I thought I would write about what happened to me since I started to practise at European Zhineng Qigong Center in September, 2002.
Some background information on me and my problems, starting at the beginning: When I was in my teens I was diagnosed with a discrepancy of 2,5 cm to the length of my legs, resulting in a slight case of scoliosis in my back. I got an insole in my shoe and I got the advise to practise in order to strengthen my back. I did that for many years and I saw physiotherapists on many occasions. In the Spring of 1996 I got pain in periodic bursts in my joints and muscles and I saw the doctor several times but they could not find anything wrong. The pain in my back, shoulders and, above all, my neck was constant in addition to the periodic bursts with diffuse pain. In December, 2001 I could not take it anymore and I stayed at home for eight months, fulltime. Nowadays it is called symptoms of exhaustion. Since my energy levels were at low ebb the pain easily returned at the beginning. I saw a physiotherapist for my back, shoulders and neck. Around that time I also got a bite support in order to relieve the pressure on my teeth, which I pressed tight at night. The joint of my jaw was of course quite sore as well, a problem caused by previous problems with my wisdom teeth. My neck got a lot worse after I rode by bicycle around Vättern in 2000 – for whatever reason I do not know. Maybe I did it to prove that I could manage it in spite of the pain in my body. I tried Yoga in the Spring of 2002 and it was not my kind of thing.
I had been thinking for a long time about trying Qigong, but I had never got that far. In August, 2002 I tried swimming for the first time in almost two years. It did not work out too well, it just gave me a headache. But then that Zhineng Qigong poster caught my eye. It said that there was to be a course at Valhallabadet, and so I came to try Qigong, a Weekend Course in September, 2002. I was so tired after the first day of the course. My body hurt, but it was much softer, so I turned up that Sunday too. I have been stuck on it ever since.
The first reactions came more or less immediately. On Monday after the first Weekend Course I got myself a full body massage. I usually go there regularly every fourth week and I have done that for a couple of years. This time my masseuse made the comment: What have you been doing? Your vertebrae are lined up in a zigzag pattern! I did not notice it that much myself since I was used to back pain. Another thing was that I started to cough like I never have before. My masseuse could not put her hand on my chest level with my shoulder blades without my having this terrible fit of coughing. It had never been like that before. I even reacted to the oil that she used to massage me with. Since that time my masseuse has become more and more impressed with what has been happening. In my back she only finds one or two nodes or none at all, and my cough has nearly disappeared.
My shoulders have been relocated downward and backward and suddenly the right side of my body is flexible. Before my right arm was all stiff, but now it swings naturally when I walk. Some time ago I had my legs measured and then there was only a one-centimetre discrepancy. During a Monday Evening Training while we had a Qi regulation I felt like I got this shining light in my head and then I had a headache for a week, but in spite of that my head felt clearer. The week after it was like somebody pulled my hip straight, and the hip became much straighter. Apart from that my intestines also work much better now. They have always been constipated, but now I get to empty them once or even twice a day.
I also do Linedance and dancing now was a great difference. All of a sudden I was able to swing my hips and shake my shoulders. My sense of balance is improved and I can look up the ceiling instead of down at the floor. I trust my body more and my muscles start to return.
I was so energetic the week after the February Weekend Course. I can not remember the last time I felt like that before, even though I felt a little confused and dizzy during the course. It was a great feeling to come home after work and not have to hit the bed for an afternoon nap, and at that time I did not work more than four hours, four days a week.
I am really looking forward to the Summer Course. It feels as if Zhineng Qigong helps me return to life again.
Ulrika Andrée
age 32