Tai Chi and Qigong
Tai Chi and Qigong
What is Tai Chi and Qigong?
Tai Chi is a gentle exercise that connects the mind and body. It uses slow, flowing movements along with deep breathing and focus.
These practices come from Asian martial arts and traditional medicine practices from East Asia. Practicing Tai Chi can help with relaxation, balance, posture, strength, flexibility, and mood.
Qigong is like Tai Chi but focuses more on building the body’s energy, called “qi.” It combines breathing, posture, focus, and slow movements to improve overall well-being.
Tai chi and Qigong can be done seated or standing. It is sometimes offered in person or virtually through telehealth.
How do I get started?
Ask your health care provider if Tai Chi or Qigong is right for you.
You can also reach out to your local Whole Health Point of Contact to learn more about complementary and integrative health care options availability.
How can Tai Chi and Qigong help you?
Tai Chi and Qigong have been shown to help with general health and well-being.
In addition, Tai Chi and Qigong may support the management of different conditions such as pain, heart disease, arthritis, breathing issues, osteoporosis, Parkinson’s, stroke, balance challenges, mood issues, and cancer.
What can I expect during a session?
Guided Movement: A trained instructor will guide you through different movements that can be done standing, seated, or with a walker or wheelchair.
Simple Techniques: The practices may include breathing exercises, meditation, and simple, repeated motions to help you learn. Some moves involve bending, stretching, and shifting your weight, so it’s best to wear comfortable clothing.
Is Tai Chi and Qigong safe and effective?
An evidence map of Tai Chi was developed by the VA Health Services Research & Development. This systematic review provides a visual map of the evidence of tai chi. Conditions with evidence of positive effect include general health and well-being, stress, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, balance, cardiovascular disease, COPD, osteoarthritis, cognitive function, osteoporosis, Parkinson’s, stroke, mood dysfunction, and quality of life related to cancer.
Tai chi can support those with chronic medical conditions like hypertension, osteoporosis, chronic pain, insomnia and may support healthy aging by reducing falls and frailty. For patients with cancer, tai chi may help with quality of life factors by reducing cancer related fatigue and anxiety.
Tai Chi is generally thought to be safe and may be associated with minor musculoskeletal aches and pains including knee pain.
Policy and Research
Background and Policy on in VA
Tai Chi is one of the evidence-based complementary and integrative health (CIH) approaches within the VHA Whole Health System of care included in the Veteran’s medical benefits package when deemed clinically necessary by his/her care team per VA Directive 1137 — Provision of Complementary and Integrative Health (recertified December 2022). Based on literature review these approaches were found to be safe and have sufficient evidence of benefit to be recommended as appropriate components of care for the Veteran population.
Highlighted Publications
Citation: Yang, G. Y., Hunter, J., Bu, F. L., Hao, W. L., Zhang, H., Wayne, P. M., & Liu, J. P. (2022). Determining the safety and effectiveness of Tai Chi: a critical overview of 210 systematic reviews of controlled clinical trials. Systematic Reviews, 11(1), 260.
Summary: This overview critically appraised 210 systematic reviews on the health effects of Tai Chi, concluding that Tai Chi is generally safe and offers multidimensional physical, psychological, and quality of life benefits for various conditions. Clinically important benefits were consistently reported for Parkinson's disease, falls risk, knee osteoarthritis, low back pain, cerebrovascular, and cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension. However, the certainty of evidence was often limited by the quality of primary studies and systematic reviews, highlighting a need for more rigorous research.
Citation: Mak, S., Allen, J., De Vries, G., Begashaw, M., Beroes-Severin, J., Miake-Lye, I., & Shekelle, P. (2025). Evidence Map of Tai Chi and Qigong: Update from 2014-2024. Washington, DC: Evidence Synthesis Program, Health Systems Research, Office of Research and Development, Department of Veterans Affairs. VA ESP Project #05-226.
Summary: This evidence map provides an updated overview of systematic reviews on Tai Chi and Qigong for various adult health conditions published between 2014 and 2024. It identified 25 reviews covering 21 health conditions, with high certainty of evidence for potential benefits in hypertension and osteoporosis, and moderate certainty for 16 other conditions. The report concludes that there is a stronger evidence base for Tai Chi and Qigong's benefits since 2014, although more high-quality primary studies are needed across a wider range of conditions and to examine long-term effects and different styles.
Learn more
Learn more about other complementary and integrative health care options by visiting the Complementary and Integrative Health overview page or clicking the links below.
