ON YAN XIN, QIGONG MASTER JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PSYCHICAL RESEARCH
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This document is a letter to the editor of the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, written by J. LAS M. STOKES, detailing their observations of a qigong lecture and demonstration presented by Dr. Yan Xin. The demonstration involved Dr. Yan discussing qigong principles and then initiating a demonstration where the audience experienced diverse reactions, such as body movements, vocalizations, and emotional responses. Some participants claimed to have felt a transmission of energy, but an informal poll found that only one person out of 25 sensed this. Stokes compares the effects of the demonstration to those seen in body-oriented therapies, religious revivals, and Eastern spiritual practices, suggesting that these reactions may be attributed to various factors such as suggestion, stress posture, and release of tension. Stokes also points out that there were no claims of healing or paranormal effects discussed during the lecture, and no tests or instrumentation were present to verify these claims. While Stokes believes it is worth studying phenomena such as qi, they caution against making unsupported claims based on demonstrations like the one they witnessed.
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Body: 208 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research
219 Sugartown Road, P-303
Wayne, Pennsylvania 19087
ON YAN XIN, QIGONG MASTER
To The Editor of the Journal:
"Parapsychology in the People's Republic of China: 1979-1989"
(JASPR, 1991, 85, 119-143) refers to Yan Xin, a medical doctor consid-
ered to be one of China's foremost qigong masters. In the fall of 1991, I
attended a qigong lecture and demonstration presented by Dr. Yan, spon-
sored by the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. The demonstration
made me hesitant to accept some of the statements made about Dr. Yan's
work in the article.
Though the lecture was not openly publicized, about 140 people at-
tended, including many from the Chinese community in the San Francisco
area. Dr. Yan began by speaking (in Chinese with translation) about prin-
ciples of qigong, discussing it as a form of energy with healing properties.
When experiencing qi, he emphasized, people react in many diverse ways.
He then began the demonstration by saying that he had already sent
energy to the audience and opened their qi (also spelled chi in Chinese and
ki in Japan). He insisted several times that everyone should stay in the
room until the end, as leaving with one's qi "open" would be harmful
(only one or two left during the two-hour presentation). He directed the
audience to sit in a specific posture-on the edge of the chair, spine erect,
hands suspended in front of the body, eyes closed (and to be kept closed).
One or two persons began reacting immediately, and others did so as the
minutes passed. The reactions included body movements such as shaking,
swaying, and rocking; and vocalizing of sounds: moaning, sighing, and
crying. Perhaps half of the group was affected (despite the instructions, I
opened my eyes and peeked, as did others). Dr. Yan talked from time to
time, urging people to stay in the posture, allow any response to happen,
and saying that whatever happened was beneficial. Some of his assistants
moved among the audience and massaged shoulders and backs. At one
point there was excitement at the front of the room: an elderly man who
had been in a wheel chair was up and walking across the floor, encouraged
by Dr. Yan and others. Dr. Yan remained at the front of the room. He
occasionally adjusted some audience members' postures. A woman whom
he touched told me that his hands were cool, as they were also when he
shook hands with me before the talk. The demonstration lasted about an
hour and a half, and it concluded with a physical procedure to close down
the qi. Some of the people in his party told me later that he had done
similar demonstrations in China for groups of 100,000 people.
As for subjective effects, an informal poll of the ITP students and faculty
who attended the presentation found only one out of 25 who sensed a
transmission of energy. I personally felt one transient tingle, but this was
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Exchanges 209
a few minutes after Dr. Yan said he had transmitted qi, and I could not
conclude this was more than hopeful autosuggestion.
During the demonstration, I found that I could get my hands to move
about in the air spontaneously, with a bit encouragement and some disso-
ciation. However, I did not feel any impulses to react more strongly, as
some others evidently did.
The demonstration reminded me of what often happens in various body-
oriented therapies such as Reichian, bioenergetics, and breathwork. Indi-
vidually and in group workshops, people often shake, moan, cry, and
respond physically. Similar effects occur in religious revivals, faith healing
sessions, and in some Eastern spiritual practices (where they are referred to
as kriyas). They can also occur with strong emotion and in response to
suggestion. Depending on the setting, the effects are variously attributed to
dissolving body armor, release of emotional blocks, bioenergy, the holy
spirit, and purification effects. These are interpreted as psychotherapeutic,
healing, or spiritual. A person can experience various states of conscious-
ness with these reactions, from positive and negative emotions to tran-
scendent states. The posture that was used in this demonstration was, I
understand, a typical Taoist position for generating qi. In bioenergetics
therapy it would also be considered a "stress" posture, which would cause
the body to shake and release tension.
The accounts of healings at Dr. Yan's lecture given in the journal article
are apparently post hoc reports. Again, similar reports come from body
therapies and faith healing, but these are rarely the subject of follow-up
studies or careful research. I did not hear of any claims of healing from the
lecture that I attended, nor did I talk with the gentleman in the wheel chair.
There was no instrumentation or other tests of any paranormal effects at
the talk, so I cannot speak to the claims in the article about radiation and
PK effects, or whether those studies would meet accepted standards.
If the therapeutic lectures in China are like this one, we should be
cautious in concluding that qi was being transmitted, healings occurred,
and that paranormal effects were demonstrated. The reactions could be the
result of demand characteristics, permission to express physical and emo-
tional feelings, a light trance state, the stress position, compliance, and
internal dynamics, without the generation or transmission of qi.
I do not think we know much about the existence and nature of ki, chi,
psychic energy, kundalini, bioenergy, and similar phenomena, at least in
Western frameworks, but it seems to me worthwhile to study such possi-
bilities. Interest in this area is beginning to increase, and methodologies are
available for research, but the type of demonstration I observed does not
provide support for many claims that are made.
Institute of Transpersonal Psychology
744 San Antonio Road
Palo Alto, California 94303
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