I have often been asked what I have gained from my Qigong practice, or my experiences, so I decided to share some of them here. Qigong is primarily designed for health (vitality), healing, disease prevention, avoiding premature aging and longevity, so that is what I will cover here. There are many other hidden potentials Qigong develops too, that can be considered within the spiritual or psychic phenomena range too, and these may be the subject for a future discussion. Other than the fact my grand teacher, Yang Meijun, lived to age 106, I cannot comment on longevity until I reach eighty or ninety years in good health, but I can say for my four decades of practice I have avoided premature aging (often taken for years younger than biological age and that of friends and others in my age group or even younger), I have no outward symptoms of disease, or present complaints, and I have healed myself of numerous injuries, and minor issues so that I know unequivocally Qigong’s true value, and helped others with healing. In the discipline I follow (Wild Goose Qigong) the tradition was that the skill could not even be passed on until the inheritor attained 70 years of age. The reason for this? Well, if that person could not reach 70 years in good health, then the skill was not even worth passing on! So, the true skill lies within the teacher always. He or she can preserve and maintain it; they can even raise it to higher levels than the past through their efforts; or they can pretty much devalue it and make it worthless through their lack of care and attention.
Unlike accounts of masters who began as sickly or feeble children encouraged by a family friend to take up Qigong, or Kungfu or Taijiquan, and became healthy as a result of their diligent practice, fortunately as a child, I had always been healthy and athletic, and have never been seriously ill. This is due, in part, to my parents’ genes, but also since my twenties I have worked consistently to develop my Qi (vital energy) and live my life according to Daoist philosophy and principles. When I began my Qigong journey, around age twenty-one, I conducted much research on the subject available at the time, purchasing and digesting scientific books translated into English from Chinese, published by Guangdong Science and Technology Press to Publishing House of Shanghai College of Traditional Chinese Medicine etc. that also included many medical case histories of patients having been cured by Qigong alone, including chronic illnesses from cardiovascular diseases, liver diseases, diseases of the respiratory, digestive and nervous systems, and even tumors, among many others. I learned that every major hospital in Chinese cities contained a Qigong unit, and throughout the country there were dozens of government-run Qigong hospitals (also known as “Medicineless Hospitals”), where patients would stay and receive Qi transmission/ Medical Qigong healing sessions, and practice Qigong exclusively, as much as five times a day, until they recovered.
At the time, I made a promise to myself that I would take sole responsibility for my health and vowed never to place my life and health under the care of anyone, never to become dependent on doctors, and the slippery slope of the Western allopathic medical pharmaceutical industry that not only fails to heal, and just manages diseases and symptoms, but more importantly, and disconcertingly to me, profits from illness, thus creating and maintaining “clients”, in most cases, that remain so for the rest of their lives. Invariably, side-effects created by these petroleum-based compounds create new symptoms and diagnoses, requiring new pills to suppress symptoms and on and on. It never ends. My own mother started with three different medicines for high blood pressure decades ago. Now with other issues she is taking seven different medicines, some more than once a day. I trust nature and what is natural, and avoid everything unnatural, and artificial and unhealthy. When you understand the ingredients of modern “medicine” containing formaldehyde, mercury, aluminum, MSG, aborted fetal DNA fragments and monkey kidney cells, to name a few, how in any sane world does this make any individual “healthy”? Not to forget all the common side-effects of prescription medicines like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation, drowsiness and fatigue, and dry mouth (among many others) that become an acceptable daily quality of life loss. Sometimes I wonder what percentage of Americans are on one form or another of these pills. In the West, we have a very warped idea of ‘healthy”. For example, when David Letterman underwent quadruple by-pass surgery the press release stated that he recovered quickly because he was so healthy. But, if that were true, he wouldn’t have needed the surgery in the first place.
I vowed never to take a pill for anything, even the rarest headache. The most I may do is apply Chinese White Flower Oil (menthol, eucalyptus, camphor, peppermint, lavender) to the temples, and acupoints on the head and under the nose. If I were to become seriously ill, I would simply practice harder and devote more time to Qigong and adjust my lifestyle habits, or just deal with the consequences. There are even cases of tumors shrinking and disappearing naturally. I often say, “Nobody should know your body better than you!” (because daily internal training leads to deeper self-knowledge of our bodies) as well as “No-one will never hear me say the words “My” and “Doctor” together in the same sentence” (due to my vow of sovereignty and the responsibility that accompanies it). I also say, “Suffering is a Choice”, because many people are fundamentally lazy and would rather continue to suffer and complain about their illness or handicap than actually take an active role in their own healing and perform the work necessary, even after having been shown the path to recovery.
In 1998, during the third round of the Wenxian International Push Hands Tournament in 1998, I broke my thumb attempting to gain entry to control my opponent’s shoulder and execute a throw. As I thrust my hand into his armpit area, he turned his chest in toward me, and my thumb jammed back into the joint socket. The pain was excruciating, and I felt it throughout the whole body. However, due to the adrenaline, I did not consider stopping even for a second, and even though I could not use my thumb to grab, which is essential. At one point, after pushing my opponent off the stage, he took some time out to take care of his ankle that appeared to be injured in the fall. I stood, left alone on the stage, frantically rubbing my injured thumb and praying he would be unable to continue and concede and I would win by default. But, it was not to be. He jumped back up and we continued to push for another five minutes, even though my inner voice by now was screaming at me to throw in the towel. I did not know the thumb had actually been broken until a month later, back in NYC, when my Taiji brother, an MD, looked it over. I never went to a hospital to have it set or used a splint, tape or brace. I simply rubbed and massaged it often during the day, to create heat to penetrate the bone and prevent the damp condition behind arthritis. I did this for weeks and months, occasionally using Chinese ointments (Dit Da Jow and Wong To Yik), but mostly just dry heat, and most importantly, kept it moving, as much as possible, rotating it to maintain and increase the range of motion, and shaking it, to release the stagnant Qi and prevent blood stagnation/ create Qi circulation and stimulate blood flow to facilitate the healing process. In the beginning the joint at the base of the thumb was swollen to over twice its normal size, and in a weakened state for many months. However, after many months, the thumb healed, returned to its normal size and shape, was even able to support my entire body weight performing Hard Qigong two-finger pushups and single arm three-finger pushups.
In the early 2000s, in NYC, I would meet occasionally with a group of serious fellow martial artists, all from different styles and backgrounds, some very talented. One time, a Baguazhang exponent executed a perfect hip throw on me and I landed hard on hard floor on my elbow, which immediately swelled up. When I returned home that night, I could not sleep, prevented by the intense pain. I could not find a single position lying down that was comfortable. However, there is always an alternative and solution with Qigong. I sat up and meditated for about twenty minutes and then found when I laid back down I fell asleep instantly, and slept through the entire night undisturbed. The pain returned in the morning and was present during the day, for a few days. It was worse at night without any mental distractions, diminishing gradually, and I followed the same meditation routine at night so that I was able to sleep. During the day, Qigong movement helped the elbow to heal very quickly. Meditation produces a type of natural anesthetic within the body. I have even heard of monks that refused anesthetic with dental surgery etc. due to their control of the mind.
With every injury, it is the inability to control and relieve our pain, or even locate the specific source sometimes, and the idea that maybe it is permanent that leads to fear. It is the unknowing, uncertainty and the idea of permanence that we cling to. This is why people take pain medications, and in many cases they can become addicted. Personally, I prefer to accept the pain, and thankfully through Qigong I have practical and proven methods to work through it and allow the true healing to take place. Nowadays if I face an injury I do not worry. Experience has taught me every injury or issue I have can be healed. We just need to be patient and do the right actions to support healing. I have now learned to trust in my body’s innate ability to heal itself and how Qigong only aids and accelerates this process. It allows the body to relax which allows the Qi to flow better and allow the healing process to work optimally.
Perhaps the most impressive feat of self-healing came in applying Horse Stance (Ma Bu), the most powerful form of static Qigong. Many years ago, during my teacher’s visit, he was treating a patient who was very sick with a lot of negative energy (Bin Qi). Later, we went to my class downtown and afterwards went to Chinatown for a meal. However, the most intense headache suddenly came on (which I rarely ever suffer) so I could not even enjoy the food. The next morning, I felt terrible. I was aching, shivery inside, and could not even look at the food in front of me for breakfast. My hands were white, appearing almost exsanguinated or cadaverous, and, my thumbs, in particular, felt like blocks of ice. I had to lie down, but as soon as I’d lay down, I would feel nauseous and need to stand back up again. Then, as soon as I would stand up, I’d feel weak and dizzy and need to lie down. This pattern went on for about over an hour, until I felt like I had quite enough of this. Horse Stance is challenging enough when we are feeling good and strong, so naturally when we are feeling weak and depleted of Qi, we are even less inclined to want to do it. I had never (or since) felt as bad as this in my life. As it wasn’t possible to feel any worse than I did at the time. I decided to test Horse Stance and see if it could help, and reminded myself that “Suffering is a Choice”, so I went outside and managed about five to ten minutes. I noticed while doing it, the practice took my mind off the feeling of being sick and aching, and it even generated some heat. When I felt it was enough I went back indoors. Soon after though I started feeling bad just like before, playing the “Lying-Down Standing-Up game”. A short while later I returned to the garden and practiced Horse Stance and felt good again. I went back inside and soon started to feel bad again. Realizing I felt totally better while doing Horse Stance than not doing it, I continued for another couple of rounds. I had begun this initiative around 1pm and four hours later, the headache and shivering feeling had completely gone, the color and warmth had returned to my hands, and even appetite had returned, which is a good sign. That evening, I ate well, and everything was normal. I discovered later a student of mine from the class that night had picked up the exact same pathogen, from the description, but she was bedridden for four entire days and spent all her time drinking Dayquil and Nyquil cold medicines! This experience is what made me realize just how amazing Qigong is as a healing skill. So, I often remind students when they miss class due to illness, the length of any sickness or injury is entirely up to them. Four hours or four days! You can work to get rid of malaise or injury quickly, test your Qigong, gain deeper experience and knowledge and increased faith in it, or stop and wait until you feel better again, which in some cases can be one week or even as long two. Without testing it and walking through that door, they will never know come to know the true benefit and the power we have over seemingly external circumstances!
Qigong even can be used as a survival skill. I know if I was ever in a winter situation where there was no heat and extreme cold threatened hypothermia, I would use Horse Stance with its ability to generate internal heat. During a vacation in Peru, in 2003, one day, on a speedboat tour of the Island of Paracas, the ocean was very choppy, and deluges of water kept coming over into the boat. As I was sitting on the edge I kept getting soaked, and seemed to be the only passenger suffering this, which was a source of much amusement to others. In the warmth of the sun, the wet clothes was not a problem, but later, as the sun began to go down, on the return trip with the clothes still damp, I quickly began to feel very cold and started to shiver, and in desperate need of the bathroom. Knowing there was a good half hour boat ride ahead, I was prepared for a thoroughly miserable journey, not only concerned about getting sick, but in maintaining bladder control, even more challenging with the cold wind ripping through me. As there was no toilet on the boat and I could not leave the seat, or even stand and do Horse Stance to create internal heat, I decided to hold my breath which also creates internal heat, along with actual Hard Qigong breathing. As I began to “Suck the Air” forcefully through my mouth, the noisy breathing, which normally would be heard by everyone in the vicinity, was largely drowned out by the whine of the boat’s outboard engines, so the breathing was mostly inconspicuous and thankfully did not draw attention from the rest of the passengers on the boat, though I laughed to myself as the couple sitting directly in front of me would keep looking back and wonder what on earth they were hearing. The mental concentration on the breathing also provided a distraction from the cold wind, and allowed the time to pass quickly and forget all the pain in my kidneys from the need for the restroom. Qigong reduced the entire suffering experience, and helped prevent me getting sick.
While some healing experiences are related to directly applying Qigong movement or meditation solely, sometimes the experience is related to the knowledge of applying Qigong principles. More people today suffer allergies than ever in history, for a variety of different factors (but all because the world is becoming increasingly artificial and unnatural and removed from Dao) whereby the immune system is overloaded and weakened. What does this mean? It means the functional ability of the body to adapt is weakened and unless it is tested and trained it can never develop its potential and the body becomes weaker and less able to adapt. This is why Qigong/ internal martial arts are invaluable! Survival is not “of the fittest” but the most adaptable! With food allergies, people can undergo barrages of tests lasting months, eliminating and adding foods to discover the offending item, at great expense. Sometimes, they are left none the wiser for it. Isolating an allergy does nothing to strengthen the body, which is the key factor, and then very soon perhaps, as they age, and the immune system becomes weaker, new allergies will emerge that need to be isolated, and more foods avoided. Once the offending item is isolated, most people will simply avoid the food causing the physical symptoms. For the average person, this is probably a good idea. But, a true “Qigong person” is not “average”. Snake handlers allow themselves to be exposed to snake venom in trace amounts and then increase a little at a time until resistance is developed. This is how the body’s immunity works and adapts. Avoiding the problem is rarely an option for me. Of course, peanut allergies that cause anaphylactic shock cannot be trifled with as they are potentially lethal, but I developed a couple of allergies (to shrimp and certain refined white flour products) with unique ways to cure them that developed instinctively and avoid the cost of all these miracle cures.
One day, in my thirties, I was enjoying a bowl of Udon noodle soup with shrimp at a restaurant. I had eaten shrimp my entire life and never experienced any food allergy with any food before. An hour later I felt the nape of my neck become itchy just above the hairline. Back home, an hour later, this progressed to the entire surface of the body with serious red welts appearing along my inner arms, inner thighs, groin, and back. It literally looked as if I had been lashed all over with a bullwhip. My ears swelled to resemble joke toyshop rubber prosthetic ears. The forehead at the hairline, outside and inside edges of my fingers, and palms, exhibited tiny bumps, and it felt like my skin was being stretched and very uncomfortable. I had to teach a number of classes over the coming days, and naturally felt very self-conscious about my appearance. Fortunately, most of this was covered by clothing or my hair so it was really not so noticeable to anyone, and I’m sure if I did not mention it no-one would have even noticed. These symptoms lasted about a week, in total, reducing gradually until everything returned to normal. I was very certain that it was caused by the shrimp, but not having ever experience allergies I assumed it was just one shrimp that was toxic. Many months, maybe even a year or more later, I ate shrimp again. I had already eaten a few from the plate and then one I noticed was soft and mushy, and just disintegrated inside my mouth. Mistrustful of it, I removed it immediately before swallowing. An hour or so later, I began to feel an itching sensation on the back of my neck, at the base of the hairline, and somehow instantly knew the significance of this, and feared the worst. It was not long before the exact same symptoms had returned. This time I did not suspect. I knew it was the shrimp. And again, the symptoms lasted for about a week. I knew I could simply avoid shrimp and never touch it gain again, or persist, figuring my body would build up a tolerance. I chose the latter. Some time passed, and I ended up having a dish that contained shrimp again. A short while later that evening the all-too-familiar itching sensation, originating at the base of the hairline, returned, and I knew instantly what this meant. All the symptoms returned, but this time I decided to force gallons of water down, and literally “flush” the toxin out of the system. I kept drinking, and passing water, and drinking more and passing more water. Amazingly, by the next morning the symptoms had mostly all disappeared. The problem had cleared up within one day, instead of a week, and this was almost 25 years ago now, and in that time I can say I have eaten shrimp a number of times since, and the symptoms have never once returned so this means it is cured, overcome instead of avoided. Nothing could be more natural than drinking water as a cure. What does this have to do with Qigong? Nothing and Everything. While Qigong itself did not heal this problem, it may have continued to strengthen the immune system in the meantime, but it developed the wisdom needed to listen to my body and the intuition to know what I needed for the healing. This is infinitely better than receiving a steroid shot, or antihistamines or epinephrine autoinjectors which had been originally suggested to me.
High level Qigong is not about relaxation or movement It is about balancing and harmonizing with Dao, the environment and nature in order to survive and thrive. Sometimes we need to suffer a little to become stronger. Nature can be very harsh and unforgiving. Those only seeking comfort and ease constantly will always pay the high price later in life, as they age and become softer and weaker. The further we distance ourselves from nature and attempt to control it and bend it to our will, the harder it becomes to adapt internally. It never ends well. Qigong ultimately is “Life and Character Training”. My teacher taught me the “Qigong Way” (like Wushu Gongfu) is to train bitter so that later in life we can enjoy the sweet, or certainly less bitter, as we are equipped to handle discomfort and difficulties better. When we chase after the sweet, and avoid all hardship early on, then later we will have to endure the bitter and life will be harder.
By Adam Wallace