Qi Journal

Medical Qigong Therapy is useful for treating patients before, during and after surgery. Qi Emission can be used in order to reduce the patient's bleeding, enhance the immune system, minimize the risk of infection, strengthen the body, and accelerate the recovery rate. Medical Qigong modalities are involved in the following aspects of Operative Therapy: preoperative therapy, surgery, postoperative therapy, follow-up therapies and remedial prescriptions.

Medical Qigong and Preoperative Therapy

Although Medical Qigong Therapy has had incredible results in healing and/or stopping the progression of certain diseases, it is not a "cure-all," and has, as do other clinical modalities, its limitations. Currently, conventional medicine only utilizes three modalities for treating illnesses and injuries (in particular tumors and cancer); these include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. In the healing process, undergoing surgery is sometimes unavoidable and should never be viewed by the patient as a defeat, but only as a necessary step in the healing transition.

Having to face surgery should not be viewed as a negative reflection of a Qigong doctor's healing potential, nor a patient's inability to heal. Surgery should be viewed as a necessary life saving intervention that can firmly establish the patient on the road towards health and recovery. It is a positive affirmation of the patient's commitment to getting well and taking responsibility for healing. Sometimes, surgery is an inescapable progression towards health and healing.

Before surgery, it is important for the doctor to consider the emotional relationship that the patient has developed with his or her tissues. The doctor must also evaluate the mental, emotional, energetic and spiritual aspects of a disease.

The doctor's involvement with the patient and the tissues which are about to be surgically removed is also extremely important, since this emotional interaction affects the patient's healing potential. For healing to take place a trusting relationship with the patient must first be solidly established; this includes the compassionate attitude of the doctor towards the tissues that will be removed. The doctor will model the correct attitude to facilitate an accelerated healing for the patient. It is believed that scar tissue formation is in direct proportion to the patient's fears and negative expectations surrounding the surgery. These fears and expectations form energetic and spiritual attachments to the physical body. Often the patient attempts to disconnect these spiritual attachments out of fear and survival instinct.

Patients are not only enveloped in physical tissue, but are also spiritually, emotionally and energetically interconnected with their bodies. This energetic attachment includes any and all organs, organ systems or areas of their bodies which can be operated on.

Patients may sometimes be disillusioned about their own interpersonal relationship with their bodies' parts, and tend to disconnect from their own energetic attachments to their bodies tissues out of fear and survival instinct. It is important for the Qigong doctor to help the patient to get in touch with the suppressed feelings of loss surrounding the tissues which will soon be operated on (the process of grieving, letting go, and closure). This is because surgery represents the death of a relationship with part of the self. Although the relationship that the patient has with the diseased organ is not considered a healthy one, it exists, nevertheless. Allowing the patient to deny his or her true feelings related to the surgery and loss of tissue attachment will only compound the healing process, and may in turn cause increased scar tissue formation, as well as certain disease formations to return (tumors, cancer, etc.). Therefore, each organ and tissue area is "briefed "as to what it is about to undergo.

Sometimes, after surgery, the patient will experience feelings of loss, grief and depression relating to the surgery (often a reaction to the anesthesia). It is important that these feelings be experienced and expressed before the surgery during the times of preoperative Therapy. After the surgery, the patient may then experience feelings of relief and gratitude about the new changes in his or her body.

To prepare for surgery, the patients are generally given Medical Qigong meditations and prescriptions that strengthen the Lower Dantian, Kidneys and Mingmen areas. One or several sessions may be specifically devoted to allowing the patient to connect with the diseased organ(s), as well as the regions that are to be operated on. An atonement with the Divine is initiated in order to assist the patient in relinquishing control, and for the removal of any and all energetic armor surrounding the diseased area (and the subsequent release of emotions associated with this armoring). The patient is then encouraged to disconnect any energetic attachments that the diseased tissues have formed with the surrounding cells, facilitating a final closure. This allows for an easier transition, as the patient's body must completely release the diseased tissues during surgery.

Just before surgery, the patients are given a meditation and encouraged to imagine a Divine White Light Energy submerging and enveloping the regions of their bodies which are to be operated on. The Lower and Middle Dantians, as well as the areas which will soon be operated on, should also be energized. In addition, the Liver should also be energized in order to make sure that the blood coagulates properly during the surgery.

Using Medical Qigong for Anesthesia

According to research of Western Surgeries (presented at the Second International Symposium on Memory and Awareness in 1992), patients who undergo anesthesia may be aware of both the pain and conversations within the Operating Room. Many kinds of drugs used to supplement anesthesia, such as neuromuscular blocking agents, paralyze all the muscles in the body but do not affect the central nervous system and consciousness. During surgery patients have been observed flinching, twitching and making other facial expressions. Many patients later can give an accurate account of the surgery procedure and conversations between the doctors and nurses in detail. Even when unconscious, a part of the patient (whether energetically inside or outside of his or her body, can record, see and remember everything.

Qigong emitted during surgery, however, reduces pain and wound shock, calms the patient's spirit and leads to faster recovery. It also reduces postoperative complications such as respiratory tract infection, functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, retention of urine, etc.

Medical Qigong Therapy is found to be very useful in relieving pain by manipulating the body's neurochemicals. The energy stimulates the peripheral and cutaneous nerves that carry sensory information, via the spinal cord, to the brain. This stimulation of the cutaneous nerves activates neurotransmitters which carry pain messages to the brain, which facilities a closure of the body's pain-relay gates. This causes the brain to produce endorphins, or endogenously generated morphine like chemicals, which is received by the body's opiate receptors in order to dull the pain, which is the basis for Qigong Anesthesia. Because Medical Qigong Therapy safely produces an analgesic affect on the body's cutaneous tissues, its use in Hospitals for surgery as well as pre and postoperative procedures is gradually increasing.

The first operation in which Qigong anesthesia was applied (recorded in modern times), was performed successfully for the removal of a thyroid tumor in the Shanghai #8 People's Hospital, on May 9, 1980. Qigong Master Lin Hou-sheng demonstrated the ability to induce anesthesia in surgery by pointing his fingers at specific acupuncture points, using external Qi projection and no Western Anesthetic. The patient's blood pressure, pulse and respiration rate remained stable during the operation, and the patient's physiological function remained normal after the operation. The success of the Qigong anesthesia boosted the resident doctor's confidence and laid a solid foundation for future applications of Qigong anesthesia in surgical operations.

Qigong anesthesia has begun to follow in the wake of the widely accepted acupuncture anesthesia as a holistic alternative to conventional pharmaceutical methods. The number of cases treated in China with Qigong anesthesia is steadily increasing, primarily for the following six aspects:

Arresting the patient's pain.
Resisting the pulling reflex action or shock reaction of the body's internal tissues and organs when the scalpel is inserted.
Reducing infection.
Reducing the body's opposition or contrary action/reaction to operative wounds (the surgical incision).
Preventing wound shock (response of the body to the tissue trauma).
Promoting the healing of wounded tissues.

Since Qigong analgesia is effective through stimulating certain points on the body's surface, the location of the points and the type of energetic application are crucial. There are three methods commonly used in selecting points:

According to the channels: this technique includes two main applications;
1. The selection of points according to the course of the channel which traverses the site of the operation;
2. The selection of points according to the differentiation of symptoms and signs of a disease, and the responses that may be elicited in the operative procedure.
According to the segmental innervation: this technique includes three main applications;
1. The selection of points according to the adjacent segmentation, or in an area that is supplied by the same spinal nerve or an adjacent spinal nerve to the operative site;
2. The selection of points according to the remote segmentation, in an area not supplied by the same spinal or adjacent spinal nerve of the operative site;
3. The selection of points according to the stimulation of the nerve trunk within the same segmentation, stimulating directly the peripheral nerve of the operative site.

According to the Auricular Points: this technique employs the insertion and stimulation of acupuncture needles with Medical Qigong Therapy, and includes three main applications;

The selection of points according to the corresponding Auricular areas pertaining to the operative site and its involved internal organs.
The selection of points according to the theory of the Yin and Yang Organs pertaining to the operative site and its involved internal organs.
The selection of points according to such things as tenderness, reduction of electro-resistance, the appearance of deformation and/or discoloration when a certain internal organ or area of the body is affected.

It is important preoperatively that the patient have confidence in the doctor's Method of Qigong Application. Any misgivings should be dispelled by explaining the procedure so as to gain the patient's full corporation and trust. In order to know the level of response that the patient will experience, it is necessary to test the patient's response to Qigong anesthesia.

To use his external Qi as an anesthetic, the Qigong doctor must first focus his Qi into his Lower Dantian, increase its charge and density and then extend it out his palms, or sword fingers, into the patient's body through specific channel points. The goal is to numb a specific area on the patient's body without touching the patient.

When Qigong anesthesia is being administered successfully, 96% of the nerve fibers responsible for pain sensation become anesthetized and the patient loses consciousness within ten minutes. Ten minutes after cessation of the Qigong anesthesia emission, 24% of the anesthesia has disappeared; while 72% of the tissue remains numb. The remaining tissue quickly recovers from the anesthetic effect and the patient quickly returns to consciousness.

Patients suffering from pain caused by such conditions as cancer or dysmenorrhea also respond positively to Qigong anesthesia. In addition, tests in China conclude that when Qigong anesthesia is applied to patients with schizophrenia (who are in a state of aggression), the patients calm down immediately.

Medical Qigong Therapy and Surgery

Surgery has been performed in China for thousands of years. In ancient times, the legendary physician Hua Tuo was noted, not only for his expertise in Medical Qigong, Acupuncture, Massage and Herbs, but also for his surgical skills as well. In Western Culture, surgical therapies are applied for the removal of tumors, cysts, and abnormal tissue growth, as well as the transplantation of malfunctioning organs (heart, lungs, and kidneys) and the replacement of dysfunctional systems (joint replacement). Surgery, however, having a potential to both hinder and obstruct the body's flow of Life Force Energy, is generally considered a last resort modality.

During surgery, the Qigong doctor will assist the Surgeon by applying External Qi Emission to the patient's body, energizing and strengthening specific areas. This is done in order to: reduce pain and resist the pulling reflex action (shock reaction) of the body's internal tissues and organs when the scalpel is inserted, reduce infection and bleeding, and help prevent wound shock (the response of the body to the initial tissue trauma).

When assisting Surgeons during an operation, I have found that it is important to physically maintain connection with the patient's body before and while the anesthesia is beginning to take its effect. As the anesthesia begins to relax the patient's tissues, the Qigong doctor will actually feel and see the patient's spirit leave their body.

Just before the scalpel begins its first incision, it is important for the Qigong doctor to physically disconnect from the patient's body. Even though the Qigong doctor has physically disconnected from the patient's tissues, it is extremely important for the Qigong doctor to increase his or her energy extension deeper into the center core of the patient's body. This protects the Qigong doctor from experiencing the shock and initial trauma from the scalpel's first incision, which will resonate throughout the patient's entire body.

It is also important for the Qigong doctor to focus his or her attention on extending and circulating his or her energy deep into the patient's Center Core while the surgery is being performed. As the patient begins to lose Qi and Blood, due to the operation, the Qigong doctor will replenish the patient's lost energy as well as energize the incoming Blood from the transfusion. It is also possible for the Qigong doctor to slow the bleeding by slowing down the patient's pulse.

During surgery, the surgeon's scalpel will sever several of the patient's channels as he or she cuts through the surface of the skin and continues into the deeper regions of the patient's body. Each channel that is being disconnected will weaken the patient's energetic field corresponding to that specific organ and/or organ systems, further weakening the patient's body. It is the Qigong doctor's responsibility to maintain connection with the patient's energy field, and also monitor and maintain the patient's energy level. The Qigong doctor will maintain this connection as the surgeons open up the patient's body cavity, move internal organs, remove the diseased tissues (and any associated structures), and then suture and close the patient's body cavity.

When the patient is being sutured, the Qigong doctor must facilitate the patient's circulation of their Micro-Cosmic Orbit in order to stimulate the re-connection of any of the patient's internal and external channels which have been severed. The Qigong doctor must also change and rebuild the Energetic Grid formations in the body's internal and external energetic fields. The patient's Energetic Grid is reconstructed to a pre-diseased pattern in order to prevent the regrowth of the disease.

Medical Qigong and Postoperative Therapy

The separation and restructuring of the inner fasciae that occurred during surgery can cause serious postoperative problems by either stopping the Qi from flowing (causing Stagnations), or altering the energies natural course (causing Deviations). This is why after the surgery has been completed, it is extremely important for the Qigong doctor to immediately dredge and disperse the Turbid Qi from the patient's body. This is performed by energetically combing over the fresh incisions, in order to reconnect the patient's energetic preoperative patterns, promote the rapid healing of the patient's wounded tissues, reduce the formation of scar tissue, and continue to alleviate the effects of the surgery.

In order to facilitate an escalated healing, the Qigong doctor must also energize the patient's Kidneys and any energetic field which may have been depleted. Also, in order to bring the patient's temperature back to normal and disperse any feelings of nausea after the anesthesia and shock of surgery wear off, certain Heart, Pericardium and Stomach Channel points will be stimulated.

It is important to note that after an operation, the patient's Dantians and all his or her tissues have been depleted and need to be revitalized. While the patient is healing, the color of the aura located in the field of Wei Qi surrounding the area of the surgical trauma is usually dark to light gray. In order to increase the healing potential, the Qigong doctor will give the patient specific prescriptions as well as White Light Meditation images. This is prescribed in order to energize and replenish the patient's damaged tissues and energy fields. The Qigong doctor will also continue to work on rebuilding, reconnecting and reinforcing the patient's channels and energetic Grids which the surgeon has severed during the operation.

Figure 1:

Lungs	Brilliant Pure White
Large Intestines	Abalone-shell White
Stomach	Deep Yellow
Spleen	Orange Yellow
Heart	Red wiuth Blue Tint
Small Intestine	Pink
Bladder	Deep Blue
Kidneys	Light Pastel Blue
Periocardium	Purple Red
Triple Burners	Orange Red
Gall Bladder	Pale Chartreuse
Liver	Dark Green

Medical Qigong Therapy and Recreating Organ Energy

Once an organ has been removed, there remains an energetic "void" within the "Spatial Cavity" of the patient's tissues. The energy of the organ, however, still exists within the patient's body, as a "Phantom Organ." This energetic phenomena is due to the creative "Blue-Printing" of the Prenatal and Postnatal formation of the body's tissues. Because mass and energy are interconnected and interchangeable, it is therefore possible to energetically stabilize, as well as energize, the Spatial Cavity wherein the surgically removed organ once resided. To assist the patient in recreating active, organ energy, the Qigong doctor will prescribe the following meditation:

Stage 1: The Hookup: Generally several days after the surgery, while the patient is still recovering, the Qigong doctor will have the patient imagine him or herself being connected to the Heavens and rooted to the Earth. Next, the patient will begin color visualization.

Stage 2: Choosing the Appropriate Color: In order to prescribe the correct color, it is important for the Qigong doctor to know what organ or organ systems have either been removed, or seriously affected by the surgery. Once the Qigong doctor knows which organ systems have been affected, the patient is then assigned specific color meditations. These color meditations are needed in order to Tonify and strengthen the energetic fields which support the traumatized tissues. These meditations are also used to reestablish a physical, mental, emotional, energetic and spiritual connection to the area of trauma.

The list (figure 1 above) are the general colors associated with the body's organs and channels. Think of these colors as extensions of energy originating from the original organs.

Stage 3: Cleaning and Energizing the Spatial Cavity: After the doctor has selected the proper organ color for the patient to meditate upon, he or she will give the patient specific images used in order to cleans, purify, create and energize the tissues. These meditations will create a solid energetic transformation stabilizing the patient's energetic field.

1. Cleansing and Purifying: The patient will begin this meditation by imagining that his or her fingers and toes are straws. As the patient inhales, he or she will imagine Divine White Light Energy flowing from the Heavens and Earth into the fingers and toes, filling the specific area which has been traumatized by the surgery (figure 2). As the patient exhales, he or she will imagine any pathogenic Qi leaving the tissues, releasing and leaving his or her body via the fingers and toes. The patient will continue to perform this cleansing meditation for several minutes until he or she feels that the specific area has been purified.

2. Creating and Energizing: Once the area has been sufficiently cleansed, the patient will imagine a clean, vibrant color (associated with the particular organ), flowing into the Spatial Cavity and areas surrounding the removed organ. As the patient inhales, the organ color fills the vacant cavity, energizing the remaining energetic structure and surrounding tissues. The patient will continue with this imagery until the specific organ area is full of heat, light and vibration (figure 3). Because the surgery has permanently removed the organ from the patient's body, it is important for the patient to continue with this meditation every day for the rest of their life.

Medical Qigong Therapy and Organ Transplantation

Each particular organ in the human body has its own unique history and experience. This emotional memory and experience is active both within the patient receiving a transplanted organ, as well as the organ donor. Before the body can, or will receive a foreign organ, there must first be a time of reconciliation between the memories stored within the surrounding cells of the organ soon to be replaced, and that of the donor's organ. In order to assist the Surgeon in transplanting an organ, the Qigong doctor must be aware of visceral cleansing, preparation and purification of the transplanted organ. This method is explained in the following three stages:

Stage 1: The patient must release all attachment to the departing organ. This includes all negative, as well as positive, physical, mental, emotional, energetic and spiritual memories and experiences.

Stage 2: The history and emotional memory of the transplanted organ must be cleansed. This includes all negative as well as positive physical, mental, emotional, energetic and spiritual memories stored within the donor's organs.

Stage 3: The relationship between the patient's tissues and the Spatial Cavity wherein the initial diseased organ remains, and that of the new organ, which will soon be transplanted, must be established and harmonized.

The patient's body will either receive or reject the transplanted organ due to unresolved emotional trauma stored within the patient's tissues or within the transplanted organ itself. Current research reveals that emotions trapped within transplanted organs can and sometimes do surface within the patient's subconscious mind, affecting his or her behavioral patterns. This is manifested through certain unnatural behavioral traits, which are transferred, similar to congenital patterns, to that of the patient.

A famous example of a lingering emotional connection between an organ donor, the organ, and the recipient is explained in the following true story. A few years ago a young woman (vegetarian) received a heart transplant from a young man who died in a motorcycle accident. Upon being discharged from the hospital, the woman began craving Chicken McNuggets, which was the young mans favorite food. This was in direct opposition to her previous diet, and eating habits.

It is important to note here that organ rejection is not always due to the donors or patient's unresolved emotional issues. Organ rejection can also be caused from biological reactions complicating the expectance of the foreign tissue.

Follow-up and Remedial Prescriptions

The follow-up and remedial prescriptions will be determined according to the specific type of surgery the patient has undergone. The prescriptions must be designed in order to purge, strengthen and regulate any organ(s) that have been weakened by the surgery, as well as circulate the patient's energy in order to reduce any energetic stagnations which may have been caused by internal organ movement and fascia damage. This will assist the patient in an escalated recovery, as well as reduce postoperative Depression, which often follows after major surgery.

Sometimes, when assisting patients who are healing from severe diseases (i.e., malignant tumors and cancer), additional Western Therapies such as Radiation or Chemotherapy are required. For example:

Patient Testimony

Summary of events surrounding my pancreatic surgery, June 16, 1997 at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula by Thea Sagin (female patient--age 50).

On June 16, 1997, emergency surgery to remove a fist-sized tumor from the tail of my pancreas, resulted in my former Sifu (Martial Arts Master), Jerry Alan Johnson, changing roles to become an "Energy Therapist." Thanks to my admitting physician, Dr. Stephanie Taylor, who facilitated the arrangement, Dr. Johnson was the first representative of Chinese Medical Qigong therapy allowed to enter surgery at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.

As my Energy Therapist, Dr. Johnson conducted a preoperative session during which he facilitated the energetic and emotional release of my tumor. He then accompanied me into the 4 hour surgery during which he maintained my energy levels while reminding my tissues of their preoperative energetic patterns in order to facilitate rapid healing. He continued to work with me through the postoperative healing, and followed up several days after surgery. It was his vital support and insights that helped me to undergo the recommended course of radiation therapy.

The following is a synopsis of the Medical Qigong therapy that I experienced along with the traditional Western modalities used to treat my pancreatic islet-cell tumor.

Phase 1: The Preoperative Stage consisted of a Medical Qigong session directed toward putting me in touch with the tumor, my relationship to it, and the emotions associated with it. This was followed with an atonement with the Divine and relinquishment of control, removal of the armoring around my tumor, and subsequent release of emotions with it. I actually "saw" the disconnected energetic attachments of the tumor as they detached from my organs and were blowing like ostrich feather segments in a wind. I also saw a bright neon sign on the tumor that identified it's emotional source. This entire process took only an hour, yet it facilitated closure with the tumor in order for me to easily release it during the surgery, which immediately followed the session. It also provided me with insights that helped my emotional healing over the months following surgery.

Phase 2: Surgery. I entered surgery without any sedatives and was filled with a tremendous sense of peace and empowerment in knowing that the hospital was honoring my energetic, as well as my physical needs. The surgery lasted for four hours during which Dr. Johnson connected with my energy fields and monitored, as well as maintained, my energy levels. He continued treating me and working with my energetic fields as the anesthesia was administered, and as the two surgeons opened my cavity, moved structures, removed the tumor (along with the tail of my pancreas and the spleen), and then sutured and closed my abdominal cavity.

Throughout the surgery Dr. Johnson stood at my head, where energy enters through the crown, and facilitated the running of energy into my center channel in the core of my body. He described his work as following the actions of the surgeons, and my body's response to these actions: the incision, the movement of internal organs, the resection of the tumor, and the final suturing. He used this opportunity to change the energetic grid formations in the tumor bed to prevent regrowth of the tumor, which was malignant.

Phase 3: The Postoperative Stage. This stage involved a continuation of the mitigation of the effects of surgery: working to tonify my kidneys to bring my temperature up and to offset the shock of surgery, as well as using acupressure points to calm my heart and stomach during the nausea. I was reminded upon awakening, to do my Microcosmic Orbit exercise. Dr. Johnson then proceeded to "dredge" or comb over the incision to reconnect my pre-energetic channel and tissue patterns in order to facilitate healing and to reduce scar tissue. The healing of the incision was fast. My doctors later remarked at how quickly I healed, and how little scar tissue there was compared to similar surgeries. I've since read of studies conducted with therapeutic touch that resulted in significantly faster healing of tissues in patients who received this type of therapy.

Phase 4: Follow-Up and Remedial Prescriptions. During the days following surgery, Dr. Johnson taught me several meditations: The "Divine Healing Light Meditation" for healing the tumor bed and incision and the "Heaven and Earth Spleen Meditation" that fuses a ball of energy where the spleen once was--allowing me to continue to produce the energetic pattern of the spleen within my body. I began doing these meditations the day following surgery for the week of hospitalization, and continued to practice them along with the Microcosmic Orbit exercises throughout my recovery.

Phase 5: Radiation. After several weeks of recuperation, I was scheduled to received radiation treatments daily (Monday through Friday) for six weeks. Each day I would perform the Medical Qigong exercises (vocal and physical prescriptions) outdoors in a field overlooking the ocean. Then I would drive to the hospital for the 15 minutes of radiation, followed by a session with Dr. Johnson every other day. I understood that the Medical Qigong exercises and sessions would offset the heat in the tissues while protecting surrounding organs from unwarranted harm. There was concern about the possible loss of function in one kidney, but blood tests during the treatments showed no noticeable effects on them or on my liver. In addition, unexpected by-products of the Medical Qigong sessions involved the release of emotional memories and an experience of the Divine in my healing process.

On alternate days after radiation, I had acupuncture and pranic healing with Jason Gill L.Ac. who teaches classes in Chinese Herbs and Traditional Chinese Medicine at Dr. Johnson's International Institute of Medical Qigong. Through these treatments, and the use of Chinese herbs, my immune system was strengthened. These complimentary modalities, combined with my body's own healing abilities with visualization, and aided by the direction of positive energy by these two therapists, enabled me to avoid the typical side-effects of nausea and diarrhea, and to maintain my energy levels in sufficient quantity to continue driving to the radiation treatments on my own.

It is hard for me to imagine what this entire experience might have been like without the support of a doctor of Medical Qigong. I am truly grateful for Dr. Johnson's dedication, discipline and expertise that enabled him to be present for me throughout all aspects of this illness. It was a gift that I would encourage other patients to utilize for themselves in combination with any traditional allopathic program for cancer. I had the best of both worlds working for me in a remarkable manner thanks to all of my doctors.

Phantom Pains of Amputated Organs

Amputation may be necessary as a result of severe injury or massive infection, such as Gangrene. During surgical amputation, the soft tissues are cut in such a way that they cover the end of the remaining bone in order to heal completely. This allows the body's tissues to seal and protect itself from the external environment. "Ghost" or "Phantom" Pains are caused by the patient's energetic connection with the amputated tissues (through the internal "Energetic Spacial Cavity," and/or external "Energetic Boundary System"). The Phantom limb (usually one of the body's extremities, i.e. finger, hand, arm, etc.) exists in an energetic state and continues to interact with the patient's external field of Wei Qi, as well as the patient's Shen. Any interaction with the space or energetic field of the amputated organ will produce a direct response to the patient similar to that of contacting the actual physical limb.

Rehabilitation programs generally do not prepare the patient for such reactions as Phantom Pains, which tend to leave the patient perplexed and frustrated. To alleviate the symptoms of Phantom pains, the Qigong doctor will sedate the patient's Wei Qi field that surrounds the amputated limb, and assist the patient in re-patterning the old energetic field to fit the postoperative tissue formation. The Qigong doctor can also prescribe Juniper Berries, which will relieve the Phantom pain symptoms.

Medical Qigong Therapy and the Treatment of Scar Tissue

After surgery, some scar tissue formation is inevitable. Since both the body's inner-facia and channels (which are responsible for the lubrication of the tissues) have been severed due to the insertion of the surgeon's scalpel. In order to minimize the degree of scar tissue formation, the Qigong doctor can use Qi Extension techniques on the sutured area, extending his intention deep into the patient's body. The doctor's focus of intention should be on dispersing Stagnations and Regulating the flow of the undercurrent of Qi through the sutured tissues. Emphasis should be placed on reconnecting the patient's channels and collaterals, depending on the location of the surgery. After which, the doctor will focus on Regulating the external and internal flow of energy from within and without the patient's tissue area.

In treating scar tissue formation, which has laid dormant for quite some time, Tissue Regulation through Tui Na Therapy is required. After using the proper Tissue Regulation Method the Qigong doctor will end the treatment by using the One Finger Skill technique along the line of the patient's external scar. In order to perform this method, one thumb is placed on the end of the scar, while the doctor's other thumb presses into tissue, slowly outlining the entire scar (heating and energizing the patient's tissues). The doctor will end the treatment with both thumbs placed at the beginning and ending of the scar, extending his energy through the patient's tissue in a circular pattern. This technique will naturally induce an energetic/emotional release of the memories trapped within the scar tissue, centered around the surgery.

Jerry Alan Johnson PhD, DTCM, DMQ (China), Dean of Medical Qigong Science, Five Branches Institute, College of T.C.M., Santa Cruz, California. Excerpted with permission from his book entitled "Chinese Medical Qigong Therapy"