An elderly Chinese woman had two large water pots hung on either end of a pole, which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it and at the end of the long walks from the river to the house, the cracked pot always arrived only half full.   Every day the woman continued to bring home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. ...  read more

A review of scientific literature suggests that there is strong evidence of beneficial health effects of tai chi and qi gong, including for bone health, cardiopulmonary fitness, balance, and quality of life. Researchers from the Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi (Santa Barbara, California), Arizona State University, and the University of North Carolina analyzed 77 articles reporting the results of 66 randomized controlled trials of tai chi and qi gong. The studies involved a total of 6,410 participants. Of ...  read more

We know that physical activity and exercise are supposed to improve psychological health. However, the question has been what if any, effect Tai Chi has on stress, anxiety, depression and mood disturbance in eastern and western populations. Eight English and 3 Chinese databases were used to collate forty studies totalling 3817 subjects that met the criteria of having at least 1 reportable psychological health outcome. Approximately 29 psychological measurements were assessed revealing that Tai Chi significantly increased psychological well-being including ...  read more

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – In the largest study to date of the Arthritis Foundation's Tai Chi program, participants showed improvement in pain, fatigue, stiffness and sense of well-being. Their ability to reach while maintaining balance also improved, said Leigh Callahan, PhD, the study's lead author, associate professor in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and a member of UNC's Thurston Arthritis Research Center. "Our study shows that there are significant benefits of the Tai Chi ...  read more

Osteoarthritis (OA) refers to a clinical syndrome of joint pain accompanied by varying degrees of functional disability and impaired quality of life. The prevalence increases with age, and OA is one of the leading causes of pain and disability for the adult population worldwide (NICE 2008). Tai Chi is a form of exercise that focuses on controlled movements combined with diaphragmatic breathing and relaxation while maintaining good posture (Hall et al 2009). This randomised controlled trial included modified Yang-style Tai ...  read more

People with Parkinson's disease usually have substantially impaired balance, leading to diminished functional ability and an increased risk of falling. Although exercise is routinely encouraged by health care providers, few programs have been proven effective. A randomized, controlled trial was conducted by the Oregon Research Institute, with funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, to determine whether a tailored Tai Chi program could improve postural control in sufferers of idiopathic Parkinson's disease. All trial participants undertook 60-minute ...  read more

Scientists from the University of South Florida and Fudan University in Shanghai found increases in brain volume and improvements on tests of memory and thinking in Chinese seniors who practiced Tai Chi three times a week, reports an article published June 19 in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. The findings were based on an 8-month randomized control trial comparing those who practiced Tai Chi to a group who did not. The trial also showed increases in brain volume and cognitive ...  read more

A study was carried out in 2007 to evaluate the effects of Tai Chi on resting and vaccine-stimulated levels of cell-mediated immunity (CMI) to varicella zoster virus (VZV), and on health functioning in older adults. The trial was conducted over 25 weeks, and at week 16 participants were vaccinated with VARIVAX, the live attenuated Oka/Merck VZV vaccine licensed to prevent varicella. The Tai Chi group showed higher levels of VZV-CMI than the health education control group, with a significant rate ...  read more

Tai chi exercise may improve quality of life, mood, and exercise self-efficacy (belief in one’s own abilities) in people with chronic heart failure, according to a 2011 study funded in part by NCCAM. Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital evaluated exercise capacity, quality of life, physical activity, and mood in 100 people with chronic heart failure. The researchers found that the participants in the tai chi group had ...  read more

Regular Tai Chi Chuan exercise improves T cell helper function of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with an increase in T-bet transcription factor and IL-12 production. Tai Chi exercises can improve the control of type 2 diabetes, suggests a small study. The research team assessed the impact of a 12 week programme of Tai Chi exercises on the T helper cell activity of 30 patients with type 2 diabetes and 30 healthy people of the same age. T cells ...  read more