This story is a little fairy tail, but one with a tragic start. Some years ago I went through a very tough period in my life. Several people in my family died or became seriously ill. I was the one who had to be strong. This was very demanding and in the end I felt very tired. Last year, life finally seemed to become somewhat easier again and I could start to relax. Just when everything was getting back to normal again, my fist psoriasis symptoms appeared.
It all started with a number of spots on my belly. As psoriasis is an illness that exists in my family, I was worried that it would be my turn when I saw that the spots did not disappear. My mother suffered from psoriasis during the last years of her life so I knew how serious the effects can be. The first doctor I consulted diagnosed another disease, but later on a specialist in the field confirmed that I had psoriasis. By then, the illness had become more active.
My doctor prescribed cortisone, but as the initial dosages did not help I was forced to take a strong form of cortisone. This resulted in a somewhat reduced redness of my skin, but the psoriasis stayed clearly visible. A problem with cortisone is that it can only be used during a limited period of time as one of its side effects is that it damages the skin. When I terminated the treatment my symptoms came back even more extensively than before. I decided that I would not use any more cortisone from then on. This type of drugs only resulted in a temporary relief without having any healing effect, and as the symptoms had gotten worse after the treatment it became clear to me that this was not the way to go.
I read as much as I could about the disease. Sunlight was mentioned as one possible way to relieve the symptoms. We went on holiday in a sunny country, but unfortunately it did not help me. When my symptoms were giving me most problems I really felt it started to look very dark.
It was a coincidence that I found information about Zhineng Qigong. In February 2006, I saw an article in a health magazine called “Må Bra” (Feel good) about a woman who had significantly reduced her eczema as a result of Zhineng Qigong training. When I read the article I immediately felt that this could be something for me. I participated in the first course that I could attend and my experiences from this course made me feel even more confident that this type of training would help me. After the course I trained at home every day and was very determined to do the amount of training I had decided to do from the start.
It was during the autumn of 2005 that my psoriasis was diagnosed and during those months my symptoms came very rapidly, but because of Zhineng Qigong I have also managed to make them go away again within a very short period of time. After three months of training, I discovered that my symptoms did not increase anymore and that the first signs of a reduction could be seen instead. Today, one cannot any longer see that have suffered from psoriasis!
For people around me it is hard to understand that Qigong really has been able to help me. In the beginning it was hard to comprehend it myself. But the short period of training really made the difference for me. Some say I probable had not suffered from psoriasis after all because it disappeared, but for me there are no doubts about my illness and the way I got rid of it. Three months of qigong training was sufficient! I really love the training and the results it has given me. The sheer thought of training “Hold Qi Up” makes me smile.
The article I read in “Må Bra” was the main reason for me to try Zhineng Qigong. The woman in the article helped me very much by telling her story. Everybody knows someone who has psoriasis. Maybe my story also can make someone start to practice Zhineng Qigong.
Inger