T'ai Chi Chih

[GeneChing]

I'm starting this in reaction to a news item I just posted on our Tai Chi as Medicine thread.

Here's the official T'ai Chi Chih site. This program is fairly popular here in the S.F. Bay Area, especially as business recreation programs and medical programs.

[KTS]

oh wow. what a little "gem" this is.

i will let others comment on his knowledge of taoist practicies, as these can be fairly wide in scope and unique in practice. suffice it is for me to say i dont know the aim he is shooting for here based on what is shown in his videos.

now, on the taijiquan principals... well...
to practice what is shown, at least on the videos, may help loosen joints and provide a softer set of warm-up movements for the elderly to help cope with stiffening joints perhaps. but nothing i saw indicates an ounce of understanding of such fundamental concepts as double heaviness.

[bawang]

what the hell is a chih???

[YouKnowWho]

what the hell is a chih???

It has nothing to do with "combat" and that's for sure.

[mawali]

now, on the taijiquan principals... well...
to practice what is shown, at least on the videos, may help loosen joints and provide a softer set of warm-up movements for the elderly to help cope with stiffening joints perhaps. but nothing i saw indicates an ounce of understanding of such fundamental concepts as double heaviness.

Tai Chi Chih is indeed a gem, devoid of mystical jargon so it is a positive development for those who find benefit and joy from it.

[B-Rad]

So... what is chih?

[KTS]

Tai Chi Chih is indeed a gem, devoid of mystical jargon so it is a positive development for those who find benefit and joy from it.

you are joking, eh?

"the purpose of tai chi chih is to circulate and balance the chi"

[mawali]

you are joking, eh?

"the purpose of tai chi chih is to circulate and balance the chi"

Whether I believe that tai chi chih's purpose is to circulate and.or balance chi is irrelevant! Its teaching structure/methodology regarding posture, concept, benefit(s) within the realm of fitness, exercise physiology, etc is above reproach when people get well/cured of their specific element or are able to use it to its maximum potential relating to yangsheng principles.

It obviously does not and cannot replace cardiovascular or muscular training but that is not its purpose. People who are able to increase their cardiovascular conditionoing cannot live on yangsheng concepts but it should be based on their level of fitness or lack thereof due to their age. They are complementary as opposed to exclusionary!

[GeneChing]

Tai Chi Chih Compared With Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for the Treatment of Insomnia in Survivors of Breast Cancer: A Randomized, Partially Blinded, Noninferiority Trial

Michael R. Irwin, Richard Olmstead, Carmen Carrillo, Nina Sadeghi, Perry Nicassio, Patricia A. Ganz, and

Abstract

Purpose
Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and Tai Chi Chih (TCC), a movement meditation, improve insomnia symptoms. Here, we evaluated whether TCC is noninferior to CBT-I for the treatment of insomnia in survivors of breast cancer.

Patients and Methods
This was a randomized, partially blinded, noninferiority trial that involved survivors of breast cancer with insomnia who were recruited from the Los Angeles community from April 2008 to July 2012. After a 2-month phase-in period with repeated baseline assessment, participants were randomly assigned to 3 months of CBT-I or TCC and evaluated at months 2, 3 (post-treatment), 6, and 15 (follow-up). Primary outcome was insomnia treatment response—that is, marked clinical improvement of symptoms by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index—at 15 months. Secondary outcomes were clinician-assessed remission of insomnia; sleep quality; total sleep time, sleep onset latency, sleep efficiency, and awake after sleep onset, derived from sleep diaries; polysomnography; and symptoms of fatigue, sleepiness, and depression.

Results
Of 145 participants who were screened, 90 were randomly assigned (CBT-I: n = 45; TCC: n = 45). The proportion of participants who showed insomnia treatment response at 15 months was 43.7% and 46.7% in CBT-I and TCC, respectively. Tests of noninferiority showed that TCC was noninferior to CBT-I at 15 months (P = .02) and at months 3 (P = .02) and 6 (P < .01). For secondary outcomes, insomnia remission was 46.2% and 37.9% in CBT-I and TCC, respectively. CBT-I and TCC groups showed robust improvements in sleep quality, sleep diary measures, and related symptoms (all P < .01), but not polysomnography, with similar improvements in both groups.

Conclusion
CBT-I and TCC produce clinically meaningful improvements in insomnia. TCC, a mindful movement meditation, was found to be statistically noninferior to CBT-I, the gold standard for behavioral treatment of insomnia.

Tai Chi Chih as Medicine