Welcome to the Science of Tai Chi & Qigong as Whole Person Health Resource Hub. Here you’ll find conference recordings, photos, and additional resources that explore the physiological mechanisms and whole-person health principles presented throughout the 2026 conference, co-chaired by the Osher Center’s Dr. Peter Wayne and Dr. Gloria Yeh. Whether you attended the event or are discovering these presentations for the first time, we invite you to explore the lectures and continue learning from leading experts in mind-body practices and research.
The Science of Tai Chi & Qigong as Whole Person Health: Deepening our Physiological Understanding of the Mind-Body Connection conference brought together leading researchers, clinicians, educators, and practitioners from around the world to examine the science underlying Tai Chi and Qigong (TCQ) and their role in advancing whole-person health.
Centered on the Osher Center for Integrative Health’s commitment to whole-person health, the conference explored how traditional mind-body movement practices support overall wellbeing. Presentations highlighted the growing body of evidence demonstrating that health is shaped by the interconnected functioning of the body and mind, rather than by isolated systems alone.
Across four plenary sessions, nationally recognized experts presented research spanning brain imaging and neurophysiology, musculoskeletal biomechanics, cognitive-motor interactions, autonomic regulation, immune function, and related disciplines, providing attendees with a deeper understanding of the physiological mechanisms through which Tai Chi, Qigong, and other mind-body practices promote health and healing.
We hope this collection of recordings and content serves as a lasting educational resource for clinicians, researchers, educators, students, practitioners, and anyone interested in the science of whole-person health.
Video Library
Aging Brain, Aging Body, Mind-Body Health
Healthy aging requires attention to both mind and body. This lecture provides an overview of the physiology of the aging brain and its complex connection with the body, along with leading edge tools available to understand risks of cognitive-motor decline, and the potential of therapeutic mind-body practices for healthy aging.
Presenters
Alvero Pasquale-Leone, MD, PhD, Senior Scientist, Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research
Brad Manor, PhD, Associate Professor, Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research
Helen Lavretsky, MD, MS, Professor, UCLA
Leveraging Technology in TCQ Research and Implementation
Increasingly, the distinction between the traditional practices of TCQ and the modern tools of science are dissolving. This lecture highlights the opportunities afforded by the interaction between “high-tech” and the “soft touch” human aspects of mind-body therapies in research and implementation. Examples of this include wearable sensors that interrogate physiology, powerful AI tools, and platforms that increase access to mind-body interventions.
Presenters:
Paolo Bonato, PhD, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School
Claudia Witt, MD, MBA, Professor, University of Zurich
Showcase Speakers:
Maria Chiu, PhD student
Guilia Corniani, PhD
Ivy Ma, MD, MPH
TCQ and Integrative Oncology
In every phase of cancer care, from diagnosis to course of treatment, to long-term symptoms of survivors, the cancer journey impacts the whole person in every aspect of life. TCQ shows great promise in managing this rich and complex constellation of factors. This lecture introduces models for integrative oncology that draw upon the wisdom of TCQ practices and emphasize whole-person health.
Presenters:
Wayne Jonas, MD, President, Healing Work Foundation
Jun Mao, MD, MSCE, Chief of the Integrative Medicine Service and the Laurance S. Rockefeller Chair in Integrative Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Peter Wayne, PhD, Bernard Osher Associate Professor of Medicine in the Field of Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Harvard Medical School and Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Health
Research at the Frontier: Fascia, Fluids, and Biofields
Reports of “extraordinary” impacts of Tai Chi and Qigong across multiple key domains of physical, psychological and spiritual health are not uncommon, and likely include frontier phenomena in science that are not yet fully developed. This lecture highlights three different dimensions at this frontier, including research into connective tissue and the interstitium that connects everything in the body, emerging paradigms described as “mitochondrial psychobiology,” and provocative research evaluating the impact of energy-based, non-touch gifted healers in cancer patients.
Presenters:
Helene Langevin, MD, Former Director of the NCCIH, University of Vermont Osher Center
Martin Picard, PhD, Professor, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Planetary Healing Through Contemplative Mind-Body Traditions, Ecology, and Community
Presenters:
Michael Ferguson, Instructor in Neurology, Harvard Medical School/Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Rebecca Henderson, John and Natty McArthur University Professor, Harvard Business School; Board Member, The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies;
Christopher Key Chapple, Doshi Professor, Indic and Comparative Theology; Founding Director, Master of Arts in Yoga Studies, Loyola Marymount University,
Mary Evelyn Tucker, Senior Lecturer and Research Scholar at Yale in the School of the Environment, the Divinity School and the Department of Religious Studies