Scott Huette's List: Tai Chi for Your Health

In one study, 80 tinnitus sufferers showed a dramatic reduction in the severity of their symptoms after participating in regular Qigong sessions. The effects lasted for at least three months after stopping the practice.

It may have taken her a few years to give meditation a try, but Fredericks said her practice, which some days involves simply focusing on her breathing for a few minutes, has now had a ripple effect on the rest of her wellness routine. She's less anxious and feels equipped to face whatever challenges come her way.

"When I'm off-track or off-center, I know my way back home," she said.

There’s nothing wrong with mindfulness in itself. But what we have now is too much mindless mindfulness. We pause for the sake of pausing instead of with a purpose.

Regular meditators describe meditation as frustratingly simple. It's defined by the NCCIH as an activity that involves sitting in a quiet location with a comfortable posture and focusing on a set of words, an object or the sensation of breathing while "letting distractions come and go without judging them." Starting a practice requires patience, consistency and a sense of humor, they said, noting that a beginner's early frustrations will gradually be replaced by a sense of peace.
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I tried surfing and rock climbing, which kept me somewhat engaged, but the real answer, at least for me, was tai chi, a Chinese martial art that mixes graceful motions with meditation. (If boxing and yoga had a baby, it might look like tai chi.)

 In various recent studies and reviews, tai chi has been found to improve practitioners’ balance, leg strength, cardiovascular endurance, pulse rate, muscular flexibility, immune system response, sleep habits, happiness, sense of self-worth, and ability to concentrate and multitask during cognitive tests.

Meditation might sound like mumbo-jumbo to many, but science has actually proven the powerful benefits that can be derived from practicing the ancient art. Experts agree on the health advantages of engaging in meditative activities, and recent studies have even confirmed its great contributions to people’s physical and psychological well-being.

“It is fascinating to see the brain’s plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life,”

Fancy feeling happy in 2015? Dan Harris, co-anchor of ABC's Nightline, has written a book called 10% Happier. He shares with NPR's Rachel Martin the reasons that drove him to write a self-help book.

The paper, published in Psychological Science, explores how short meditation sessions can reduce the likelihood that decisions will be made based on information from the past that should have no bearing on the choice at hand.

Taiwanese researchers have identified one possible reason that practitioners of the martial art tai chi tout its health benefits: shadow boxing apparently reinvigorates stem cells.

A recent study confirms that Qi Gong helps to reduce cases of high blood pressure in patients with pre-hypertension and mild hypertension. Qi Gong encompasses many styles and forms within each style, many of which are traditionally used to benefit specific bodily systems. The researchers concluded that Qi Gong is safe and has a “positive effect on blood pressure and health status in pre and mild hypertension patients.” Based on these findings, the researchers suggest additional research to further explore the medical benefits of Qi Gong with a larger sample size of participants.

Many concepts in ancient Chinese science correspond to ideas physicists have only formed in the past century or so. Here’s a simple look at several such concepts.

For me, meditation and yoga offer a lifeline: a quiet sanctuary where focusing on one thing is the only thing required.




So I was slightly annoyed by the headline of a recent Scientific American story: “Is Meditation Overrated?”

It is unfortunate, that when we speak about electricity in the human body there seems to be a blank space in most of our minds, due to the current education system not even acknowledging that it exists. You should know by now that everything is energy and where there is no energy, there is no life -- energy is everything. Electromagnetic fields not only flow around us, but also through our bodies!

Meditation creates a state of relaxation; it activates your parasympathetic nervous system1 (also known as rest and digest) which allows stress hormones to diminish and promotes blood flow to the digestive system. This is the time when your body is able to heal itself and this is how our bodies are meant to be most of the time. Inducing this state regularly allows the body to function optimally.

As the evidence above proves, a consistent meditation practice can foment beneficial alterations in brain structure and functioning – and this list doesn’t even begin to touch on all of the other health benefits for your body, your spiritual well-being, and your interpersonal relationships.

 know sitting too much is bad, and most of us intuitively feel a little guilty after a long TV binge. But what exactly goes wrong in our bodies when we park ourselves for nearly eight hours per day, the average for a U.S. adult? Many things, say four experts, who detailed a chain of problems from head to toe.

Both Tai Chi and Qigong work with the breath, posture and intention through slow, coordinated movement. Both are "internally" focused and good for health. Here are a few subtle differences...

It is believed that Tai Chi can improve the mental and physical health of practitioners, including balance control, flexibility, and aerobic capacity, and alleviate headache and psychological ailments such as depressive symptoms and anxiety. Furthermore, Tai Chi can improve muscular strength, reduce the risk of falls in the elderly, and alleviate symptoms associated with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. A recent study has indicated that Tai Chi may be an effective treatment for fibromyalgia. On the basis of these findings, it is reasonable to assume that Tai Chi can help patients with neck pain. However, no studies have been performed yet to examine the effect of Tai Chi exercise on neck pain patients.