Kiyoshi Suzuki, MD, PhD
President, MOA Health Science Foundation
In my second column, I briefly introduced the scientific backing of Okada Purifying Therapy, but this time I will talk about it in a little more detail. Since its establishment in 1991, the MOA Health Science Center has focused on scientific research on Purifying Therapy.
In addition, there are various energy healings in the world, and although various methods have been researched for about 30 years, there is still no scientific basis that everyone can agree on. The major reasons for this are the lack of equipment that can accurately measure bioenergetics and the low budget for such researches. Despite this, we have made full use of limited facilities and research funds led by Senior Researcher Seiya Uchida, Executive Director, and have published world-class research results.
１．What is bioenergy and energy healing?
Bioenergy is generally defined as the “non-physical energy” inherent in living organisms, which is closely related to the body, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. Energy healings are said to promote a more balanced or unhindered flow of bioenergy, resulting in a healthier state.
Non-physical energy means that it is an unknown energy whose properties and weight cannot be measured by modern science. Furthermore, when it is explained as “spiritual well-being,” it is not unreasonable to be skeptical of modern scientific thinkers. How far have we approached the existence of this unknown energy so far?
２．EEG changes due to Purifying Therapy
For more than 20 years, Senior Researcher Uchida has studied the effects of Purifying Therapy on the human brain wave and autonomic nervous system. We have proven that the administration of Purifying Therapy certainly changes the brain waves and autonomic nervous system, and that the changes cannot be explained by mere assumptions (placebo effect). This time, I will introduce how I proved the change on the EEG.
19 volunteers (average age 40.8 years old, 10 women) who had never received Purifying Therapy cooperated. The reason I asked someone who had no experience with Purifying Therapy was to increase objectivity. An electroencephalograph and headphones are attached, and the volunteers sat on a chair facing the wall so that the administration of Purifying Therapy by practitioners who sat behind them and cannot be seen.
Those who received the Purifying Therapy were asked to open and close their eyes by cues heard through the headphones. At that time, as shown in Fig. 1, 1, when the palm is turned to the administration of Purifying Therapy’s side when saying that the administration of Purifying Therapy will be performed (“fake” administration of Purifying Therapy); and 2, when the palm is turned to the other side when saying that the administration of Purifying Therapy is to be performed (The EEG of the real administration of Purifying Therapy) was recorded for 15 minutes each.
The people who were treated were told twice that they would be administered with Purifying Therapy; but when asked which therapy was the real administration of Purifying Therapy, they could not answer correctly.
Figure 2 summarizes the results. Alpha brain waves increase when you relax, so the degree of change is represented by color. The head is shown as viewed from above. The “fake” administration of Purifying Therapy also increased the alpha waves throughout the brain (1). This is thought to be primarily a placebo effect due to the belief that they are undergoing administration of Purifying Therapy. However, the real administration of Purifying Therapy resulted in a much higher increase in alpha waves than the “fake” administration of Purifying Therapy (2).
Although they do not know where they actually received the administration of Purifying Therapy, there was a clear difference in their brain waves, so it can be said that alpha waves increased due to Purifying Therapy; in other words, Purifying Therapy has a relaxing effect.
For more detailed information, please refer to the English article published in the International Integrative Medicine Journal (J Altern Complement Med.2012;18:875-879) or its Japanese translation (MOA Health Science Center). Please read the research report collection (2012;16:65-74)（2012;16:65-74）. Also, regarding the effect of Purifying Therapy on the autonomic nervous system, a Japanese paper was published in the MOA Health Science Center Research Report (2008;12:27-34).
So, how far has energy healing been scientifically proven in the world? Next time I will talk about some particularly interesting results.
【Profile】
Kiyoshi Suzuki
Graduated from Chiba University School of Medicine in 1981. medical doctor. After working as Deputy Director of Pediatrics at Sakakibara Memorial Hospital, Seijo Clinic, (Medicine) Tamagawakai MOA Takanawa Clinic and Tokyo Medical Clinic Director, president of MOA Health Science Center and Honorary Director of Tokyo Medical Wellness Center. Director of The Society for Integrative Medicine Japan and Chairman of the International Committee. In 1994, he received the Young Investigator’s Award from the Japanese Society of Pediatric Cardiology.
