Qi Kung for Healing and Better Living – An Enlightening Experience

By Fred

(Chinese American News – 2004)

Peter and I go back a long way. We have been colleagues for years, we think alike, and we share a common interest in many things. The following story came about not too long ago when it was found that we even shared one misfortune of considerable health concern. We both suffered prostate problems with PSA levels dangerously on the high side. Sure enough, further tests revealed that cancer cells were identified in Peter’s prostate. Mine tested negative but it could be just a lucky or unlucky miss and I am by no means cancer-free.

Peter starts a thorough search on prostate cancer cures. Knife-wielding surgeons turn him off, because Peter sees no glory in instant prostate removal. Those who go high-tech in treatments such as the new proton approach win Peter’s respect if not necessarily his heart. Nevertheless, all cures have shortcomings and none are free of undesirable side effects.

Peter and I are both chemists working for Uncle Sam at a federal facility in New Orleans. As scientists, we believe in facts that are substantiated with solid data, and pride ourselves for being intelligent and mentally sound. When Peter decided to visit a clinic in the west coast for the preparation of his proton treatment, I knew he must have done a lot of research before he made this difficult but definitely correct decision. I was shocked a few days later when he came back saying he had changed his mind and was no longer interested in the proton treatment. I could not believe my ears when he claimed he had been saved and his cancer cells under control by something called qi, practically and literally in thin air, from a qi master. Peter must be out of his mind or with cancer cells invading into his poor brain! How could a well-trained scientific mind be so malfunctioned as to say ridiculous things like that?

Peter is notorious for his dogged pursue and persistence. He bombarded me day and night with information and stories about qi kung as a cure for everything under the sun. He was so successful and convincing I had to admit Peter remained his old self and his brain death may be exaggerated. What made his presentation especially creditable was the fact that his PSA had decreased from 7.9 to 4.9 since the qi treatment. In about the same time, mine had increased from 3.9 to 4.3 (PSA is an indicator for possible cancer growth; the lower the better and anything above 4.0 is highly cancer prone). The writing was on the wall and I became uneasy. When he organized a second visit to the qi kung master in the west coast, I sheepishly signed up to come along as one of the so called gang of four.

Two other members of the gang, Joseph and Henry, are from Dallas, TX. Joseph came along because Peter would not let him not to, while Henry did it because he wanted to see if qi could help his wife’s long illness. As a group, we are uniquely long on age (an average of 64), well educated (bucket full of college degrees), and having a fairly good life (retired or about to retire, no regrets). We may each have our own reasons to come and join the group, but none seemed urgent enough to justify the rush. God only knows why we came to decide on short notice to embark on such a trip.

Qi kung has been practiced by the Chinese for centuries. However, lacking scientific understanding and support hinders its growth and deprives it of the recognition it deserves. Master Zhao, who we come to see for consultation is a case in point. An outstanding qi master, he has practiced qi kung for healing purposes in China for more than 20 years. His success is well documented, but he is not exactly well known even in China. He moved to the US in 1993 and continued his branch of qi-healing practices. In spite of outstanding performances day in and day out, his name recognition in the St. Jose area where he has his clinic remains limited. To those who appreciate qi kung and are benefited by Master Zhao’s healing, this non-recognition is disappointing and unacceptable.

We arrived at Master Zhao’s clinic on 08-22-02. The clinic is located in a quiet neighborhood, occupying a small and unimpressive four-room office in the first floor of a two-story building. We were warmly welcome by Mrs. Zhao, Sharon, who is the only assistant and general manager of the clinic. We were told there was no need for patient registration and, as we found out later, the clinic had no record keeping for patients either. Amazingly, everything ran smoothly in the clinic in spite of seemingly chaotic goings-on with a room full of patients.

Master Zhao was in healing sessions inside while we waited. There were two treatment rooms each with nothing but two beds for patients to lie on. Master Zhao was in and out of the rooms even during the healing session. He was very casual and unassuming when he came out to greet us. I might take him for just another ordinary Chinatown businessman if I met him somewhere else. He gave no clues to his status as an individual with mystical power and capable of extraordinary feats. When it was our turns to go in for treatment, Joseph and I were assigned to one room. We each took one bed and lied flat on our backs waiting. The Master walked in heading to my bed first. He looked me over intensively for about 2-3 seconds. Then he rapidly fired off his diagnosis. I had a bad back, he said, pointing to his own spine at the section as the source of pain. I nodded my head to confirm the correctness of the diagnosis. I had allergy, he continued, and I nodded again. My biggest problems were in my bladder and prostate, he was now relentless in addressing the main concern of my non-secrets. I kept nodding my head and I was totally convinced this guy must be Superman if not God. Then he walked over to Joseph. Joseph, he said, had bone chips in one of his arms, high-blood pressure and heart problems. Now it was Joseph’s turn to become a nodding robot. The Master followed by lecturing Joseph for consuming too much seafood, mango, and, what do you know, water. These foods, he said, when consumed in excessive amounts, could be harmful to people’s health. The good old innocent water, of all things, supposedly the more you consume the better based on common beliefs, actually caused the unhealthy puffiness in Joseph. Equally amazing was the diagnosis for Henry. Master Zhao claimed to feel an unusual chill in Henry’s body without even getting close to him, also not knowing that Henry had been in meat packing business and spent practically his whole life in cold rooms. Henry also had a serious crash many years ago. Master Zhao correctly diagnosed he had a surgery because of the crash and pinpointed the location of a metal plate that was inserted in his spine. The crash ruined Henry’s health and it led to problems, including the loss of memory which, Master Zhao said, must be frustrating because Henry used to have extraordinary memory, particularly good with numbers. The diagnosis was unusual particularly in the memory part; we could only shake our heads in disbelief.

If Master Zhao’s diagnosis is unreal, his healing processes are even more out of this world. He started by telling me to relax while he was preparing to cure me of my ills. He never touched me or applied any tools. He simply waved his hands and arms over me in a gentle motion like he was trying to drive away some annoying mosquitoes. Occasionally, he gathered two fingers aiming and moving them slowly along my body from my head to the bottom of my foot. These waving and finger-pointing motions are meant to apply qi to chase and remove bad elements from the patient. Depending on the illness, some patients claimed to have sensations of warm, cold, numbing, or tickling at the spots or along the lines responding to the qi that Master Zhao was applying.

The effect of healing may or may not be confirmed easily. There are numerous documented cases in which the effect is instant and unmistakable, such as when cripples walk again or body aches disappear after Master Zhao’s healing sessions. We witnessed some amazing instant healings while we were at the clinic. In one case, Master Zhao was performing a remote healing session. A lady called from Boston complaining about a painful eye illness. We could hear the lady speaking English over a speaker and Sharon sat nearby interpreting for Master Zhao who speaks only Chinese. Master Zhao was giving short instructions with long pauses in between. The lady responded after each pause indicating she was getting better. Finally, the session ended with the grateful lady thanking the Master for making her well and happy again. However, in many other cases, happy endings may not be achieved quickly. For Peter’s prostate problem, for example, it takes months to show a significant decrease in his PSA levels, and it may take a lot longer to confirm if the cancer cells are really under control.

Master Zhao offer two qi kung classes, one for beginners and the other for advanced students. During our visit, Peter was, as a second timer, ready for advanced studies. Joseph, Henry and I were beginners, and we were assigned to the lower class learning the qi kung basics. There are a wide variety of qi kung techniques. Master Zhao develops his own branch of qi kung which is unique in being extremely simple and effective. He is able to speed up student’s learning because he provides short cuts by strengthening students’ qi with his own. Still, depending on the individual, there are quick learners and slow learners. I admit I am not exactly qi-smart and my progress has been just so-so. Joseph showed the best response to the Master’s teaching, and he was quickly ahead of everybody. Henry was coming along more of less at my level. Nevertheless, with techniques taught in Master Zhao’s classes, we can achieve in hours what students in other qi-kung brances may take years to achieve. Henry is unique in our group. First of all, he is the only non-Asian member, and he cannot understand a word from the non-English speaking Master Zhao. In spite of Peter’s diligent effort to interpret for him, qi kung must remain Greeks to him after two days’ treatments and lectures. Henry speaks his mind freely like a true Texan, and enjoys a good laugh. Master Zhao, on the other hand, is a straight arrow in his own right, and he holds fast onto Chinese traditional values. We could see it coming. The Master and Henry did not hit off on the right note. Master Zhao could be very unforgiving, when patients or students behave in a manner he perceives to be insincere, lack of respect, or ungrateful. Henry’s nonstop probing and questioning quickly landed him in Master Zhao’s doghouse. However, once they realized it’s mainly a misunderstanding, they made up. In fact, by the end of the visit, Henry and the Master became the best of friends. Our three-day visit was soon ended. When we came, we hardly knew what to expect. By the time we were leaving we had a purpose and commitment to continue enriching ourselves with this new-found qi, and maybe someday to contribute in making qi kung a legitimate tool for scientific and medical applications. I left St Jose a new me. I felt my spirit or, shall I say, qi growing and elevating like never before as I was meditating on my overnight flight across the Rocky Mountain high.