Anti-Aging Benefits of Qigong

November 9, 2009

Kenneth Sancier Ph. D.

In the early 1980’s, scientists in China began to study the medical benefits claimed for qigong. Since then, research on hundreds of medical applications of qigong have been reported in the Chinese literature. Of special interest for the present article are clinical reports of the medical benefits of qigong that claim to retard or reverse some diseases associated with aging.

Most of the original research was reported in Chinese, but access in English to most of this material is possible by reference to the proceedings of international conferences of qigong. Since 1986, ten such proceedings contain about 840 abstracts of talks given at the conferences, more than half of which are in English. These abstracts, along with about 160 abstracts of articles in the scientific literature, have been organized as a computerized database. The database enables searches and development of bibliographies across this entire body of information by using any key word. The clinical outcomes reported in this article are partly based on material in the database and partly on the author’s person contacts with researchers.

Conclusions
This review deals with a small fraction of the large collection of clinical research on medical applications of qigong. The information presented is intended to illustrate the potential of qigong exercise for restoring normal body functions in people with chronic conditions, many of which accelerate the aging process. The main conclusion from many studies is that qigong exercise helps the body to heal itself. In this sense, qigong is a natural anti-aging medicine. Two studies indicate that qigong exercise is superior to some physical exercises.

Qigong can complement Western medicine in many ways to provide better healthcare. For example, qigong has special value for treating chronic conditions and as a preventive medicine, whereas Western medicine has special value for treating acute conditions. There are many medical applications of qigong that can complement Western medicine to improve health care. Some examples include chronic problems such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, aging, asthma, allergies, neuromuscular problems, and cancer. These areas of public health deserve consideration by the Western medical establishment.

Read the complete paper at the Qigong Institute.

Keywords: Blood Pressure, Mortality, Stroke, hypertension, heart function, mircrocirculation, sex hormone, estrogen, estradiol, testosterone, Reversing symptoms of senility, Enhanced activity of anti-aging enzyme Superoxide dismutase (SOD), cardiovascular function, blood flow to brain, memory, dizziness, insomnia, tinnitus, numbness, limbs, vertigo, headache, cholesterol, cerebral arteriosclerosis, cancer, tumor, drug therapy

Filed under: BODY, MIND, News, SPIRIT, health, qigong and tai chi