Dancing with air: tai chi and qi gong

by Siobhan Gallagher

Everybody knows that exercise improves both your physical and your mental well-being. So what makes tai chi and qi gong any better than other light-to-moderate exercise, such as walking? Although scientific studies have yet to support the compelling anecdotal information about the benefits of tai chi and qi gong (also spelled chi gong), they seem to have the additional benefit of soothing your mind and developing your spirit.

Practiced in China by millions of people since ancient times, both tai chi and qi gong are based on a Chinese system of health that nurtures "chi". The "chi" in tai chi and qi gong is translated as "vital energy" or "life force". Tai chi is a specific series of movements, often called a form. Qi gong movements are specific short exercises that work on different parts of the body. Both usually combine movement with breathing in a way that is specific to each motion. Both are done in a relaxed manner, and although physically challenging, benefits do not come if done with force or strain.

Tai chi (also spelled taiji, tai chi, or tai chi chuan) is often called "meditation in motion". An ancient Chinese system designed to increase and maintain health and well-being, it looks like a graceful and gentle solo dance done in a series of slow, sequential movements. Although categorized as a martial art, tai chi bears little resemblance to fighting styles, such as karate. There are many different styles of tai chi, including yang, wu, and chen.

Qi gong (also spelled chi kung or chi gong) are specific exercises designed to increase health. Sometimes called "healing exercises", each qi gong movement conditions or treats chi. In China, qi gong is often used to help with illnesses such as depression, gastrointestinal problems, and high blood pressure. There are two types of qi gong: internal and external. Internal qi gong develops the practitioners chi. External qi gong involves transferring chi from one person to another, for the benefit of the recipient.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the body has meridians, or "energy pathways". Sickness comes when the energy pathways get blocked. Both tai chi and qi gong are designed to keep the bodys energy pathways flowing in a healthy manner. This concept can be hard for a westerner to understand, because we are raised to think of our bodies as being separate from our minds. In Chinese philosophy, there is no mind-body split. All is one. Practicing tai chi and qi gong, it is said, will bring you harmony.

Western medicine is highly scientific in its approach to understanding health. While this kind of scientific system protects us from inadequately tested drugs and ensures that we only undergo surgery that is medically safe and necessary, the same scientific system cannot always be readily applied to other types of health systems, such as traditional Chinese medicine. However, western medicine is beginning to understand the importance of movement as a mechanism of recovery, as evidenced by the increasing emphasis on movement shortly after surgery.

Western medicine is making strides in understanding what it calls "complementary and alternative medicine." The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has established the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) to study health and healing that is outside the realm of traditional western medicine. These studies include traditional Chinese medicine, including tai chi and qi gong.

Studies by the National Institute on Aging have concluded that tai chi can improve flexibility, strength and balance control in older people. Tai chi has also been proven to be helpful in promoting cardiorespiratory fitness and/or blood pressure fitness in some segments of the population. The effects of qi gong on post-CABG (coronary artery bypass graft) pain, healing, and outcomes is currently under study at the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Center at the University of Michigan.

Some instructors say that tai chi and qi gong work differently than other types of exercise, in part because they require a great deal of focus. When practicing tai chi or qi gong—although they look deceptively easy—one has to concentrate in a way that other forms of exercise dont require. We know how to walk so we dont have to concentrate on the specific physical movements to do it. Nor do we need to focus on how we breathe. Tai chi and qi gong, however, require the student to focus on the specific movement in conjunction with a specific breathing pattern that matches the movement.

Tai chi instructor Mark Carletti, Ph.D., of the Boston area emphasizes the combination of "intent, breathing and movement". The three combined, he says, "help to attain an improved state of health, both physical and mental".

While you can read about tai chi and qi gong, the only way to understand it is to do it. Enroll in a class, get a video or see if your local PBS station has run a program on tai chi and qi gong. Breathe deeply, move slowly, focus your mind and—spread your wings.