Benefits of Qigong
Reducing Stress
Qigong is An Effective Technique for Preventing and Easing Stress
Stress has been linked with such physical problems as heart attack, stroke, gastrointestinal problems and asthma,
as well as emotional problems like depression, anxiety and an inability to enjoy life.
Qigong can slow the aging process!
Qigong Stimulates the Relaxation Response
It can “reverse the cumulative effects of stress on the body”.
“The relaxation response alters the expression of genes involved with processes such as inflammation, programmed cell death and how the body handles free radicals - molecules produced by normal metabolism that, if not appropriately neutralized, can damage cells and tissues.”
Dr. Herbert Benson, Mind/Body Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School,
Dr. Herbert Benson, Mind/Body Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School,
No pain, big gains.
“Although qigong / tai chi is slow and gentle and doesn't leave you breathless, it addresses the key components of fitness — muscle strength, flexibility, balance, and, to a lesser degree, aerobic conditioning.”
"Although you aren't working with weights or resistance bands, the unsupported arm exercise involved in tai chi (qigong) strengthens your upper body," says internist Dr. Gloria Yeh, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. "Tai chi (qigong) strengthens both the lower and upper extremities and also the core muscles of the back and abdomen."
Flexibility. Women in the 2006 Stanford study significantly boosted upper- and lower-body flexibility as well as strength.
Balance. It improves balance and reduces falls. Proprioception — the ability to sense the position of one's body in space — declines with age. Tai chi and qigong help train this sense, which is a function of sensory neurons in the inner ear and stretch receptors in the muscles and ligaments. They also improve muscle strength and flexibility, which makes it easier to recover from a stumble. Fear of falling can make you more likely to fall; some studies have found that tai chi training helps reduce that fear.
Aerobic conditioning. Depending on the speed and size of the movements, tai chi can provide some aerobic benefits.
Harvard Women’s Health Watch 5/7/2009
“Although qigong / tai chi is slow and gentle and doesn't leave you breathless, it addresses the key components of fitness — muscle strength, flexibility, balance, and, to a lesser degree, aerobic conditioning.”
"Although you aren't working with weights or resistance bands, the unsupported arm exercise involved in tai chi (qigong) strengthens your upper body," says internist Dr. Gloria Yeh, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. "Tai chi (qigong) strengthens both the lower and upper extremities and also the core muscles of the back and abdomen."
Flexibility. Women in the 2006 Stanford study significantly boosted upper- and lower-body flexibility as well as strength.
Balance. It improves balance and reduces falls. Proprioception — the ability to sense the position of one's body in space — declines with age. Tai chi and qigong help train this sense, which is a function of sensory neurons in the inner ear and stretch receptors in the muscles and ligaments. They also improve muscle strength and flexibility, which makes it easier to recover from a stumble. Fear of falling can make you more likely to fall; some studies have found that tai chi training helps reduce that fear.
Aerobic conditioning. Depending on the speed and size of the movements, tai chi can provide some aerobic benefits.
Harvard Women’s Health Watch 5/7/2009
National Council on Aging
March/April 2006 Newsletter
Qigong and Tai Chi Can Help You Stay Healthy
“Two ancient Chinese wellness exercises—Qigong and Tai Chi—could help you live a longer and healthier life.
Recent studies have demonstrated their effectiveness in preventing falls and chronic disease, improving overall well-being and reducing negative drug interactions.”
Stay In Your Home Longer.
Qigong for Medical Conditions
The Complimentary and Alternative Medicine Department of the US National Institute of Medicine is in the process of funding rigorous research (double blind randomized control trials) that collaborate the many Chinese studies that support the effectiveness of Qigong. A 2003 Korean randomized control trial study has indicated that a single Qigong intervention can increase the immune system's disease fighting white blood cells (monocytes and lymphocytes). The US National Institute of Health Med Line Research database currently lists over 50 published research studies in English validating the effectiveness of qigong.
Harvard Women’s Health Watch 5/7/2009
Recent research on the benefits of tai chi and qigong
When combined with standard treatment, tai chi and qigong appear to be helpful for several medical conditions. (Tai Chi is one form of Qigong.)
Arthritis. In a 40-person study at Tufts University, presented in October 2008 at a meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, an hour of tai chi twice a week for 12 weeks reduced pain and improved mood and physical functioning more than standard stretching exercises in people with severe knee osteoarthritis. According to a Korean study published in December 2008 in Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, eight weeks of tai chi classes followed by eight weeks of home practice significantly improved flexibility and slowed the disease process in patients with ankylosing spondylitis, a painful and debilitating inflammatory form of arthritis that affects the spine.
Low bone density. A review of six controlled studies by Dr. Wayne and other Harvard researchers indicates that tai chi may be a safe and effective way to maintain bone density in postmenopausal women. A controlled study of tai chi in women with osteopenia (diminished bone density not as severe as osteoporosis) is under way at the Osher Research Center and Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Breast cancer. Tai chi has shown potential for improving quality of life and functional capacity (the physical ability to carry out normal daily activities, such as work or exercise) in women suffering from breast cancer or the side effects of breast cancer treatment. For example, a 2008 study at the University of Rochester, published in Medicine and Sport Science, found that quality of life and functional capacity (including aerobic capacity, muscular strength, and flexibility) improved in women with breast cancer who did 12 weeks of tai chi, while declining in a control group that received only supportive therapy.
Heart disease. A 53-person study at National Taiwan University found that a year of tai chi significantly boosted exercise capacity, lowered blood pressure, and improved levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, and C-reactive protein in people at high risk for heart disease. The study, which was published in the September 2008 Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, found no improvement in a control group that did not practice tai chi.
Heart failure. In a 30-person pilot study at Harvard Medical School, 12 weeks of tai chi improved participants' ability to walk and quality of life. It also reduced blood levels of B-type natriuretic protein, an indicator of heart failure. A 150-patient controlled trial is under way.
Hypertension. In a review of 26 studies in English or Chinese published in Preventive Cardiology (Spring 2008), Dr. Yeh reported that in 85% of trials, tai chi lowered blood pressure — with improvements ranging from 3 to 32 mm Hg in systolic pressure and from 2 to 18 mm Hg in diastolic pressure.
Parkinson's disease. A 33-person pilot study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, published in Gait and Posture (October 2008), found that people with mild to moderately severe Parkinson's disease showed improved balance, walking ability, and overall well-being after 20 tai chi sessions.
Sleep problems. In a University of California, Los Angeles, study of 112 healthy older adults with moderate sleep complaints, 16 weeks of tai chi improved the quality and duration of sleep significantly more than standard sleep education. The study was published in the July 2008 issue of the journal Sleep.
Stroke. In 136 patients who'd had a stroke at least six months earlier, 12 weeks of tai chi improved standing balance more than a general exercise program that entailed breathing, stretching, and mobilizing muscles and joints involved in sitting and walking. Findings were published in the January 2009 issue of Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair.
The Complimentary and Alternative Medicine Department of the US National Institute of Medicine is in the process of funding rigorous research (double blind randomized control trials) that collaborate the many Chinese studies that support the effectiveness of Qigong. A 2003 Korean randomized control trial study has indicated that a single Qigong intervention can increase the immune system's disease fighting white blood cells (monocytes and lymphocytes). The US National Institute of Health Med Line Research database currently lists over 50 published research studies in English validating the effectiveness of qigong.
Harvard Women’s Health Watch 5/7/2009
Recent research on the benefits of tai chi and qigong
When combined with standard treatment, tai chi and qigong appear to be helpful for several medical conditions. (Tai Chi is one form of Qigong.)
Arthritis. In a 40-person study at Tufts University, presented in October 2008 at a meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, an hour of tai chi twice a week for 12 weeks reduced pain and improved mood and physical functioning more than standard stretching exercises in people with severe knee osteoarthritis. According to a Korean study published in December 2008 in Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, eight weeks of tai chi classes followed by eight weeks of home practice significantly improved flexibility and slowed the disease process in patients with ankylosing spondylitis, a painful and debilitating inflammatory form of arthritis that affects the spine.
Low bone density. A review of six controlled studies by Dr. Wayne and other Harvard researchers indicates that tai chi may be a safe and effective way to maintain bone density in postmenopausal women. A controlled study of tai chi in women with osteopenia (diminished bone density not as severe as osteoporosis) is under way at the Osher Research Center and Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Breast cancer. Tai chi has shown potential for improving quality of life and functional capacity (the physical ability to carry out normal daily activities, such as work or exercise) in women suffering from breast cancer or the side effects of breast cancer treatment. For example, a 2008 study at the University of Rochester, published in Medicine and Sport Science, found that quality of life and functional capacity (including aerobic capacity, muscular strength, and flexibility) improved in women with breast cancer who did 12 weeks of tai chi, while declining in a control group that received only supportive therapy.
Heart disease. A 53-person study at National Taiwan University found that a year of tai chi significantly boosted exercise capacity, lowered blood pressure, and improved levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, and C-reactive protein in people at high risk for heart disease. The study, which was published in the September 2008 Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, found no improvement in a control group that did not practice tai chi.
Heart failure. In a 30-person pilot study at Harvard Medical School, 12 weeks of tai chi improved participants' ability to walk and quality of life. It also reduced blood levels of B-type natriuretic protein, an indicator of heart failure. A 150-patient controlled trial is under way.
Hypertension. In a review of 26 studies in English or Chinese published in Preventive Cardiology (Spring 2008), Dr. Yeh reported that in 85% of trials, tai chi lowered blood pressure — with improvements ranging from 3 to 32 mm Hg in systolic pressure and from 2 to 18 mm Hg in diastolic pressure.
Parkinson's disease. A 33-person pilot study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, published in Gait and Posture (October 2008), found that people with mild to moderately severe Parkinson's disease showed improved balance, walking ability, and overall well-being after 20 tai chi sessions.
Sleep problems. In a University of California, Los Angeles, study of 112 healthy older adults with moderate sleep complaints, 16 weeks of tai chi improved the quality and duration of sleep significantly more than standard sleep education. The study was published in the July 2008 issue of the journal Sleep.
Stroke. In 136 patients who'd had a stroke at least six months earlier, 12 weeks of tai chi improved standing balance more than a general exercise program that entailed breathing, stretching, and mobilizing muscles and joints involved in sitting and walking. Findings were published in the January 2009 issue of Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair.
