Tag: bob ellal

How Qigong helped Bob Ellal survive stage 4 lymphoma – Energy Warriors on Voice America with Grace Gawler

Bob Elall knows a lot about Survivorship – I dare to say he is an expert. Diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1991 and given six months to live, Bob Ellal read everything he could about cancer survivors. Eventually his success and survival was due to the combination of conventional medicine and Qigong.

Bob Ellal Energy warriors voice America grace GgwlerBob Ellal knows a lot about Survivorship – I dare to say he is an expert. Diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1991 and given six months to live, Bob Ellal read everything he could about cancer survivors. He practised visualisation and breathing techniques along with his treatment. At the end of 6 months, against all odds, he was cancer free; but over the following five years the lymphoma would return three more times. His treatment; double doses of CHOP (chemotherapy) was targeted at the disease that returned in his pelvis and fractured hip. Remission. Then another recurrence in his shoulder and a stem-cell transplant. Bob found Qigong and used it to successfully add to his survival strategies ‘tool-kit’. Remission again and recurrence; a second transplant was required. Throughout his crisis Qigong became his focus – the perfect partner for Bob helping him to withstand the side effects of drastic treatments, allowing him to gain resilience, calm strength and centredness. He persevered and found authentic hope in the combination of the best conventional medicine had to offer and what he could do to help his body, mind and spirit to survive and thrive.

Bob Ellal is a true Survivor and his story and writings come from a place of deep wounding that has been transformed into a way of mindful living based on Martial Arts principals.

Energy Warriors -overcoming cancer and crisis with the power of QigongAs time went on Bob committed himself to the practice going more deeply into the mind/body connection – he trained with a Boston kung-fu master in the art of Qigong. Bob’s Doctors gave him a 10% chance of survival. He immersed himself in a disciplined daily practice of Qigong. Against all odds, he finally beat the disease in 1996.

He’s been cancer-free for 17 years and continues to practice Qigong. In his working life Bob was writer/editor for a division of a major publisher and now works as a freelancer. In addition to co authoring Energy Warriors: Overcoming Cancer and Crisis with the Power of Qigong, he is completing his second book, The Leavings of the Wolf, a collection of short stories about the real-world challenges of cancer survivors.

 Bob is co author of “Energy Warriors – Overcoming cancer and Crisis with the power of Qigong” I interviewed him recently on my Voice America radio show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/69039/navigating-the-cancer-maze-grace-gawler-and-bob-ellal-energy-warriors-and-the-role-of-qigong-in
Visit Bob’s website for more info/articles:       http://www.bobellal.com
Visit Master Lawrence Tan’s website:               http://www.tandao.com/energy-warriors/

Qigong in the news: This week I also discovered a newly published study that found that the practise of Qigong reduced symptoms of depression and improved quality of life in women undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer reports Lorenzo Cohen, PhD, professor of General Oncology and Behavioral Science at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and director of its Integrative Medicine Program, and a co-author of the study.1 Continue reading “How Qigong helped Bob Ellal survive stage 4 lymphoma – Energy Warriors on Voice America with Grace Gawler”

Conquering Cancer – Survivor's Secrets: Review – A Cancer Patient's Companion Guide – Grace Gawler

Bob Ellal was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma four times in the early to mid-nineties (he’s been clear of cancer for 12 years)

Full Review of ‘Conquering Cancer—Survivor’s Secrets’- eBook by Bob Ellal

Bob Ellal was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma four times in the early to mid-nineties (he’s been clear of cancer for 12 years) and is well qualified as a reviewer for this eBook.

 Keep it simple. Hard to do when one is first diagnosed with cancer. Anxiety, fear, and stress flood the body, mind and spirit. One is confronted by sheer information overload revolving around one question:

Should I undergo traditional chemotherapy/radiation with its debilitating side effects—or check out the myriad alternative therapies that populate the Internet? What should I do?
One can become paralyzed into not taking action–which wastes valuable time and only adds to the stress of the diagnosis. And ultimately, stress is a killer. What’s the answer?

Grace Gawler Crossroads of recovery
crossroads of recovery

In “Conquering Cancer—Survivor’s Secrets,” Grace Gawler answers this question. Not with “miracle cures” or New Age notions of merely adopting a superficial positive attitude and everything will work out. “Conquering Cancer” takes a cancer patient to the alpha point: getting one’s mind, body and spirit in sync to cope with the diagnosis, and then getting a handle on the strategy for dealing with it. In other words, you have to get your head on straight before you can tackle the greatest challenge of your life.

Through her many years of consulting with over ten thousand cancer patients, she’s observed that there are three stages of acceptance that survivors process through:

  1. The Will to Live. Facing one’s mortality is terrifying. We all want to live—and the first reaction to a cancer diagnosis is to ask “Why me? Did I cause my cancer somehow?” And many never quite get rid of those sentiments—bells gonging in the back of the mind that continuously resurface to drown out one’s resolve.

 The survival mechanism kicks in and one declares: “I’m going to beat it by force of will.” The result is often a frenzied schedule of juicing, ingesting supplements and scurrying around to get information on the latest cure—which is mentally and physically exhausting and produces an immense amount of stress. Even people who use meditation and visualization get the attitude that they must “hurry up” to de-stress. Which causes more stress and defeats the purpose?

  1. Letting Go. One comes around to accepting the diagnosis, relaxes, takes a step back and lets go of anxiety and fear. The cancer patient faces his or her emotions, acknowledges them, then proceeds with the business of getting well—but without the anxiety and guilt. Perhaps patients join support groups and begin to relax enough to meditate and visualize not with hell-bent intent, but with awareness. The mind relaxes and the body relaxes, allowing one’s immune system to recalibrate and aid in the recovery process.
  2. Letting Be. At this stage, survivors realize that they are living with cancer; that it is a process they must work through. The striving and “sweating things out” are in the past—one achieves a degree of self-mastery of his or her own life. Not focusing on journey’s end, but each present moment. And ultimately living with cancer frees one from the bounds of the “nutshell of bad dreams” that poisons the present. A new positive attitude emerges that comes from an inner resilience—not an outward and superficial “happy face” that conceals one’s true fearful emotions.

  I recommend this book highly as the “alpha point” for anyone diagnosed with cancer. Realizing that cancer survival is a process will help patients “seize the day” and ultimately arrive at a positive omega point

Bob Ellals website is: http://www.bobellal.com/
Purchase your eBook copy of Conquering Cancer – Survivors Secrets at http://www.gracegawler.com/institute

 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1y8QhnfKo8]

Conquering Cancer – Survivor’s Secrets: Review – A Cancer Patient’s Companion Guide – Grace Gawler

Bob Ellal was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma four times in the early to mid-nineties (he’s been clear of cancer for 12 years)

Full Review of ‘Conquering Cancer—Survivor’s Secrets’- eBook by Bob Ellal

Bob Ellal was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma four times in the early to mid-nineties (he’s been clear of cancer for 12 years) and is well qualified as a reviewer for this eBook.

 Keep it simple. Hard to do when one is first diagnosed with cancer. Anxiety, fear, and stress flood the body, mind and spirit. One is confronted by sheer information overload revolving around one question:

Should I undergo traditional chemotherapy/radiation with its debilitating side effects—or check out the myriad alternative therapies that populate the Internet? What should I do?
One can become paralyzed into not taking action–which wastes valuable time and only adds to the stress of the diagnosis. And ultimately, stress is a killer. What’s the answer?

Grace Gawler Crossroads of recovery
crossroads of recovery

In “Conquering Cancer—Survivor’s Secrets,” Grace Gawler answers this question. Not with “miracle cures” or New Age notions of merely adopting a superficial positive attitude and everything will work out. “Conquering Cancer” takes a cancer patient to the alpha point: getting one’s mind, body and spirit in sync to cope with the diagnosis, and then getting a handle on the strategy for dealing with it. In other words, you have to get your head on straight before you can tackle the greatest challenge of your life.

Through her many years of consulting with over ten thousand cancer patients, she’s observed that there are three stages of acceptance that survivors process through:

  1. The Will to Live. Facing one’s mortality is terrifying. We all want to live—and the first reaction to a cancer diagnosis is to ask “Why me? Did I cause my cancer somehow?” And many never quite get rid of those sentiments—bells gonging in the back of the mind that continuously resurface to drown out one’s resolve.

 The survival mechanism kicks in and one declares: “I’m going to beat it by force of will.” The result is often a frenzied schedule of juicing, ingesting supplements and scurrying around to get information on the latest cure—which is mentally and physically exhausting and produces an immense amount of stress. Even people who use meditation and visualization get the attitude that they must “hurry up” to de-stress. Which causes more stress and defeats the purpose?

  1. Letting Go. One comes around to accepting the diagnosis, relaxes, takes a step back and lets go of anxiety and fear. The cancer patient faces his or her emotions, acknowledges them, then proceeds with the business of getting well—but without the anxiety and guilt. Perhaps patients join support groups and begin to relax enough to meditate and visualize not with hell-bent intent, but with awareness. The mind relaxes and the body relaxes, allowing one’s immune system to recalibrate and aid in the recovery process.
  2. Letting Be. At this stage, survivors realize that they are living with cancer; that it is a process they must work through. The striving and “sweating things out” are in the past—one achieves a degree of self-mastery of his or her own life. Not focusing on journey’s end, but each present moment. And ultimately living with cancer frees one from the bounds of the “nutshell of bad dreams” that poisons the present. A new positive attitude emerges that comes from an inner resilience—not an outward and superficial “happy face” that conceals one’s true fearful emotions.

  I recommend this book highly as the “alpha point” for anyone diagnosed with cancer. Realizing that cancer survival is a process will help patients “seize the day” and ultimately arrive at a positive omega point

Bob Ellals website is: http://www.bobellal.com/
Purchase your eBook copy of Conquering Cancer – Survivors Secrets at http://www.gracegawler.com/institute

 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1y8QhnfKo8]

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