Happy World Tai Chi & Qigong Day!
Saturday, April 29, 2006 is World Tai Chi & Qigong Day . The day is going to be celebrated in 60 countries around the world as well as all fifty states. The event has been recognized by the United Nations World Health Organization, and proclaimed officially for 17 US states by their governors, as well as senates, legislatures and mayors of various countries.
I taught Tai Chi and Qigong for several years, and had the privilege of studying with teachers in China and Malaysia whose methods were part of an oral tradition. Much of this material has still not been published. I recently reviewed a very nice book at the Amazon.com website. One of the things that impressed me about the book is that it contained exercises and techniques that I had been taught by Chinese Masters, but which to my knowledge have never been published anywhere else.
I thought that it might be a good moment to review the world literature on the medical effects of Tai Chi and Qigong. My search has turned up over 2,200 published reports, of which about a third are the reports of clinical trials. I have been able to analyze the data in about a half of those trials. The data now suggests that Tai Chi is genuinely useful for:
- Preventing falls in the elderly
- Improving functional mobility and some aspects of immune function
- Improving blood pressure and lipid profiles and subjective wellness
- Improving overall physical performance
- Stress reduction in HIV positive individuals
There are many other studies indicating the value of Tai Chi, but these give you a sense of some of the research that is going on at the moment.
As I mentioned in another post, qigong is both a personal practice and is used as a form of therapy. It has recently been shown to help:
- Chronic pain
- Cardiac rehabilitation in the elderly
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Overall immune function
- Asthma
This is by no means a comprehensive list, but as you can see, this is an active area of research.
Learning some Tai Chi and Qigong could be one of the best investments that you ever make in your own health.
Technorati Tags: Tai Chi, Qigong, Wellness, Asthma, Chronic fatigue, HIV
Dr. Richard G. Petty, MD is a world-renowned authority on the brain, and his revolutionary work on human energy systems has been acclaimed around the globe.
He is also an accredited specialist in internal and metabolic medicine, endocrinology, psychiatry, acupuncture and homeopathy. He has been an innovator and leader of the human potential movement for over thirty years and is also an active researcher, teacher, writer, professional speaker and broadcaster. He is the author of five books, including the groundbreaking and best selling CD series Healing, Meaning and Purpose. He has taught in over 45 countries and 48 states in the last ten years, but spends as much time as possible on his horse farm in Georgia.
