14 DAY TRIAL // The ancient Chinese martial-arts forms Qigong and Taiji seem to bring health benefits to older adults, shows a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois. Qigong (chee-kung) and Taiji (tye-chee) - or Tai Chi - combine simple, graceful movements and meditation. Qigong, which dates to the middle of the first millennium B.C., is a series of integrated exercises believed to have positive, relaxing effects on a person's mind, body and spirit. Tai Chi is a holistic form of exercise, and a type of Qigong that melds Chinese philosophy with martial and healing arts.
"Traditional Tai Chi training includes Qigong, but most contemporary Tai Chi researchers have omitted Qigong from their research," said visiting kinesiology professor Yang Yang. "As a result, previous researchers may not have documented all of the health benefits possible from traditional Tai Chi training."
In two studies - one quantitative, one qualitative - presented recently at the North American Research Conference on Complementary & Integrative Medicine, lead researcher Yang found that healthy seniors who practiced a combination of Qigong and Tai Chi three times a week for six months experienced significant physical benefits after only two months.
Not only did participants demonstrate noticeable improvements in laboratory-controlled tests designed to measure balance, lower body strength and stance width, a subset of participants who contributed responses in the qualitative study provided dramatic evidence of how Tai Chi and Qigong practice had also enhanced their lives from a mental, emotional and spiritual perspective.
The quantitative study included 39 participants and a control group of 29; the average age of participants was 80. Each was given a battery of physical performance tests in the beginning as a baseline, then again after two-month and six-month intervals. The smaller qualitative study consisted of in-depth interviews with four of the exercise participants described by Yang as "very enthusiastic about their Tai Chi and Qigong practice."
In assessing the effects of Tai Chi and Qigong practice on participants, the researchers used a number of standard physical-activity measurements, such as the single leg stand, or SLS. The SLS measures the length of time an individual can stand on one leg, with eyes closed and eyes open. "With eyes open, we saw an 83 percent improvement after two months," Yang said. "With eyes closed, we did not see results - 29 percent improvement - until the end of six months."
According to Yang numbers alone don't tell the full story: "When you see how it translates to functional performance ? how meaningful it is to their daily life - putting on jeans, taking groceries out, even the posture you have when you hold your grandchildren - the results are significant."
Psychology professor Karl Rosengren of University of Illinois, who took part of the study, says the research team plans to continue studying the links between Tai Chi and Qigong and the benefits of their practice for older adults.
"We plan to focus on trying to understand the mechanisms more," he said. "We'll also try to investigate more closely the effects of the expertise of the instructor by looking at other research that's been done and trying to get measures of expertise in training."
"Having watched Yang and having seen videotapes of instructors with minimal experience, there's a huge difference," he added. "It's the wealth of knowledge he brings and the combination of the science from the West and the traditions from the East that actually bring together things in a very positive way."