Energy Healing

[SalixIncendium]

In my tenure here, I've seen no discussion about energy healing (such as Reiki, Polarity Therapy, Qigong, Shiatsu, etc.), which makes me curious. Who here has experience with it?

For those who have, have you found the results to be effective?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

In my tenure here, I've seen no discussion about energy healing (such as Reiki, Polarity Therapy, Qigong, Shiatsu, etc.), which makes me curious. Who here has experience with it?

For those who have, have you found the results to be effective?

Ive had Reiki healing. Level 1. Its like heat healing where the density and heat energy between the palm of the healer and body of the person healed with the mindset of the one healed contributing to somewhat flow message. We wore white for purity so its a mind, energy, body healing.

I came out clear minded. Im kind of a skeptic at first so if your mind isnt one with healing process, I dont think one can experience results.

I wouldnt pay a lot to try it out at first. If you go back a third time its worth the money as long as you have a healer knowledged in Reiki culture background and not just practice.

I dont know about the other ones though.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Double blind studies indicate that it does not work:

Effect of Reiki treatments on functional recovery in patients in poststroke rehabilitation: a pilot study. - PubMed - NCBI

One needs to remember that the placebo effect is significant in some "treatments". If one believes that one is getting a treatment they may believe that they are getting better. In reality that does not appear to be the case.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Double blind studies indicate that it does not work:

Effect of Reiki treatments on functional recovery in patients in poststroke rehabilitation: a pilot study. - PubMed - NCBI

One needs to remember that the placebo effect is significant in some "treatments". If one believes that one is getting a treatment they may believe that they are getting better. In reality that does not appear to be the case.

Okay. This covers stroke recovery. How about other maladies such as cancer, or more specifically, liver damage caused by chemotherapy?

Also with regard to the mood/energy measurements, does the mind not control the body?

 

[Revoltingest]

In my tenure here, I've seen no discussion about energy healing (such as Reiki, Polarity Therapy, Qigong, Shiatsu, etc.), which makes me curious. Who here has experience with it?

For those who have, have you found the results to be effective?

I might've mentioned that I have a friend & some former tenants who do Reiki.
(I've a really low opinion of it. I'll spare you a rant.)

 

[SalixIncendium]

I might've mentioned that I have a friend & some former tenants who do Reiki.
(I've a really low opinion of it. I'll spare you a rant.)

I'd really like if you didn't. I'd like to hear about experiences, both positive and negative.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Speaking for myself, I took my late daughter to an energy healer, primarily to repair damage to her liver caused by allopathic treatment so she could receive surgery to resect the damaged lung. During this time, she was not being treated for liver failure allopatically, but was visiting the energy healer and drinking Goji. Her liver ultimately did make a full recovery, but not before her disease moved from the diseased lung to the healthy one.

Her recovery resulted in my education of Reiki, resulting in level 3 certification. While my experience leans toward success to the intended result, I still find myself debating with my ex whether it was the energy healing, the Goji, or time that healed the liver.

 

[Revoltingest]

I'd really like if you didn't. I'd like to hear about experiences, both positive and negative.

My experience is more about being the landlord to a couple practitioners.
I find the pretense of "energy healing" to be hokum, & at best a placebo.
But placebos can be effective.

 

[Vinayaka]

Personally. I think it has to do with the training of the practitioner somewhat. I've seen couple of chiropractors, 3 acupuncturists, for example, and their skill varied, as did the treatment outcomes.

A walk in fresh air, sunshine, cool breezes, are also great rehab energy.

 

[sun rise]

Because one study shows that something does not work, it's a logical fallacy to extend that to all conditions. Besides which, medical research is hard - just think of the "coffee bad/coffee good" controversy as just one example. To me, the Western research is just getting started with some preliminary positive finding for some conditions.

I've just started taking a Qigong course. The instructor is a western doctor and moves between the effect of the postures from a western medical perspective to the Eastern frame-of-reference. Since I just started, I have no results to report.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Okay. This covers stroke recovery. How about other maladies such as cancer, or more specifically, liver damage caused by chemotherapy?

Also with regard to the mood/energy measurements, does the mind not control the body?

It really is up to the proponents of Reiki to provide valid evidence that it works. I don't think that they will be able to do so.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Because one study shows that something does not work, it's a logical fallacy to extend that to all conditions. Besides which, medical research is hard - just think of the "coffee bad/coffee good" controversy as just one example. To me, the Western research is just getting started with some preliminary positive finding for some conditions.

I've just started taking a Qigong course. The instructor is a western doctor and moves between the effect of the postures from a western medical perspective to the Eastern frame-of-reference. Since I just started, I have no results to report.

Plenty of doctors by into woo as well. I am not impressed. The fact is that the little success that Reiki has could easily be explained by the placbo effect from what I have seen.

Once again, when it comes to medicine, the evidence that something works is supposed to come from the people that say that it works. If they can't support their claims with valid studies the proper attitude to take is to not believe them.

 

[sun rise]

Plenty of doctors by into woo as well. I am not impressed. The fact is that the little success that Reiki has could easily be explained by the placbo effect from what I have seen.

Once again, when it comes to medicine, the evidence that something works is supposed to come from the people that say that it works. If they can't support their claims with valid studies the proper attitude to take is to not believe them.

I want research done by neutral investigators not be those who want to find positive results. Unconscious bias is the least of the risk when believers do research.

As far as Reiki goes: Although the number of studies is limited, based on the size Cohen's d statistics calculated in this review, there is evidence to suggest that Reiki therapy may be effective for pain and anxiety. Continued research using Reiki therapy with larger sample sizes, consistently randomized groups, and standardized treatment protocols is recommended. Effect of Reiki therapy on pain and anxiety in adults: an in-depth literature review of randomized trials with effect size calculations. - PubMed - NCBI

 

[Subduction Zone]

I want research done by neutral investigators not be those who want to find positive results. Unconscious bias is the least of the risk when believers do research.

As far as Reiki goes: Although the number of studies is limited, based on the size Cohen's d statistics calculated in this review, there is evidence to suggest that Reiki therapy may be effective for pain and anxiety. Continued research using Reiki therapy with larger sample sizes, consistently randomized groups, and standardized treatment protocols is recommended. Effect of Reiki therapy on pain and anxiety in adults: an in-depth literature review of randomized trials with effect size calculations. - PubMed - NCBI

Please note that that metastudy only compared Reiki to traditional medicine. There is a strong placebo effect with procedures such as Reiki, so the fact that they may alleviate pain somewhat is not surprising at all. But it does not support the claims of Reiki practitioners since a rank amateur pretending to be a Reiki practitioner could easily have the same results. The study that I linked used a fake Reiki practitioner and the fake did as well as the experts. That does not bode well for the "art".

 

[sun rise]

Please note that that metastudy only compared Reiki to traditional medicine. There is a strong placebo effect with procedures such as Reiki, so the fact that they may alleviate pain somewhat is not surprising at all. But it does not support the claims of Reiki practitioners since a rank amateur pretending to be a Reiki practitioner could easily have the same results. The study that I linked used a fake Reiki practitioner and the fake did as well as the experts. That does not bode well for the "art".

You have concluded it's worthless. Some research against placebo have found otherwise. I'm totally withholding judgement since there is not sufficient evidence one way or the other. For example:

SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class journal research

 

[Jumi]

I've just started taking a Qigong course. The instructor is a western doctor and moves between the effect of the postures from a western medical perspective to the Eastern frame-of-reference. Since I just started, I have no results to report.

Qigong can be pretty good, but there are some bad (I mean really bad) ones that you want to avoid. There was an article I read maybe a decade ago about a group of MDs who made a western medicine equivalent set to the classic ones, and changed the name because they didn't want to associate with the crazy ones.

 

[Quintessence]

Energy work is part of my tradition, but my use of it for healing is limited. Partly from lack of need, and partly from lack of interest. The extent of what I practice with any regularity are some basic relaxation-induction techniques. Does it work? Absolutely. It's not even that hard - anyone could learn how to do it. The practice doesn't have to be framed as "energy work" either if that language isn't to your fancy.

 

[Subduction Zone]

You have concluded it's worthless. Some research against placebo have found otherwise. I'm totally withholding judgement since there is not sufficient evidence one way or the other. For example:

SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class journal research

That is far from being a well respected professional journal. Have you heard the saying "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence"? The claim of Reiki advocates is extremely extraordinary. Claims of "energy" (an obviously false claim since energy is observable and measurable) coming from the hands.

Open access journals have a rather bad reputation in the academic world since it seems the major requirement to be published in one is simply having the money to get your article published. One thing to always remember is that there is nothing free in this world. Open access is not "free". Someone has to pay for it somehow. In traditional peer reviewed journals the money comes from the readers for the most part. There are no ads, and that makes them rather expensive. It is why one can usually read only the abstracts of the articles on line. In open access they will take almost anything and sometimes have. In fact SAGE, the publishing house for that article, was recently caught in a sting where they published an article that was obviously false and would have been rejected by a reputable journal:

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013...anctions-three-publishers-after-science-sting

You have made an extraordinary claim and supported it only with a very weak source.