Do you believe in qi?"When I practice qi gong or t’ai qi, I do not trouble myself with whether or not the qi is “real.” Qi gong is an art. I practice it in a beautiful way. Like Japanese cuisine, it works best when it looks good. To do a thing in a beautiful way, [...]
Tag: mind-body
The Scam of “Muscle Energy Testing”
I've seen numerous "alternative medicine" providers perform something they call "muscle testing" or "muscle energy testing" many times as part of their sales pitch. They tell you to put one arm out in front of you, and then push down on your arm. Your arm sinks immediately. Then they ask you a question, or put [...]
Understanding pain as your body’s alarm system
In my experience, the key to learning to work with your pain instead of against it is to learn to view pain as your body’s alarm system. In the global North, most of us are privileged enough to have very little experience with pain. As children, we only feel pain when we’re at the doctor’s [...]
History of Fibromyalgia as a Diagnosis
As anyone who’s ever wondered if they have fibromyalgia probably knows, the different specialities within Western medicine are not necessarily on the same page in terms of the way they diagnose and treat pain. Rheumatology has traditionally been the specialty people look to for help with fibromyalgia, yet there are rheumatologists out there who don’t even [...]
Why you should learn a little anatomy
Fellow pain sufferers, as well as anyone who likes to learn about the body, I can't stress enough how learning about anatomy and physiology has helped me. First of all, it makes such a big difference when you can begin to understand medical terminology. Once you start studying anatomy, you'll see that medical terminology, with [...]
