Listening to that, you may start to feel they’re starting to sound a bit like the fountain of youth. Well actually they have that covered too, as the latest research shows that practicing Tai Chi and Qi Gong helps to keep your telomeres intact, the little caps on the ends of your DNA that have an annoying habit of fraying over time and causing you to age.

For a deeper dive into all these benefits, here are links to peer-reviewed academic studies from leading universities around the world, places like Harvard Medical School and Stanford, setting out the science:

Physical Performance

• Strength & Stamina

• Coordination & Proprioception

• Flexibility & Mobility

• Balance & Posture

• Cardiovascular & Respiratory Health

• Balance, coordination and proprioception

• Posture

• Flexibility and mobility

Mental Performance

• Focus, Memory, Reasoning

• Alleviation of Stress and Depression

• Balancing of Nervous System

• Sleep

Longevity & Healthspan

• Overall life expectancy

• Cardiovascular & Respiratory Health

• Weight Loss and Blood Sugar + Cholesterol Reduction

• Immune System

• Blood pressure & Cortisol

• Chronic pain reduction

• Slower onset of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's

• Arthritis relief

• Chronic pain reduction

Heart and lungs

• Cardiovascular health

• Lung capacity

• Lower blood pressure

Metabolic health

• Weight loss

• Lower cholesterol

• Blood sugar and diabetes management

Stress, mood and sleep

• Stress relief, including lower cortisol

• Balanced nervous system

• Reduced anxiety and depression

• Better sleep and relief from insomnia

Brain and cognition

• Focus, memory and reasoning

Lonngedvity and Healthspan

Blood pressure sat under both stress and your standalone list, so I kept it with heart health. If this is for a website or flyer, I can turn each group into a short heading with a line of copy.

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