Progress Report: The UCLA Study

Dr. Jennifer Pike is the principle investigator on this ongoing University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) study. Dr. Pike was kind enough to be interviewed about the study we just completed so that the TCC community could stay current with the UCLA studies. T’ai Chi Chih instructor Roberta Taggart started this study with Dr. Pike and I joined when Roberta moved to Oregon.

The study entitled, “CAM Interventions in Rheumatoid Arthritis,” was supported by grants from the National Centers for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (a division of the National Institutes of Health) and the Cousins Center for Pyschoneuroimmunology.

Dr. Pike reports that this investigation is the first study of its kind to compare the effects of T’ai Chi Chih to another active treatment, relaxation therapy, assessing the relative effectiveness of TCC on disease-related outcomes in a medically ill population. This research addresses not only whether TCC can alter disease activity in a group of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, but also whether TCC is more effective than other mind-body interventions in improving health outcomes.

Previous studies have compared TCC to either educational interventions or no-treatment control conditions and assess whether TCC is more effective than either the attention of the investigative staff or no treatment at all. As expected, these studies have found that TCC is more effective than no treatment or attention alone.

However, as Dr. Pike explained, “The question remains as to whether TCC is more effective than other similar mind-body interventions and, if so, what are the relevant pathways through which it exerts its unique effects. Thus, this study compares TCC to relaxation-also an important component of TCC – and evaluates both the physiological and psychological pathways through which TCC may promote improvements in health. This comprehensive approach will help determine the relative effectiveness of TCC as well as the mechanisms through which TCC exerts its effects, such as by altering immune factors known to be important to disease progression in rheumatoid arthritis or by altering psychological adaptation – both of which may be important in determining long-term health outcomes in persons with rheumatoid arthritis.”

Pike continues, “Whatever the data reveal about TCC will be an important step in understanding the effectiveness of this mind-body intervention and the role it plays in promoting health.”

Having TCC included in these UCLA studies raises awareness of our practice to the general population and I am very grateful. I look forward to published results in about a year.

Don’t Miss an Opportunity to Find Your Students

By Judy Hendricks, Albuquerque, NM

It was the first day of my child-parent T’ai Chi Chih class and I was sitting in an empty room. Rather than be discouraged and depressed about the possibility of canceling the class, I was determined to find students. I felt very positive knowing that everyone seemed to be seeking what I had to offer. I just had to find them. The next day at work I began inviting all my co-workers to my class. They had all heard me mention TCC and the great benefits I had received. I was surprised that all five co-workers said they were planning to attend my class. I was grateful I didn’t give up too easily.

One six-year-old boy, Nick, always shows up with a big smile on his face and announces, “I like T’ai Chi Chih. I know how to do T’ai Chi Chih!” Whenever I ask for comments his hand immediately goes up, and he says, “How old are you?” … “I showed all the movements to my dad” … “T’ai Chi Chih makes me feel good.” Anastasia, my 7-year-old daughter, told the class that she noticed that if you do Pulling Taffy slowly, you can feel something thick between your hands, but that if you do it fast, you can’t feel it.

Nick’s mother said she feels calm after practice but didn’t notice an increase in energy. Other students chimed in that they felt more energy. Next week, Nick very proudly announced, “My mom feels more energy now!”

Nick arrives early and likes to do Rocking Motion before everyone else arrives. It was his mother’s idea to bring him to class and she is amazed at how much he loves it. I am so grateful that I didn’t miss the opportunity to teach this wonderful class.

My First Class as a Teacher

By Tony Johansen, Santa Barbara, CA

I taught my first T’ai Chi Chih class on April 19th. And all morning I was filled with that “first time” feeling – that sense of not knowing what was coming. It didn’t take the form of nervousness, but more I was resting in the fact that I had worked so hard and been given so much in preparation for this that I truly had a sense of being done rather than doing. I felt ready.

My class consisted of seven people living with mental illness and four counselors. I had given five mini-presentations for different groups within the mental health agency and, while I didn’t say much during the demos, I did have them try the moves with me. Each time, we all experienced the energy and stillness that is possible.

I have had some experience with this agency, both as a volunteer and a fill-in counselor, and so I knew several students. I also knew not to spend a lot of time talking – that, and a sense that 30 minutes would be about all they could handle. Well, the class lasted 45 minutes and everyone hung in until the end. I covered more moves than you might expect, making it through Daughter in the Valley. Because I couldn’t expect folks to sit still for a lot of discussion, I fed them bits of information throughout the movements, always returning to the basics of moving from below the waist with softness and continuity and concentrating on the soles of the feet. Deep breathing and resting between movements were also important.

The ease and the sense of goodwill and appreciation I felt afterwards made me feel it had truly gone well. One resident, who had been in the program for years and had never participated in anything, came and sat on a bench just outside the circle of chairs. I said he was certainly welcome to sit on one of the chairs. He stayed on the bench, but when he go up to do Rocking Motion, he stood up and participated in the whole class. Miracles abound everywhere, everyday. But they are never more in evidence than when working with courageous people living with mental illness.

As for the sycamores that surrounded us, their roots run deeper than they are tall and each time our feet touch the ground, we are as grounded as they. It is only for us to be present enough to experience it, moment after moment, step after step. A wonderful way to experience that grounding is through the practice of T’ai Chi Chih.