Update on the Healing of a Broken Heart

I have been giving Qigong treatments.  Sometimes I have a rather remarkable experience happen during the treatment and sometimes the patients do.  But often, some of the most memorable and amazing things happen after the treatment.

In one of my first Qigong sessions with a volunteer patient, a friend of mine brought another woman with her to get a Qigong treatment.  This woman was suffering from deep sadness, having lost her true love a year ago with a sudden heart attack.  She was having a difficult time getting over the loss of having him in her life and that feeling of love she had come to expect.

The Qigong treatment, for me, was very powerful and I could feel her husband's presence in the room. During the treatment, I could also see valentines flowing with the energy to her heart while I worked on the pain in her heart.  I wrote about this experience in a prior blog; it was very powerful to me.  But for her, she didn't feel much during the treatment, which rather amazed me and also made me kind of sad.

But I recently heard from my friend with an update of how this woman is doing.  My friend reported how this woman started to feel different the very next day!   The first change she noticed was that she no longer felt the need to sit and cry.  She also didn't feel that constant hurt in her chest and that unbearable sadness that use to be so overwhelming.  She was starting to heal.

After a few more weeks, she even started to become more excited about life. She shared with my friend how she now could feel the presence of her former spouse around her at different times.  She no longer felt alone. She even started to dream again.

My friend said this woman now considers herself to be healed, and after just that one Qigong treatment!

Pretty cool, huh?
I was so delighted to hear this update.

Update on the Healing of a Broken Heart

What are the Benefits of Qigong?

The goal of Qigong is to improve the balance and flow of energy between the body, mind, and spirit.  As the energy and flow improves, a person can start to see as well as feel changes in not only their body, but also their mind and spirit as well.

So what can a person expect to feel when they start to either do Qigong exercises or start having Qigong medical treatments? 

These are just some of the benefits and changes a person will start to feel in their life when they start to balance their energy and improve the energy flow with Qigong:

CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MIND

• Easier to come up with solutions or see things more clearly
• Become more motivated
• Have a better memory
• Easier to make decisions &/or the decisions are more sound
• Ability to control emotions
• No longer sad or depressed or afraid
• Feel more peace and harmony and balanced.  Feel an inner glow.
• Seem to have greater insights and understanding

CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS IN THE BODY

• Feel less pain or even no pain
• Mobility is improved
• Feel less stressed out
• Find it easier to breathe
• Feel energized and not as fatigued
• Experience more meaningful sex

CHANGES IN THE SPIRIT

• Feel more connected to life, nature, other people
• Feel more love, both the ability to give love and receive love 
• Experience richer and deeper meditations, dreams, as well as insights
• Seem to understand people’s motives & behaviors more clearly
• Have more spiritual experiences with what you feel as the Divine
• Feel a greater sense of personal power and strength 

I have heard these reports of changes from many of my volunteer patients.  I'm now going to start collecting more of this type of data so I can better report and quantify the outcomes and changes being experienced.

What are the Benefits of Qigong?

Learning to Feel & Experience the Subtle Energy of Qi

Qigong is about using and directing the subtle energy called Qi (chee) through focused intention.   Most of us in the Acupuncture school I attend have been raised and educated in the West so even knowing about Qi is something some of us may have never even heard about before going to Acupuncture school. 

One of the first things our instructor had us do was to partner with a fellow student, stand face to face, and with our outstretched hand, approach the other person until we felt what she described as their energy field.  At first, most of us didn’t feel anything. We then started to focus and then repeated this process over again until we did feel a change when our hand slowly approached the other person’s body.  

We could feel the change of energy as our outstretched hand slowly approached their body.  Sometimes it was a few inches from their body.  Sometimes it was several inches from their body.  Sometimes it was even a few feet from their body.

We then switched partners and repeated the process until we felt the energy field around this person’s body, and then again would switch partners. 

We did this for over an hour and by the end of this experience, we were all excited how we were starting to pick up on different people’s energy field.

In our next exercise, our instructor had us partner with someone new, stand face to face, and have one person be the “receiver” and the other person be the “sender”. The receiver would stand with their eyes closed and the receiver would stand with their hand outstretched and concentrate on a specific color, such as “red.” 

As the sender thought and visualized their chosen color, the sender then focused SENDING this color to the receiver.  The receiver would then state what color he/she was receiving.  

At first this felt like guesswork, but as we continued this process, ALL of us began being correct in what color the sender was sending.  ALL of us!

What I learned on my very first day of Qigong training was

• yes, there is an energy field around the body and you can even feel it, and
• yes, you can focus your mind to send colors and even receive the color message

For me, even on that very first day of Qigong training, I walked away totally amazed.  I am a nurse and didn't even know about people's energy fields around their body.  I had heard of auras but had discounted them as not being real because I had never seen or felt them.

But all of this changed during this very first class, especially after one of my fellow students visualized sending me a color and I said "I see pink, but that perfume or lotion on your hand is a bit overbearing!" And she said, “I don’t have any lotion on my hands nor do I even wear perfume.  I was sending you pink roses in my visualization!”

The steps our instructor took on the first day of our day-long class are things probably most people would be able to do if they took the time and effort to experience it.  Feeling a person's energy field, and then practicing sending and receiving colors is a good initial step to learn about this subtle energy we call Qi (chee). 

Learning to Feel & Experience the Subtle Energy of Qi

Emotions Can Stagnate Qi Energy Flow

I had an interesting experience while giving a Qigong treatment to a man that had a great deal of financial stress and insecurity in his life. While I worked on his third chakra (which is the one most associated with emotions) I could feel his solar plexus change temperatures quickly and dramatically, depending on his current emotional state. 

For example, when this man became anxious and started to ruminate about all of the things he was afraid of (losing his job, having no money, becoming homeless, having no shoes, getting cracked feet, etc) the temperature in his third chakra and around his solar plexus would get hotter and hotter.  When this man became calm and got control over of his fears, the temperature in his third chakra and around his solar plexus would return to normal.  

I had not felt such a dramatic and swift change of energy stagnation being created in real time.  He turned on and off his fears almost as if he was able to flip a switch. This was such an intense demonstration of how quickly behavior and thoughts impact and change the energy flow in the body. When that Qi energy flow stagnates, it creates an abundance of heat in the specific parts of the body that are most associated with that specific emotion. Fear, for example, often causes Qi energy to get stuck in the kidneys and the third chakra.  Continual fear can lead to even more chronic stagnation creating problems in the joints and bones.   

Emotions really do affect the flow of Qi in the body.  Fear, grief, sadness, worry, anger - these are all emotions that can stagnate the flow of Qi.  When Qi stagnates, it also means blood gets stagnant, too (where the Qi goes, the blood follows).  When blood stagnates, this means oxygen and nutrients aren't getting to where they need to be and when this happens, a person will at first not feel well, then may feel pain, and then may even get worse, creating disease.  

Qigong can be an affective tool to help get and keep your Qi flowing and get you back to being and feeling balanced.  Qigong can even assist a person with chronic emotional problems, but chronic emotional problems will require more than just one Qigong treatment.  It will also require multiple treatments, engaging in Qigong exercises, and learning some new behaviors.  The goal will be to help prevent that stagnation from continually being recreated by that emotion and learning how to get the body back into harmony and balance. 

Emotions Can Stagnate Qi Energy Flow

Moving Subtle Energy (Qi) Can Create Some Amazing Sensory Experiences

During my first acupuncture experience, I had a rather incredible experience.  I could “see” people in the room and felt like I was in an huge operating theater with many people looking and observing me.  I reported this to the Acupuncturist.  She quietly left the room, returned, and that sensation of being the center of attention ended. She shared how she usually asks for help before a treatment but didn't expect a crowd.  She then began my treatment.

In subsequent acupuncture treatments I have had other sensory experiences, too.  For example, after the first acupuncture needle was placed, I started to feel liquid starting to move and drip in the back of my throat.  I could feel a "drip, drip, drip" creating the need to swallow.  Since this sensation started every time the first acupuncture needle was place in my body, I started to realize this sensation was the subtle energy (Qi, Chi, Chee) starting to move and flow.  This was a physical sensation to a subtle energy experience; the placement of an acupuncture needle.

At other times during an acupuncture treatment, I would see different colors dancing and moving in my mind.  Other times, I saw images and events playing out, almost as if I were in a waking dream.  Other times I felt as if I were in a conversation with an unseen person.  There was even an episode when I saw my dead parents and grandparents, and eventually saw an old Chinese Master assisting with my treatment.

Acupuncture turned into an amazing adventure for me and I wanted to know WHY I was having these incredible experiences during a medical procedure.    

I enrolled in Chinese Medicine school and learned there are additional types of energy work available in addition to acupuncture that works on the subtle energy of the body; Qi-Gong and Tui Na.  I learned these treatments also created similar sensations and experiences, too. The sensations didn't just happen with acupuncture.

So why do these sensory experiences happen with energy work?  Why do they happen during Acupuncture, Qi-gong, or Tui Na?

What I have concluded is because energy work actually does move the subtle energy within the body.  When energy moves, it will have an affect on the physical body. Moving energy creates and causes some type of physical reaction. Remember physics?  Every action creates a reaction.  There is always a cause and an affect.  For example, subtle energy moves blood. Blood moves and engages the nerves and neurons in the body. Nerves and neurons trigger and create sensations. Sensations become interpreted by the mind and when all five senses in the body becoming engaged, well, that will create quite the physical sensation and experience.

Sometimes a person will see things, feel things, hear things, or even taste or smell things during an energy work treatment.  I have concluded that when a person has these sensations during a treatment, it is a good sign.  It means the subtle energy is moving.  It means blood is moving.  It means nerves are engaged.  It also means the person is sensitive enough to pick up and experience what is going on in and around their body.  They are tuned in.  

Energy work uses and directs subtle energy to help balance the body, mind, and spirit, and this may produce some fabulous and amazing sensations!  It is VERY cool!  

Moving Subtle Energy (Qi) Can Create Some Amazing Sensory Experiences

Nourishing the Kidneys

A friend of mine has been going through a difficult time in her life for a few years, after having lost her job and only able to find occasional temporary employment slightly above minimum wage.  My friend is in her 60’s, has been in the technical field most of her working life, and had been used to making a lot more money before being laid off.  Needless to say, it has been very tough for her for the last few years.

These types of pressures and this type of continual fear of not knowing what is going to happen next, wears down a person and in particular, it wears down the kidneys. According to Chinese Medicine, the kidneys are the organ associated with fear and when someone is living with fear, their kidneys wear down.  In Chinese Medicine, it is the kidneys which are the main organ associated with the bones, so when the kidneys are impacted, a person will also experience problems and pain in their joints, including lower back pain.

It was the lower back pain that brought my friend to get a Qigong treatment.  In addition to her lower back pain, she also has pain in her hips and in her knees.

During her Qigong assessment, I could indeed feel that her kidneys were burned out and this was a factor in causing her lower back pain and pain in her hips and knees.   Her kidneys were dry and they felt absolutely burned out.  All those years of financial strain and fear of trying to avoid being forced out of her apartment had consumed almost all the energy in kidneys.  Having no energy in her kidneys meant she also didn't have energy to put lubrication in her joints, thereby causing her joints to also be dry and painful.

During her Qigong treatment I focused on rebuilding the energy in her kidneys. I spent a LOT of time infusing Qi into her kidneys.  Eventually I could see her kidneys start to fill up with the Qi energy and eventually they seemed to come back to life.

I then focused on getting her kidneys to fire and function correctly.  I also focused on having the kidneys distribute lubricant to each and every joint in her body as if they were each immersed in synovial fluid.

I then focused on helping her kidneys become better at sending her mind messages of what they needed, like “I need more water, make her thirsty” and “I need potassium, have her eat some broccoli or a banana!”  I wanted that connection between her kidneys and her mind to be strengthened so her kidneys could send messages on what they needed and her body would respond and provide that continual healing.  I wanted her to become balanced and more harmonized.  

At the end of the treatment we shared the impressions we each had during the Qigong treatment. She said she “saw” water starting to flow through her body as if the water was being used to clean out the grime and gunk from within her.  

She then said she felt as if she was being filled up with water and it got to the point where she was floating and bobbing in a large pool of calm clear water. She said she felt totally relaxed and safe while bobbing in that calm water.   

She also shared how here she felt like her right leg, the one which had been bothering her, had been stretched and it no longer felt shorter than her other leg.  It felt good.

She also shared how she still had the lower back pain, but it wasn’t as intense as when she first arrived.
  

She will be coming back in a few weeks for another Qigong treatment and we'll get an update on her progress.

Nourishing the Kidneys

Treating a Black Cloud

One of my friends shared how she felt like she had a black cloud over her head and volunteered to have a Qigong treatment to see if we could change that feeling and sensation.

She lay on the Qigong table, face up, and closed her eyes.  I began by first grounding myself, then her, and then aligning myself with my friend's energy.  After I did this, I could feel the presence of three other people in the room, who I assume were her Spiritual Guides.  I then did my Qigong assessment by feeling her energy field and I could feel heat on the left side of her body, the left side of her head, her left lung, and heat in both sides of her upper abdomen.  It felt like energy in those areas of heat was stuck and causing her that feeling of discomfort.

I began the Qigong to clear some of this stagnant energy.  I started to purge the stuck energy in her right lung, and then went to her left lung.  In her left lung, I had a very hard time clearing and cleansing the black "fog" I could "see" within her lung.  After many, many minutes of purging, sponging, and "sucking out that blackness," I discovered a small, and what had been hidden, little clump of what looked like black charcoal. It reminded me of a little piece of burned firewood. I know the image in my mind was but a representation of what I was sensing, but that was the image my mind translated so I could understand what was there. I had no idea what it was really representing.

Eventually I was able to metaphorically bring that little piece of charcoal out of her lungs and was then able to focus on refilling the Qi energy into her lungs.  Her left lung, however, was taking a VERY long time to fill with Qi.  I could see the Qi energy immediately becoming absorbed and soaked into the lung tissue as if it were in desperate need, almost as if it were a dry sponge. Eventually, the lungs became full and I was able to move on to another part of the Qigong treatment plan.  

Next I began what is called the "13 ghost point treatment" which is a treatment protocol to help emotions.   There wasn't anything unusual about this treatment except I could feel her body deeply relax.  

During one of the 13 ghost point treatment protocols, I focused on building up her energy via SP 1 and then UB 62 (which are located on the feet) and I once again had another visual come to my mind.  I now saw her legs as if they were filled now little tiny pebbles of gravel, something you would use when you are repotting flowers.  The gravel is put in a potting plant to provide a means of drainage so water doesn't pool and damage the plant.  With this visual I knew we were creating a method for my friend to process and drain unwanted thoughts or emotions from her body that could otherwise become stagnant and contribute to making her ill or produce a black cloud of sadness.  Her body was using the Qigong as a tool to help her create a long term solution to promote continued healing. 

At the end of the Qigong treatment, I saw her three Spiritual Guides acknowledge the treatment was a success.  I then saw each one go up to her head, one at a time, and gently kiss her good-bye.   The first kissed each of her closed eyes.  The second kissed her forehead.  The third kissed the top of her head.  They then disappeared.

I aroused my volunteer patient and we shared our experiences.  She acknowledged the  "black cloud" was gone and she felt much better.  I shared what I had seen during her treatment, including seeing her three Spiritual Guides.

She will be returning in a couple of weeks for another treatment and we will see what happens next.

Treating a Black Cloud

Chinese Medicine & Treating the Whole Person

I have worked in health care my entire life, and because I'm no longer a spring chicken, that means it has been a good LONG time.  But recently I’ve gone back to college to learn about Chinese Medicine.  Chinese Medicine is very different from Western Medicine.  It’s not only the language that is different, but how the human body is viewed. It has been a tough transition but there are a couple of aspects in this new paradigm I just love.  For example, I love how Chinese Medicine looks at a patient as a whole person.  I mean, everything is inter-related and important when it comes to health.  In Chinese Medicine you assess and treat the whole person and with this focus, you treat more than just an organ.

Let me give you an example.  

If I go to see my Western Medicine doctor because I have a cold, my doctor will primarily ask me only things related to my lungs. The entire focus of this visit will be on whether or not to give me antibiotics.  She doesn’t ask me anything about what I’ve been eating.  She doesn't ask me about how I feel or my emotional state.  She doesn’t inquire about my sleep habits or family life, or the type of work I do. The focus is strictly on "is this a bacterium or virus?" Her desire is to quickly diagnose, give me the right medication, and get me out the door.

But,

If I were to go to a Chinese Doctor (an Acupuncturist) with my cold, I would be asked more than just the state of my lungs. I would be asked about how and when I became ill and to describe it in detail.  I would be asked if I am feeling hot or cold.  I would also be asked about sweating and chills, along with questions about my cough, sputum, and tongue. I would be asked about what I was eating and drinking, when I sleep, and for how long. I would be asked about my exercise habits, my emotional well being, and if I was grieving.  I would be asked about my environment at home and where I work to discover if it is damp or dry, if it is air conditioned, or has blowing air.  There would be a myriad of other questions asked that would seem to have little to do with a virus, but in Chinese Medicine, all of these factors are important.  The focus at my Chinese Medicine doctor will be on assessing all the relationships in my whole body that could be impacting and playing a role in this cold.  After that, the focus will be on getting me to feel better NOW, and then getting me on a path to sustain harmony and balance.  

In my Western Medicine medical experience, I would probably have left the doctors office with a prescription for a cough medicine and still probably felt pretty crappy.  I would probably think of myself as a victim with little control over my health.  

In my Chinese Medicine medical experience, I would leave feeling somewhat better because I would have received an acupuncture or moxibustion treatment.  I may have a prescription for some herbs, a recommendation for different foods to now be included in my diet that could help my lungs (like chicken soups with marrow and probably some persimmons).  I would perhaps be given some new movements or  exercises to do which would help strengthen my lungs (with posture and deep breaths).  I would have been advised on some meditation or visualization practices to help me guide my internal energies (qi/chee) to tonify my heart and lungs.  It may also have had the opportunity to talk about some sadness I was feeling because my Acupuncturist would know how sensitive the lungs are to grief and would have encouraged me to purge these feelings of grief. I would leave the Chinese Doctor's office feeling empowered because I would probably have new ways to help me take charge of returning to a state of balance and well being.  

I think there is merit in both Western and Chinese Medicine systems, but the thing I like most about Chinese Medicine is the broader focus on a person's whole being.   I like how a patient is more than just a failed body part or two.  

I also like the way Chinese Medicine practitioners will partner with a patient to help guide them back into balance and alignment.  This can help a person feel empowered and in charge of their own state of wellness. I like that. I think this is what we are missing in Western Medicine and desperately need.

Chinese Medicine & Treating the Whole Person

Healing a Broken Heart

I had a volunteer patient come to my home for a Qigong treatment.  I asked her if there was anything in particular she wanted me to focus on in with her healing treatment.   She shared how her husband had suddenly died about a year ago and she was still very broken hearted over this experience.  She loved him very much and he had been her best friend.  She had been sad a long time.

I had her lay down on the table and during the assessment phase of the treatment, I did indeed feel heat surrounding her heart, which can be a symptom of sorrow and pain. I started to share what I was assessing but I felt someone in the room with us.  I stopped, looked around, but no one was there.

I continued on with the assessment and once again had that same feeling return. I again stopped and looked around.  No one was there.  

Chills then came running through my body as if to validate there was another energy and presence with us.  

I said to her, "it feels like your husband is here with us."

Blue birds came flying past the window and calling out, and then I had chills once again go down my spine.  Then a strong warm feeling of comfort enveloped me and a message popped into my mind that it indeed was her husband who was in the room with us.  

I once again shared that I felt a presence that seemed to be her husband. She said "No, he is gone.  I know he is not around."  So I started the Qigong medical treatment.

I cleared some of the stagnant energy and feelings within her heart and then went on to the next step, which is to direct and focus Qi energy into the heart to help tonify it.  As I started this process, I started to see pink, red, and white valentine hearts starting to move with this focused energy.  These valentines and hearts seemed to be enveloping the directed Qi energy and encapsulating it with love while it was moving towards her heart.

More and more valentines came pouring in and now started to spill out and around her heart.  It started to cover much of her body and was now covering her body, the table, and started to pile up on the floor.  I knew her husband was sending these valentines as if to share his love with her.  He wanted desperately to comfort her. 

After the treatment, I shared what I had sensed and seen during her treatment.  She did not believe the message could be from her husband.  She also did not see or feel the valentines and did not share what I had experienced during this treatment.  At the end of the treatment, she felt good as well as relaxed, but not much more.

She then said "Perhaps the valentines are from my preschoolers.  I am a teacher."

She then went on to say the preschoolers had been her primary source of comfort since her husband died and they did make cutout out objects of paper in school.  Perhaps the image was a representation of her preschoolers.

I have no doubt at all her husband was present in that room and trying to send her a message.  I feel regret the message was not received or translated in a way she could accept and receive.  

This experience for me was so profound and the feelings so intense the experience still lingers with me. My volunteer patient seemed to have a nice and relaxing treatment, but nothing remarkable as far as I know.    

Even now, when I go into my Qigong treatment room, I can still feel those unclaimed valentines still scattered on the floor.  I am still hopeful she will come to accept and feel gift of healing and the love that was being poured within her heart.    

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Healing a Broken Heart