ASIAN  BIO-ENERGETICS  THERAPY  (ABET)
and  INTEGRATIVE  HEALTHCARE

by Cory Croymans-Plaghki (Ms),

Asian Healing Arts Center,
Chiangmai, Thailand

www.asianhealingartscenter.com

Brief Introduction : This scientific treatment  is a combination of several oriental holistic healing techniques which are all non-invasive and require no machines for diagnosis and no drugs nor herbs for treatment.

We use the TCM diagnostics, the meridian and moxibustion therapies of acupuncture (without needles) and combine this with the BIDOR Test, with the Magnet and Piezo therapy (from Japan) and with the Healing Breathing from Tibet.

ABET works from the most subtle level of our existence, where imbalance begins. As we regain balance, called homeostasis in medicine, superficial symptoms often disappear, and the body's innate healing potential is enhanced.

Specific results are never promised and vary widely from person to person but ABET can be a valuable addition to any treatment plan or well-being program.

Because ABET is extremely gentle, it is appropriate in any situation. It will not interfere with any medical interventions being used, and will provide comfort and relief from their side effects.

            Those who seek ABET during chronic or serious illness should have at least 4 treatments before evaluating its benefits appropriately because the effects are cumulative.

Although treatment is generally relaxing, there are often distinct differences in the experience of different treatments and an overall deepening of the experience over repeated sessions.

An ABET treatment is pleasant, relaxing, and centering. It can also be gently energizing. ABET is always balancing, and follows the need of the receiver, not the intention of the practitioner. Besides immediate stress-reduction and symptomatic relief, there are other subtle and profound effects that unfold over time and which accumulate with continued treatment.

Integrating ABET  : ABET is a therapy that can be used alone or in conjunction with conventional western medicine or other complementary and alternative techniques because it will not alter the action of other interventions.

As a matter of fact, we can use ABET to support a patient during necessary but invasive conventional western medical procedures or therapies, because ABET may help maximize results while minimizing side-effects by enabling the individual to return to balance between conventional western treatment sessions. (Heart attack case)

Safety   There are no known medical contraindications to ABET treatment. The recipient draws the healing vibration according to his/her need, so there is no danger of over-dosing. My only concern about the safety of ABET is really a concern that people be sensible after a treatment. Someone who has suffered poor health for a long time may feel so refreshed by ABET treatment that they over-extend themselves. I have never seen real harm come from this, but it is simply wiser to conserve well-being than to exhaust it.

What does a session look like? Our treatments are offered through light touch to a clothed recipient who is either sitting or lying down comfortably.   During every treatment session, we diagnose your body's weaknesses with the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test. We will then assess this result to understand what your main problem is and on which organ meridians we should work to help you find your balance.    While doing the Tibetan Breathing technique, we then take away negative energy or energy blockages and replace it with positive energy to help the patient balance his body.  We finish each session with a full and deeply relaxing REIKI treatment.

Techniques being combined in ABET  

1- BIDOR Test is a muscle test which has been developed by Dr Manaka of Kyoto University (Japan). It allows the practitioner to get a very accurate feedback about the condition of any specific organ. This test can also be used to check food (very useful in case of food allergies),  as well as many other things.

2- TCM : we use the diagnostic points of acupuncture  and the Yin-Yang and 5 Elements to analyse the patients'condition.. We treat the patient thru the Meridian energy pathways which provide a direct link to the weakened organs. We use the moxibustion heat treatment when necessary

3- Piezo : to unblock serious obstructions, we use a crystal powered accu magnetic device which does not pierce the skin but will enable the practitioner to clear obstructions that are causing pain. We use this piezo with acupuncture points and can thereby provide quick relief. Sometimes this may be the only treatment that is necessary. It is especially beneficial in case of musculo-skeletal pains of the joints and spine, of the hips and the upper and lower extremities.

4- Magnets :  we use ferrite and 24 Kt gold plated magnets from Japan. They emit a constant and concentrated magnetic flux of 800 Gauss from a single point and give a concentrated stimulation to a single acupuncture point. We apply this magnet with a hypo-allergenic plaster.

5- The Tibetan Breathing technique is a very powerful energiser which we teach to every patient to help them to center their body and mind and to become more open to receive the healing energies.

What does it do? It establishes a balance between positive and negative currents. It calms the nervous, system, it regulates and slows heart activity. It reduces or stabilises blood pressure. It stimulates digestion and lastly, it helps to clean your body's toxins.

After I finish this talk, I will be happy to teach all of you how to do this Tibetan Breathing.

6- Last but certainly not least, we finish the treatment with a Reiki session. Reiki is a wonderful hands-on healing technique which provides a deep relaxation thereby restoring the patient's own healing powers.

Timing of treatments   Generally it is advisable to have treatments closer together at the beginning. Whether this is daily or weekly should be discussed by the practitioner and patient and decided after the first treatment.

Patient's participation and responsibility

1. We believe that each person must take responsibility for his/her medical care. So we give each patient some homework in the form of Tibetan Breathing to keep their energies well balanced.
2. When having ABET treatments, anyone dependent on medication, such as diabetics, should have their medications monitored more frequently by their doctor, in case the need for medication decreases. I have seen the need for insulin reduced even in people who had been treated for diabetes over many years. Other patients have been able to reduce their psychiatric and pain medications under the close supervision of their own doctor. This is a decision made between patient and physician and does not involve the ABET practitioner at all.

INTEGRATIVE HEALTHCARE : Self Care, Prevention, Stress, CAM, Medical Intuition

Self Care : Professional health care rests on the foundation of our own self care.

     People with chronic disease understand the importance of self-care. Diabetics must monitor blood levels, self-administer medications, and watch their legs and feet for ulcers and other signs of decreased circulation. People with less threatening conditions need to take their medications reliably to avoid medical complications. Others use diet and exercise to prevent disease and enhance health.  This is the extent of self care for many in our modern culture.

     We view well-being very differently. We see the maintenance of well-being as our highest priority; disease management comes second. Maintenance of well-being is interwoven through all facets of life; physical, mental emotional, and spiritual...  Just think about this.

     Physicians often say that 80 percent of the conditions their patients bring to them would resolve on their own if the patient simply allowed the body to heal and used preventive medicine strategies. Considered from this perspective, many of us must admit that we do not really support our health and often enough, we are our own worst enemy.

      The scientific documentation that stress undermines health and well-being is very strong. Relaxation and stress reduction strategies are really not a luxury; they are medical necessities. Relaxation changes our biochemistry in a positive direction, reversing the degenerative internal environment created by prolonged stress. Yet many people place control of their health solely in the hands of their physicians. In our view, an approach to health care without the active participation of patients is similar to pouring water into a leaking bucket. How long can it help?

     Patients who support their professional health care with stress reduction get the most from their health care money as well as achieving better medical outcomes. Stress reduction is very accessible. Techniques such as ABET, REIKI, meditation, self-hypnosis, yoga, and visualization are easily learned even by those who think they cannot learn them.

Such techniques are further supported by simple disciplines such as taking time to eat slowly, having your drinks without ice (!),taking a short walk after dinner, staying in touch with friends and not watching the news before bed.

     Besides such commonsense measures, there are many low-risk interventions that people can use to bring their bodies back to balance in the face of the unavoidable stress of life. We all have different levels of sensitivities to different stressors. Knowing ourselves is the first step in strengthening our well-being. Although there is no conventional western medical explanation for how becoming cold may make you sick, for many people, getting chilled precipitates an unbalanced state that leaves them more vulnerable to pathogens. If you have noticed that you are one of these people, simple measures such as preparing yourself for a cold weather outing by covering the neck and head, and warming yourself with hot ginger tea when you have gotten a chill may help preserve well-being.

     Self care is always advisable, but it becomes even more important in times of increased stress.

Prevention   Early detection and treatment are valuable but they do not replace prevention.

Maintaining a balanced state of well-being through prevention is always preferable, and much easier, than trying to regain lost balance.

Whereas conventional western medicine focuses on disease management, we seek first to strengthen and maintain existing well-being. 

Like most traditional medical approaches such as Chinese medicine, Tibetan medicine and Ayurveda, we also view the person as an ecological whole, as a part of our total environment, just like a garden. Adept gardeners know that if a plant isn't thriving, one cannot simply add fertilizer. If in fact fertilizer is what's needed, it's necessary to add the right kind of fertilizer in the right amount. Before making any intervention, the gardener carefully considers the entire situation-light, temperature, moisture, pH of the soil, appropriateness of the plant to the existing conditions, etc. If something is attacking the plant, the gardener knows the situation must be managed skillfully so as not to create more problems.

      Although ecology is a scientific discipline, its principles have not yet been used in modern health care unlike in TCM where it plays a vital part in the patient's treatment. The refinements of prevention and maintaining balance are complex and subtle. The high technology favored by conventional western medicine for early detection may not be useful in prevention.

     In ABET as in Traditional medical systems, we address not only the physical body, but also the subtle vibrational field that surrounds and interpenetrates it.  With the help of the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test, we can easily identify imbalance at subtle levels, beyond the reach of technology, where it is easiest to recover.

Conventional western medicine can detect pathology mainly at the final, grossest level. This is like the tip of the iceberg, supported by many layers of "invisible" imbalances. Help is still possible at this final stage, and the progress of disease may be slowed, but complete reversal is difficult to accomplish.

     Stress is unavoidable. ABET treatments rebalance the subtle vibrational body, creating profound relaxation and reducing the degenerative effects of chronic stress.

ABET acts as a bio-energetic modulator, returning the various systems of the body to harmonious, efficient functioning.

To us it seems crystal clear that a patient is best served by a comprehensive health care program which integrates conventional western and traditional approaches to health and healing.

     The World Health Organization recognizes that health is more than the absence of disease. Health is a dynamic and resilient state of well-being. A healthy person has the capacity to weather reasonable stress and return to balance.

     Conventional western medicine focuses on the detection and treatment of disease and has no explicit model for health other than the absence of disease. Complementary and alternative medical therapies usually approach the patient from a holistic, whole-person, perspective that extends beyond patho-physiology. Such therapies follow the advice of the Greek philosopher Hippocrates who said that it is more important to know the person having the disease than to know the disease the person has, and these approaches typically seek to engage the person in self-care as a vital contribution to well-being.

     This person-centered perspective has been largely set aside by conventional western medicine's increased dependence on technology. Patients and professionals recognise that conventional western medicine alone will not return patients to well-being. Therefore, they turn increasingly to an integrative approach to healthcare. Integrative healthcare involves an open-minded, clear-headed combination of therapies and lifestyle changes that suit the individual's needs on every level, physically, emotionally, socially, financially, and in terms of values and beliefs. But it is not simply an integration of techniques that characterizes an integrative approach to healthcare; it is also the integration of the person into the health care team. At its most comprehensive level of functioning, integrative health care rests on the foundation of the patient's engagement in healing and self-care.

     Integrative health care underscores the need to integrate disease management, curative treatment, and healing.

CAM: Although conventional western medicine retains its primary focus on treatment of disease, there is an increasing awareness of the wider needs of patients. Overview courses in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) are currently taught in most American medical schools. Furthermore, a variety of clinical settings from academic clinics to hospitals to private practices have begun incorporating CAM techniques and referring to CAM professionals.  Reiki for instance, has been used successfully in American hospitals as deep relaxation treatment for the past 9 years. It is even reimbursed by their Social Security system.

Medical professionals are increasingly comfortable with low-risk CAM practices used by their patients.

ABET is a safe and effective tool for reducing stress. Patients can safely combine ABET with any other conventional western or CAM technique. Additionally, it can be used by healthy people to support continued well-being.

Medical Intuition   People with serious medical conditions often feel simultaneously grateful for state of the art conventional western medical care but they also feel  disempowered by the process. The seemingly exclusive focus on the wizardry of high technology in conventional western care supports the reductionist view of the human body as a machine.                                                                

Patients can become overwhelmed and passive as they feel themselves shifting from being a person to being a collection of parts. Passivity on the part of the patient makes it easy for hopelessness and depression to take hold. And that does not bode well for medical outcomes.      

Patients need to support their healing between medical visits, and physicians need to acknowledge the value of engaging the patient in the processes of both curing disease and regaining health and well-being.

We involve the patients in the treatments from the very first moment by teaching them the Tibetan Breathing which will help them to build up their power, to relax their body and mind and to eliminate their body's toxins. I have seen a Parkinson's patient regain full control of all his body functions within 3 months without taking any medication whatsoever. As a matter of fact, this particular 73 year old Thai patient was so poor, that he had no money for any medication. He lived another 3 years with dignity before passing away peacefully at his home.

ABET and medical applications

ABET treatment has no medical contra-indications.

It does not involve the use of any drug or substance and the touch is non-manipulative.

When necessary, as in the case of burns or sensitive IV sites, ABET can be offered just off the body.

There is no time when ABET is dangerous. However, all treatments should be used with common sense. Patients who are dependent on pharmaceuticals or procedures require closer medical monitoring, because the need for these interventions may actually lessen. Patients receiving ABET often require less pain medication, which is an advantage at any time, but especially for those who want to maintain their mental clarity through the dying process.

     ABET treatment is given to support the person experiencing the disease and not to attack disease. ABET will not interfere with medical treatments, but will encourage the rebalancing of the patient's entire system. This may lighten side effects and increase tolerance to invasive procedures.

Medical Applications  ABET treats the patient, not the condition nor the illness.

It offers rapid stress reduction and a sense of profound well-being, and can potentially benefit anyone who is suffering. ABET treatment has been used in some medical settings in Thailand, including surgery, psychiatric units, rehabilitation facilities and hospices. Our next project will be to give free treatments at palliative care centers for patients recovering from chemo-therapy..

     ABET combines safely with any medical intervention.  It can be used to soothe dental and surgical anxiety and improve recovery; reduce side effects of pharmaceuticals, radiation and chemotherapy; improve sleep; strengthen sobriety; relieve anxiety; lessen pain; and support recovery from trauma. The benefits of ABET treatment can be quite dramatic when used on patients awaiting emergency medical treatment.

     Some patients have been able to reduce their dependence on pharmaceutical treatment for depression, anxiety, pain, sleep and diabetes - this must always be done with the physician's explicit agreement and careful oversight.    

     ABET can be combined with other complementary or alternative therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractice, or homeopathy. Because ABET is drawn by the recipient, it will enhance their effectiveness without creating interference.

     Although related approaches to healing such as ABET, Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, Qi Gong, and various schools of meditation all have distinguishing characteristics, they may also have important commonalities. Identifying the overlap among these interventions may facilitate documenting their benefits to patients.

We think however, that it may be foolish to make patients who are suffering now, wait for rigorous research of low risk, low cost interventions that are supported by significant traditional and contemporary anecdotal evidence and that are easily available now.

     As Reiki's Grandmaster Hawayo Takata used to say: Remove the cause and you will remove the effect" . and that is what we do in ABET. 

Thank you.

Now I will show you how to do the Tibetan Breathing.

1. Close your eyes

2. Keep your left hand palm upwards, all fingers stretched out except your thumb and index which are held together.

3. Breathe in thru the nose, very slowly up the head, down the back until you reach your tailbone.

4. Then contract your buttock muscles and bring the air to the front of your body.

5. Slowly push the air up the front of your body with your belly muscles and then out of your mouth while pursing your lips (= like whistling). This will expand your lungs and give more oxygen to your blood and all body organs thereby making them work better.

6. Put your right hand as follows:

    -for the first 2 breathings just below your belly button

    -for the second 2 breathings on your chest (heart area) or wherever you have pain.

So you will do a total of 4 Tibetan breathings for every session.

Continue doing this twice a day: the best is in the early morning before you leave your bed and at night before you go to sleep. You can do it while sitting, lying down or even when you are walking (while keeping your hands in your pockets) if you feel you need more energy.

If you feel tired before lunch, you can do this Tibetan Breathing then again.

            This Tibetan Breathing technique is a very powerful energiser which should not be "overdone". If you feel that you are getting a dry throat, reduce the breathing to twice or once a day.  

Tibetan breathing establishes an equilibrium between positive and negative currents.

It calms the nervous system, regulates and slows heart activity, reduces blood pressure, stimulates digestion and helps to clean your body's toxins.

Medical Papers on Reiki : Many of the papers and articles listed here are available off-site at ReikiInMedicine.org.

- REIKI Vibrational Healing. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 2003;9(4):74-83.

- Miles P, True G. REIKI--Review of a Biofield Therapy: History, Theory, Practice and Research. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 2003;9(2):62-72.

- Miles P. Preliminary report on the use of REIKI for HIV-related pain and anxiety. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 2003;9(2):36.

- Schmehr R.  Case Report: Enhancing the Treatment of HIV/AIDS with REIKI Training and Treatment. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 2003;9(2):120.

- Schiller R. REIKI: A Starting Point for Integrative Medicine. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.2003;9(2):20-21.

- Alandydy P. Guidelines for Hospital REIKI Practice. 2003.

Articles on Reiki 

- Miles P. The Bridge to Conventional western Medicine: A Call for Case Reports. REIKI Magazine International. 2002;4(3):32-33

- Schmehr R. Case Report: Enhancing the Treatment of HIV/AIDS with REIKI Training and Treatment. REIKI Magazine International. 2002;4(3):34-35

- Miles P. Ask your question: REIKI and surgery. REIKI Magazine International. 2002;4(4):14

- Miles. P, Simple Steps for Self Healing

- Miles P. From Here to Serenity. Yoga Journal; March/April 2000   www.yogajournal.com/health/62_1.cfm

- Miles P. How Doctors can Help.  Spirituality and Health; Fall 2000 www.spiritualityhealth.com/newsh/items/article/item_38.html

- Miles P. Healing Naturally: Symptoms and Suggestions. CRIA Update.  Forum summary from Complementary Therapies and HIV Disease, June 9, 1999.   www.thebody.com/cria/summer99/symtoms.html

- Miles P. Complementary Medicine: A User's Guide. CRIA Update. Summer 1999;8(3): pp 3.

www.thebody.com/cria/summer99/user_guide.html

- Schiller R. REIKI: A Starting Point for Integrative Medicine. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.2003;9(2):20-21.

- Schmehr R. Enhancing the treatment of HIV/AIDS with REIKI training and treatment. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 2003;9(2):pp 120.

- Nguyen L. Healthy Alternative: Old medicine meets new as a lifestyle. New York Daily News; New York, NY; Feb 19, 2001; www.nydailynews.com

- REIKI therapy provides emotional well-being. Patient Education Management. November 2002;9(11):130-132.

- McDaniel B. What the doctor ordered: REIKI in hospitals. REIKI Magazine International. 2000;3(3):24-27.

- Joan Chittister   http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/newsh/items/article/item_3771.html

- Astin JA. Why patients use alternative medicine: results of a national survey. JAMA, 1998;279(19):1548-1553.

- Miles P, True G. REIKI-Review of a Biofield Therapy: History, Theory, Practice &Research.Altern Ther, 2003;9(2):62-72.

ABET Research

            No specific or structured research has been made about Asian Bio-Energetics Therapy even though Dr Than Van Le with whom I studied in Bangkok, has been practising this wonderful treatment system for over 20 years with great success.

Traditional Chinese Medicine as well as its well proven Acupuncture diagnostics and meridian treatments are an important part of the integral of the Asian Bio-Energetics Therapy.

At this time, a lot of research has gone into proving the wide and successful applications of the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test which is an important part of the Asian Bio-Energetics Therapy.

            Magnet therapy is now widely accepted as a stress reliever for in-home applications.

            Piezo

As far as Reiki is concerned, no strong randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have focused on the clinical effects of Reiki treatment have been published. Studies looking at various biological markers have yielded preliminary evidence that Reiki moves the body in the direction of relaxation and enhanced immune response (Wetzel1989; Wardell and Engebretson 2001) and speeds healing (Wirth 1996). Two studies have shown that Reiki can be blinded, which opens the door for more rigorous investigations. One feasibility study demonstrated the possibility of single blinding (Mansour 1999). For the NIH-funded study of Reiki and stroke, the Reiki treatments were double blinded (Shiflett 2002).

A program evaluation of a hospital-based HIV First degree Reiki classes showed significant reduction in anxiety and pain after 20 minutes of Reiki treatment. Self-treatment was as effective as treatment received from another student (Miles 2003).

Other studies support the usefulness of Reiki in reducing pain (Wirth 1993; Olson and Hanson 1997). Clearly more research is needed.

     Professionals and patients who have seen Reiki successfully used to support conventional western medical treatment are encouraged to write case reports. Well documented accounts are instructive to those who want to include Reiki treatment in a comprehensive health care regime aimed at either maintaining well-being or managing disease. The article "The Bridge to Conventional western Medicine: A Call for Reiki Case Reports," originally published in Reiki Magazine International and available on this site under References and Resources/Articles, offers suggestions for writing a medically credible case report.

TB technical explanation : remember that we have many cells in our body, some of which are positive, some are negative.   Our left hand is negative, the right hand positive and the air around us is positive as well. 

Remember also that the positive will be attracted to the negative and replace the negative cells with positive one's.

Breathe in deeply and very slowly, feel the air go thru every cell of your body, s l o w l y;  to keep the power or to restore it.

I usually tell bedridden patients to keep their left hand opened upwards and right hand on their stomach or on painful spots ALL THE TIME. 

When the body has received enough power, the fingers will a u t o m a t i c a l l y   close over the hand again.

The more you do it, the more power you get because your receptive channels will become larger.  Just try it.  Even if at first it appears that you feel nothing, do it, again and again... every time you need it.

This TB should not be overdone though. We recommend it early morning before getting up and late at night before going to sleep. If you feel that you are getting a dry throat, you should reduce the breathing.