Most people know that the Covid pandemic that is still spreading across the world originated in China. Coincidentally, so did Tai Chi/Qigong. Recently, we came across a very interesting article on Using Qigong to manage COVID-19 in older adults. In China, Qigong was used to treat patients with mild to moderate disease in conjunction with traditional herbs in field hospitals.
Qigong is a mind-body practice, meant to teach the regulation of body, breath, and mind. It translates to “energy work” and is based on the premise that energy underlies every human life process. In traditional Chinese medicine, there are different types of “Qi” both good and bad. Even individual organs have different types of energy.
Therefore, In traditional Chinese medicine, there are various explanations for the benefits of Qigong in this setting. In Western medicine, some possible mechanisms include: decreased stress levels, decreased inflammation, strengthening respiratory muscles (Covid is a respiratory infection), as well as increased immune function.
The article is based on this study in The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. The study found that Qigong may be beneficial for the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of respiratory infections, including but not limited to Covid 19.
One other important aspect to note: one of the most at risk populations for Covid are the elderly. Similarly, one of the populations for which Qigong is most appropriate for is the elderly population. Since the movements are gentle, slow, and easy to perform, the elderly population may benefit particularly from the exercise.
Sure makes us glad we’ve been offering virtual Tai Chi/ Qigong to our Corporate Wellness clients throughout this entire pandemic! And for our massage clients, we wanted to offer you this month’s code for $10 off of any massage “MASKON0820” …speaking of preventing COVID *wink*.