Dr. Effie Chow was a dreamer and doer. She dreamed big and acted bravely. She was a visionary and pioneer. She relentlessly promoted Tai Chi, Qigong, and TCM to the world even at her death bed with her last breath. Born in China, grew up in Canada, lived her adult life in San Francisco, California, she was known as Mother of Qigong in the West. Dame Dr. Effie Chow, co-founder of the World Congress of Tai Chi, Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a Qigong grandmaster, and founder of East West Academy of Healing Arts transformed into another world around 8:50 pm on Friday Nov. 18, 2022 peacefully at age 89. She was my inspiration and big sister and helped me grow on my journey of the learning and practicing of the healing arts.
I started to write about Tai Chi and Qigong for examiner.com in 2009 for the local St. Louis (MO) market. Even though people around the world could access my writings via Internet, I was a new kid on the block. But with the popularity of the topic, I was elevated to write for the national site July 2010. In early 2010, I got an email from Dr. Effie Chow and then a phone call. She was well known in the world already for her accomplishments and had served as the Chairperson at then National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM or now National Center for Complementary and Integrated Health NCCIH) and an advisor at a White House Committee for Alternative Medicine under President Bill Clinton. Nevertheless, she was humble and invited me to attend the 2010 World Congress of Tai Chi, Qigong and TCM so I could have a better understanding of the depth and breadth of the healing arts. It was incredible that she assembled a group of world class scientists, Tai Chi/Qigong masters, and healers to present various topics. I was blown away by the plethora of information put forward. Since then, I followed Dr. Chow’s career.
Dr. Chow had remarkable achievements as a medical professional as well as a medical educator. She began her career as a public health and psychiatric registered nurse with a focus on stress management facilitated by Qigong exercises. But she found out that the western medicine is like a revolving door, patients seldom fully recover but go from one department to another due to side effects or not being cured. Growing up in a Chinese family in Canada with parents fluent in Chinese medicine, she witnessed the effectiveness of TCM. She decided to combine the eastern treatment with the western medicine. She became a Certified Acupuncturist in California. Actually, it was through her unwavering determination and effort that California passed a state law recognizing acupuncture as a legitimate medical treatment in 1976. Other states followed suit to approve acupuncture for healing. She got a Ph. D. degree in education, which enabled her as a great educator and advocate for the healing arts.
She practiced and taught Qigong, acupuncture, and TCM for more than 50 years and trained thousands to be self-healers and medical professionals to treat others. As an acupuncturist, Qigong master and TCM doctor, Dr. Chow cured thousands of patients. Personally, I witnessed some of her miracle healing cases. She co-authored “Miracle Healing From China – Qigong” with Charles T. McGee, MD. She combined the essence of the traditional Chinese Qigong with western medicine and created “Chow Integrated Healing System – Qigong Exercise”.
In 1973, she founded East West Academy of Healing Arts and dedicated it to providing training, clinical treatment, and the dissemination of information on Qigong and Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Its core philosophy and practice has always been to combine the TCM with western medicine. Dr. Chow trained and spoke worldwide to almost half million people. She gave seminars, lectures and motivational and training sessions to more than 350 corporations, hospitals, public agencies, educational institutions, and professional organizations.
It was her vision that she invited Dr. Rustum Roy, a prominent scientist and advocate of integrating science, medicine, and spirituality, to co-found the World Congress of Tai Chi, Qigong, and TCM in 1990. Each year the Congress invites at least two dozen outstanding Tai Chi and Qigong masters along with distinguished scientists to present, teach, and demonstrate the arts. There were discussions among the experts and participants on the most important subjects of the time. Soon, the Congress became a global phenomenon and brought the awareness of the health benefits of Tai Chi, Qigong, and TCM up in the world. She made the Congress successful and most of it was held in San Francisco, but it was also conducted in Canada and other countries. There were sprung-off events in Europe (held in Italy) and Japan to reach larger audiences, who could not afford to travel. The Congress has grown organically and expanded its scope; therefore, its name was updated to The Congress of Tai Chi, Qigong, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Natural Healing three years ago.
One of Dr. Effie’s mottos was three belly laughs every day. It did not matter how busy she was or how tense the situation might be, she tried to use humor and jokes to energize the crowd. She worked tirelessly to get the best presenters for the Congress. She also remembered to include the excellent entertainers to showcase Chinese music and martial arts in the event gala. She laid out all details and made sure that everything goes smoothly and everyone has a good time. Unlike large corporations, she was only one person and supported by an assistant and a few volunteers. Regardless how well it was planned and executed, large events like the Congress might still have unexpected or uncontrollable glitches. She had to take care of them in a timely fashion and never minded how late it was. I remember it was mid-night when I was interviewing her in her hotel room during the Congress while she was trouble shooting. I asked whether she was tired and wanted to rest. She said no with determination shining in her eyes. Sometimes, I feel that Dr. Chow put the priority of the community work way ahead of her personal life and health.
As I was tracking her endeavors, she was taking notes of my progress. A few years later, she invited me to teach at the Congress. I was overwhelmed and scared by this kind request. I humbly declined the offer. She was extremely sincere and encouraged me to be assertive. With her blessing, I presented at the Congress a few times and was proud of myself. I was not alone. She paid attention to numerous up and coming teachers and gave them a stage to grow and shine. Dr. Chow was never married. We were just like her children – even though age wise we might not be so far apart and we are all in debt to her.
Due to issues with our medical system, Dr. Chow had three near death experiences in 2015. With Qigong treatments after discharge from the hospital, her health recovered but not to the full capacity. She was weak but still helped John Kyle with his hepatitis as well as other patients. June last year, her doctor gave her 8 months to live due to a blood disease but she beat the odds with Qigong and care from her friends and doctors. Even with the serious health challenges, she never gave up on her friends. In May this year, after I sent out a notification about my coming Tai Chi training program, I got an email, “You are so lovely dear Violet. Looking forward to when we can personally meet. Loving Qi for excellent health of spirit, mind, and body – Effie. ❤️💕❤️💕❤️💕🙏🌈🌺” On Nov. 3, she responded to my announcement about a retreat in Mexico, “Dear, dear Violet…Looks wonderful, good luck…I am forwarding to my people to help you publicize!I” I keep both messages and my eyes moist every time I read them.
Dr. Chow’s health declined rapidly in the past four weeks. On Nov. 16, Dr. Chow and her family had a meeting with her doctor. It was decided that she should move into a hospice even though her mind was still sharp. She agreed to be interviewed by John Travis, MD on his project of “An Oral History of Wellness (and More)” on the same day.You can watch the video on YouTube, https://tinyurl.com/OHxWellness. She was bravely facing her death and continued to promote the healing arts with her last breaths during the interview. In the next two days, her friends kept her company, sang in her room, read email and letters from friends and fans wishing Effie the best and thanking her for her healing treatments. Dr. Chow would nod or smile and rest for the most part. One hour before her passing, Dr. Anita Chen Marshall called and exchanged the last message with Effie: “continue to dream the impossible dream.”
There was a spontaneous memorial the following day via Zoom on Nov. 19. The announcement only went out to a few. 30 some people attended from the U.S. and abroad. Some people said that they felt Dr. Chow’s presence. One person claimed that Dr. Chow was sending us a sign so all of a sudden, the Sun peeked through the dark clouds and the clouds made a heart emblem. With the love and effort Dr. Chow showered the world with, I have the faith that the Impossible Dream of combining the eastern and western medicine will come true sooner than later.
In case your life has been touched by Dr. Chow, directly or indirectly, and you want to share your thoughts, you can send memories and tribute letters to Dr. Charlene Ossler, a distinguished educator and researcher in public health and long-time friend of Dr. Chow at cossler@pacbell.net. Dr. Ossler and friends are compiling a memorial ebook to be distributed at Dr. Chow’s zoom celebration on December 17th. You can email Dr. Ossler for the Memorial Zoom link so you can attend the celebration and feel the Qi.
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