Editorial Tai Chi, Yoga, and Qigong as Mind-Body...
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Editorial Tai Chi, Yoga, and Qigong as Mind-Body Exercises Yong Tai Wang, 1 Guoyuan Huang, 2 Gloria Duke, 1 and Yi Yang 3 1 University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX, USA 2 University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN, USA 3 Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, Hubei, China Correspondence should be addressed to Yong Tai Wang; [email protected] Received 22 December 2016; Accepted 22 December 2016; Published 5 January 2017 Copyright © 2017 Yong Tai Wang et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Mind-body interventions or exercises may improve body function and health since nervous system affects endocrine system and immune system while performing these mind- body (MB) exercises. Tai Chi, Yoga, and Qigong are consid- ered the most popular MB exercises, ranked by the 2002–2012 National Health Interview Surveys as the top three of the 10 most common complementary health approaches in practice. Tai Chi is a healing/martial art combining martial art movement with Qi—vital energy circulation, breathing, and stretching techniques. Tai Chi exercise consists of a series of graceful movements with deep and slow diaphragmatic breathings performed while standing. Tai Chi exercise has been shown to have both physical and psychosocial benefits for the different populations. Yoga, a mind-body exercise, involves a combination of muscular activity and an inter- nally directed mindful focus on awareness of the self, the breath, and energy. Yoga integrates an individual’s physical, mental, and spiritual components to improve physical and mental health, particularly stress related illnesses. Qigong exercise, similar to Tai Chi, consists of a series of breath practices with body movement and meditation to attain deep focus and relaxed state. Simply speaking, Qigong exercise is practiced/used to cultivate the balance and harmony of vital energy in the human body. Considerable scientific evidence supports the health benefits of practicing Tai Chi and Qigong in various populations with differing characteristics such as age, gender, and occupation in NIH Research Report. In this special issue, we have focused on Tai Chi, Yoga, and Qigong as mind-body exercises. Nine research articles including human experimental studies, clinical trials, and meta-analyses have been carefully reviewed, revised, and published. ese research articles explore the efficacy and effectiveness of these mind-body exercises in improving, enhancing, or strengthening integrative health and well- being in relation to functional outcomes or clinical benefits on the human body. We hope you enjoy reading these research articles on this special issue. Yong Tai Wang Guoyuan Huang Gloria Duke Yi Yang Hindawi Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2017, Article ID 8763915, 1 page https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/8763915
Transcript of Editorial Tai Chi, Yoga, and Qigong as Mind-Body...
EditorialTai Chi, Yoga, and Qigong as Mind-Body Exercises
Yong Tai Wang,1 Guoyuan Huang,2 Gloria Duke,1 and Yi Yang3
1University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX, USA2University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN, USA3Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
Correspondence should be addressed to Yong Tai Wang; [email protected]
Received 22 December 2016; Accepted 22 December 2016; Published 5 January 2017
Copyright © 2017 Yong Tai Wang et al.This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Mind-body interventions or exercises may improve bodyfunction and health since nervous system affects endocrinesystem and immune system while performing these mind-body (MB) exercises. Tai Chi, Yoga, and Qigong are consid-ered themost popularMB exercises, ranked by the 2002–2012National Health Interview Surveys as the top three of the 10most common complementary health approaches in practice.
Tai Chi is a healing/martial art combining martial artmovement with Qi—vital energy circulation, breathing, andstretching techniques. Tai Chi exercise consists of a seriesof graceful movements with deep and slow diaphragmaticbreathings performed while standing. Tai Chi exercise hasbeen shown to have both physical and psychosocial benefitsfor the different populations. Yoga, a mind-body exercise,involves a combination of muscular activity and an inter-nally directed mindful focus on awareness of the self, thebreath, and energy. Yoga integrates an individual’s physical,mental, and spiritual components to improve physical andmental health, particularly stress related illnesses. Qigongexercise, similar to Tai Chi, consists of a series of breathpractices with body movement and meditation to attain deepfocus and relaxed state. Simply speaking, Qigong exercise ispracticed/used to cultivate the balance and harmony of vitalenergy in the human body. Considerable scientific evidencesupports the health benefits of practicing Tai Chi and Qigongin various populations with differing characteristics such asage, gender, and occupation in NIH Research Report.
In this special issue, we have focused on Tai Chi, Yoga,and Qigong as mind-body exercises. Nine research articlesincluding human experimental studies, clinical trials, andmeta-analyses have been carefully reviewed, revised, andpublished. These research articles explore the efficacy and
effectiveness of these mind-body exercises in improving,enhancing, or strengthening integrative health and well-being in relation to functional outcomes or clinical benefitson the human body. We hope you enjoy reading theseresearch articles on this special issue.
Yong Tai WangGuoyuan Huang
Gloria DukeYi Yang
HindawiEvidence-Based Complementary and Alternative MedicineVolume 2017, Article ID 8763915, 1 pagehttps://doi.org/10.1155/2017/8763915
Submit your manuscripts athttps://www.hindawi.com
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