 |
Courtesy
of Roberta Taggart |
mind over matter
Study: Tai Chi classes boost immunity
BY cynthia lee
UCLA Today Staff
Against the peaceful backdrop of the Sculpture Garden or in a secluded
area of the Mildred Mathias Botanical Garden, practitioners of tai chi
can be seen, barely breaking the stillness of the surroundings with their
slow, fluid movements.
Westerners hoping to tap their internal energy, called chi, have taken
to this moving meditation that was developed in the East to improve health
and well-being. Now UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute researchers have scientific
evidence that tai chi classes actually boosted participants’ immunity
to shingles as well as improved their physical health and ability to move
through their day.
“This study is amazing,” said Roberta Taggart, an instructor
of tai chi chih, the form of tai chi that was performed by the older adults
in the NPI study.
“It quantifies for us scientifically something we can’t
really document in our classes. I see a lot of good things happening to
people, but I can’t see this,” said Taggart, who is involved
in the current phase of the NPI study.
After taking a tai chi chih class three times a week for 15 weeks, older
adults at risk for herpes zoster showed an increased immunity against
the varicella zoster virus, or shingles. The virus can cause a painful
skin rash with intermittent pain that can last for months or years.
Older adults are particularly susceptible because they lose immunity
to the virus as they age.
“Our findings offer a unique and exciting example of mind over
matter,” said Michael R. Irwin, professor at NPI and director of
the institute’s Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology. “Ours
is the first randomized, controlled study to demonstrate that behavior
can have a positive effect on immunity that protects against shingles.” |
