CONTINUED FROM PAGE "MAGNETIC INFORMATION"
It is understood now that the human body is constructed of many different electrically conductive
materials, and that it forms a living electromagnetic field and circuit. Electromagnetic energy is
continuously being generated in the human body through the biochemical reaction in food and
air assimilation, and circulated by the electromotive forces (EMF) generated within the body.
In addition, you are constantly being affected by external electromagnetic fields such as that of
the earth, or the electrical fields generated by clouds. When you practice Chinese medicine or
Qigong, you need to be aware of these outside factors and take them into account.
Countless experiments have been conducted in China, Japan, and other countries to study how
external magnetic or electrical fields can affect and adjust the body's Qi field. Many
acupuncturists use magnets and electricity in their treatments. They attach a magnet to the skin
over a cavity and leave it there for a period of time. The magnetic field gradually affects the Qi
circulation in that channel. Alternatively, they insert needles into cavities and then run an electric
current through the needle to reach the Qi channels directly. Although many researchers have
claimed a degree of success in their experiments, none has been able to publish any detailed
and convincing proof of the results, or give a good explanation of the theory behind the
experiment. As with many other attempts to explain the How and Why of acupuncture,
conclusive proof is elusive, and many unanswered questions remain. Of course, this theory is
quite new, and it will take more study and research before it is verified and completely
understood.
Much of the research on the body's electrical field relates to acupuncture. For example, Dr.
Robert O. Becker, author of The Body Electric, reports that the conductivity of the skin is much
higher at acupuncture cavities, and that it is now possible to locate them precisely by
measuring the skin's conductivity. Many of these reports prove that the acupuncture, which has
been done in China for thousands of years is reasonable and scientific.
Although the link between the theory of The Body Electric and the Chinese theory of Qi is
becoming more accepted and better proven, there are still many questions to be answered.
For example, how can the mind lead Qi (electricity)? How, actually, does the mind generate an
EMF (electromotive force) to circulate the electricity in the body? How is the human
electromagnetic field affected by the multitude of other electric fields that surround us, such as
radio wiring or electrical appliances? How can we readjust our electromagnetic fields and
survive in outer space or on other planets where the magnetic field is completely different from
the earth's? You can see that the future of Qigong and bioelectric science is a challenging and
exciting one. It is about time that we started to use modern technology to understand the inner
energy world which has been for the most part ignored by Western society.
Dr. Yang has been involved in Chinese Gongfu since 1961 and has more than thirty years of
instructional experience. Dr. Yang has published twenty-four books and twenty-eight
videotapes on the martial arts and Qigong.
Doctors, Psychiatrists Turning to Magnets
Dr. Jane Murray isn't ready to prescribe magnet therapy for any of her patients just yet. But that
day could be coming.
"I hear testimonials from people right and left," said Murray, a family physician who employs
both traditional and complementary therapies at the Sastun Center, a clinic in Mission, Kan. "I
don't disbelieve them at all. But I don't know yet how to prescribe magnet therapy."
Magnets have a long history as medical devices. Cleopatra is reported to have worn a
magnetic lodestone on her forehead in an attempt to forestall the aging process. For decades,
magnets have occupied a place among alternative treatments, alongside herbs and
acupuncture. Along the way, they also have become big business. Billions of dollars worth of
medical magnets are sold each year, over the Web and in Tupperware-style home parties.
Yet as they've gained adherents, medical magnets also have fallen into disrepute among many
medical professionals.
"A lot of fly-by-nighters started promoting magnetics for all sorts of ailments," said Abraham
Blechman, an associate professor in orthodontics at Columbia University's School of Dental
and Oral Surgery. He has experimented with magnets and uses them regularly in his New York
practice.
A couple of years ago, the Federal Trade Commission disciplined some companies for
making unsubstantiated claims on Web sites about magnets' power to cure AIDS, cancer, liver
disease and other conditions. "Magnetics in general got a bad reputation," Blechman said.
"There are many medical people who don't believe any of the claims being made." However,
he noted, that is slowly changing. "There are more and more uses of it being promoted with
good scientific background," he said. "It's gradually being accepted."
Several controlled clinical studies conducted in the past few years suggest that magnets may
effectively treat some disorders. And a few health-care providers are routinely using magnets
for a host of conditions.
Blechman, for example, has used magnets for years with orthodontic patients to move teeth
Blechman, for example, has used magnets for years with orthodontic patients to move teeth
school are using magnets experimentally to reduce pain among people who've had coronary
and to accelerate new bone growth. Some of his faculty colleagues at Columbia's medical
artery bypass procedures, he said. A small number of studies have found magnets, either
"permanent" magnets or electromagnets, to be effective in relieving certain kinds of pain and
hastening wound-healing. Perhaps most significantly, electromagnets are being used
experimentally at several university medical schools to treat depression. The procedure is
known as transcranial magnetic stimulation.
"That's extremely exciting," Murray said. "I think there is clearly something powerful about the
human energy field and its interaction with the energy in the world -- electromagnetic,
biochemical, and the energy we get from other people and plants and animals."
In transcranial magnetic stimulation, a coil is held next to the patient's forehead and a pulsating
electrical current passes through the coil, generating a magnetic field. That, in turn, creates a
small electrical current in the region of the brain called the left prefrontal cortex. That is the area
of brain thought to be underactive in depressed people.
Three studies have compared transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to electroconvulsive
therapy (ECT), a procedure in which electricity is applied directly to the entire brain. ECT is
effective against depression, although it often causes short-term memory loss and other
temporary cognitive problems. It gained notoriety after it was featured in the film based on Ken
Kesey's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."
In the three studies comparing the two procedures, TMS has been as effective as ECT in
treating severe depression among people who are not troubled by hallucinations or delusions,
according to David Avery, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University
of Washington Medical School in Seattle. And ECT, he said, is more effective than
anti-depressant drugs. The studies so far have involved only a couple of dozen subjects. Avery
soon will begin a study with about 85 subjects.
Researchers theorize that the magnetic therapy may work by activating sluggish nerve cells in
the left prefrontal cortex. Four years ago, researchers at Baylor University in Houston used
magnets to treat muscular or arthritic-type pain in post-polio patients. They laid magnets on the
painful areas for 45 minutes. Seventy-six percent of people treated with real magnets reported
feeling significantly better. Nineteen percent of those given sham magnets reported significant
pain relief.
A team at the University of Virginia gave magnetic sleeping pads a couple of years ago to a
group of people with fibromyalgia, a baffling complaint characterized by chronic and pervasive
muscle pain. Compared to a control group that slept on nonmagnetized pads, those with the
magnetic pads reported significantly reduced pain after sleeping on the pads for six months.
Other outcomes did not differ significantly between the groups.
In another study, a large group of people with intense nerve pain in their feet -- a condition
known as peripheral neuropathy and common among diabetics -- were given magnetic insoles
to wear. A substantial number reported less tingling and burning and numbness in their feet.
Michael Weintraub, the neurologist who orchestrated the controlled study that was conducted at
48 sites last year, said it "clearly shows that magnets work. It's a real response." He expects
the study to be published in a major medical journal, and he hopes to pursue further research.
Blechman stressed that the magnets that are sold widely for medical purposes not only vary in
strength and design, but may not deliver as promised. He tested some and found that they
were not as powerful as advertised.
Nancy Russell, a Kansas City area internist, has used magnets on occasion for years, mostly to
control pain.
"If somebody has an injury, like to a joint, (there are) wraps. I've used those myself, like with
tendonitis, and it seems that it shortens recovery time."
Source: Health World Online, February 25, 2002
It is understood now that the human body is constructed of many different electrically conductive
materials, and that it forms a living electromagnetic field and circuit. Electromagnetic energy is
continuously being generated in the human body through the biochemical reaction in food and
air assimilation, and circulated by the electromotive forces (EMF) generated within the body.
In addition, you are constantly being affected by external electromagnetic fields such as that of
the earth, or the electrical fields generated by clouds. When you practice Chinese medicine or
Qigong, you need to be aware of these outside factors and take them into account.
Countless experiments have been conducted in China, Japan, and other countries to study how
external magnetic or electrical fields can affect and adjust the body's Qi field. Many
acupuncturists use magnets and electricity in their treatments. They attach a magnet to the skin
over a cavity and leave it there for a period of time. The magnetic field gradually affects the Qi
circulation in that channel. Alternatively, they insert needles into cavities and then run an electric
current through the needle to reach the Qi channels directly. Although many researchers have
claimed a degree of success in their experiments, none has been able to publish any detailed
and convincing proof of the results, or give a good explanation of the theory behind the
experiment. As with many other attempts to explain the How and Why of acupuncture,
conclusive proof is elusive, and many unanswered questions remain. Of course, this theory is
quite new, and it will take more study and research before it is verified and completely
understood.
Much of the research on the body's electrical field relates to acupuncture. For example, Dr.
Robert O. Becker, author of The Body Electric, reports that the conductivity of the skin is much
higher at acupuncture cavities, and that it is now possible to locate them precisely by
measuring the skin's conductivity. Many of these reports prove that the acupuncture, which has
been done in China for thousands of years is reasonable and scientific.
Although the link between the theory of The Body Electric and the Chinese theory of Qi is
becoming more accepted and better proven, there are still many questions to be answered.
For example, how can the mind lead Qi (electricity)? How, actually, does the mind generate an
EMF (electromotive force) to circulate the electricity in the body? How is the human
electromagnetic field affected by the multitude of other electric fields that surround us, such as
radio wiring or electrical appliances? How can we readjust our electromagnetic fields and
survive in outer space or on other planets where the magnetic field is completely different from
the earth's? You can see that the future of Qigong and bioelectric science is a challenging and
exciting one. It is about time that we started to use modern technology to understand the inner
energy world which has been for the most part ignored by Western society.
Dr. Yang has been involved in Chinese Gongfu since 1961 and has more than thirty years of
instructional experience. Dr. Yang has published twenty-four books and twenty-eight
videotapes on the martial arts and Qigong.
Doctors, Psychiatrists Turning to Magnets
Dr. Jane Murray isn't ready to prescribe magnet therapy for any of her patients just yet. But that
day could be coming.
"I hear testimonials from people right and left," said Murray, a family physician who employs
both traditional and complementary therapies at the Sastun Center, a clinic in Mission, Kan. "I
don't disbelieve them at all. But I don't know yet how to prescribe magnet therapy."
Magnets have a long history as medical devices. Cleopatra is reported to have worn a
magnetic lodestone on her forehead in an attempt to forestall the aging process. For decades,
magnets have occupied a place among alternative treatments, alongside herbs and
acupuncture. Along the way, they also have become big business. Billions of dollars worth of
medical magnets are sold each year, over the Web and in Tupperware-style home parties.
Yet as they've gained adherents, medical magnets also have fallen into disrepute among many
medical professionals.
"A lot of fly-by-nighters started promoting magnetics for all sorts of ailments," said Abraham
Blechman, an associate professor in orthodontics at Columbia University's School of Dental
and Oral Surgery. He has experimented with magnets and uses them regularly in his New York
practice.
A couple of years ago, the Federal Trade Commission disciplined some companies for
making unsubstantiated claims on Web sites about magnets' power to cure AIDS, cancer, liver
disease and other conditions. "Magnetics in general got a bad reputation," Blechman said.
"There are many medical people who don't believe any of the claims being made." However,
he noted, that is slowly changing. "There are more and more uses of it being promoted with
good scientific background," he said. "It's gradually being accepted."
Several controlled clinical studies conducted in the past few years suggest that magnets may
effectively treat some disorders. And a few health-care providers are routinely using magnets
for a host of conditions.
Blechman, for example, has used magnets for years with orthodontic patients to move teeth
Blechman, for example, has used magnets for years with orthodontic patients to move teeth
school are using magnets experimentally to reduce pain among people who've had coronary
and to accelerate new bone growth. Some of his faculty colleagues at Columbia's medical
artery bypass procedures, he said. A small number of studies have found magnets, either
"permanent" magnets or electromagnets, to be effective in relieving certain kinds of pain and
hastening wound-healing. Perhaps most significantly, electromagnets are being used
experimentally at several university medical schools to treat depression. The procedure is
known as transcranial magnetic stimulation.
"That's extremely exciting," Murray said. "I think there is clearly something powerful about the
human energy field and its interaction with the energy in the world -- electromagnetic,
biochemical, and the energy we get from other people and plants and animals."
In transcranial magnetic stimulation, a coil is held next to the patient's forehead and a pulsating
electrical current passes through the coil, generating a magnetic field. That, in turn, creates a
small electrical current in the region of the brain called the left prefrontal cortex. That is the area
of brain thought to be underactive in depressed people.
Three studies have compared transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to electroconvulsive
therapy (ECT), a procedure in which electricity is applied directly to the entire brain. ECT is
effective against depression, although it often causes short-term memory loss and other
temporary cognitive problems. It gained notoriety after it was featured in the film based on Ken
Kesey's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."
In the three studies comparing the two procedures, TMS has been as effective as ECT in
treating severe depression among people who are not troubled by hallucinations or delusions,
according to David Avery, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University
of Washington Medical School in Seattle. And ECT, he said, is more effective than
anti-depressant drugs. The studies so far have involved only a couple of dozen subjects. Avery
soon will begin a study with about 85 subjects.
Researchers theorize that the magnetic therapy may work by activating sluggish nerve cells in
the left prefrontal cortex. Four years ago, researchers at Baylor University in Houston used
magnets to treat muscular or arthritic-type pain in post-polio patients. They laid magnets on the
painful areas for 45 minutes. Seventy-six percent of people treated with real magnets reported
feeling significantly better. Nineteen percent of those given sham magnets reported significant
pain relief.
A team at the University of Virginia gave magnetic sleeping pads a couple of years ago to a
group of people with fibromyalgia, a baffling complaint characterized by chronic and pervasive
muscle pain. Compared to a control group that slept on nonmagnetized pads, those with the
magnetic pads reported significantly reduced pain after sleeping on the pads for six months.
Other outcomes did not differ significantly between the groups.
In another study, a large group of people with intense nerve pain in their feet -- a condition
known as peripheral neuropathy and common among diabetics -- were given magnetic insoles
to wear. A substantial number reported less tingling and burning and numbness in their feet.
Michael Weintraub, the neurologist who orchestrated the controlled study that was conducted at
48 sites last year, said it "clearly shows that magnets work. It's a real response." He expects
the study to be published in a major medical journal, and he hopes to pursue further research.
Blechman stressed that the magnets that are sold widely for medical purposes not only vary in
strength and design, but may not deliver as promised. He tested some and found that they
were not as powerful as advertised.
Nancy Russell, a Kansas City area internist, has used magnets on occasion for years, mostly to
control pain.
"If somebody has an injury, like to a joint, (there are) wraps. I've used those myself, like with
tendonitis, and it seems that it shortens recovery time."
Source: Health World Online, February 25, 2002
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| A MODERN DEFINITION OF QI By Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming |