Two Testimonials

 by Jim Granade, Ph.D.

I have lost 38 pounds 

 I started with Hong Chen in December 1993 and  

practiced daily. Even though I attended NICABM in between it was not until

Luke's  workshop in December 1998 that I heard of wall squatting. During the

period between 1996 and 1998 I had been trying to lose weight unsuccessfully.

I decided that my weight would not change. So, before I retired 1-31-99 I got

several pairs of pants and shirts because I knew with a fixed income that

might be too costly. However, as a result of wall squatting and time to

practice diligently daily I have lost 38 pounds (more since the 30 I reported

at Black Mountain), and apparently even more in waist reduction since I have

to have my pants altered 3 times [38 to 36 to 35 to 34 1/2]. 

The "popping" in my neck is gone

I finished 100 days of Crane's Neck, Dragon's head on 4/15. I go to the doctor

in late July for another series of neck X-rays to see what progress has been

made. Regardless of what they show, the "popping" in my neck is gone, and I

can turn my head to each side without it getting "stuck". When I see you in

Black Mountain in September I'll have the x-ray results.

“Journey into Health with Chi-Lel ™ Qigong”

Jim Granade, Ph.D., Instructor

 Jim has been practicing yoga since 1963 and Tai Chi since 1988. He first heard of qigong when Bill Moyers presented “Healing and the Mind” on PBS in February 1993. Subsequently, he attended the “Psychology of Health, Immunity and Disease” conference hosted by the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine (NICABM). At that conference, Jim participated in a 3-day pre-conference workshop on qigong presented by Master Hong Chen, Martha Howard, MD, and Gene Arbetter (massage therapist). The conference was held at the Hyatt Regency on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina in December 1993. Jim practiced qigong daily following the conference. In 1995, he began teaching qigong for Life Enrichment Services as a volunteer.

Life Enrichment Services (LES) is an “interfaith community of adults 50 and over committed to providing programs that enrich the quality of life for older adults.” Jim stopped teaching in 1996 due to a work reassignment. He “retired” for the first time in November 1996, but began working for Family Connection. His friends gave him a retirement “roast” on 4-5-97. A picture from that event shows Jim, along with his wife, son, and William A. Lofquist (developer of the Technology of Prevention [later Development]). At that time he weighed 203.

July 1998. Results of annual physical: Weight, 203; Total Cholesterol, 241; HDL, 60; Triglycerides, 184; and no change in the arthritis in last joint of each little finger.

In December 1998, Jim once again attended the NICABM conference at Hilton Head. He took the class on qigong again just to see if he had gotten “rusty”. This time, Luke Chan was the presenter with Martha Howard and Gene Arbetter. Picture shows Martha Howard and her husband leading conference participants in Lift Chi Up Pour Chi Down on the Basshead Deck.

Luke presented “Wall Squatting”. Jim had not heard or seen wall squatting before. Luke invited all the participants to go to the wall and try it. Jim did, but promptly fell over backwards.

March 1999. Luke and Frank Chan present a one-day workshop in Atlanta, Georgia. Jim refines Wall Squatting form and subsequently completes a “gong”. Jim was able to do 100 wall squats at one time before the end of the gong. During this workshop, Jim worked on Level II with Frank.

July 1999. Results of annual physical: Weight, 173; Total Cholesterol, 221; HDL, 63; Triglycerides, 75; and the arthritis in the last joints of little fingers had disappeared. All of these results achieved without medication or special diet. However, at this physical, a series of neck X-rays was ordered. Results: cervical arthritis.

August 1999. Jim attends 6-day retreat with Luke and Frank Chan at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC. Luke certifies Jim to teach Level 1 of Chi-Lel ™ Qigong. Pictures with both Luke and Frank and the retreat participants. Since Jim was wearing the Tai Chi shirt of Dr. Tingsen Xu, in his picture with Luke, he returned to Atlanta and had a picture taken with Dr. Xu, wearing a Chi-Lel tee shirt, at Life Enrichment Services.

Fall, 1999. Jim teaches a Level 1 Chi-Lel ™ Qigong class for LES. Picture of Jim with Jeannine Cropper, Executive Director of Life Enrichment Services.

January 2000. Jim begins a “gong” of “Crane’s Neck, Dragon’s Head” to deal with cervical arthritis.

Winter, 2000. Jim begins two classes of Chi-Lel ™ Qigong at LES. One is an introduction; the other is level 2.

March 2000. Frank Chan presents a two-day workshop in Atlanta. Five of Jim’s students also attend. Following this workshop Luke certifies Jim to teach Level 2 of Chi-Lel ™ Qigong. Picture with Frank at the workshop.

Spring 2000. Jim begins three classes of Chi-Lel ™ Qigong at LES. An introductory class (picture), Level 1 morning class (picture), and a Level 1 evening class. At the beginning of Spring Quarter, Jim had his picture taken with LES staff: Linda Dacey-Caban, Education Director; Jim; Jeannine Cropper, Executive Director; and Arnie Almand, Public Relations.

In April Jim spoke with Linda Dacey-Caban concerning the summer quarter for the Adult Learning Academy. Jim will teach two classes of Level I (one in the morning, the other in the afternoon) and his first Level II class on Friday mornings.

On May 9, 2000, Jim offered a class on qigong for the Georgia Department of Health, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Branch. The class was so well received that he is being considered as a plenary speaker next year with more space to teach Chi-Lel qigong.

Jim presents workshops and private lessons in qigong as requested in addition to the volunteer offerings through Life Enrichment Services.

Jim invites participants of each class to complete a sentence completion evaluation at the end of each class. The following comments have been selected from evaluations received between January 1995 and May 2000. The statements in bold type are the sentence stems, with the participant’s responses following. Note: the number in parentheses following a statement indicates the number of times that the same or similar response was made.

The thing I liked best about this program was . . .

·        Jim teaches in a way that we can really take something with us.

·        Learning something new and useful to healthful living.

·        The instructor who made me want to continue on my own. (2)

·        Learning a new outlook: natural healing applicable for rest of life.

·        Taking the class with my friends taught by someone with a gentle sense of humor.

·        Learning a different way of combining exercise with meditation and control of mind and body.

·        The fact that I felt relaxed and re-energized after almost every class.

·        The teacher, the participants, and the camaraderie.

At this point I’d say qigong is . . .

·        More useful to me, at present, than Tai Chi.

·        Great for anyone, especially inactive people who need exercise but don’t want active sports. (2)

·        Worth including in your daily routine. (3)

Today I learned (or re-learned) . . .

·        I can rid myself of pain. In the 3-minute standing meditation my legs started to ache. I made the qi bubble give my legs strength and balance.

·        If you can visualize it, you can do it.

·        That practice is the key. I practiced more at home than I did last quarter.

I would describe qigong to a friend as . . .

·        The collecting of earth and sky energies for use within me.

·        A meditative exercise. (2)

·        Mind cleansing, relaxing and energizing exercise.

After completing the “Qi collection” I feel . . .

·        Completely relaxed. (17)

One thing I want to share with others is . . .

·        Group exercise is more fun that doing it alone.

·        That wall squatting quickly became easier. I could only do one at the beginning. At the end of the class I was doing 20+, always deeper. I did 50 once—but not without some short pauses, and not very deep.

I would have practiced more if . . .

·        I had been more self-disciplined.

·        I got in the good habit by setting aside time.

·        There is no excuse not to practice. I’ve done 76 straight days as of today.

One thing I plan to do as a result of participating in qigong is . . .

·        Continue practicing qigong. (18)

One other thing I’d like to say is . . .

·        The instructor was pleasant and knowledgeable. I enjoyed his anecdotes and ability to teach the session.

·        Dr. Granade is a marvelous teacher with a great sense of humor. (11)

·        The instructor was well prepared and continually patient and illustrated in a manner that hopefully will develop in myself as a benefit of practicing qigong.

·        Gratitude to Jim for expenditure of time, energy & expenses to share with us.

·        Jim is a gentle instructor. (2)

·        I found the session transformative! I hadn’t felt that good in 2 months, which indicates the level of stress I’m under. Have decided to make a commitment to taking your summer (2000) course.

Top

Return to Contents

Return to Home Page