Qigong for Multiple Sclerosis: Finding Your Feet Again

128 Pages·2010·0.93 MB·English

by  Nigel Mills

Q i g o n g
f or
Multiple
Sclerosis
of related interest
Managing Depression with Qigong
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Chinese Medical Qigong
Editor in Chief: Tianjun Liu
Associate Editor in Chief: Kevin W Chen
ISBN 978 1 84819 023 8
Traditional Chinese Medicine Approaches to Cancer
Harmony in the Face of the Tiger
Henry McGrath
ISBN 978 1 84819 013 9
Q i g o n g
for
Multiple
Scler osis
Finding your feet again
Nigel Mills
Singing Dragon
London and Philadelphia
First published in 2010
by Singing Dragon
an imprint of Jessica Kingsley Publishers
116 Pentonville Road
London N1 9JB, UK
and
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
www.singing-dragon.com
Copyright © Nigel Mills 2010
Photography by Paulyne Skipsey
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 84819 019 1
ISBN pdf eBook 978 0 85701 029 2
Contents
ACKNoWLEDgEMENTS ...................................... 7
Chapter 1 What is Qigong and Why Should it be
Useful for MS? ............................ 9
Chapter 2 The Research Study ........................ 15
Chapter 3 Multiple Sclerosis From a Chi Point of View .. 29
Chapter 4 Minimizing Negative Influences on Your
Nervous System ............................ 37
Chapter 5 Qigong Exercises: Creating Inner Space,
Releasing Tension and Discovering Alignment 47
Chapter 6 Qigong Exercises: Developing Balance and
Finding your Feet Again .................... 87
Chapter 7 How to Cope with Stress ................... 105
Chapter 8 Putting it Into Practice and Taking it Further . 111
APPENDIx: gRoUNDINg AND BREATHINg ................. 115
REFERENCES ................................................. 117
USEFUL WEBSITES ............................................ 121
INDEx ........................................................ 123

Acknowledgements
The development of the approach outlined in this book would not
have been possible without three sets of people: first, the people
I have worked with, who were experiencing the condition of
multiple sclerosis (MS). I am continually amazed at the resilience
and inner strength of people who face MS. I was particularly
impressed by the commitment and perseverance of the people
who participated in the programme and I was pleased to share in
their progress.
Second, the development of this programme would not have
been possible without my own experience of some excellent
teachers of qigong. I would like to acknowledge particularly
my first teacher Simon Carey-Morgan, who helped to design
the initial programme and who undertook some of the initial
individual training sessions. I have also benefited from some
inspirational training in qigong from a range of other teachers
including Brian Cooper; Bruce Frantzis; Daverick Leggett; Dek
Leverton and, in more recent years, Zhixing Wang. I cannot claim
to be an authorized teacher of any one qigong school or style.
The final programme described in this book, reflects a personal
selection of some qigong strategies, drawn from a broad range
of sources, that I have found are usable by, and useful for, people
with MS.
Third, I would like to thank those people who supported
the research programme and scientific evaluation of the initial
programme. The research study would not have been possible
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Qigong for Multiple ScleroSiS
without the support and funding of the MS Research Trust and
the statistical expertize of Janet Allan who carried out the analysis
of the data.
Disclaimer
The techniques and practices described in this book are not
intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical
treatment and care. The book is intended to supplement any
medical treatment being received. The book is also intended to
supplement training from a recognized qigong instructor and is
intended as a reference guide to complement ‘live’ instruction. If
the reader undertakes any of the exercises, responsibility must lie
solely with the reader.
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