Medication in Movement

Tai Chi has often be described as "meditation in movement" and it is true that Tai Chi can be practiced as a Meditation exercise, and can also be practiced in order top help regular Sitting  Meditation as we practice in Zen. Now, according to a Harvard Medical School newsletter, tai chi is increasingly seen as a form of "medication in motion."

Visit an urban park in China any given morning or late afternoon, and you're likely to find elderly people engaged in Tai Chi.

 

Visit an urban park in China any given morning or late afternoon, and you're likely to find elderly people engaged in Tai Chi.

A study out this week in Archives of Internal Medicine says it may help people suffering from heart failure  feel better about life. In a quality of life questionnaire the researchers gave out, those who practiced tai chi scored significantly higher than those who hadn't been doing the movement. The tai chi group also reported an improvement in mood.

 

Heart failure is a tough disease to live with; the shortness of breath and low energy that can come because the heart can't pump enough blood make physical activity unappealing. "Historically, patients with chronic systolic heart failure were considered too frail to exercise and, through the late 1980s, avoidance of physical activity was a standard recommendation," the study's authors write.

It's been shown to be useful in treating a wide range of diseases from breast cancer to Parkinson's. The National Institutes of Health has also jumped on board and is funding a variety of studies on tai chi for chronic disease.

The Archives of Internal Medicine study is the first large clinical trial to look at whether a tai chi program can do anything for people with heart failure. The researchers recruited 100 people with the chronic condition from heart clinics in Boston. About half were randomly assigned to receive a 12-week tai chi exercise program. The other half got a heart health education program.

The tai chi program started off with some traditional warm-up exercises of arm swinging, gentle stretches, breathing, and visualization techniques. Then patients learned five simple movements designed to release tension in the body, increase awareness of breathing, and relax the body and mind. Patients got an instructional video tape, and were encouraged to practice at home at least 3 times a week.

The study authors say there's a usually a strong relationship between depression and heart failure, so the fact that tai chi helped cheer people up was an especially good sign.

Tai Chi and Health

TAI CHI is no Magic Bullet, but it may be one way to reduce the cost of Health Care, if people would be informed about its benefits, and would decide to take responsibility for their own health. 

According to Bill Douglas, founder of World Tai Chi Day: "If you look at a Kaiser Permanente study that says that 70 per cent of illnesses are caused by stress, you're talking about a potential savings of trillions of dollars, year after year if we teach our citizens effective stress-management techniques on a massive scale."

For decades, Bill Douglas has believed that the regular practice of the Chinese martial art, meant to unblock the flow of energy though the body, can be used to treat and even prevent a wide range of illnesses.

The medical world is beginning to agree with him - The May 2009 Harvard Health Publication said that Tai Chi - should more aptly be called moving medication.

Latest Harvard Tai Chi Research Report:

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. 

 

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.

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.

-- Harvard Medical School's Harvard Health Publication, May, 2009

Join us to celebrate World Tai Chi Day 

on Saturday, April 24, 2010

in Dothan, Alabama, USA 

Solomon Park 10:00 a.m.