Literature Review of TCC Research

Editor’s Note: Anita Vestal’s full research paper, from which these snippets are excerpted, including footnotes, is available at .

Abstract

T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) is a moving meditation positively associated with physiological and psychological conditions, such as immunity to shingles virus, reduction in inflammatory markers, decrease in sympathetic nervous system, geriatric depression and chronic diseases in cancer survivors. Consisting of 19 repetitive movements and one pose, TCC is easy to learn and particularly accessible to the aging population. It is taught by accredited instructors who have completed an intensive training that is standardized worldwide…

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There is a growing body of evidence showing meditative movement practices are viable alternatives capable of improving various physiological and psychological conditions. In this review, research is focused on a moving meditation known as T’ai Chi Chih (TCC). TCC is a contemporary discipline originated in 1974 that has demonstrated efficacy in at least twelve controlled trials over a twenty-year period. The studies reviewed in this article position TCC as an evidence based intervention for physical conditions including chronic diseases in cancer survivors, immunity to the shingles virus, reduction in inflammatory diseases, physical functional performance, sleep quality, and others. In addition, the literature review demonstrates efficacy of TCC with respect to improvement of psychological and mental health conditions such as depression, stress and general well being.

What is T’ai Chi Chih?

Originated in 1974 by Justin Stone, a T’ai Chi Ch’uan master, the practice consists of movements focused on circulating and balancing of Chi, the body’s intrinsic energy. TCC consists of 19 standalone movements and one pose that can be done by almost anyone. While the form was originated in the mid 1970’s, it is founded upon and incorporates ancient energy movement principles (called yin-yang principles.) Stone originated TCC movements because he believed more westerners would benefit from moving meditation practices if the movements were easy to learn and easy to do…

Mindful movement meditation

Meditative movement is defined as those practices that utilize movement or posture and a meditative state to achieve deep states of relaxation. It includes practices such as qigong, t’ai chi and others. Physical movement has long been employed as a foundation for cultivating mental skills such as attention, self-control or mindfulness, with recent studies documenting the impact of mindful movement training on focus, attention and cognitive functioning…

T’ai Chi Chih practice improves physical and mental health

… We will summarize findings of the TCC-specific studies through several lenses…

Sleep Quality

Compared to control groups receiving an educational sleep seminar, participants in a TCC group had improved sleep quality and diminished fatigue. Sleep is intended to be restorative for living systems; disruptive sleep patterns affect the normal diurnal rhythm of many regulatory systems including negative effects on glucose, lipids, inflammation and blood pressure…

Immunity and Reduction of Inflammation

Incidence and severity of herpes zoster (shingles) increase markedly with increasing age in association with a decline in varicella-zoster virus (VZV) specific cell-mediated immunity (CMI). … Gains in health functioning were found in participants who received TCC and were most marked in those older adults who had the greatest impairments of health status…

Exercise and Physical Performance

Three studies have concluded that TCC is a beneficial exercise option for older adults. These studies focused on the feasibility and acceptability of TCC as a form of exercise that seniors would be willing to do…

Stress, Quality of Life, Mental-Emotional Functioning

Detert and colleagues conducted a pilot study using a single sample pre-post design to inquire into the effects of TCC on the physical symptoms of stress and general well being…

TCC is well suited to RCT research

Compared to the extensive body of work on mindfulness-based practices, fewer scientific studies have examined the mechanisms underlying movement-based embodied contemplative practices. However, movement-based practices have been shown to alleviate the symptoms of various clinical conditions and elicit measurable changes in physiological stress markers, cognitive functioning, sensorimotor acuity, as well as emotional states. An important challenge for contemplative scientists is to advance understanding of the mechanisms underlying these complex practices…

Qualitative comments from TCC study participants

Campos and Detert reported on outcomes from a qualitative segment of their studies. Participants in the TCC groups felt that they derived mental-emotional and physical benefits from the practice…

Conclusions and Recommendations

TCC is a “user friendly” practice which can be easily taught to a wide range of populations; for example, ages ranging from pediatrics to geriatrics, individuals with physical limitations, emotional concerns, and mental health issues. It is learned in a relatively short period of time making it a perfect modality for research studies. No special equipment is needed; participants can do TCC standing or seated.

The studies reported here affirm TCC’s efficacy as an evidenced based intervention for a variety of physical and mental conditions. Additional studies are needed to determine its effectiveness as an intervention for lifestyle changes such as smoking cessation, substance abuse prevention, truancy prevention and anger management. Furthermore, we recommend TCC studies with specific populations, such as prison populations, individuals with early onset dementia, adults and youth with epilepsy, and at-risk youth, for example.

Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges several accredited T’ai Chi Chih instructors for their generous help with preparing this article: Deanna Rasch, Richard Detert, Mary Case, April Leffler, Stephen Thompson, Bruce Eisenmenger, Leya Cragin, and Lisa Otero.