In a recent YouTube video, I addressed the question, “Where do Autoimmune Diseases come from and can Qigong help?” The question for me is not metaphorical, theoretical, or academic. My best friend and wife has been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. A dear friend and author for my publishing company fights Multiple Sclerosis daily. She wrote a book on her battle with the dreadful symptoms of MS and how she dealt with it naturally, “MS, You Don’t Own Me.”
Many of my clients and students I have trained over many years have struggled with Scleroderma, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Type 1 Diabetes, Lupus, Sjögren’s syndrome, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBS), Psoriasis, Celiac Disease, etc., ad infinitum. There are over 80 different kinds of Autoimmune Diseases, with about half being common, half very rare. The key similarity? They all suck.
They all are difficult to diagnose and according to Western Medicine, nearly impossible to “cure.” The best Western Medicine can do is offer to prescribe strong pharmaceutical drugs to offset the symptoms, which unfortunately can cause other “symptoms” known as “side effects.” The Rheumatologists my wife and I have visited go into graphic description of some of their potential side effects, many of which makes her joint pain seem like a day in Disneyland.
I am not disrespecting all the excellent benefits Western Medicine has brought to the world; great diagnostics, excellent injury triage, advanced surgery techniques, etc. Yet, in regard to systemic whole-body conditions like Autoimmune Diseases, it is weak as a flimsy rag.
The problems with the Western Medicine approach to Autoimmune Diseases are twofold; it views is from a purely “mechanistic” lens, and seeks to address only the symptoms, rather than the root cause. This approach is not unique to Autoimmune Diseases; that’s just the “lens” they see through. Our bodies are treated like cars that need a problem to just “go away” — never mind there is a crack in the chassis or manifold. So what is the “Crack” that can cause an Autoimmune disease?
Western Medicine has four main guesses in answer to our question, “Where do Autoimmune Diseases come from?”
- Western Diet & Industrialization:
There is a sharp difference in statistics between the number and percentage of victims of Autoimmune Diseases in “the West” (America, Europe, and the Anglophone World) and the so-called “developing world.” This leads Western Medical researchers to hypothesize that the radical increase over the last few decades in Autoimmune Diseases may be linked to our fatty processed food Western Diet, fast lifestyle, and other factors unique to the West.
- Environmental Toxins:
This is related to the above factor, but more specific. The fallout of pollutants and toxins from our industrialized lifestyle is so significant that it is beginning to appear in very high levels in our newborn infants. Imagine how much greater the impact of those accumulated toxins over time in our bodies? This maybe one of the reasons that most Autoimmune Diseases tend to not appear until later 30’s and early 40’s.
- Hereditary Predisposition:
The data (thin as it is) seems to indicate that there may be some genetic predispositions towards certain ethnic populations (and within families) to specific Autoimmune Disorders. For example, there seems to be a higher predisposition towards Lupus among African-American and Latino populations. Yet then again, this may also be linked to higher stress levels and exposure to environmental toxicity that corresponds to the challenges BIPOC communities too often encounter due to systemic environmental racism.
- Stress and Emotional Trauma:
This is one connective thread that runs through all the Autoimmune Diseases: Stress and trauma. Traumatic stress is often correlated back to the “triggering event.” Unmanaged stress radically aggravates the pain, inflammation and symptoms of Autoimmune Diseases. There is also a higher percentage of Autoimmune Disease victims among those whom have experienced deep emotional trauma. Thankfully, this is usually one factor that people can help control through lifestyle changes, including engaging in a moving meditation like Qigong.
The 2nd part of the question is, “Can Qigong help?” There is much more clinical evidence to answer this question affirmatively with a resounding “Yes!” In a 2008 clinical study reported in the “Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine,” entitled, “Qigong Stress Reduction in Hospital Staff,” clear data is cited as evidence of the massive stress reducing power of Qigong. The study states the following:
“The basis of qigong’s impact on stress reduction likely involves multiple mechanisms. Exercise is known to reduce stress, and the particular set of medical qigong employed in this study provides exercise of moderate intensity. Concentration meditation, a component of qigong practice, also decreases stress. The practice of slow, deep breathing patterns similar to those employed in this qigong set have been demonstrated effective in reducing blood pressure in both mild hypertensive and normotensive subjects, through a mechanism thought to be related to decreased sympathetic activity. Finally, stress-related endogenous chemicals, including norepinephrine and cortisol, were reported to be reduced by qigong.”
Numerous similar studies in both Asia and the West corroborate these findings. The Director of “International Autoimmune Institute,” Dr. David J. Bilstrom shares a story about an extensive study on relaxation exercises and their effect on inflammation done by Harvard researches.
Dr. Bilstrom explained that when comparing 2000 genes of a control group (who were skilled regular practitioners of relaxation exercises like Qigong) to a group of Autoimmune diseases sufferers 2000 genes, there were numerous differences.
Once the “non-meditators”/ill group began doing (on the average) only 15 minutes of relaxation exercises three times a week (for eight weeks) there was an epigenetic transformation of 500 genes of the test group to becoming “healthy” like the consistent relaxation exercises control group. Specifically, through the reality of epigenetics (the ability of our genes to change) 500 genes of the ill group began to produce anti-inflammatory hormones which reduced inflammation. This was after only eight weeks of rather limited commitment to these meditation-like practices, like Qigong.
In other words, Qigong has been clinically proven to reduce stress, which both reduces the painful symptoms of Autoimmune Diseases, and may in some cases, even cut to the root cause of many of these diseases origin: Stress and traumatic incidents.
Does Qigong Help with Autoimmune Diseases?
Clinical studies certainly seem to suggest that. My own anecdotal experience as a Qigong expert working with people with Autoimmune diseases over the years absolutely confirms it. I have seen many students and clients get quick relief to some of the painful symptoms they struggle with. This is not because I have some magical abilities as a “healer.” It is simply because doing Qigong creates the physiological conditions in their bodies (and minds) that allow the body to do what it does naturally: heal.
I am teaching some online Qigong classes specifically for people who suffer from Autoimmune Diseases, as well as a general immune system booster class with my online platform partner, Moxie.xyz.
In order to prevent the onset of stress related Autoimmune diseases, as well as to equip business leaders with powerful skills for efficiency, I have also developed a unique online course through Teachable. This program utilizes the profound power of Qigong to enhance business performance and boost business leaders overall immune system (not a bad thing to do during a pandemic). The program is called, “Qigong for Peak Business Performance.”
Regardless of what tools you use, do something to get your body moving, engage in deep diaphragmatic breathing, and honor your body and health. It is up to you to guard your most precious resource — your life energy (“Qi”) and your health.