The medical establishment begins to take notice of the Chi

Justin was asked to write an article, medically slanted, for a health organization.

In the East, Chi is often called “The Vital Force,” “The Life Force,” or the “Intrinsic Energy.” It is recognized as the Building Block of life. When the Chi leaves the body, that body dies. Chinese doctors, understanding the flow of this Chi, are now performing serious operations without anesthesia. I saw on television when an abdominal growth the size of a cantaloupe was removed from a woman, after which she got up from the operating table and walked back to her room. All this is possible because of understanding the knowledge of Chi and how to use that knowledge favorably.

When the Chi is circulated and balanced between positive and negative (Yang and Yin), the metabolism changes. At Folsom Prison, in California, it was noted (in a letter from Dr. Shrum) that, while the usual rate of recidivism at the prison is an astounding 90 percent, those who practiced Tai Chi Chih at the prison had a return rate of 0 percent. This meant the change in metabolism of those practicing TCC had reduced criminality in this group to where it no longer existed. This is one aspect of T’ai Chi Chih that has never been noted. Would it not be a blessing if criminals did TCC regularly—after staff were assured that it was not some Martial Art that could be used against them—and criminality was slowly done away with? This was not a controlled experiment, planned and verified by scientists, but an actual happening that cannot be denied.

Recently an article appeared in the Wall Street Journal that reported an experiment that was verified by scientists, a study to show how immunity against shingles was greatly strengthened by TCC practice. This article is readily available.

I am continually getting letters from TCC students, telling me of their experiences, and most of these letters include the statement, “T’ai Chi Chih has changed my life.” These letters were not solicited. Some of the students, in gratitude, go on to prepare for teacher training so that they can pass on the benefits to others. Non-practitioners would be astounded at how much gratitude is generated by TCC practice.

T’ai Chi Chih was not developed by me in order to make money. I do not take anything at all from those who have become teachers, who after considerable training go on to teach beginning classes for which they are paid by the students for an initial eight-week course.

From these students, and from the teachers themselves, have come numerous letters telling of unexpected cures of migraine headaches, asthma, high blood pressure, etc., and of great improvement in sarcoidosis, Parkinson’s disease, osteoporosis, etc. These letters are entirely unsolicited. Moreover, TCC was not developed as a medical tool. There are other, possibly greater benefits that will not interest medical authorities but, nevertheless, are of real importance.

From time to time organizations have noted what TCC is doing. To mention three of them, the American Medical Association wrote me a letter commending TCC as an “alternative” form of healing. The Mayo Clinic Medical Journal suggested that people buy my instructional videotape, and I heard from someone at the United Nations about giving a talk at their Hammersjold auditorium in New York. (They postponed the first, which many people around the country were going to attend, and we have not tried to arrange a second date as yet.) These isolated incidents, and many more not mentioned, show that the value of TCC is gradually being recognized.

Recently, an active nun from New Jersey, who has become very important to the TCC community, told me that there are about 60 nuns who are now accredited TCC teachers, all with the approval of their supervisors. When one time it was previously checked against lists of teachers some years ago, there were 40.

Aside from helping with disease, emphasis on the relief from stress and tensions in our everyday lives has been surprising in the letters we receive. Often those who have benefited this way take the time to write articles for the two T’ai Chi Chih journals, the Vital Force and the T’ai Chi Chih News, and it might be rewarding to scan these, which are available.

Perhaps I will close with a description of two events in my own life. Years ago, in Needles, California, I took a bad fall on pavement. There was a big bump on the sidewalk and I did not notice it. Consequently, I went flying through the air, landing on my right hip and right forearm. I am now 87 years old, and I was in my 80s then. Usually, after a fall on a hard surface, old people will break a hip or an arm. Aside from being scratched (becoming black and blue), I was not injured and able to do my share of the driving the rest of the afternoon. When a bone specialist, later saw x-rays, he remarked, incredulously, “You have the bones of a 30-year-old man, no arthritis at all.” I responded, “Have you ever heard of T’ai Chi Chih?”

One time my doctor, whom I seldom see, suggested an exam because I’d had a heart operation 25 years ago (when I was told it would be good for five to eight years). From the results, he suggested I take two pills, which I reluctantly did. They caused my lower legs to go numb during the night, so I threw them away. The doctor then predicted my blood pressure would shoot up. “No, it won’t,” I told him. “For two weeks I will do TCC three times a day, and then follow up by doing it twice a day.” Being 87, I could be expected to have a slightly higher blood pressure, but what happened? Gradually my pressure dropped to where it stayed between 100 and 110 over low 60s. I was actually alarmed by how low it had gone, but the doctor assured me it was good news.

The above remarks are meant to show what TCC has done for people, and for me. I believe that, eventually, TCC will be adopted (and adapted) by medicine. It works. If there had been more space, and the reader had unlimited time, I would conclude with remarks about the Chi (called “prana” in India) by some of the great saints and sages of modern times, such as Niyananda and Nisagardatta. Hopefully, medicine will come to appreciate the meaning of Chi relatively soon, while I am alive and can, perhaps, be of help.