Tai Chi

The first is qigong which is a health practice that utilizes body movement, breathing techniques and mental focus to assist in healing, relaxation and reconnecting (Winn, 2009). Next is that art of meditation. Meditation is an important element in the Tao religion. Many Taoists practice meditation to achieve mental serenity and heighten mental awareness. There are also various forms of exercise, such as yoga and Tai Chi, and therapies, acupuncture and moxibustion, which Taoists use to restore balance within the body and achieve healing.

The Chinese culture is rooted around the medical tradition that illness is a state of cacophony clashing with the natural and social environment. This tradition is called systematic correspondence and it sums up the Chinese medical model with a goal of reinstating harmony and balance. Solutions are to return patients to a previously healthy state using herbal medicine, moxibustion, acupuncture and massage therapy. Moxibustion uses dried plant leaves ignited and held close to the skin to bring about the flow of Qi. The terms caring and curing are used interchangeably and represent the unmistakable mandate that the person as a whole is to be cared for, not only the ailment.

People used to believe that acupuncture works by conserving and balancing the movement of Qi in the person’s body. Qi is basically an idea that is hard to interpret it to other people who do not have much of a grasp on it. It is usually associated with vital energy and has also been included with different western traditions of philosophy.

It enables you to string together all parts of the body as a whole and, constantly under the command of your mind in a very relaxed manner. The second purpose is a technique for self-defense. Through this mind-body conditioning process, Tai Chi Chuan inevitably becomes a part of you. You learn to react not with your muscles, but with your mind which is always superior. As to self-defense, it is a matter of reaction in your mind, not your muscles. The third purpose is that Tai Chi Chuan can also act as a dancing art. It is solely for the benefit of the doer, not for the audience. The movement itself is as beautiful as it can be, but more important the wonderful feeling you experience within yourself as you do it. It also opens and cultivates excellent sensitivity for your mind and body. Finally, the fourth purpose is seen as a healing art. Is has won much acclaim as a healing exercise for various ailments and clinical conditions. Individual’s mental, physical, and emotional health as an entity can best be achieved and maintained by practicing Tai Chi Chuan.4

Good health means the yin and yang is in balance and in harmony with each other. According to Jarvis (2012), foods are classified in this theory; yin foods are cold, and yang foods are hot; cold foods are eaten with a hot illness and hot foods are eaten with a cold illness. Chinese people have practiced acupuncture for thousands of years for the reduction of pain and for various disorders using fine needles at specific meridian points on the body (Edelman & Mandle, 2010). The Chinese believe that when there is an imbalance in a person’s system is when a person has illness. For health maintenance, they use preventive measures such eating healthy. Chinese people enjoy drinking a variety of tea after meals for the cleansing effect. Health protection means wearing an amulet or jade, eat correctly and with compatible food (Jarvis, 2012). Chinese people use cupping, acupuncture, moxibustion, and herbs such as ginseng roots, and usually will consult with herbalists, for health restoration.

General exercise programs should be encouraged. The primary components of such programs should be training in balance, flexibility, endurance, and strengthening. (Reid, 2015) If necessary, a physiotherapist can be recommended to reinforce the education program, including coaching on fall risk, body mechanics, and balance training. (Reid, 2015) Another exercise program that has merit are Tai Chi and Yoga. Although there is very little research on both Tai Chi and Yoga in relation to chronic pain, there is some evidence to suggest that both can be utilized in pain reduction and is significant. Tai Chi and yoga are feasible for the older adult population and in the same study that found that Tai Chi and yoga significantly reduced pain also found that there were no reports of adverse effects or safety issues caused by practicing Tai Chi or

This is a promising study published in the peer-reviewed journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. The group that received the intervention practiced a specific form of qigong that was composed of simple body movements and repeating out loud declarations meant to be spiritual in purpose. By day seven of treatment, the group practicing qigong reported an absence of withdrawal symptoms, while the control group and the group receiving medication continued reporting symptoms at the conclusion of the tenth day of treatment (Li, Chen, & Mo, 2002). The authors of this study point out the difference between Eastern and Western modalities of treatment. Western addiction treatment typically includes heavy focus on symptom treatment using medications to treat withdrawal by mitigating symptoms. Because Eastern medicine treats an individual holistically, a more body and mind integrative approach is used. The strengths perspective in Eastern ideology is that people have the innate ability to restore balance in their own being especially by using tools such as qigong. The authors make quite a strong argument in favor of qigong: “Those treated by qigong therapy learn a reportedly powerful self-healing technique that is believed to increase their immune function, improve their oxygen metabolism, and possibly help them for the rest of their lives if they are persistent in practice” (Li, Chen, & Mo, 2002, p. 7). To fully encapsulate the benefits of qigong for addiction treatment would be to include how no negative side effects are reported from its use, and the fact that it is very cost effective and does not necessitate the need for continuous

Qigong, pronounced “chee-gung”, is the skill of body-mind exercise which integrates body, breath, and mind into one. It is translated from Chinese to mean “energy cultivation” or “working with life the energy” (Dupler). Fire and water methods are associated with qigong, but this is not like the classical Five Element. The fire method involves an element force of tensing muscles, holding breathe, visualization used in early stages, while the water method is based on relaxation and release, smooth continuous breathing, developing qi flow, and internal structures. Three regulations that come from qigong is learning body regulation, breathing, and mind. The basic methods and regulations can be seen in traditional Chinese medicine. Although Qigong is a fundamental element of Traditional Chinese medicine, it has idiosyncratic characteristics of its own. Chinese scholars acknowledge Kongzi (Confucius) and Mengzi (Mencius) are considered the founders of the qigong scholar tradition, because within their writings they alluded to the concepts of qi training methodology as being methods of moral training (Ni).

Today is the second class of Qi Gong. In this class, we talked more about Qi Gong’s history, Chinese philosophical thinkings, some scientific proofs as well as the inner mechanisms of Qi Gong. Qi Gong is rooted in ancient Chinese culture, being a combination of traditional Chinese medicine, ancient Chinese philosophy, traditional Chinese culture and also ancient Chinese religions. Therefore. we need comprehensive knowledge to understand all of the fundamentals of Qi Gong.

Tai Chi is about “creating a balance between the mind, body, and nature, while encouraging a heightened state of health and wellness” (Herzog, 2011, p. 1). Tai chi involves the constant movement with the left and right hand, until a sense of inner peace is reached. When tai chi is performed between two people, a relationship is established from the two individuals through movement. There is

Acupuncture is one of the biggest clinical trials to test the effectiveness and safety of the alternative practice.  Researchers have also found that acupuncture has complemented conventional therapy as it has effectively reduced pain associated with osteoarthritis of the knee. Acupuncture, has also helped people deal with chronic episodes of tension-headaches, along with chemotherapy patients who experience nausea and vomiting. And, according to another study, 66 people with fibromyalgia, benefited from doing Tai-Chi. Results showed improved moods and sleep

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine that involves inserting thin needles at certain points on the body. Practitioners believe that there are more than 2,000 points throughout the body that are connected by pathways, which create a flow of energy called qi. Stimulating these points with metallic needles can correct an imbalance of qi and improve the flow of energy in the body.

Rather than releasing tension in the muscles and joints such as in aquatic therapy, manual therapy consists of constant pressure on the affected area, followed by a gradual relief of the pain overtime (Bennell & Hinman, 2011). Tai chi has become a popular land-based therapy that is beneficial for helping with pain, balance, function and flexibility in elderly patients suffering muscle pain (Bennell & Hinman, 2011). Both aquatic and manual therapies have benefits and downfalls, all wanting the result of improving the patient’s quality of

Traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, is one of the oldest systems of medicine to exist among humans, and it is extremely prominent to this day. According to legend, the system has been in use since the third millennium BCE. The views of such an old system differ greatly from those found in modern western medicine. Perhaps most prominent is the fact that TCM focuses more on the patient than the illness. The system considers the human to be a microcosm of the universe, implying that the body is affected by the traditional Taoist forces of yin and yang, the five elements, and Qi in the same way the cosmos are. Each of these forces act upon the “zang fu,” or organ system, directly influencing a patient’s health. Healers use qigong to assist in the restoration of stability in the body. Achieving balance, both internally and externally, is the most important aspect of healing in TCM.

As it has been around for centuries, there are many procedures to treat your illness. The theory behind TCM, as said in Encyclopedia of natural Healing, is to start with a symptom, and then look for a specific cause of that illness.One method to help cure your ailment is to use the theory of Yin and Yang.Yin and Yang is what TCM doctors use to help with headaches, smale pain, aches, and tiredness. When a person has too much Yang, headaches will occur along with pain. If you have too much yin, you will experience tiredness or chills. Another popular method of TCM is acupuncture, a very common one this day. It is used to cure pain, and disease. The way it is used is based on the theory of meridians. Meridians are channels throughout the body where your qi can be blocked (Williams 47). Once your qi is blocked, you will experience a multitude of ailments. This is where acupuncture comes into play. TCM doctors lie you down on a table and then proceed to stick thin needles into your body where the meridians lie. By doing this, your qi will be unblocked and your symptoms and will quickly dissipate. Another common remedy are herbal concoctions, mixtures of different plants and animals to cure your ailment. Most herbal remedies consist of a chief, deputy, assistant, and an envoy (Schoenbeck 2035). Each mixture is different for every illness