Chinese character for chi Qi   ORIENTAL EXERCISE
Dedicated to maintaining health and vitality through movement

Exercise
About Health
About Stress
Oriental Medicine
Books
Video
What is Qi?
Daoist Bookshelf
Seasonal Notes
Home

 screen resolution stats

  

Scientific Studies

It has already been demonstrated that regular exercises such as walking, swimming, jogging etc. have enormous benefits for the heart and circulation. When it comes to scientific evidence for the additional benefits of oriental exercise, however, certain difficulties arise. This is usually because exercise systems such as yoga or qi gong claim additional health benefits beyond simple cardiovascular fitness training. There is, therefore, often a reliance on subjective responses from those taking part in trials - do they feel better for it? do they have less pain for it? or are their symptoms milder? - and so on. Some trials are also conducted with small sample sizes or do not have a control group against which to compare results. It is always possible, therefore, for sceptics to conclude that the trials themselves are flawed and that more 'advanced studies' or 'more conclusive evidence' is required.

Nevertheless, the sheer quantity of experimental work is impressive. What is presented here, in abbreviated form, is merely a tiny fraction of all the studies conducted over the years. I include them here for general interest only. Any internet search will throw up many others. At the very least, oriental exercise is gentle and (unless practised in an inappropriate or extreme manner) safe. Above all, it helps to combat stress - a factor in many of our most serious and chronic diseases, including diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, asthma and cancer. Even if oriental exercise makes a small impact on some of these terrible illnesses, it has to be worth pursuing.

Like so many similar areas of study - complementary therapies, meditation and so on - it is always helpful to retain a certain degree of caution, and in this respect the sceptics have an important role to play. We should also always bear in mind that oriental exercise, yoga, tai ji or qi gong, are not therapies. Very few people would claim that they can cure illnesses directly. Rather, their usefulness in terms of health is in the overall strengthening of the body and mind of those taking part over a period of many years. They are preventative in nature. When seeking a teacher, therefore, it's probably best to maintain a sense of proportion and to be wary of anybody claiming 'special powers.' And always seek proper medical advice if unwell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home

1) There are a growing number of studies into yoga's effectiveness in managing illness. Yoga breathing was shown to reduce the frequency of asthma attacks in a 1990 study in The Lancet. It was shown to restore energy more effectively than relaxation or visualisation in a 1993 Oxford University study, while a further study in the British Journal of Rheumatology found yoga therapy could benefit people with rheumatoid arthritis. More recently, 1999, a trial in the Journal of the American Medical Association found yoga more effective than wrist splints for carpal tunnel syndrome. Long-term yoga practice reduced symptoms of hyperventilation in a Lancet study in 2000.

2) Regular yoga sessions may be an effective way to combat chronic lower back pain according to a team from Seattle's Group Health Cooperative Center for Health Studies. They assessed 101 adults with chronic back pain.Those who practised weekly 75-minute yoga classes made greater progress than those who took part in strengthening and stretching classes.The Annals of Internal Medicine study also found yoga was more effective than using a self-help book on back pain. After12 weeks patients in the yoga group were better able to do daily activities involving the back, while after another 14 weeks they also reported less pain, and needed less pain relieving drugs.

3) According to research conducted at the Oregon Research Institute, tai ji can assist and improve overall wellbeing, and in particular, balance among the elderly.This conclusion was based on a study of 256 physically inactive adults aged between 70 and 90-years-old, half of which were assigned to a tai ji group and half to a stretching group.After six months of attending their respective training sessions, it was noted that only 28 falls were recorded for the tai ji group compared to 74 for the control participants.Six months after the experiment it was also noted that despite both groups demonstrating a decline in balance the tai ji group declined to a lesser degree.

4) A similar study in the USA, through Harvard and Yale universities, concluded that elderly people undertaking a tai ji exercise program could reduce the risk of falls by as much as 47.5%. This was achieved though regular practise which improved their balance, body awareness and muscular strength. Meanwhile, a 1999 study of people with multiple sclerosis who practised tai chi found it contributed to an overall improvement in their quality of life.

5) Elsewhere tai ji has been shown to lower blood pressure. In a 15-week study in 1996 sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, 215 people 70 and older were randomly assigned to three groups. One group undertook weekly tai chi lessons and practiced on their own twice daily. Another met to discuss issues important to the elderly and were told to continue their usual exercise. The third group received simple balance-training. Among those doing tai chi, blood pressure fell and grip strength increased, and the participants' sense of control over their lives improved. Also, when followed for up to 17 months after the training period, the members of the tai chi group had reduced their risk of falls nearly in half, confirming findings elsewhere (see 4).

6) In a study of qi gong among computer operators, published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, ten women were given regular qi gong exercises. The control group also consisted of ten women. Both objective and subjective data were gathered. Objective measurements included heart rate, blood pressure, and finger temperature, as well as noradrenaline (norepinephrine) excretion in urine. Subjective information included daily records of psychological measures of strain and weekly measures of stress levels. Physiological indicators of stress such as heart rate, noradrenaline urine excretion, and finger temperature were significantly reduced when compared to the control group. The study concluded that qi gong exercise over even a short period may be able to positively affect the sympathetic nervous system. In addition, a noticeable reduction in stress-related physical symptoms and perceived levels of stress were noted in the experimental group. At the same time, qi gong also reduced low-back symptoms.

 

 

Article: Wade-Giles or Pinyin?

 

  

7) In a 2008 a study led by Dr R.Chattha (Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, Bangalore, India), it was found that yoga reduced hot flushes and night sweats among women undergoing menopause, while also appearing to sharpen mental function. 120 menopausal women were randomly assigned to either yoga practice or simple exercise for 5 days a week over a period of 8 weeks. The yoga group also received lectures on using yoga to manage stress and other topics, while those in the control group had talks on diet and physiology etc. At the conclusion of the study, the women in the yoga group showed a significant reduction in hot flashes, night sweats, and sleep disturbances, while the women in the control group did not. There was also an increase in mental agility in the yoga group compared to the control.

8) A US study of 30 patients found regular tai ji classes gave better movement and reduced BNP levels, a measure of what is called 'heart failure' - where the heart gradually loses the ability to pump blood around the body efficiently (not to be confused with a heart attack - which is a much more serious occurrence). Heart failure is, in fact, a relatively common complaint - with around 800,000 people suffering in the UK alone. Those in the study attended twice weekly classes for 12 months while a second control group had standard treatment.
9) Chinese researchers have carried out numerous studies of 'medical' qigong since the 1980s. These claim to show that qigong can increase blood flow to the brain and other vital organs, increase bone density, enhance the immune system and hormone function, and improve eyesight. Unfortunately, few of these have been translated into English and sometimes control groups are not included.
However, in a study conducted by the Shanghai Institute of Hypertension which monitored those taking regular hypertensive medicine, a qi gong group of 122 individuals was compared to a control group of 120 over a 30-year period. Among the control group deaths were 47.8% compared to the qi gong group of 25.4%. Incidents of stroke were recorded as 40.8% among the control group compared to 25.4% with qi gong. And death from stroke 32.5% among the control group compared to just 15.6% among the qi gong group.
10) A review by Natural Standard (an organisation that produces scientifically based reviews of complementary and alternative medicine) in conjunction with the Harvard Medical School examined the available evidence for the health benefits of yoga (including breathing techniques and meditation in certain instances). They concluded that the following conditions were helped - although further better-designed trials were usually called for at the conclusion of each entry.
Altitude sickness, Anxiety and stress (in healthy individuals), Anxiety disorders, Arthritis, Asthma, Lung disease and function, Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Depression, Diabetes, Fatigue, Headache, Heart disease, High blood pressure (hypertension), Insomnia, Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Low back pain, Mental retardation, Muscle soreness, Multiple sclerosis (fatigue, cognitive function), Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Posture, Quality of life, Seizure disorder (epilepsy), Stroke. They also named numerous other complaints for which they concluded there was some evidence but not sufficiently reliable.
11) A study jointly conducted by researchers from Yale, MIT, and Harvard universities has shown that the brain’s of individuals who meditate frequently are significantly larger than those men and women who do not meditate.This could also be linked with the aging process since decreases in the thickness of certain portions of the brain are associated with many of the signs of aging. The brains of longtime practitioners of meditation had from four to eight-thousandths of an inch more gray-matter inside their skulls, according to readouts obtained with an fMRI.
12) Scientists at Thailand's Khon Kaen University say 18 short yoga sessions can provide significant improvement to one's respiratory function by increasing chest wall expansion and forced expiratory lung volumes.The researchers chose five Hatha Yoga positions designed to improve chest wall function, including the cat, tree and camel positions. Fifty-eight healthy volunteers of approximately 20 years of age participated in the 6-week study. Half did five positions of Hatha Yoga during 20-minute sessions, three times a week. The control group volunteers didn't exercise, but continued their usual lifestyle - and did not smoke or drink. Those who practised yoga significantly improved their chest wall expansion - which allows individuals to get more air to the base of the lung, providing more oxygen with each breath and also requiring less effort to breathe. The study was presented in 2006 during the Experimental Biology Conference in San Francisco.
13) Brainwave Activity. There have been numerous small-scale experiments in which subjects have had their brain wave frequencies measured during or directly following oriental exercises such as yoga, tai ji etc. In these instances, the brainwave frequencies would lower to levels similar to those found in normal subjects in a highly relaxed state, such as when daydreaming or just before sleep. These correspond to the 'alpha' frequencies which have been shown to be present when the brain is particularly receptive to new ideas or to the learning of new skills. They are also linked to low blood pressure and muscular relaxation.
14) General Exercise and longevity.
A study published in 2007 in the Archives of Internal Medicine followed 2.357 men who were evaluated in terms of health at age 72 at the start of the study and were surveyed at least once a year for the next two decades. The research found that a healthy 70-year-old, who had never smoked, had normal blood pressure and weight and exercised up to four times a week had a 54% chance of living until 90. Sedentary lifestyle, on the other hand, reduced the chances of living to age 90 by 44%. The researchers also found that genes determine only about 25% of the variation in lifespan. Therefore, 75% can be determined by lifestyle (including regular exercise). Being in good shape could add as much as 10 years to a man’s lifespan, the study concluded.

Home Books Seasonal Notes