Article By
Tina Firesheets Staff Writer GREENSBORO
"Kirtan Coan
and her business partners love the skeptics -- those people who come into
their store, doubtful that the Migun bed can really help them. The
skeptics take a look at the bamboo-colored walls and the people lying on
what looks like a cot and think to themselves, "If this is so good, why is
it free?" And they wonder how lying on a heated massage bed for a
half hour can possibly relieve lower back pain they've had for 20 years.
And if this miracle cure is legitimate, how come their doctor hadn't told
them about it long before now? The initial skepticism makes it all
the more satisfying to Coan when those same people become believers.
Migun,
pronounced me-gun, means "beautiful health." People can lie on the Migun
bed for half-hour sessions up to 60 times for free at Coan's Greensboro
store. There are Migun demonstration centers in cities all over the world,
including Asheville, Chapel Hill and Wilmington. Migun was designed
by Korean engineer Sang Bok Lee in 1988. He combined far-infrared heat
with the principles of acupressure, chiropractic and massage. Far-infrared
heat is released through jade massage heads. Its manufacturers say the
far-infrared rays oxygenate the blood stream, stimulate blood cells and
increase circulation. This process is also said to dissolve toxic
materials and waste in your body.
The Food and
Drug Administration approved it as a Class II medical device in 2003.
Coan's customers say Migun therapy relieves pain from arthritis or
fibromyalgia. Some people say they have seen their diabetes or heart
conditions improve with use. Others say they've lowered their blood
pressure and cholesterol over time. When Coan's brother Jim bought a
Migun bed last year, she scoffed at his invitation to try it. Though she
has no physical ailments, she now owns a bed. And along with her brother,
his fiancé and another partner, Coan owns Greensboro's first Migun
demonstration center. They profit by selling people Migun beds,
which range from $3,000 to $3,695. They also carry Migun mats that
range from $345 to $1,500. They must sell eight beds each month to pay the
bills.
When they
opened last March, they didn't expect any gains the first few months. But
Migun of Greensboro broke national attendance records and sold four beds
the first month. They've almost recouped their initial investment, and
average about 100 users per day. Their business sits in the busy
Battleground Village shopping center, anchored by the natural foods
market, Earth Fare, and a Japanese steakhouse. Coan knows that most
people can't afford to buy a Migun bed and she doesn't advocate pressuring
people to buy one. No one gives people a sales pitch as they lie on the
beds. Coan believes the product speaks for itself. "We hope that if
you don't buy it, then you will send us someone who will," she says.
Most visitors come through word of mouth. That's how Mattie Bell, 70,
discovered Migun. Bell, who lives in Reidsville, travels to Greensboro at
least three times each week to lie on the bed. She's done so since her
sister told her about it last August. But Bell's visits to
Greensboro will soon end. She not only bought a Migun bed and mat, she
also bought a pre-fabricated building to put it in. By the time the
building is constructed, carpeted and wired for electricity, the Bells
will have spent at least $6,500. To her, it's money well spent. Bell
suffered from crippling rheumatoid arthritis for the past 18 years. The
pain was so severe, she could hardly sleep at night. "The first time I
laid on that bed, I could feel a difference in my body," Bell says.
She says she's been pain free since her first visit: "I'm just thankful to
God. ... I used to lay there in my bed and think, 'Lord, if I just had
somebody to massage my body, I think this pain would leave my body.' He
must have heard my prayers." And Bell's spreading the word to
friends and family members. She even spoke about it at her church, where
she can now walk well enough to serve as an usher again.
Thomas
Kingsley, a doctor with Eagle Family Medicine, wrote a recommendation for
one of his patients to continue to use the bed. Kingsley says he
doesn't know enough about far-infrared rays or Migun to endorse it. But
his patient had head and neck pain that seemed to be relieved with its
use. He says it didn't seem to cause her harm and she felt better, so he
saw no reason to object her using it.
Coan expects
people to be skeptical of Migun's benefits. She was too. "I didn't
need it, didn't want it and it looked goofy," she says. "People were lying
down and they're not talking to each other. It looks like a Woody Allen
movie." But just as her mind was changed, she sees others becoming
Migun converts. Attendance records and bed sales -- they sold 16 beds in
December -- prove that people believe it helps them. And that makes Coan
feel good about her business.
"It's like a
community service that rewards the giver," she says.
Contact Tina
Firesheets at 373-3498 or tfiresheets@news-record.com
Want to try?
This is how it works:
Visitors sign
in when they arrive. If it's your first time, you must attend a 20-minute
orientation to learn about Migun and how it works. Afterward, you get to
try it.
At the Migun
store in Greensboro, everything is in the same room -- the sign-in and
orientation areas and the beds. You can check out the people on the beds
as you're signing in or watching a video about Migun. Their eyes closed,
most of them look as if they're asleep. There's even an occasional snore.
But it's not designed to replace your traditional bed. It's designed for
half-hour thermal therapy sessions.
By the way,
you keep your clothes on. The only things you must remove are shoes and
belts. Once you're on the heated bed, the jade knobs travel the length of
your body. There are different settings that focus on different parts of
the torso. The knobs can hurt. I used the bed after jogging the
night before and the knobs hurt my tired calves. But later that day, they
weren't sore at all.
New users are
advised to bring their own towels to ease some of the pressure. But if you
like deep tissue massages, it's not so bad. The knobs lift your lower
back, head and legs as they travel along your body. And I did feel a
sensation from my muscles after the knobs moved over them. It's hard to
describe, but it was as if little butterflies were released into my
bloodstream.
Since I don't
yet suffer from back pain or other chronic diseases, it's hard to say if
I've experienced any health benefits from it.
But it is nice
to lie on a heated massage bed for a half hour. For free."
-- Tina
Firesheets
