What can we heal with the self-healing art of qigong? And what can’t we heal?

These are super-important questions, especially since we are in the midst of a health care crisis in the U.S.  If you’re reading this article, then you probably have a specific problem, and you want to know if there are any options other than drugs or surgery.

This article will tell you how to figure out whether or not your specific problem can be addressed with qigong.

Before I go on, let me categorically state that I am not suggesting that qigong can “cure” anything.  To do so would be illegal. As I state very clearly on my terms of use page, all material provided on this website is offered for informational or educational purposes only, and is not intended as a substitute for the advice of your physician, psychotherapist, or other healthcare professional.

Yada yada.

Now, let’s get down to business.

Can Cancer Be Reversed?

(Note: Let’s be clear that I am not giving medical advice, and that I am not in any way suggesting that your cancer will be cured or reversed by qigong. In the U.S. it is illegal for anyone other than oncologists to treat cancer. This is a theoretical discussion, not medical advice.)

Let’s begin with an important question — one that could potentially change your life. I’ll focus on one particular illness at first, and then branch out to others later.  So please bear with me if the first example does not apply to you.

Ready for the question?  Here it is:

In theory, can cancer be reversed without chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, or any medicine whatsoever? 

Make sure to answer this question before you continue.

Okay, got your answer?

Hopefully, you answered “yes”. If you answered “maybe” or “no”, then I’ve got news for you. And it’s wonderful news.

The medical literature is full of cases where cancer reversed itself without any external intervention. In other words, there is a ton of scientific evidence that the the human body can heal itself of all kinds of cancer — without drugs, chemo, radiation, or surgery.

I’m talking about the well-known phenomenon called “spontaneous remission”.   And it happens all the time. For example, this study found that 22% of all breast cancer cases underwent spontaneous regression. Wowzers! That’s a lot of spontaneous regression!

If you were suffering from breast cancer, you would absolutely want to be one of the lucky ladies to undergo spontaneous regression. Why? Because it involves no surgery, no nasty side effects, and it is typically far more effective than the orthodox treatments. Oh, and it will also save you a few hundred thousands dollars.

The Spontaneous Remission Project

So how can you pour yourself a nice cup of spontaneous remission?

Well, you can’t, at least not according to Western medicine.

You see, doctors and researchers are too busy fighting the “war” on cancer to pay attention to something like spontaneous remission. Who cares that it is arguably the most important medical discovery in the last 100 years. We’ve got a war to fight!

That’s why you don’t hear about these cases too often. But you should, because these cases prove — beyond a shadow of a doubt — that it’s at least POSSIBLE to reverse cancer, even at advanced stages.

Perhaps Western medicine doesn’t yet understand the mechanism by which this is possible, but the evidence is clear that it is possible.

If you’re skeptical, great!  I love skeptics!  Just make sure that you’re a healthy skeptic!

If you’re a healthy skeptic, then you will certainly be interested to know that in 1993, some researchers decided that spontaneous remission was something that should be studied rather than ignored.

Together, they compiled the largest database of medically reported cases of spontaneous remission in the world, with more than 3,500 references from more than 800 journals. Go ahead and take a long look at the Spontaneous Remission Bibliography Project online.

In the database, they define spontaneous remission as:

“the disappearance, complete or incomplete, of a disease or cancer without medical treatment or treatment that is considered inadequate to produce the resulting disappearance of disease symptoms or tumor.”

Coming back to my earlier question, we now have good answer — that the human body is capable, at least in theory, of reversing of many forms of cancer. Terrific!

What Can’t Be Healed?

Before we talk more about what can be healed, let’s talk about the opposite.  Let’s talk about something that the human body, and thus Qigong & Tai Chi, cannot heal.

A beautiful young woman once approached me after a workshop and asked, quite innocently, if qigong could regrow an amputated limb.  This woman had a rare condition as a child that required amputation.

My heart went out to her.  It was one of those moments where you just want to lie and say that everything is going to be okay.

But I told her the truth.

“I’m sorry, but to the best of my knowledge, that’s not possible.”

As far as I know, there are no recorded cases of entire human limbs being regrown. So it’s safe to say that this kind of thing is outside the window of possibility. You can comb the medical literature and never find a single case of this ever happening. Not even one.

Will qigong to get rid of the phantom pains associated with amputation? Yes. I’ve seen it happen, and in fact it happened with the young woman I mentioned.

But I’ve never seen or even heard about anyone regrowing a limb. It’s just not something that the human body is designed to do.

The Self-Healing Map

These two examples (cancer, and a severed limb) give us a working theory for the range that is possible with qigong. I call this the Self-Healing Map.

The evidence suggests that cancer is on the Self-Healing Map.

This doesn’t mean that every case of cancer can be reversed, but it absolutely does mean that SOME cases of cancer can be reversed. In other words, it’s possible to reverse cancer.

On the other hand, regrowing a limb is not on the map. It’s simply not within the range of healing for the human body.

Other Health Problems

What other health problems are on the map? Well, the first thing you should do is look through the Spontaneous Remission Bibliography Project.  (I recommend that you start with the index.)

If your problem is on the list, then you can reasonably theorize that it’s possible to heal yourself.

Does that mean you’ll definitely heal? No. There are many other factors involved. But isn’t it wonderful to know that it’s possible to heal?

What about things that are not on the list?

Remember that spontaneous remission, by its nature, is not easy to record. Do you think that there are more than 3500 cases of spontaneous remission in modern history? You bet there are, and you can also bet that most of them were never recorded.

For example, I have a student who reversed Crohn’s disease. Her doctors have confirmed that there are no signs of Crohn’s present, and she’s completely off her medication. But I can’t find that disease on the list.

If you suffer from Crohn’s and you want more evidence, then you should comb the internet for other cases of people who healed themselves of the disorder, even if it wasn’t with qigong.

I’m betting that there are cases of people doing it with many different forms of self-healing. Do 10-15 hours of research, and find out if the human body has ever healed your particular issue.

If your condition is something that heals itself all the time, like low-back pain, arthritis, or migraines — then it’s definitely worth trying qigong.

But keep in mind that not all qigong is appropriate for medical problems like this.  Read my article on The 5 Categories of Qigong for more information about what types of qigong are appropriate.

Also, let’s not miss the crucial lesson behind the specific examples of the Spontaneous Remission Project — i.e. that the body is capable of all sorts of amazing healing!

What Can We Heal?

Let’s come back to our original question:  What can we heal?  By now, you should have a better idea of how to theoretically answer this question. To simplify, here’s what I tell my new students:

“If you want to know what qigong can theoretically heal, then simply ask yourself what a superbly-functioning human body is capable of healing. And there’s your answer.”

Just make sure that you do some research before concluding that something can’t be healed. For example, many people don’t know that the body is capable of reversing cancer. Obviously, they haven’t done enough research. Don’t make the same mistake as them.

What If You Don’t Heal?

So far, I’ve talked mainly about theory. But as we know, theory and practice don’t always agree.

Just because qigong can theoretically heal something doesn’t mean it will.

When it comes to healing, there are a lot of factors, like the quality of your practice, your deeply-held beliefs, and even the climate where you live.

This is a huge topic, and it will be covered in a future article.  If you’ve got something that is blocking you from healing, then my follow-up article will help you to get to the bottom of the problem.

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony