Objective: The purpose of this study is to explore how performing qigong influences certain measurable aspects of the human biofield; namely, various calculated parameters of finger corona discharge patterns produced by high-voltage electrophotography.
Methods: The Gas Discharge Visualization (GDV) camera was used to assess subjects before and after performing Dayan (wild goose) qigong in workshop settings. Sixteen adults (48-80 years old), seven diagnosed with chronic disease, were studied. Subjects ranged from qigong novices to those having had 8 years of practice. Measurements were made on all ten fingertips of 16 subjects pre- and post-qigong. The patterns of light emitted from the subjects' fingertips were digitally recorded and computer analysed. Parameters including normalised area, brightness, density, fractality form coefficient, fractality dimension, and right- and left-hand integrals were calculated and statistically compared.
Results: The uniformity of the density of the circles of light emitted from the fingertips increased post-qigong. A trend was observed for the variability in the fractal form coefficient to decrease post-qigong. Subjects with chronic health problems increased in fractal dimension post-qigong, while those without health problems showed a decrease. There was a trend for the light emitted by the fingertips of qigong-experienced subjects to decrease in brightness, whereas inexperienced subjects had increased brightness. The right integral increased post-qigong in experienced subjects, whereas the left integral increased in inexperienced subjects.
Conclusions: Qigong practice influenced some of the GDV parameters of the finger emission patterns significantly but the data supported only some of our hypotheses. The GDV technique may be a valuable tool in assessing changes in parameters of the human biofield both clinically and in investigating mechanisms of action of complementary and alternative medicine interventions.