Event Details

Dates: Monday 18 – Tuesday 19, September, 2023
Format: In Person
Contact: [email protected]

Conference Overview

The Osher Center for Integrative Health hosted its inaugural Tai Chi conference in September 2023, entitled Tai Chi & Qigong as Whole Person Health – Advancing the Integration of Mind-Body Practices in Contemporary Healthcare. The conference attracted a diverse group of international scholars, practitioners, and healthcare administrators and policymakers, who addressed the current evidence base of Tai Chi, Qigong, and related mind-body practices, and explored topics integral to its growing and emerging role in whole person health, nationally and internationally. The dialogue of this conference was relevant across multiple mind-body disciplines and movement-based practices.

Video Recordings 

Below are the conference recordings. Each of the five plenaries are available in their entirety with Q&A, as well as videos of each individual speaker. You may also wish to view the conference website: https://www.osherscienceoftcq.org

Day 1

Opening Remarks:

Whole Person Health and the Promise of Tai Chi and Qigong

Opening Remarks

Gloria Yeh, MD, MPH, Director of Clinical Research, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Associate Professor of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center / Harvard Medical School

 

Remarks: Peter Wayne, PhD, Executive Director: Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Associate Professor, Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School

 

Tai Chi Performance: Calvin Chin, Chief Instructor and Master (Sifu), and Mynor Diaz of Calvin Chin’s Martial Arts Academy (CCMAA)

 

Welcome: David E. Golan, MD, PhD, Dean for Research Operations and Global Programs, Harvard Medical School (view full session video above)

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Keynote and Plenary Session 1:

Whole Person Health: Integration Across Physiological Systems

This session will start off the conference and introduce the interconnected concept of whole-person health. It will highlight the essential need to understand the role of physiological cross-talk in health maintenance and rehabilitation, and thus the unique therapeutic potential for multi-modal interventions like Tai Chi and qigong. Presentations will feature key psycho-physiological interactions including connective tissue/immune/nervous system; cognitive-motor dynamics in aging; socioemotional stress/inflammation/heart-brain connections.

 

Moderator: Peter Wayne, PhD, Executive Director: Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Associate Professor, Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School

 

DAY 1 KEYNOTE: “Physiological Connections through ​the Fascia and Interstitium Network” – Helene Langevin, MD, Director, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), National Institutes of Health (NIH)

 

The Mind-Body Control of Balance and Gait in Older Adults – Brad Manor, MD, Associate Scientist, Marcus Institute, Hebrew SeniorLife

 

Neuro-Immune-Cardiovascular Cross-Talk Mediating Heart-Brain Interactions – Ahmed Tawakol, MD, Co-Director Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center, Mass General Hospital /Harvard Medical School

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Listen to Your Body: Interoceptive Awareness of Breath, Body, and Movement, A Key Process in Tai Chi

This session will present interoceptive awareness as a key concept in mindful movement, its theory, neurological underpinning, associated brain activity, and clinical measurement. There is a clear overlap with mindfulness practices. Practitioners report that these contemplative practices can calm the thinking mind by listening to the subtle language of the body, by changing from a ruminative cognitive mode to a sensory mode. The awareness of breath, body, and movements connects mind and body and can lead to an embodied experience of their  of their unity.  Paying attention, becoming aware of, and potentially regulating this interaction is interoceptive awareness. This symposium will present the concept of interoceptive awareness in more detail, its neurological underpinnings and related activities in the brain, its measurement, and findings from recent research studies.

DeAnna Mori, Assistant Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Barbara Niles, Dr., National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston University School of Medicine

Chenchen Wang, Professor of Medicine, Tufts Medicine

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Plenary Session 2:

State of the Science in Tai Chi & Qigong Research Part 1

This session will summarize the state of the evidence for Tai Chi and qigong in health and its connection to whole-person health. This will include the most current overview of the scientific literature, new studies in the pipeline, gaps in evidence, and opportunities to advance the field. Presentations will highlight Tai Chi/qigong for fall prevention, Tai Chi/qigong and cognitive health, neurophysiological mechanisms of Tai Chi/qigong, and Tai Chi/qigong and mental health.

 

 

Moderator: Albert Yeung, Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School

 

Impact of Tai Ji Quan Training to Prevent Falls Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults – Fuzhong Li, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Oregon Research Institute

 

Exploring the Cognitive Impact of Tai Chi and Qigong: Current Understanding and Future Research – William Tsang, Department of Physiotherapy, Hong Kong Metropolitan University

 

Brain Mechanisms Underlying Tai Chi in Pin Management – Jian Kong, Professor, Massachusetts General Hospital

 

Neurobiological Mechanisms of Response to Tai Chi in Geriatric Depression – Helen Lavretsky, Professor In-Residence in the Department of Psychiatry, UCLA

 

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Plenary Session 3:

Implementation of Mind-Body Practices in Contemporary Healthcare

This session will introduce broad issues regarding the professionalization and implementation of Tai Chi and qigong, and their relevance to integration with contemporary healthcare. As an example, the session will feature an overview of the successes and challenges encountered in the implementation of Tai Chi in the Veterans Affairs medical system.

 

Moderator: Darshan Mehta, MD, MPH, Medical Director & Education Director, Osher Center for Integrative Health

 

The Professionalization of (Allied) Health Traditions/Healthcare-Related Fields: The Rationale, and the Pros and Cons – Daniel Seitz, Consultant, Daniel Seitz Consulting

 

An Overview of Tai Chi and Qigong and Complementary and Integrative Health Services in the Veterans Health Administration – A Whole Health System Transformation – Janet Clark, Senior Physician Lead for Integrative Health and Education, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation Veterans Health Administration

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Day 2

Welcoming Remarks

Gloria Yeh, MD, MPH, Director of Clinical Research, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Associate Professor of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center / Harvard Medical School

 

Peter Wayne, Executive Director: Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Associate Professor, Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School, introduces Arthur Goodridge of “Moving Together” – who  shares an opening performance

 

Plenary Session 4:

Explorations in Body Intelligence: Examples from Western and East Asian Medicine

This session will explore unique boundaries between traditional concepts, such as Qi, and leading-edge modern principles of biophysics and developmental biology. Specific topics will include electromorphogenesis, meridians and acupoints, and the scientific exploration of traditional East Asian medicine concepts such as Qi.

 

Moderator: Helene Langevin, MD, Director, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), National Institutes of Health (NIH)

 

Molecular Mechanisms of the Wisdom of the Body: From Basal Cognition to Next-Generation Regenerative Medicine – Michael Levin, PhD, Distinguished Professor and Vannevar Bush Chair, Tufts University

 

From Fluorescent Dyes to Electrokinetics: Bioelectrical Mechanisms in Eastern Medicine – Andrew Ahn, MD, Chief Medical Offier & Osher Affiliate Faculty, Labfront + Osher Research Center

 

“To Qi or Not to Qi”: Personal Observations on the Integration of Traditional Concepts of Qi into Research, Practice, and Teaching of Tai Chi and Qigong – Peter Wayne, PhD, Executive Director, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Associate Professor, Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School

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Supporting Well-Being Through the Integration of Qigong, the Arts, and Social Justice

In this panel session, we will explore the potential for qi gong as an integrative practice to support wellbeing, healing, and social justice. Dr. Gigi Otálvaro will discuss teaching arts and humanities courses at Stanford University that integrate qigong to support student mental health.  Dr. Kathy Yep will reflect on fostering the sociological imagination in pre-health students at the Claremont Colleges  through qi gong and student-centered pedagogies. Dr. Gwen D’Arcangelis will share her research on qigong as a self-healing modality particularly compatible with disability justice practices that center patient autonomy and flexibility in the face of challenging contexts.  In doing so, this panel features the centrality of higher education and social justice spaces as points of intervention for integrating mind-body practices into healthcare.

 

Gwen D’Arcangelis, Associate Professor and Director of the Gender Studies Program, Skidmore College

Gigi Otalvaro, Associate Director, Stanford Living Education and LifeWorks Program for Integrative Learning, Stanford University

Kathleen S. Yep, Professor, Asian American Studies, Pitzer College (of the Claremont Colleges)

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Oral Abstract Session 02

 

Moderator: Wolf Mehling, Integrative Physician, Research Faculty, Professor, University of California San Francisco

OA02.01: Effects of Community Based Tai Chi on Mental Health in Older Adults: Interoception as a Potential Mechanism – Laura Redwine, University of Miami School of Medicine

OA02.02: Metabolic Impairments Associated with Type 2 Diabetes Miletus and the Potential Therapeutic Effects of Tai Chi Based on Untargeted Metabolomics – Furong Zhang, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

OA02.03: A Web-based Mind-Body Intervention (Mindful Steps) for Promoting Walking in Chronic Cardiopulmonary Disease: A Pilot RCT – Kristen Kraemer, Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

OA02.04: Effects of Tai Chi Plus Usual Care for Chronic Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials – Guoyan (Emily) Yang, NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University

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Getting Involved and Contributing to TCQ and Mind-body Scientific Research: Practical Guidance for Instructors

Advancement of the scientific evidence base for TCQ and related mind-body therapies requires a partnership between experienced instructors and the scientific medical community. Input from mind-body experts is required at all stages of research, from the framing of sound study questions with well-match interventions, to the delivery of programs in clinical trials and the interpretation and dissemination of findings. However, for practitioners and instructors that do not work in health care settings or that lack scientific/medical training, it can be difficult to forge connections with the academic medical community.This panel will broadly discuss ways for TCQ and related mind-body instructors to get involved in research. It will discuss practical tips for learning about opportunities for partnership in one’s local community (and beyond), best practices for reaching out to develop collaborations / partnerships, practical initiatives for hands on learning including teaching in trials, sharing challenging patients and writing case studies, and helping in the conception and design of pilot clinical studies. Resources for additional training will also be discussed, including for those interested in pursuing an academic research career studying TCQ and related mind-body medicine.

Stanwood Chang, Tai Chi Instructor, Red Panda Tai Chi Institute

Lanay Mudd, Program Director, Clinical Research in Complementary and Integrative Health Branch Division of Extramural Research, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

Pamela Rist, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Associate Epidemiologist, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Peter Wayne, Executive Director, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Associate Professor, Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School

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Diverse Community TCQ Practices Symposia Parts One & Two

This presentation will discuss the applicability of QiGong practices to cope with daily stress and cultivate body-mind interconnectedness as a non-dual space of awareness among people of color. According to an American Psychological Association’s national survey in 2022, 27% of participants reported being so stressed that they could not function. The racial climate and other social stressors have negatively affected BIPOC’s mental health, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, mental health care systems have historically faced the challenge of providing accessible and evidence-based interventions to people of color. In the last five years, a series of mindfulness sessions incorporated QiGong practices to facilitate stillness in movement among novice meditation practitioners and raise the importance of mental health prevention strategies in community centers in Massachusetts.

Part Two: Reaching Diverse Communities with TCQ: Case Studies in Integrative Medicine and Community Engagement in Harlem, Philadelphia, Newark, and Camden, NJ – Malik Cadwell, Project Coordinator & Mind/ Body Therapist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Merchantville, NJ

In this presentation, Mr. Cadwell shares his journey and experiences as an African American TCQ practitioner and clinician from Camden, NJ using TCQ to engage diverse communities. He currently shares TCQ as Mind/Body therapy in Integrative medicine with Pediatric cancer patients both in inpatient and outpatient settings in NYC. Cadwell uses TCQ to engage diverse communities in this role by teaching in person and virtual sessions in Harlem. This journey led from a once weekly Tai Chi class at Rutgers Camden to teaching TCQ at RU Newark, OLLI-RU and at Temple University’s Kinesiology Department, Confucius Institute, Upward Bound and an invitation to demonstrate TCQ for the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Mr. Cadwell also engages diverse communities by collaborating with public libraries through in person and virtual workshops with teens, veterans, seniors, people who are incarcerated and the bookmobile.

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Oral Abstract Session 03

 

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Qigong in the Treatment of Depressive Symptoms

We will explore the potential of Qigong as a treatment-component for depressive symptoms in several ways: First, we will address some conceptual issues in integrating Qigong into Western psychotherapy and present research findings on the embodiment of depression. Next we will present results on the efficacy of Body, Breath and Mind an online intervention combining body orientated Qigong practice with elements of behavioral activation. Data from an uncontrolled pilot study and preliminary results of a randomized controlled study with 303 participants will be presented. Referring to Compassion-Focused Therapy we will also discuss the utility of a compassionate relationship with the body. Interwoven with these science-related elements, central Qigong exercises from BBM will be practiced and their backgrounds will be presented.

 

Johannes Graser, Ph.D., Witten/Herdecke

Johannes Michalak, Prof. Dr., Witten/Herdecke University

Tobias Puntke, M.A., TaijiDao Association Münster

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Oral Abstract Session 04

 

Moderator: Darshan Mehta, MD, MPH, Education Director and Medical Director, Osher Center for Integrative Health

 

OA04.01: Two-year Participatory Planning Model to Adapt and Disseminate Inclusive Tai Chi Prime in African American/Black and Hispanic Communities (Phase 1) – Kristine Hallisy, University of WI-Madison1

OA04.02: Effects of Tai Chi and Qigong on Cognitive Function in Older Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis – Rhayun Song, Chungnam National University

OA04.03: Key Components of a Qigong Intervention for People with Multiple Sclerosis: A survey of Clinicians, Researchers, and Instructors – Lita Buttolph, The National University of Natural Medicine

Women in Tai Chi: Past, Present, and Future

Women have been at the forefront of the self-care movement in recent years, and attendance at Tai Chi and Qigong classes has increased. However, the benefits of these practices are still not as well understood or popular as they could be. Despite their growing popularity, only 15% of Tai Chi teachers in the U.S. are women. This panel will discuss the history and current role of women in Tai Chi and Qigong, recent research into the benefits for women’s health, and if and how gender matters for teachers and students. The panel will also discuss the lack of female Tai Chi teachers, reasons,  and how we might rectify this deficit.

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Sharon Smith, Senior Instructor; Qigong Global Summit host; Creatrix/Director, Universal Healing Tao; Shift Network; Immortal Sisters Conference

Violet Li, Principal, Tai Chi & Qigong for Health

Ruth Taylor-Piliae, Professor and Interim PhD Program Director, University of Arizona College of Nursing

Josie Weaver, Past President (President Emerita), Healer Within Foundation

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Plenary Session 5:

State of the Science in Tai Chi & Qigong Research Part 2

This session will summarize the state of the evidence for Tai Chi and Qigong in health and its connection to whole-person health. This will include the most current overview of the scientific literature, new studies in the pipeline, gaps in evidence, and opportunities to advance the field. Presentations will highlight: Tai Chi/qigong and immune function, Tai Chi/Qigong in cancer, Tai Chi/Qigong for musculoskeletal pain, and Tai Chi/Qigong in cardio-pulmonary conditions.

 

 

Moderator: Wolf Mehling, Integrative Physician, Research Faculty, Professor, University of California San Francisco

 

Tai Chi Augments Viral Specific Immunity and Reverse Cellular and Genomic Inflammation in Older Adults – Michael Irwin, Norman Cousins Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles

 

Tai Chi and Qigong in Cancer Care: Current Evidence and Future Directions – Byeongsang Oh, Associate Professor , Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Australia

 

Tai Chi and Pain Management – Chenchen Wang, Professor of Medicine, Tufts Medicine

 

Chronic Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Disease and Tai Chi: Healing the Whole Person – Gloria Yeh, MD, MPH, Director of Clinical Research, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Associate Professor of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center / Harvard Medical School

 

Closing Remarks

Gloria Yeh, MD, MPH, Director of Clinical Research, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Associate Professor of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center / Harvard Medical School

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