WORKSHOP Saturday, May 27, 3:15-4:45
Traditional T'ai Chi and Qigong in Healing: Mind-Body
Research and Application
Speakers: Gloria Yeh, MD, MPH, Yang Yang, PhD, Peter
Wayne, PhD
Research in mind-body therapies, such as T'ai
Chi/Qigong, has dramatically increased in recent years. There has been
growing interest not only from the general public and CAM practitioners,
but from clinicians, academicians, and government funding agencies.
The medical literature has suggested benefits in several broad areas,
including cardiovascular function, balance, strength/flexibility, and
mood/mental health. Studies have begun to explore potential mechanisms,
such as modulation of stress hormones and change of autonomic tone.
Much literature, however, has methodological flaws, reflecting inherent
difficulties in doing mind-body research where design considerations
are often more complex than, for example, pharmaceutical trials. Even
well-designed rigorous trials need to be interpreted with a basic understanding
of research applied to a traditional art.
The immediate objectives of this workshop will
be 1) To provide a forum for discussion of current research and issues
in research methodology related to the investigation of mind-body therapies,
with a focus on T'ai Chi/Qigong, and 2) To provide participants with
a hands-on experience to the essential components of a traditional T'ai
Chi/Qigong curriculum.
Participants will be exposed to the state of
the science in current T'ai Chi/Qigong research. Using specific studies
as case examples, we will have structured interactive discussions of
important methodological considerations in mind-body research, which
may include control group comparisons, design of intervention (modified
forms for specific populations), choice of outcome measures, and use
of quantitative vs. qualitative analyses. Although there will be emphasis
on T'ai Chi research for balance, strength/flexibility, and cardiovascular
disease, much of the discussion will be relevant across other mind-body
disciplines and other health conditions. In addition, through participation
and interactive demonstration, we will share approaches to a T'ai Chi
curriculum (T'ai Chi forms, Qigong, and push-hands) that have been successfully
used in prior studies. Participants will also learn simple, practical,
take-home exercises for their own mind-body practice.
This workshop is intended for anyone interested
in research of mind-body therapies, and/or anyone interested in learning
fundamental components of traditional T'ai Chi/Qigong practice.