Table 1.

Standardized Healing Session Procedures for Qigong and Sham Healer

Step	Physical movement	Qigong healer mind/healing activitiesa
1. Instructions	The research assistant (RA) escort guides the subject into the room. The subject is then instructed to close his or her eyes and avoid looking at the healer. The RA escort then leaves the room and the healer enters the treatment room. The healer greets the subject and asks him/her to sit straight on the back of the chair, place both hands on his or her lap, and relax completely.	The healer then scans the subject for a moment to identify his or her problematic areas (e.g., qi blockage, qi imbalance, unhealthy aura).
2. Sense the blockages (1 minute)	The healer places his/her right hand over the subject's head without touching it. He/she then moves his hand around the subject's head from front to back, and then from left to right. These movements are repeated a few times.	The healer imagines that his hand is inside the subject's head. He senses the major areas of qi blockage.
3. Supply with healthy qi (3 minutes)	The healer closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and then puts both of his/her hands over the top of the subject's head with his palms facing the patient's Bai-hui acupoint (located at the center top of the head).	When the healer inhales, he/she imagines that white energy from the universe is absorbed into his body through the Bai-hui acupoint or through his/her back. When the healer exhales, he/she imagines emitting the white energy through his palms into the subject's body (through Bai-hui acupoint) and then visualizes the strong white qi being pressed through the subject's body from head to feet, driving the sick qi out of the subject.
4. Stimulate acupoints (2.5 minutes)	The healer points the middle and index figures of his right hand toward the subject's hypnosis acupoint (located in the center of the back of the neck) and then toward the sun acupoints (located on both sides of the head).	The healer applies imaginary acupuncture to stimulate the key acupoints to reduce tension and anxiety.
5. Cleanse the brain (2 minutes)	The healer places his/her palms near each side of the center of the subject's head, without touching him or her, approximately 5 to 8 cm from the surface of the brain. He/she then breathes deeply and moves his palms around the subject's head.	The healer imagines the discharge of strong qi to break qi blockages in the subject's brain. He/she also visualizes the dopamine blockage area in the center of brain turning from black to white and the entire brain becoming crystal clear.
6. Remove sick qi (1 minute)	The healer uses both hands to induce the remaining sick qi out of the subject's body through the subject's fingertips, or from the Yong-chuan acupoint (bottom of feet). The healer first puts his right hand 5 to 8 cm from the top of the subject's head. He/she then moves his right hand from subject's left shoulder along the left arm to the left hand. This is repeated 3 times. The healer then puts his/her left hand 5 to 8 cm from the top of the subject's head. He/she then moves his/her left hand from subject's right shoulder along the right arm to the hand. This is repeated 3 times. The healer then puts both hands 5 to 8 cm from the subject's head and then moves his/her hands from the subject's head to his/her chest, abdominal area, thighs, legs, and finally the feet. This is repeated 3 times.	The healer visualizes the black qi within the subject being induced out from fingertips or from the Yong-chuan acupoint at the bottom of the feet, deep into the earth.
7. Close	The healer says “OK. The treatment has been completed.”

^aDuring the healing session, the sham healer will complete all physical movements, but will count mentally from 1 to 100, then count backwards from 100 to 1, and repeat the process for a total of 15 minutes.