Discover Tai Chi

22/09/2025

Helen was invited to be part of a podcast aimed at Occupational Therapist working in unusual or at least not the typical hospital or home health settings. The podcast was created by Patricia an OT in the US who also uses tai chi!

In this episode we will learn from Helen Parsons, MSc OT, an Occupational Therapist who specializes in Tai Chi. Helen is a HCPC registered Occupational Therapist, holds a MSc Occupational Therapy and BSc Sport, Health, Exercise and Nutrition. She is passionate about evidence-based practice for suppo

12/09/2025

Not quite on it with 'back to school' as our first tai-chi-style exercise class of September has already been and gone, but there are still plenty more opportunities to get together at Idle Baptist Church to come...... Our Memory Clubs on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday are specifically for people with dementia and those who care for or support them, while the Tai-Chi Style Exercise class on 1st and 3rd Wednesdays are dementia-friendly but open to anyone looking for a gentle exercise opportunity

29/08/2025

Transform Your Practice with Evidence-Based Tai Chi & Qigong

🌟 Next Course Starts: 15th September 2025 🌟

Calling all physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and allied health professionals! Ready to expand your toolkit with movements that truly make a difference?

Why This Course Matters:
✅ Tai chi and qigong feature in UK physical activity guidelines for balance
✅ Growing research supports their effectiveness across multiple conditions
✅ Tai chi provides both rehab and health promotion. HCPC standards require professionals to "understand the role of their profession in health promotion, health education and preventing ill health"
✅ Tai chi provides a biopsychosocial approach that fits alongside current practise whether that be education sessions, group exercise or one to one rehab.
✅ Tai chi offers self-care opportunities too. HCPC Standards emphasise "the importance of practitioners looking after their own mental and physical health and having well-being strategies in maintaining fitness to practise"

What You'll Gain:
🎯 Master the 'active ingredients' that make tai chi therapeutic
🎯 Learn condition-specific adaptations for MSK, neurological, and cardiovascular patients
🎯 Develop a critical understanding of the vast and emerging research
🎯 Implement movements confidently in your clinical setting

Course Highlights:
📅 6 weeks of flexible online learning via a dedicated website (2.5 hours/week)
📅 Live Wednesday sessions (7:30-8:30pm GMT) - all recorded
📅 Lifetime access to materials and community
📅 Direct tutor support via phone, email, or video chat

Designed by Phil and Helen - combining 40+ years of martial arts practice with clinical expertise and evidence-based teaching.

Ready to give your patients something truly transformative?

Book now: www.discovertaichi.uk Questions? Email: info@discovertaichi.uk

Class leading evidence-based CPD courses for health professionals wishing to implement tai chi and qigong movements into their clinical practice.

30/07/2025

28/07/2025

Check out the FREE festival sports. Don't miss out on the kick-boxing and self defence session.

22/07/2025

What's your experience of using tai chi? Our community class members tell us, they love the relaxation and calmness they get from sessions.

22/07/2025

Tai Chi's Role in Insomnia Management: A Win-Win 🌙

This study highlights that 'while exercise demonstrates potential benefits for improving sleep, clinical guidelines currently lack systematic comparisons of different exercise modalities.'

Yoga, walking and jogging all showed benefits, however our focus is on tai chi - and this network meta-analysis of 22 trials (1,348 participants) provides compelling evidence for our approach.

The tai chi findings:
Tai chi demonstrated sustained improvements across ALL sleep parameters for up to 2 years - outperforming standard care approaches:
Increased total sleep time by >50 minutes
Reduced wake-after-sleep-onset by >30 minutes
Shortened sleep latency by ~25 minutes
Improved sleep quality scores by >4 points

Why this matters:
Unlike pharmacological interventions with their side-effect profiles, or CBT with its access limitations due to therapist shortages, tai chi offers:
✓ Minimal contraindications
✓ Low cost implementation
✓ High accessibility across age groups
✓ Dual benefits for sleep AND physical function
✓ Self-management support for long-term health conditions

Tai chi is safe and adaptable for a wide range of health conditions. We know it's perceived as accessible by many people with multiple long-term conditions who may experience fear avoidance or kinesiophobia around other forms of exercise.

Clinical considerations:
The research highlights tai chi's unique mechanisms - combining breath awareness, mindful movement, and sympathetic nervous system modulation. This makes it particularly valuable for patients with co-morbid anxiety, chronic pain, or balance concerns.

The win-win for older adults: For older people, tai chi offers multiple benefits: maintaining or improving balance, better sleep, management of long-term conditions such as knee and hip OA, plus opportunities for social connection and meaningful activity.

Findings back use of exercise as primary treatment strategy for poor sleep, say researchers Yoga, Tai Chi, walking and jogging may be the best forms of exercise to improve sleep quality and ease insomnia, suggest the findings of a comparative pooled data analysis published in the online journal BMJ....

21/07/2025

We usually post about Tai Chi as it's more well-known, but on our 'Tai Chi for Therapists' course and in our community sessions, we also include another traditional Chinese exercise called Baduanjin (or 'Eight Strands of the Brocade').

Why? Because of emerging research like this latest paper, and because in our experience many people find the movements easier to learn than Tai Chi.

What is Baduanjin? Eight gentle, coordinated movements similar to Tai Chi but simpler to master, making it accessible to most patients.

What does the research show?
A network meta-analysis in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment examined mind-body exercises across 20 studies involving 1,353 patients.

Key finding: Baduanjin showed statistically significant cognitive improvements compared to usual care and outperformed yoga, Tai Chi/Qigong, and dance.

In practice, we find that people quickly grasp the Baduanjin movements in community sessions. They can practice at home and often feel proud sharing their new exercise skills with friends and family.

While more rigorous studies are needed, this research validates patients' cognitive concerns and offers a promising, gentle intervention. For survivors navigating post-treatment recovery, evidence-based mind-body approaches may provide hope, relaxation, and enjoyable movement.

If you'd like to understand more about traditional chinese exercise and where it fits into clinical practice, do get in touch or check out www.taichifortherapists.com

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10549-025-07774-8

Purpose Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is one of the most common adverse effects in breast cancer patients, which seriously affects their quality of life. Existing studies have shown that mind–body exercise (MBE) can improve CRCI in breast cancer patients, but the differences in effica...

16/07/2025

What if gentle movement could be more beneficial for brain health than intense workouts? New research on the importance of exercise and brain health, this time from the British Journal of Sports Medicine, highlighting 'Children, ADHD and gentle movement.'

Key findings from the research:

"While cognitive benefits were observed across all age groups, children and adolescents demonstrated the most significant improvements in memory. This suggests that physical activity during developmental years may help build cognitive resources.
Interestingly, individuals with ADHD showed the largest gains in executive function—the cognitive domain often affected by this condition. This finding suggests exercise may be a valuable complementary approach for cognitive support in ADHD.
Perhaps one of the most surprising findings related to the intensity of exercise. We've all heard of the no-pain-no-gain mantra. Yet, our analyses suggested that, for brain health, low-to-moderate intensity activities may actually be better than vigorous workouts. Exergames (think Wii Fit or VR fitness) and mind-body exercises like yoga and tai chi showed particularly strong effects on cognitive measures compared to traditional more high-intensity workouts."

The research highlights practical implications for various populations:

Educational settings: Regular movement breaks may support children's cognitive development
ADHD management: Physical activity could complement existing approaches for supporting executive function
Aging populations: Mind-body practices may help maintain cognitive health in older adults
Technology integration: Exergames aren't just fun – they're actually training your brain along with your body

Moving your body is one of the most powerful, accessible ways to support your brain health – regardless of your age, current fitness level, or cognitive status.
I am looking forward to sharing the latest research findings at The OT Show in November and exploring the role that OTs have in implementing this research with the populations that need it.

https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2025/07/14/exercise-and-brain-health-new-insights-on-cognitive-benefits/

Have you ever noticed feeling mentally clearer after physical activity? That post-exercise mental clarity isn’t just your imagination – it reflects real cognitive changes. Our research team undertook a major review of the evidence to dig deeper into exactly how movement shapes our thinking. What...

15/07/2025

🧠 Fascinating research on exercise and brain health as we age!
A major study looked at different types of exercise and how they affect our thinking skills in older adults (65+).

What they found:
🥋 Tai chi and similar practices were best for improving "executive function" - basically your ability to multitask, switch between activities, and remember things while doing other tasks

💪 Strength training was most effective for overall brain function

🏃‍♀️ Cardio exercise gave the biggest boost to memory

The sweet spot? Regular sessions (3-4 times a week) of moderate length seemed to work best.

Why this matters: As we get older, keeping our minds sharp is just as important as staying physically fit. Different exercises literally exercise different parts of our brain!

For my therapist friends - this backs up what many of us see in practice: there's no one-size-fits-all approach. It's about matching
the right activity to what each person needs.

The takeaway: Whether it's tai chi in the park, lifting weights at the gym, or going for regular walks, the key is staying active in ways that feel good to you. Your brain will thank you!

What's your favourite way to stay active? Drop a comment below! 👇

Background: Cognitive decline poses a significant challenge to healthy aging. While exercise is widely recognized for its cognitive benefits, the comparative...

14/07/2025

New clinical guidelines from American Physical Therapy Association have given Tai Chi a strong evidence-based recommendation for preventing falls in older adults.

Tai Chi combines gentle, flowing movements with balance challenges - exactly what research shows works best for keeping older adults steady on their feet.

What makes this exciting is that Tai Chi offers a sustainable, enjoyable way to improve balance that doesn't feel like "exercise" to many people. The evidence shows it's particularly effective for older adults at lower fall risk.

For healthcare professionals, it's helpful to note that tai chi is safe and adaptable for a wide range of health conditions, which is reassuring to know when so many older people have multiple long term conditions.

For anyone with older family members or those working with older adults, this research highlights Tai Chi as a proven intervention worth considering as part of a comprehensive approach to staying safe and independent.

Falls are a leading cause of injury in older adults, but evidence like this shows there are effective, enjoyable ways to reduce that risk.

ve physical therapists with clinical expertise in the management of fall risk in older adults and methodological expertise in evidence-based document development. The CPG includes a systematic review of existing literature, and stringent methodology developed by the American Physical Therapy Associa...

19/06/2025