PETALING JAYA: Cancer patients usually seek more than chemotherapy to battle the Big C.
When grandmaster Anthony Wee’s father was diagnosed with an inoperable bronchial cancer in 1981, his pursuit of qigong took a life-changing turn.
Wee, 76, was a prominent martial arts practitioner and had learnt qigong all his life. He was taught by three masters from China in Singapore from 1957 for more than 20 years as part of his martial arts training.
He did not dwell much into qigong until his father’s diagnosis. Using his knowledge of qigong, he taught his father breathing and meditation techniques. His father continued to live an active life for another 15 years, cancer free.
Encouraged by this experience, Wee began Chi Dynamics Association, an organisation that teaches qigong and the flow of energy (chi) to people, to spread awareness that it is possible to self-heal by practising qigong every day.
Chi Dynamics is non-profit, non-political and non-religious. Wee based his qigong teachings on science and he quotes scientific studies to back up his exercises and techniques.
“One such study was in 2015, on the vagus nerve,” he told theSun. “The vagus nerve starts from the brain stem and goes through all the vital organs and right down to the legs. This nerve boosts the immune system once it is stimulated.
“Good breathing techniques boost the vagus nerve, so we (qigong practitioners) have been on the right track for thousands of years but we didn’t know the scientific term for it, we knew it is good for us so we just did (it).”
Wee also used a lot of scienctific articles to back up his practice of breathing deeply through the diaphragm instead of the shallow breathing using the chest.
“It has been proven by Dr Otto Warburg in 1931 that cancer is caused when there is a lack of oxygen in cells,” he said.
His technique, also known as the Block Breathing, which is deep diaphragmatic breathing that focuses on the rhythm of the breathing, where mind and body connect to focus on the breath, allows the chi to flow along the energy channels.
“In other words, we go back to the baby stage, the breathing becomes light and child-like, and the accumulation of oxygen in the body helps to suppress cancer cells. When chi flows, oxygen will circulate in the body (via) the blood (circulatory) system, and nutrients flow and go to the all parts of the body,” he said.
Wee has started two cancer support units under the Chi Dynamics Association, in Kuantan and Petaling Jaya, where cancer patients and their caregivers can learn qigong exercises and breathing techniques, and share tips on how to stay energised throughout their chemotherapy.
“We don’t stop them from chemotherapy or other conventional cancer treatment. This is supplementary. We need to educate them and nurse them back to health,” he said.
“Chi is practically lifeforce, and (qigong is a means) to use this lifeforce to protect and heal the body, that’s why it’s called self-therapy, it’s called natural self-immunology therapy.”
