Tai Ji Quan: An overview of its history, health benefits, and cultural value

AbstractTai Ji Quan is considered to be a part of traditional Chinese Wushu (a martial art) and comprises various styles that have evolved historically from the Chen, Yang, Wǔ, Wú, and Sun families (schools). Recent simplification of the original classic styles has made Tai Ji Quan easier to adopt in practice. Thus, the traditional legacy of using Tai Ji Quan for self-defense, mindful nurturing of well-being, and fitness enhancement has been expanded to more contemporary applications that focus on promoting physical and mental health, enhancing general well-being, preventing chronic diseases, and being an effective clinical intervention for diverse medical conditions. As the impact of Tai Ji Quan on physical performance and health continues to grow, there is a need to better understand its historical impact and current status. This paper provides an overview of the evolution of Tai Ji Quan in China, its functional utility, and the scientific evidence of its health benefits, as well as how it has been a vehicle for enhancing cultural understanding and exchanging between East and West

A Review Focused on the Psychological Effectiveness of Tai Chi on Different Populations

As a popular exercise form, Tai Chi (TC) has been investigated to determine its contributions to an active and healthy lifestyle. There are an increasing number of researchers who focus on exploring the potential physiological and psychological benefits of TC but only a few systematic reviews of these benefits to a variety of populations. The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively evaluate the reported psychological benefits associated with practicing TC. Although many investigators have reported possible psychological benefits of TC for children, young adults, older healthy adults, and for a variety of patient populations, many of the reports suffer one or more methodological flaws. These flaws include inadequate study design, including lack of control groups, small sample sizes, unsophisticated statistical techniques, or publication without rigorous peer review. After reviewing the results of the existing literature regarding the potential psychological benefits of TC, we recommend that future investigations be conducted with additional adherence to the traditional scientific process

A Review Focused on the Psychological Effectiveness of Tai Chi on Different Populations

As a popular exercise form, Tai Chi (TC) has been investigated to determine its contributions to an active and healthy lifestyle. There are an increasing number of researchers who focus on exploring the potential physiological and psychological benefits of TC but only a few systematic reviews of these benefits to a variety of populations. The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively evaluate the reported psychological benefits associated with practicing TC. Although many investigators have reported possible psychological benefits of TC for children, young adults, older healthy adults, and for a variety of patient populations, many of the reports suffer one or more methodological flaws. These flaws include inadequate study design, including lack of control groups, small sample sizes, unsophisticated statistical techniques, or publication without rigorous peer review. After reviewing the results of the existing literature regarding the potential psychological benefits of TC, we recommend that future investigations be conducted with additional adherence to the traditional scientific process

Your personal renaissance: 12 steps to finding your life’s true calling by D. Dreher

The article reviews the book Your Personal Renaissance: 12 Steps to Finding Your Life\u27s True Calling, by Diane Dreher

META analysis on the effect of taijiquan on improving negative psychological symptoms of college students and the optimal dose

BackgroundTaijiquan, as a physical and mental exercise, can improve the negative psychology of college students. However, it is still controversial, and the optimal exercise dose of taijiquan to interfere with negative psychology has not been evaluated.ObjectiveThis study is aimed at systematically evaluating the effect of taijiquan therapy on improving negative psychological symptoms of college students and its optimal intervention dose.MethodsSearch databases such as Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, CNKI, WFSD, etc. Collect high-quality relevant RCT studies. After screening, extracting, coding and counting the data, a META analysis is done through Review Manage 5.3 and Stata 15.0 software. PICOS established the eligibility criteria to select the studies as follows: (i) population - non-clinical of college students; (ii) intervention - taijiquan intervention; (iii) comparison - taijiquan intervention group and regular physical activity group; (iv) outcomes - depression, anxiety; and (v) study design - randomized controlled trial.ResultsA total of 12 articles and 1,000 samples were included. All of the participants are college students. Taijiquan therapy can significantly reduce the depression and anxiety symptoms of college students [SMD = −0.53, 95% CI (−0.82, −0.23)], [SMD = −0.49, 95% CI (−0.90, −0.09)], with statistical significance (P < 0.05). Subgroup analysis shows that: there is a precise focus on depression and anxiety symptoms. The intervention period is more than 12 weeks, and the best effect appears when people practice 3 times a week. The best single intervention time for depression symptoms is 60 min, and for anxiety symptoms 80–90 min. It is found that taijiquan combined with mindfulness intervention can significantly reduce negative psychological symptoms like depression and anxiety of college students than single taijiquan intervention. Funnel plot combined with sensitivity analysis, Begg, Egger test showed no publication bias.ConclusionTaijiquan intervention can effectively improve the negative psychological symptoms of college students, and it has great promotion value in colleges and universities.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier: CRD42022314071