Hawaii International QiGong Institute at Kokolulu Wellness Center as featured in Zhineng Qi Gong Science Worldwide Magazine
ZQ in Hawaii
As Dr. Pang Ming (originator of Zhineng QiGong) defined, “Qigong is a training based on theories of the Holism of life. It is a training that requires the participant to consciously use the mind intent to focus inward to transform, to improve, and to enhance life functions. Mental and postural adjustments are the extensions of the inward training. It is a training which enables the participants to transform natural instinctive activities into conscious activities.”
(Quoted with permission from page 6 in Zhineng (Chilel) Qigong: Overview and Foundation Methods. Selected Writings by Dr. Pang Ming. Hou Hee Chan, trans. Published in Rocklin CA, in 2015, by Chilel Qigong, Inc.)
The HIQI program at Kokolulu Farm and Wellness Center recognizes and teaches that Zhineng Qigong is a life science based on systematic theory and methods and has been shown effective for healing, improving the level of self-cultivation, and developing human potential. It has been used successfully at Kokolulu Farm with cancer & other chronic illnesses for over 14 years.
Karin Cooke, RN and Lew Whitney, MEd, who own and operate HIQI and Kokolulu Wellness Center, began studying qigong together in 1993 and have studied with many masters. They travel often to Hainan, China, to study and practice Zhineng Qigong at the Hexianju Centre with the masters there who trained and worked at the Hua Xia Zhineng Qigong Training Center (called the Medicine-less Hospital by Westerners). Zhineng Qigong is the cornerstone, along with the Food As Medicine component, of the program they teach at Kokolulu Farm and Wellness Center.
Over 5,000 guests have come to Kokolulu Farm since 2002 for retreat to heal from the stresses and strains of everyday lifeand the multitude of doctors’ appointments and treatments associated with their particular diagnosis or health challenge. Lew and Karin have seen improved quality of life in all who come participate, as well as improvement or resolution of symptoms in many. Cancer, epilepsy, arthritis, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, sleep deprivation, loss of eyesight, fibromyalgia, obesity, and spinal compression fractures are some of the conditions they have observed improve with the learning and use of Zhineng Qigong! Over the years, Lew and Karin have seen individuals experience complete remission of cancer, tumors disappear, eyesight restored, and back pain disappear to avoid back surgery. On a personal level, Lew had severe, crippling back issues that he controls completely with ZQ, and Karin is able to totally avoid seizures of her Epilepsy diagnosis without using anti- seizure drugs with her daily ZQ practice.
“It is a special gift to see individuals come together with the awareness they need to make a change in how they work towards healing, set the intention, then move forward towards better health and increased happiness,” Karin exclaims. “Many of our guests have struggled immensely through western medical treatments and it is deeply rewarding to see an individual discovering the joy and power of connecting with Spirit and universe through ZQ!”
As an organic farm, Kokolulu provides healthy, fresh, live food and medicinal herbs to support the healing process.
The gardens flourish as many guests join in Fa Qi, understanding the qi sent to the food they consume nourishes their body as well.
How It All Began
“We feel deeply blessed to be a part of the amazing experiences the participants have had here at HIQI at Kokolulu Farm. To watch people leave here empowered to ‘take control’ of their own healing is so rewarding.”
Karin and Lew felt called to the healing island of Hawaii in 1999. On the island they each felt a simpler, more peaceful life than they knew on the mainland U.S. They bought a beautiful 7-acre piece of ocean view property and learned about organic farming while entertaining visions of sharing Zhineng Qigong.
Influenced by Karin’s journey as a caregiver for her late husband and her own personal cancer experience, as well as the help, support and influence of Dr. Jeanne Achterberg (who had gone through her own cancer journey) and the encouragement of Dr. Earl Bakken (inventor of the heart pacemaker), Lew and Karin decided to turn their farm into a retreat center for those battling cancer and other chronic disease, as well as for those interested in learning qigong for their own preventive care.
During her personal cancer journey, Karin encountered challenges in the medical system that left her feeling betrayed. She knew that anger would only serve to worsen her health and she needed to find a way to forgive. Karin believed healing meant seeking harmony and balance in one’s life, and now she, herself, had to learn to trust life again. In her successful journey, Karin went on a personal qigong retreat and reflected on her next steps to meet the challenge she was facing.
During that retreat, she found the clarity she needed and believes her road back to health through qigong became one of the most empowering experiences of her life! As an RN at a large teaching hospital in Oregon, she had become acutely aware that western medicine left a void when it came to teaching patients that they have a role and responsibility in their own healing, or in teaching tools (like ZQ) patients could use to augment their healing processes.
As Karin and Lew walked the path through cancer together and learned what it means to trust again, they gained a wisdom that has now carried over to their work with HIQI at Kokolulu Farm and Wellness Center to help empower participants to take charge in their own life and healing journey with the help of Zhineng Qigong.
Philosophy
Established in 2004, Kokolulu recognized the void in modern 
health care, namely the provision of resources to patients who have undergone powerful and invasive treatment for serious diseases such as cancer or heart disease.
Many times, the return to life can be more challenging than the diagnosis or even treatment. Understanding that their lives have changed, patients experience loss and disorientation and they feel abandoned by the health system. Understandably they are anxious about recurrence of the disease.
HIQI retreats at Kokolulu Farm provide direction and empowerment for the healing journey. These retreats offer people with cancer (and other chronic illnesses) an escape to a peaceful environment with personal Zhineng qigong lessons. Guests become empowered to take charge of their own healing journeys. They leave with a practical healing tool in ZQ that can make a significant difference in their health and lives.
An underlying premise to Kokolulu’s approach is the strong link between mind/body/spirit and healing. “Energy flows where attention goes.” As energy gains momentum, it is capable of killing bacteria and malignant cells and increases resistance to disease. Kokolulu teaches guests ZQ techniques to harness and direct this power to promote not just tranquility, but physical healing.
They learn how to tap into the universal essence or Hun Yuan Qi, and how to harvest it and integrate it to feel better, get healthier, be more creative, increase concentration for a clearer mind, and increase energy.
At HIQI, guests learn that Zhineng Qigong is a complete integrated system to liberate human energy in all dimensions, ultimately opening one’s heart to the awakening of objective conscience. It also provides us a step-by-step methodology to train the heart/mind; an effective path to take charge of one’s physical health and empower healthy living. Zhineng Qigong finds its roots in the 7000-year-old tradition of folk, shamanic, Buddhist, Taoist and Confucianism traditions – integrating them into a whole with the latest understanding
of physiology, psychology and medicine.
Through posture, movement, and mental focus, Zhineng Qigong offers a methodology to rediscover the inner medicine – qi, the vital and healing resource within us – and to magnify the exchange between ourselves and nature, enabling us to become harmoniously connected with the infinite creative power of the universe that ultimately is the origin of love, compassion, and the source of all healing.
The effect on the brain of recipients of Zhineng Qigong, FaQi.
Karin Cooke, BS, RN, HIQI, Kokolulu Farm and Retreats
Traditional healing systems in all parts of the world include beliefs about the effects of intention on heath. This shared belief serves as the foundation for healing in major and established systems of healthcare such as Traditional Chinese Medicine. The term distant intentionality (DI) describes practices based on this postulated non-material connection between individuals, including Zhineng Qigong, sending of FaQi. The possibility that human intention can act at a distance to promote healing is largely dismissed by Western biomedicine.
Jeanne Achterberg and Karin Cooke were hired by Dr. Earl Bakken, inventor of the pacemaker and founder of Medtronic, to conduct a study on the role of intentionality in healing in a Hawaii hospital. The two spent six years total in the development and execution of the research.
Their findings were presented at an international conference on alternative medicine in Canada in 2006 and the study is published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Volume 11, Number 6, 2005.
Evidence for Correlations Between Distant Intentionality and Brain Function in Recipients: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Analysis
JEANNE ACHTERBERG, Ph.D., KARIN COOKE, B.S., R.N., TODD RICHARDS, Ph.D., Leanna Standish, Ph.D, ND, MS, Lac, North Hawaii Community Hospital
Abstract
This study, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, demonstrated that distant intentionality (DI), or FaQi, defined as sending thoughts, energy (Qi), at a distance, is correlated with an activation of certain brain functions in the recipients. Eleven healers were recruited from the island of Hawaii. Each healer selected a person with whom they felt a special connection as a recipient for DI/FaQi. The recipient was placed in the MRI scanner and isolated from all forms of sensory contact from the healer. The healers sent DI/FaQi at random 2-minute intervals that were unknown to the recipient. Signi cant differences between experimental (send) and control (no send) procedureswere found (p _ 0.000127). Areas activated during the experimental procedures included the anterior and middle cingulate area, precuneus, and frontal area. It was concluded that when a healer makes an intentional connection with a sensory isolated person there can be correlated changes in brain function of that individual.
Method
Twenty-two (22) participants (11 pairs of healers and recipients of DI/FaQi) were recruited on the Big Island of Hawaii.
The authors asked each healer to name someone with whom they felt a bonded or close connection. This decision was based on research cited earlier that indicates close or bonded individuals may be more likely to show correlated physiologic effects.
Three (3) men and eight women with an age range of 46 to 71 participated as healers. The recipients of the healing ranged in age from 44 to 61; and included three men and eight women. On average, healers had been practicing their healing traditions for 23 years.
Experimental conditions. The healer was in the electromagnetically shielded control room and physically and optically isolated from the receiver in the scanner. The radiology technician, research nurse, and principal investigator were also in the control room. During the course of the experiment, the healer was verbally instructed by one of the researchers with cues to start and stop the DI/FaQi. The random pattern of the twelve 2-minute intervals was determined prior to the onset of the study using a coin toss. A single randomized sequence that had an equal number of on and off sessions was used for each session. The pattern was off, on, on, off, on, off, off, on, on, off, on, off, for a total of six 2-minute On periods and six 2-minute Off periods. In three instances, it should be noted that the length of the interval was 4 minutes because two of the On or Off conditions occurred back to back. This pattern remained the same for each healer. During the time in the scanner, no physical or sensory contact was made with the recipient by any member of the research team.
Functional MRI scans were analyzed using the FSL software program (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain, Software Library, Oxford Centre), which offers robust corrections for false-positives, autocorrelation, multiple voxel testing comparison, and cluster size detection. Analysis was carried out using FEAT FMRI Expert Analysis Tool, Version 5.1, part of FSL.
Discussion and Conclusion
Analysis revealed significant activation in several areas of the brain, especially the anterior cingulate cortex, frontal superior areas, and the precuneus. Overall, the results show signi cant activation of brain regions coincident with DI/FaQi intervals. The results of individual analyses and group analysis were statistically significant.
FIG. 1. Group functional magnetic resonance imaging activation derived from 10 subjects where each individual subject was analyzed with the On/Off paradigm of the healers. In the rst scan on the left, the red areas indicate signi cant group activation in the precuneus and middle cingulate area. In the scan on the right, the yellow areas represent group activation in the anterior cingulate and frontal regions.
Summary: These findings support previous research on distant healing, suggesting that human intentions, sending FaQi, affect changes in brain activity and may directly affect others in ways that are not entirely understood.
Acknowledgement: The authors express deep appreciation to the Earl and Doris Bakken Foundation, Kailua Kona, Hawaii, for the generous support of this research.
T E S T I M O N IALS F R O M K O K O LU LU
F A R M AND W E L L N E S S C E N T E R
Karin, Hawaii
Four years ago, with no warning, I experienced a grand mal seizure and near death experience. I was diagnosed with ‘Left temporal Lobe Epiliepsy’ and told by the neurologist that I MUST go on anti-seizure drugs, that this diagnosis “does not get better, it WILL get worse and you could die.”
I teach Zhineng Qigong and I tell people their bodies know how to heal if given the tools and they do their work. Here was my opportunity to “walk my talk”. I absolutely believed my body could heal from this new unwanted diagnosis with qigong. I definitely did not want to go on meds and then also have to deal with side effects of the drugs.
I increased my daily practice (which admittedly had fallen
to perhaps weekly at best!) to two and three hours each day. I rested more and set the intention to move through the day in a qigong state as much as possible. Action starts with intention!
I have never taken a single anti seizure pill, and I have not had another grand mal seizure to this day. For about a year and a half, I did still experience decreasing neurological symptoms, ‘simple-partial seizures’, but for the past year I have been totally seizure free and have more energy than I felt for several years. Over those three years, I realized if I got busy, like on vacation, and neglected my practice for more than a day or two, the symptoms returned and were stronger. Now, my morning qigong practice is like brushing my teeth and having breakfast; just part of my regular routine! I absolutely love the peace I find in my practice.
And, oh yes, I was admitted for a week to an epilepsy monitoring unit last year for follow up and with the intention (on the doctor’s part) of locating the diseased part of my brain that caused the seizure activity. I was put through many weird exercises (like 24 hour sleep deprivation, twice, and flashing lights in front of my face) to try to induce seizure while connected by EEG leads to a monitor. I never had a seizure under that treatment and the EEG results showed vast improvement. The Epileptologist said there was no sign of the Left Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and only slight minor EEG changes that should heal! I know my brain is now healed, and the only intervention I used was Zhineng Qigong!
Lew, Hawaii
Lewis Whitney (AKA Lulu) is a 71-year old male and the co-founder of the non-profit organizations Kokolulu Farm and Retreats and HIQI (Hawaii International Qigong Institute).
Lulu is a Vietnam War Era Veteran (1968 – 1970) and as such suffered numerous back injuries. In 2003 Lulu rolled a tractor down the hill on the farm and suffered compression fractures of the lower lumbar in his back. He was told by the doctor he went to after this accident, that he would be crippled the rest of his life. 
Subsequently he was diagnosed with severe osteoporosis, bulging discs, bone spurs and a total of 5 compression fractures in his lower back, all documented by FMRI, Sonogram, Ultra sound, and X-rays. He was told by several doctors that he would soon be unable to walk. In 2006, Lulu received in the mail a walker and a cane sent by the United States Veterans Administration (the VA). When he went to see his doctor at the VA, he asked the doctor if he had requested the walking devices to be sent to Lulu. His doctor said yes. Lulu asked him why. “Because soon you will no longer be able to walk on your own power.” His doctor also said, “I notice that you have not filled your pain medication prescriptions. Why? You must be in tremendous pain.” Lulu said, “I have no pain and I walk just fine on my own.” The doctor said, “What are you doing to control the pain and walk normally? Lulu said, “I do Zhineng Qigong every day.”
Lulu began doing Zhineng Qigong in 2003 and found that LQUPQD, “legs and hips” from level 2 and wall squats were especially helpful in restoring full mobility and providing pain relief. Lulu says, “As long as I do these exercises everyday, I’m good to go.” Lulu has helped several people who have come to Kokolulu/HIQI avoid back surgery and have pain relief by teaching them Zhineng Qigong.
On May 6, 2016, Lulu had open-heart surgery at Trippler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. The surgery lasted 9.5 hours. He was told that he died twice during the surgery. There were an additional 14.5 hours of complications after the surgery where the doctors told his wonderful and supportive wife, Karin Cooke, RN, that they did not know if he was going to make it. Before the operations, Lulu sent out Kokolulu’s newsletter asking over 1700 people to send him FA QI (through what ever way they were comfortable with – prayer, etc.). Before the surgery Lulu asked the surgical team to send him FA QI throughout the operation and before they began operating to place their hands on his body with loving thoughts. Lulu began doing LAQI in his mind before and during the surgery and throughout the challenging times after the surgery and in the next few days while recovering. Two weeks after the surgery Lulu left the hospital on his own power and traveled to Oregon and California visiting family. The doctors were amazed how quickly he recovered. Lulu continues to lead a normal life at Kokolulu in Hawaii with a renewed commitment to share the gifts he has learned with others facing chronic illness and pain.
Lulu believes that Zhineng Qigong saved his life and gave him incredible insight into what makes him happy and how to fulfill his life’s purpose.
NK is a 53-year-old man who was brought to Kokolulu by a dear friend. He was told by his oncologist that he had 2-3 weeks to live. He had already planned his memorial service. His skin was blue/grey and we had to help carry him from his car into the temple at Kokolulu. He had a 6 cm (2 inches) tumor in his liver, and his gallbladder and kidneys were almost completely shutdown. Over the next three days, NK had several Fa Qi healing treatments in Kokolulu’s Temple. NK also participated in a 3-day workshop at Kokolulu to learn how to do Zhineng Qigong and continued to come to Kokolulu over the next 6 months. After a healing circle session in the qi eld of Kokolulu’s temple, he approached Karin and Lulu. He said he had something important to share: “I went to my oncologist today and he showed me the lab results. The cancer and tumor are all gone.” N.K. continues to come to Kokolulu for qigong healing treatments, and participates in the once-a-month healing circles. His memorial that he planned in anticipation of his death became a Celebration of Life.
JULIA, Germany attended the recent International Qigong Retreat at Kokolulu (May/17) for two weeks. We just received word from her this morning. Julia is a mid-fifties woman from Germany who had a stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis. The cancer had metastasized, and spread throughout her body causing fractures along her 
spine, and her doctors told her she only had a short while to live. What follows is amazing:
“Aloha Lulu and Koko
“There is very good news on my end: the Qigong worked – the tumor markers went way down. 3 are already back to normal and the MRT showed a 1/4 reduction of all 7 liver metastases. I now also have in writing that the formerly osteolytic parts of my fractured vertebrae have notably begun to sclerose again : ) so it looks like my body really is in repair mode now …
“ the radiologist wanted to know which chemo therapy I am taking.” Editor’s note: Julia had not had chemo in the six months prior to coming to the ZQ healing retreat at Kokolulu.
“THANK YOU VERY MUCH for organizing the retreat !!!! “Greetings from Germany” (Julia is now part of the third Hunyuan Qi Therapy Group in training to be certified as a Hunyuan Qi Therapist)
Johnathon – Hawaii
I learned that I am not alone in my fight with cancer. I also learned how to let go of what is holding me back .
Lori, New York, 911 First Responder
The retreat has helped me learn to listen, share my feelings, and communicate with others and meet new friends. I gathered so 
much information concerning breast cancer and all my other concerns that will help me put together an effective plan
for healing myself from cancer. Karin and Lew were wonderful. The informal and caring way of dealing with the others and me made for a safe environment. The great tasting and organically grown food on the farm, the beautiful property, views of the ocean and mountains, great weather, and the wonderful clean air in paradise helped heal my body.
KYM, Hawaii
My last round of tests came back with the wonderful news that they could not find any trace of cancer in my body and also that my ileostomy could be reversed.
It’s my belief that Qi Gong helps us connect with our bodies more. I believe it helps us get out of our own way. I continue do at least an hour a day. Usually 2 hours, sometimes three or four. I have not missed a day since I started.
I’m loving life!!! Thank you, guys.
If you are feeling lost, sick and don’t know which way is up, please give Qi Gong a try. It will truly help. It’s a total body, mind, and spirit healing. It’s feels sooo good!! Practicing Qi Gong helps keep us healthy. We only get one body in this lifetime. Make the best of it. Go ahead and give Qi Gong a try. The rewards are life-changing. It helped me believe in myself which, in turn, is so empowering.
Thank you Kokolulu retreat. You guys are the best!!
Hun Yuan Ling Tong (Kym continues come to Kokolulu every 2-3 months for a day long “refresher course.”)
Tanya, Colorado
There are many changes I have room to implement in my life; being at Kokolulu brought those areas to life! I am ready to move forward in a positive light to continue to bring positive energy into my life! I am forever grateful to Kokolulu Farm for this life changing experience!
Today B.K. (Sweetie) is a healthy, vibrant and energetic 8-year-old girl. This was not always the case.
Five and a half years ago, Sweetie was diagnosed
with a rare form of bone marrow cancer. She initially
developed a lesion (tumor) in one hip. For a year her
mom and dad followed the doctor’s recommendation
and did a year of chemotherapy. At the end of this time
period the lesion disappeared but soon after another
lesion developed in the other hip indicating the cancer
had spread. Sweetie was withdrawn, interacting only
with her parents and family. The doctors pushed for another year of chemo, but Sweetie’s parents declined and elected to do a regimen of natural healing which included weekly visits to Kokolulu for Fa Qi healing sessions with Kokolulu’s staff and to work with Karin
Cooke, RN, nutritionist. In addition to individual healing sessions, Kokolulu’s staff taught B.K.’s mom how to do daily qigong exercises with B.K. to boost her immune system to restore her health.
Recently we received a text from Sweetie’s mom: “Just received Sweetie’s scans today…. we did it!!! She’s healed!!!! So proud:) Thank you for the support Kokolulu.
Sweetie continues to come to Kokolulu for healing sessions every two weeks. The changes in her have been amazing. Her face is now filled with joy and her body reflects a total vibrancy. She plays with other children, laughs and sings. She is a normal, healthy 8-year old!
To Sign up for this Life Changing Program Now!
Please Call Lew or Karin 808-889-9893