Mike Brewer

This is silly, so forgive me for not going out and just buying the magazine myself. I was at Wal-Mart today, and I saw a headline on the cover of the most recent Inside Kung Fu that caught my eye. I tend to stay away from the magazines anymore, and I didn't have time to read it, but the headline read:

"Is practicing Qi Gong killing you?"

I know a lot of you train in these arts and likely read the magazines, so I was wondering if you'd read the article, and if so, what it had to say?

payon23

I just picked up the magazine the other day.

The article is to do with Qi Gong Illness and is a part two of a previous month's article. I think that the headline was maybe a bit "Tabloid" but the article goes on to talk about bad side effects of not doing your Qi Gong Properly.

I haven't read that article completely but that is waht I gather from it as it sits in front of me.

treelizard

I have not read the article but I did hear Ken Cohen speak before a qi gong workshop he gave in Tucson, and he said that "qi gong psychosis" is actually a mental illness according to the DSM-IV, which is the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders that psychologists use. While he wouldn't take credit for the name, he coined it first in the 70s as a translation for the Chinese expression zou huo ru mo, or "fire (the qi) wild, devils enter." It describes (according to Mr. Cohen's book, the Way of Qi Gong) delusional thinking resulting from excessive or incorrect training. The DSM-IV describes qi gong psychotic reaction as "a term describing an acute, time-limited episode characterized by disassociative, paranoid or other psychotic or non-psychotic symptoms that may occur after participation in the Chinese folk health-enhancing practice of qi gong ("exercise of vital energy". Especially vulnerable are individuals who become overly involved in the practice.

Mr. Cohen's book describes several cases of people who have had bad reactions to qi gong from practicing excessively, going too fast or ignoring both instructions and common sense. He also mentions a study with 145 obsessive qi gong practicitioners conducted at Beijing Medical University that found that fanatical practice of qigong could cause latent psychiatric problems to surface and lead to hallucinations. Some qi gong practitioners will argue that these things already existed in the practitioner and were not caused by qi gong, but I have to wonder if having extra qi would exacerbate an existing imbalance.

Again though as Mr. Cohen pointed out, qi gong has massive health benefits and is only harmful for a small percentage of people. If one follows his warnings ("Proceed gradually, step by step. Don't short-circuit or overload your qi circuits by trying to do too much too soon. Maintain a balance; don't neglect the joys of everyday life") they should be fine. He also says to prioritize clarity of mind and relaxation, and not to interfere with the natural flow of qi by obsessively thinking about it when not necessary.

My own advice would be to only engage in the riskier practices with a good qualified teacher, and not to read too much Mantak Chia.

In my own personal experience, I had a really crazy reaction to qi gong the first time (actually the first few times--the first time I ever tried a new style) in which I would literally shake for about ten minutes after class (like, people would hand me water and I would drop the glass b/c I'd be shaking so hard) and have intense emotional reactions, and this happened with acupuncture too. Acupuncturists and qi gong instructors told me it was a combination of extreme energetic sensitivity and a strong imbalance stemming from some events in my past. They all had me put my hands and feet in warm water to open the meridians.

One teacher always told us to keep our tongue to the roof of our mouth because if your qi rises too fast it can also cause psychosis. Will look into this more when I get the chance...

BoarSpear

I dont read the mags either...theyre crap....but Incorrect Qi kung can definatly f k you up. I have seen people who came to my school who had practiced Bullshit some fraud taught them and have seen ruined knees from bs postures, shortness of breath and depleted kidney essense is common as well from incorrect diligent practice of bogus breathing standing/moving meditations.