Tag: wayland

Phase 1 of Energy Medicine Covid Research Yields Results

Our research hypothesizes that energy medicine can reduce severity of Post-Acute Sequalae of Covid (aka “PASC” and “long-haul covid”). Phase 1 of the research focuses on identifying the most common energies that are out of balance for PASC individuals. Phase 2 will focus on quantitatively measuring the impact that energy exercises can have on the severity of those symptoms.

Energy Medicine is an umbrella term encompassing a range of therapies like acupuncture, tai chi, and Reiki that are felt to utilize healing “energy”. One modern variant, Eden Energy Medicine, has shown promise in the treatment of chronic symptoms, such as fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, depression, IBS, pain, brain fog, and lack of optimism. These symptoms are similar to those seen in cases of PASC.  

During Phase 1, five people with PASC (“participants”), who responded to or were referred through an advertisement in the town of Wayland, MA and through Five Rhythms newsletter, received an evaluation and balancing of their energies. From these sessions, we identified the energies that were most often out of balance.  

Each participant completed a symptom survey (on a 5 point scale) before their session and at the end of seven days. Changes in the severity of symptoms were measured. During the interim, each participant was given and asked to complete a customized daily energy exercise routine.

Summary of Phase 1 Results

  • The top 6 energies that were Out of Balance were Crossover, Triple Warmer Reactivity, Heart Valves, Brain Scramble, Yang Regulator, Meridians (mostly Kidney meridian). See Appendix 1 below for more details. 
  • Some symptom improvement: The majority of participants had some symptom improvement. The symptoms that saw the greatest improvement were fatigue, shortness of breath, difficulty concentrating or focusing, memory problems, difficulty sleeping, anxiety and heart palpitations.

Participant Demographics

Of five participants, there were 4 women and 1 man.  All were between 34-65 years of age. One participant had an official PASC diagnosis; the others did not. One person was hospitalized and had received oxygen; the others were not hospitalized. Participants were between two to eighteen months out from first getting ill with COVID. 

Some Validation of Findings

Post Phase 1, Donna Eden, the founder of Eden Energy Medicine, offered a live video entitled Donna Eden on Long-Haul Covid. In studying this offering, we found that there were significant overlaps in the energies that she emphasized and the energies that we found to be out of balance. We feel that this supports the direction of efforts undertaken during Phase 1.

Next Steps

Our next step is to create a single video of exercises based on Phase 1 findings that can be distributed to a much larger group of participants who have PASC. The group will be asked to do the exercises in the video each day for a number of days and to complete a pre-survey prior to beginning the exercises. They will also be asked to complete post-surveys at intervals to be determined. We will also have a control group who will not get the video of exercises, but who will complete the symptom surveys.  We welcome referrals of participants for our Phase 2 research who have been clinically diagnosed with PASC and/or “long-haul covid” by a medical practitioner and who are between the ages of 20-75.

Research Team

  • Rachel Rice: Rachel is an Eden Energy Medicine Advanced Practitioner. She has run an energy medicine practice, Five Rhythms Consulting, for over 6 years and has worked with hundreds of clients. She has a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and a M.A. in Finance and Marketing from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Contact Information: Rachel@ConsultFR.com, 617-388-5079
  • Amber Beland: Amber is a Doctoral candidate in Leadership and Organizational Development Psychology at William James College in Newton, MA. She has worked as a research assistant for Bridging Distance in MA on projects including Digital Isolation and Loneliness in Remote Working and Cross-Cultural Technology Collaboration Use. She has a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Ithaca College in NY and a Masters of Divinity from Harvard. Contact Information: amber_beland@williamjames.edu, 603-560-6368

Appendix 1: Energies that were Out of Balance during Phase 1 for at least 3 participants

# of participantsOut of Balance (“OOB”) EnergiesDefinition
5CrossoverEnergies are running parallel in the body rather than crossing the midline. When OOB this can lead to  feelings of overwhelm, fatigue, or being stuck. When OOB, one may get more tired exercising or have a hard time healing.
5Triple Warmer ReactivityTriple Warmer is the energy that governs survival, our immune response and habits. When it is reactive, one can feel hypervigilent. This state of energy is often present when there are allergies or an over-reactive immune response.  Triple Warmer may pull from other energies, sometimes to our harm, in order to keep us alive. 
5Heart ValvesThe energy of the heart valves are ideally harmonized. When they are not, symptoms may be chest pressure, heart palpitations, difficulty breathing, and anxiety.
4Brain scrambleWhen OOB,  this may show up as trouble reading, writing, comprehending, retrieving information, and brain fog.
4Yang RegulatorThis is one of the energies which helps us feel emotionally, energetically and physically at ease.
4MeridiansPathways of light that bring fresh energy to our organs, muscles, and tissues. When OOB, we may feel fatigued, in pain, or symptomatic related to the organ of the meridian. 
3PolarityHelps us ground, feel stable, move forward and heal.
3Kidney 1Source of vitality and energy
3Kidney 27Helps us move forward in life
3Stomach 2Helps us feel grounded
3Hook-upConnects us to ourselves
3Ileocecal and Houston ValvesHelps digestion and elimination
3Yin RegulatorRegulates our inner sense of well-being
3MingmenSource of vitality and energy
3Chakras Helps bring fresh energy to organs
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Solid Ground for Energy Medicine Research

I’ve always preferred a fact-based, data-oriented approach, so demonstrations of energy medicine that utilized muscle testing initially had me baffled. I was highly skeptical to begin with and had a hard time believing my eyes when I saw others demonstrating energy medicine. That’s because during a muscle test it looks and feels like the practitioner is pressing more strongly on the muscle. It’s hard to believe that a muscle might weaken just because you’re saying something false, or your hand is over one place or another on your body. The only thing that initially shifted my perspective about energy medicine was experiencing the benefits and alleviation of symptoms directly myself, immediately, and over the long term. Then, in my clinical practice, I started seeing others benefit, often within minutes of doing a single energy technique.

Now, after five years of practicing, I have a meta view of how and when energy medicine can make a difference. But it’s not enough. I’m challenged at times to convey to other data-oriented people the benefits of energy medicine, without having research to share. And, medical practitioners, the folks who are in the driver’s seat to make recommendations to their patients to try various modalities like acupuncture, physical therapy or medication, won’t give energy medicine a glance, without having data to rely on. This is tragic. 

We are missing out on an entire system

looking closely
We need to take an investigative look at the value of energy medicine.

So, I’ve launched a research project.  The research will investigate the extent to which Eden Energy Medicine can have an impact on lingering symptoms of COVID (known officially as “PASC: post-acute sequalae of Covid” or more commonly as “Long-Haul COVID”). Many of my non-COVID clients have responded well to energy medicine and have found relief from symptoms like fatigue and brain fog, which are also seen in PASC patients.  Now, we’ll get to see if the energy techniques can have a measurable impact in this specific sphere. 

The research will have two phases. The first phase is a Discovery Phase, during which I will track and balance the energies of several PASC study participants. Then, each participant will receive a personalized home care routine to do for 7 days based on their session with me. They will also complete pre- and post-surveys to track symptoms.  When Phase 1 is complete, we will develop a short video routine of energy techniques that can be used during the second phase.  The second phase is structured to provide quantitative results and it will have a control group and a trial group. The trial group will do the home care video for 14 days and complete pre- and post-surveys to track their symptoms.  The control group will continue to receive the same care that they had already been receiving. They will also complete pre- and post-surveys 14 days apart.

My research partner is Amber Beland, a doctoral candidate at William James College in the field of Leadership and Organizational Psychology. She has both knowledge of Eden Energy Medicine fundamentals and research experience, so she’s a perfect fit.  

Amber and I presented an overview of our research at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network’s Covid Clinic meeting on Tuesday and requested their partnership on our project. The meeting went very well. We received a warm welcome and the group was very receptive to the concept of the research. They think many Spaulding patients would be eager to participate and they offered to share our participant recruitment flyer electronically with all of the Spaulding locations. 

In addition to offering constructive input during the meeting and being generally supportive of the work, some of the Clinic practitioners offered to refer their patients to us to be included in the study. This is critically important, because in order for our research to be statistically valid, we need approximately 55 people to join the study.  

So… Phase 1 of the research, the Discovery phase, is underway. If all goes as planned, we will be wrapping up our research and analysis in the Spring of 2022. Stay tuned for updates!

If you know of anyone who is 25-65 years old, has lingering symptoms of COVID and they are at least 4 weeks beyond their COVID diagnosis, please have them contact us.

Thank you to Davide Guglielmo for use of this photo.

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