Written by Elizabeth Lane for the RSDSA blog.
Ok maybe eight. I’m adding one. It’s FREE. I should say that usually you must pay to have a teacher show you the form (which is often the cost of one massage or acupuncture treatment). Then you have the tools to help yourself whenever you need it. For FREE. For a LIFETIME. But I do know there are podcasts on iTunes as well if you want to try to go completely cost-free.
It’s almost unbelievable, right? No, i am over the FREE part. Actually, I’m not. That still excites me. But what I am getting at is how a form of moving meditation can alleviate pain and so many symptoms. Here are 7 benefits of qi gong and tai chi. I have never tried tai chi but I imagine at some point I will. What I love most about qi gong is that I feel confident in my abilities to control my pain. It takes work but I feel it has helped me immensely.
Cultivating the Qi through Integral Qigong and Tai Chi triggers numerous health benefits:
- Qigong and Tai Chi initiate the “relaxation response,” which is fostered when the mind is freed from its many distractions. This decreases the sympathetic function of the autonomic nervous system, which in turn reduces heart rate and blood pressure, dilates the blood capillaries, and optimizes the delivery of oxygen and nutrition to the tissues.
- Qigong and Tai Chi alter the neurochemistry profile toward accelerated inner healing function. Neurotransmitters, also called information molecules, bond with receptor sites in the immune, nervous, digestive, endocrine and other systems to excite or inhibit function to moderate pain, enhance organ capacity, reduce anxiety or depression, and neutralize addictive cravings.
- Qigong and Tai Chi enhance the efficiency of the immune system through increased rate and flow of the lymphatic fluid and activation of immune cells. Resistance to disease and infection is accelerated by the elimination of toxic metabolic by-products from the interstitial spaces in the tissues, organs, and glands through the lymphatic system.
- Qigong and Tai Chi increases the efficiency of cell metabolism and tissue regeneration through increased circulation of oxygen and nutrient rich blood to the brain, organs, and tissues.
- Qigong and Tai Chi coordinate and balance right/left brain hemisphere dominance promoting deeper sleep, reduced anxiety, and mental clarity.
- Qigong and Tai Chi induce alpha and, in some cases, theta brain waves which reduce heart rate and blood pressure, facilitating relaxation, and mental focus; this optimizes the body’s self-regulative mechanisms by decreasing the activity of the sympathetic nervous system.
- Qigong and Tai Chi moderate the function of the hypothalamus, pituitary, and pineal glands, as well as the cerebrospinal fluid system of the brain and spinal cord, which manages pain and mood as well as optimizing immune function.
Every RSD patient is different but our struggles are similar. I treat my RSD naturally and am always trying to learn how to make life a bit easier with this condition.