide, anti-social behavior, depression and doctor-induced deaths and illnesses keep going up, particularly in those countries that are most developed, wealthy, and technologically advanced. All over the world and particularly in traditional societies and in Europe, there is a growing interest in ethnic and traditional medicine, in holistic or integrative medicine that seeks to bring together the best of modern science and the wisdom of the past. More.
We are not victims of our heredity. People are limited by their perceptions and beliefs of the world that they live in. Listen to Dr. Wayne Dyer and Dr. Bruce Lipton discuss how people can heal themselves.
Western Medical Model Inadequate for Practice of General Medicine
The biopsychosocial model (abbreviated "BPS") is a general model or approach that posits that biological, psychological (which entails thoughts, emotions, and behaviors), and social factors, all play a significant role in human functioning in the context of disease or illness. Indeed, health is best understood in terms of a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors rather than purely in biological terms.[1] This is in contrast to the traditional, reductionist biomedical model of medicine that suggests every disease process can be explained in terms of an underlying deviation from normal function such as a pathogen, genetic or developmental abnormality, or injury.[2]
Wikipedia, Biopsychosocial model.
"Doctors today commonly assert that they practice "scientific medicine," and patients think that the medical treatments they receive are "scientifically proven." However, this ideal is a dream, not reality, and a clever and profitable marketing ruse, not fact.
The British Medical Journal's "Clinical Evidence" analyzed common medical treatments to evaluate which are supported by sufficient reliable evidence (BMJ, 2007). They reviewed approximately 2,500 treatments and found:
• 13 percent were found to be beneficial
• 23 percent were likely to be beneficial
• Eight percent were as likely to be harmful as beneficial
• Six percent were unlikely to be beneficial
• Four percent were likely to be harmful or ineffective.
• 46 percent were unknown whether they were efficacious or harmful
In other words, at least 50% of current western medical practice has no evidence base.
Sustainable Health Care - The Problem
US health care costs stem from an overdependence on high-tech allopathic medicine and pharmaceuticals that treat symptoms; the bureaucracy and paper work of dealing with numerous insurance companies; the threat of malpractice lawsuits; and greed. The current US health care system is set up to make profits for investors rather than to heal… [we] must accept responsibility for our health by making health-promoting choices daily and seeking true preventative care that assists the body's innate healing ability. Therapies other than drugs and surgery need to be available through Medicare and insurance plans… The current system in the US depends upon sickness and high-tech solutions in order to make a profit. Our very economy is dependent upon the health care industry as it now stands. A November 2006 article in BusinessWeekOnline says that '…health care has become the main American job program for the 21st century, replacing, at least for the moment, all the other industries that are vanishing from the landscape.' " Robert J. Zieve, MD in The Townsend Letter (www.townsendletter.com) - February/March 2007. In his book Beyond the Medical Meltdown , Zieve discusses the factors contributing to the high cost of US health care.
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Endorses Qigong and Tai Chi
"A program of regular exercise that includes cardiorespiratory, resistance, flexibility, and neuromotor exercise training beyond activities of daily living to improve and maintain physical fitness and health is essential for most adults....Neuromotor exercise training, sometimes called functional fitness training, incorporates motor skills such as balance, coordination, gait, and agility, and proprioceptive training. Multifaceted physical activities such as tai ji (tai chi), qigong, and yoga involve varying combinations of neuromotor exercise, resistance exercise, and flexibility exercise. Neuromotor exercise training is beneficial as part of a comprehensive exercise program for older persons, especially to improve balance, agility, muscle strength, and reduce the risk of falls." American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy adults: guidance for prescribing exercise.
Integrative Medicine in Universities and Research Institutions
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine ( NCCAM ) has established an Integrative Medicine Consult Service at the National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) Clinical Center, the world’s largest hospital devoted to research. This service will provide physicians, nurses, and other members of the Clinical Cnete health care team the ability to discuss complementary and alternative medicine ( CAM ) therapies with knowledgeable medical staff from the consult service and learn how various CAM practices might complement or interact with a patient's care as a research participant at the Clinical Center. For more information: Read the NIH PressZoom . Also see: United States Government and Qigong.
Textbooks for Medical Qigong and Integrative Medicine
Chinese Medical Qigong, known as Qigong Study in Chinese Medicine in China, is the third edition of the only official textbook of medical Qigong used in colleges and universities of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in China. It is the result of the collaborative efforts of more than thirty faculty members in a dozen colleges and universities of TCM in China and represents the highest level of academic research and the broadest compilation of clinical applications on medical Qigong today. This unique book is a systematic survey of the history, methods, transformation, and development of ancient Chinese mind-body cultivating skills, or what is today called Qigong. This text focuses on medical Qigong as a study discipline in the 21st century, and on cultivating Qi for the health and healing. It offers concepts, examples, background, techniques, and a multitude of historic and contemporary methods for refining and implementing mind-body cultivation within life nurturing and healing.
The English edition of this book is the result of the collective efforts of a group of professionals in traditional Chinese medicine and Qigong. To truly reflect the original meanings of Chinese texts and to deliver a translation of the highest quality, three layers of translating and editing were employed. In the last group of consulting editors are two western MDs with experience in mind-body medicine or Qigong and three Qigong scholars well-known in America, each of whom has already published best-selling Qigong book.The translation and editing process was partially supported by grants from the International Advanced Plan of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and from the World Institute for Self Healing, Inc. (WISH), a non-profit organization in New Jersey dedicated to promoting Qigong, self-healing, and mind power through research, education and networking.
Question: What would healthcare look like if Qigong was adopted more widely?
Answer: 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. From the Q&A about this book (scroll down the document to page 29).
The Textbook of Integrative Mental Health Care is a new book on integrative approaches including Qigong in mental health care that provides a comprehensive resource on the theory and clinical practice of integrative mental health care. The book presents a framework for psychiatrists, other mental health professionals, and CAM practitioners who wish to learn about the conceptual foundations of integrative medicine and examine the evidence for non-conventional and integrative approaches used to assess and treat common mental health problems.
"Although emerging evidence during the past several decades suggests that psychosocial factors can directly influence both physiologic function and health outcomes, medicine has failed to move beyond the biomedical model, in part because of lack of exposure to the evidence base supporting the biopsychosocial model... there is considerable evidence of efficacy for several mind-body therapies in the treatment of coronary artery disease (eg, cardiac rehabilitation), headaches, insomnia, incontinence, chronic low back pain, disease and treatment-related symptoms of cancer, and improving postsurgical outcomes. We found moderate evidence of
efficacy for mind-body therapies in the areas of hypertension and arthritis." Read the full article Mind-Body Medicine: State of the Science, Implications for Practice .
Listen to an introduction to the use of Medical Qigong for health (once on the referenced page, scroll down the page to find this podcast) by Ted Cibik, Doctor of Medical Qigong. Also, for more information on how Qigong is being used to treat a range of diseases and conditions, such as asthma, multiple sclerosis, high blood pressure, diabetes, and more, see Ancient Health Practices for a Modern World.
From a physiological standpoint, Qigong practice puts the body into a state of relaxation and regeneration. This state is achieved by eliciting the Relaxation Response, coined by Herbert Benson, Associate Professor of Medicine at The Harvard Medical School to describe the healing and stress reducing effects of a mind-body practice. In this case the practice is Qigong, a new category of exercise called Meditative Movement.
Hands-on healing and energy-based interventions have been found in cultures throughout history around the world. These complementary therapies, rooted in ancient Eastern healing practices, are becoming mainstream. Healing Touch, a biofield therapy that arose in the nursing field in the late 1980s, is used in a variety of settings (i.e., pain centers, surgical settings, and private practices) with reported benefits (i.e., decreased anxiety, pain, and depressive behaviors; increased relaxation and a sense of well-being).
Effects of healing touch in clinical practice: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials..
. This includes facts and fallacies about clinical trials; preventable deaths; how drugs are marketed and publicized; the relationships between the pharmaceutical Industry and the United States Government, government officials, and universities; how drugs are approved; drugs in our drinking water and antibiotics in our food; and effects of psychotropic drugs on children. 
gives some more background on Qigong and its use as a clinical therapy. 
, Zieve discusses the factors contributing to the high cost of US health care.
