If there are no patients, we sometimes practice Qigong treatments on each other. This week there there were not enough patients to go around, so I volunteered to be the patient because I had one doozey of a headache and no matter what I had done over the last 3 days to try and relieve the pain, it still lingered. It was becoming disabling and I rated it about an 8 on the pain scale (migraines I usually rate as a 10).
My fellow student, who is also a fellow nurse, led me into her treatment room. I laid down on my back, closed my eyes, and she then started the Qigong treatment. She followed the usual protocol but then seemed to stay at my head, focusing and directing energy into my head. I could feel her hands on my head with her hands spread across my scalp on specific energy points on my head. I started to feel the energy change in my head and my throat and could actual feel the Qi moving.
She stayed in this position at my head for a long, long time, and then moved to my feet. At my feet she began to touch the pressure points on my feet that are associated with the head. I knew these were the points our instructor had directed her to focus her attention on and direct energy into those points. But with this awareness, I came to realize it felt as if there was someone still at my head and directing energy there. I could feel their fingers on my head and I continued to sense the healing energy being directed into my head from someone perched there.
I thought we were alone in the room, so I opened my eyes to see who was now at my perched and continually to hold my head. There wasn't anyone there, but I continued to feel that same pressure being applied to 10 different points surrounding my skull. I closed my eyes again and just assumed this was additional unseen help being provided for this healing.
My fellow student finished the treatment and I told her my headache was now a "2". I then shared my experience of feeling the treatment on my head continue, as if someone was there. She related how she felt like she should have stayed at my head as if this is what my body needed, but she knew she had to follow the protocol of the instructor so changed and started working on my feet.
We discussed how part of using and directing energy to heal is being sensitive to listen to what the patient’s body needs and is trying to communicate to the practitioner. Listening to those messages is an art of the healing process. The better practitioners learn to listen to those communications and act on those impressions. A big part of Qigong is learning to recognize the messages and to trust your impressions.
We both left the treatment room and by the time I walked out the door, my headache was totally gone. I was absolutely amazed.
This experience felt rather remarkable to me. It also was a great lesson on the power of healing energy. It was also a good reminder to trust impressions which can guide you to improve the healing experience for a patient.
