Is-qi-ki-chi-real-or-only-a-new-age-fantasy-?
- I practice Qi-gong and Tai Chi. The physical and psychological benefits of these practices have long been documented and known. Even if I experienced Qi, I have often wondered is this real or a suggestive fantasy? In this blog I begin with a typical criticism of Qi and then present articles and research summaries by current researchers about the scientific exploration of Qi/Chi/Ki. I will add items as time goes on.
Typical non-scientific challenge called The Myth of “Qi”
If, like us, you are concerned about the problem of “qi”, we’d like to hear from you. We cannot promise to post every link we are sent, but we do intend to provide links to articles or sites concerned with this matter. You could be a scientist who thinks the whole “qi” phenomenon is a load of pseudo-scientific claptrap, a concerned religious voice who thinks that the use of so-called “internal energies” is morally wrong, or a martial artist who thinks that it is time to get real in our martial practice and work to eradicate silly and even downright dangerous myths and superstitions. Like us, you might have multiple concerns. We think that the time has come to put the myth of “qi” under the triple microscopes of science, religion and rational martial practice. Surely there is no room to sit on the fence. However, many people do just that, without really thinking through the issue of whether or not they have a consistent religious or spiritual justification for what they are doing. In 21st century culture, people’s souls are up for grabs, whether you are into Qi-gong, Reiki, Yoga. Experiencing “qi” (usually in the form of physical sensations) is somewhat akin to the seeing of ghosts.
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“The effects of qigong have been well documented in scientific qigong research both inside and outside of China. It has been definitely established that qigong can cure diseases and induce a number of extraordinary functions in human beings. The current scientific qigong experiments are very limited in scope-many areas have not been studied. And the areas studied have merely focused on ordinarily measurable phenomena. In fact, there are possibly many more, deeper and even more perplexing phenomena yet to be investigated. As for monitoring and measuring qi, I think that modern scientific methods do have limitations. In other words, the whole modern scientific paradigm, including its theories, technologies, and precision instruments are very restricting.” Dr. Yan Xin ——————————————————————————————————
“Scientific qigong experiments at the initial stage can only produce natural-philosophical hypotheses which are crude, pale, and without proofs and predictions. More and better-quality experiments will obviously build up the ground for further improvement of this situation. Qigong scientists should always remind themselves that science is developed through the process of negating itself. The past qigong experiments have posed problems which are difficult to be explained with existing scientific knowledge.” Lu Zuyin ——————————————————————————————————-
Qi-gong through the science lens
Numerous reports have suggested the existence of Qi-gong energy and its biological effects (Sancier et al., 1991; Lu, 1997). Qi-gong currently draws much attention from not only traditional Chinese medicine researchers but also conventional scientists (Ziegler, 1999), and Qi-gong healing is seemingly becoming more accepted as one of the next possible candidates for complementary or alternative medicine, following acupuncture (Sancier et al., 1991). Unfortunately, many reports are described in Chinese or Japanese, and most of these might be considered flawed, since they were undertaken without appropriate masking (blinding) and/or randomization procedures. However, an extensive and systematic review of previous reports allows us certain insights into Qi-gong energy and the application of conventional scientific methods to the study of this subtle energy.
Various aspects of Qi-gong energy have been studied by different investigators. These include reports on the electroencephalograms (EEGs) of Qi-gong practitioners (Weixing et al., 1994; Zhang et al., 1988; Liu et al., 1990; Xu et al., 1998) and the effects of Qi-gong on human physiological and pathological conditions, and also the study of cellular activity, such as cellular proliferation (Sancier et al., 1991; Lu, 1997; Sancier, 1996; Trieschmann, 1999; Shah et al., 1999; Chien et al., 1991; Wu et al., 1999).
Qi-gong energy as a magnetic field
Although it is quite difficult to detect Qi-energy using conventional physical measurement techniques, many reports have described specific approaches which detect Qi-gong energy as a magnetic field, far-infrared or photon (Chien et al., 1991; Seto et al., 1992; Hisamitsu et al., 1996; Benford et al., 1999; Machi, 1995; Usa et al., 1995; Lu, 1997). The most notable among them are reports asserting that Qi-gong practitioners emit a strong magnetic field from their hand or head (Hisamitsu et al., 1996; Benford et al., 1999), and the enhancement of natural killer cell-activity in vitro (Yamamoto et al., 1996). Surprisingly, it has even been reported that Qi-gong energy can be stored in various materials (Omura, 1990), despite there being no rational physico-chemical explanation for such an observation at present. At the same time, electromagnetic fields have been found to have a stimulative effect on the phagocytic activity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) (Roy et al., 1995; Gapeyev et al., 1997; Papatheofanis, 1990; Khadir et al., 1999). Microwave or laser irradiation of PMNs has also been shown to enhance their phagocytic activity (Kiel et al., 1986; Dima et al., 1996). Furthermore, recent physico-chemical studies have demonstrated magnetic effects on electrolyte solutions (Oshitani et al., 1999; Oshitani et al., 1999) and their physiological effects (Ayrapetyan et al., 1994), and it has been shown that an aqueous solution pre-exposed to microwave irradiation influences K-Ca channel activity (Fesenko et al., 1995). These reports suggest a “memory effect” in which magnetic effects remain for a considerable period after magnetic exposure is completed (Oshitani et al., 1999; Oshitani et al., 1999; Ayrapetyan et al., 1994; Fesenko et al., 1995; Adair, 1999; Velizarov et al., 1999). Preliminary experiments carried out by Matsumoto and his colleague suggested that external Qi-gong treated phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) has a stimulatory effect on the phagocytic activity of human PMNs assayed by the highly sensitive chemiluminescent method (Kataoka et al., 1997).
However, these experiments were not performed with masking and randomized conditions and also large variations in phagocytic activities of PMNs between PMN-donors were not accounted for in the analysis. These several lines of evidence prompted a rigorous series of experiments in masked and well-controlled conditions to demonstrate the effect of external Qi-gong treated PBS (referred to as Qi-gongized PBS) on the phagocytic activity of human PMNs using the highly sensitive chemiluminescence assay method.
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But first, what is Qi?
Qi is one of the most mysterious elements of Oriental medicine. It cannot be seen, touched, or smelled. Nevertheless, the curing of patients by acupuncture depends on and results from this invisible flow of qi. The doctor and I made the following interpretation. The twisted ankle had prevented blood circulation; hence, the ankle was very cold initially. After healing, the blood could circulate more easily again, and the ankle became warm. The next day, she met me and happily told me that her foot felt much better from the healing.
At the close of that demonstration I explained the whole process of emitting qi, receiving qi, and healing in terms of quantum theory. (Please consult my book for details of this explanation.) Clearly, there is no mystique in either acupuncture or Qi-gong. These ancient, empirically valid methods have genuine physical and biological effects. Their theoretical foundations and explanations lie in modern physics.
In conclusion, I contend that the infrared imaging technique is not only a scientific research tool for measuring the effects of externally transmitted qi that can yield new quantitative results; this method is a tool that can prove to any skeptic the very demonstrable effects of qi in healing.
* Detailed results and references are presented in the author’s book, Biophysics Basis for Acupuncture and Health By Yin Lo, PhD
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And, what is Ki? Scientific evidences about the “Ki-effect”
“Ki-energy (life-energy) is believed to increase the immune activity of its practitioners. It has also been shown to cause neuropsychological effects. We undertook this study to obtain objective and scientific evidence as to whether or not a Ki-effect could inhibit the growth of cultured cancer cells.
Cultured human liver carcinoma cells, HepG2, were used. A Japanese Ki-expert held his fingers toward the cells in culture dishes for 5 or 10 min. After culturing for 24 hr, we measured cell numbers, protein concentration per cell, certain mRNA expressions and the synthesis of regucalcin. The results were compared with those for control cells (non-treated cells).
We found that the number of cells in the Ki-exposed groups were less than those in the controls by 30.3 and 40.6% with 5 and10 min Ki-exposure, respectively. The protein content per cell in the Ki-exposed groups (5 and 10 min) was higher than that in the control groups by 38.8 and 62.9%, respectively. These results were statistically significant. Using RT-PCR, we found that the mRNA expression for c-myc, a tumor stimulator gene, was decreased, while that for regucalcin, which suppresses DNA synthesis, was increased. Our molecular biological studies and mathematical model analysis demonstrated that Ki-energy inhibited cancer cell division. The data also indicate that the Ki-effects involve some form of infrared radiation from the human body. This study suggests the possibility that Ki-energy may be beneficial for cancer patients because it suppresses cancer cell growth, and at the same time, it stimulates immune functions of the patients.” Tomoko Ohnishi
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Results of a vigorously designed three-year study that she conducted suggest that test-tube cells grew better when people trained in reiki touch therapy passed their hands over the containers.
They did not touch the test tubes, or warm them, or affect them physically in any known way, Gronowicz said.
She was stunned. And puzzled.
The tightly controlled study suggests that patients could physically benefit from some sort of energy emanating from the skilled human hand.
“This is quite astonishing to me”, Gronowicz said. How do humans interact with biofields?
The University of Connecticut Health Center study was financed by the National Institutes of Health center for complementary and alternative medicine, and published in the Journal of Orthopedic Research. Gronowicz said she has come to accept the idea of biofields and would like to collaborate with a physicist to study them.
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Philadelphia Biomedical Research Institute, King of Prussia, PA 19406, Department of Biochemistry and
Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA andSchool of Nishino Breathing Method, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150, Japan
We investigated whether Ki-energy (life-energy) has beneficial effects on mitochondria. The paradigm we developed was to keep isolated rat liver mitochondria in conditions in which they undergo heat deterioration (39C for 10 min). After the heat treatment, the respiration of the mitochondria was measured using a Clarke-type oxygen electrode. Then, the respiratory control ratio (RC ratio; the ratiobetween State-3 and State-4 respiration, which is known to represent the integrity and intactness of
isolated mitochondria) was calculated.
Without the heat treatment, the RC ratio was >5 for NADH linked respiration (with glutamate plus malate as substrates). The RC ratio decreased to 1.86-4.36 by the incubation at 39C for 10 min. However, when Ki-energy was applied by a Japanese Ki-expert during the heat treatment, the ratio was improved to 2.24-5.23. We used five preparations from five different rats, and the significance of the differences of each experiment was either P <0.05 or P <0.01 (n¼ 3-5).
We analyzed the degree of lipid peroxidation in the mitochondria by measuring the amount of TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances). The amount of TBARS in heat-treated, no Ki-exposed mitochondria was greater than that of the control (no heat-treated, no Ki-exposed).
However, the amount was reduced in the heat-treated, Ki-exposed mitochondria (two experiments; both P <0.05) suggesting that Ki-energy protected mitochondria from oxidative stress. Calcium ions may play an important role in the protection by Ki-energy. Data also suggest that the observed Ki-effect involves, at least, near-infrared radiation (0.8-2.7mm) from the human body.
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An in vitro study reported by investigators at the University of
Oklahoma with co-authors from the University of Sherbrooke,
Harvard Medical School, and the National Institutes of Health
stands out in that it claims dramatic and reproducible effects.
This group tested whether treatments by a well-known Qi-gong
practitioner can protect rat brain cells from cell death induced
by oxidative stress in the form of exposure to hydrogen peroxide
(H2O2). Their findings suggest that Qigong treatments can reproducibly
block the damaging effects of H2O2 to such a degree
that they outperform pharmaceutical compounds currently in
use as protective agents against oxidative stress.
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Ki-energy (Life-energy) Stimulates Osteoblastic Cells and Inhibits the Formation of Osteoclast-like Cells in Bone Cell Culture Models, Ohnishi ST
Some practitioners of the Nishino Breathing Method (NBM) were found to have a higher bone density than the average values of age- and gender-matched non-practitioners. Using bone cell culture models, we investigated a possible mechanism behind this observation. For the study of bone mineralization, we performed the following two experiments using cultured osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells:
- Kozo Nishino, a Japanese Ki expert, sent Ki-energy to the cells once for 5 or 10-min after they were seeded in culture dishes in the presence of 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS). They were incubated for 72-h and the cells were counted. The number in the dish with 10-min Ki-exposure was significantly greater than that in the control (P < 0.01 with n = 8). We performed a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) study using these cells, but the mRNA expressions did not change significantly.
- (ii) After cells were incubated for 72-h without Ki-exposure (in the presence of FBS), they were further cultured for 48-h (in the absence of FBS) to promote differentiation. At the beginning of the second culture stage, Ki was applied once for 10-min. After 48-h, RT-PCR was performed. The mRNA expressions which are related to bone mineralization, such as Runx2, -1(I) collagen, alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin, increased significantly (P < 0.05 and n = 4 for all). For the bone resorption study, we used mouse marrow cultures, which can form osteoclast-like cells in the presence of (1-34) parathyroid hormone (PTH), and stimulate resorption. We exposed these cells to Ki-energy twice for the duration of 5 or 10-min on day 0 and day 4. On day 7, the cells were counted. The number of osteoclast-like cells in dishes with Ki exposure was significantly smaller than those in control dishes (P < 0.05 with n = 5). The difference between 5-min exposure and 10-min exposure was not statistically significant. All of our data suggest that the Ki-effect on osteoporosis should be further explored.
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The meridian phenomenon
Many express doubts about the existence of meridians and qi. In fact, all people have meridians, and although they cannot be seen or touched, under certain conditions they can be sensed. Chinese scientists have found that about 1 % of people are meridian-sensitive. Chinese scientists have tested the objectivity of the meridian system using modern scientific experiments. A scientist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences devised a highly sensitive instrument and found that meridians are in the form of lines that give out luminescence. They emitted 2.5 times more photons than non-meridian points on the body. Meridians are points, normally forming lines, on the human body where electrical resistance is lower than adjacent areas. When injecting a trace element into a meridian, the trace element will travel through the meridians into the body and then diffuse. Professor Li Dingzhong, a famous Chinese skin scientist and expert on meridians, observed 305 cases of skin diseases where lesions occurred along a meridian line. The discovery caused a great shock to the international medical profession. His book Meridian Phenomenon was published in Japan.
We are all Interconnected even with the Universe 
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