eCAM Advance Access published online on January 28, 2008
eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nen005
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Philosophy, Psychology, Physics and Practice of Ki
1Philadelphia Biomedical Research Institute, King of Prussia, PA 19406 and 2Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Ki (in Japanese) or Qi (in Chinese) is the key concept in Eastern medicine, Eastern philosophy, as well as in martial arts. We explain the philosophical and psychological background of Ki. We emphasize that the unique aspects of Eastern philosophy are non-linearity and holistic approach. We then present physics aspect of Ki. Our experiments demonstrated that a Ki-beam carries entropy (or information), which is different from energy. We introduce our experience of having taught Ki to 37 beginners in the United States through the Nishino Breathing Method. If beginners had martial arts training or a strong background in music or dance, about half of them could sense Ki within 10 weeks (1 h class per week) of practice.
Keywords: collective unconsciousness – Eastern medicine – Ki energy – Ki entropy – martial arts – Nishino Breathing Method – Qi – Ki information – Taiki practice – Toh-ate technique
For reprints and all correspondence: S. Tsuyoshi Ohnishi, Philadelphia Biomedical Research Institute, Suite 250, 100 Ross Road, King of Prussia, PA 19406-0227. Tel: +1-610-688-6276; Fax: +1-610-254-9332; E-mail: stohnishi{at}aol.com
Received December 6, 2007; accepted December 11, 2007