This form of active meditation—made up of flowing repetitive movements designed to harness your body’s energy—has been shown to enhance nervous system activity and lower stress hormone levels so you sleep better, feel more focused, and have fewer cravings. A UCLA study found that healthy adults reported feeling 10% more energetic throughout the day after practicing tai chi, a more complex form of qigong. A Swedish study also showed that qigong helped women in their 40s with fast-paced computer-based jobs to naturally slow their heart rate and blood pressure all day long. You can get all of these benefits and more without stressing about how to fit it in! Enter: our exclusive 15-minute routine you can do anytime, anywhere (without changing into workout clothes!). Even if you can do only a few moves a day, you’ll feel happier, revitalized, and ready for your best year yet. Workout at a glance: For all-day energy, do the routine at least 3 times a week; for an instant lift, do your favorite move anytime. Go from one exercise to the next in the order they appear, flowing through all the repetitions slowly and gracefully without stopping. Breathe through your nose, lips closed and the tip of your tongue lightly touching the top of your mouth behind your teeth (an acupressure point thought to regulate energy). [pagebreak]
1. Big Cat Stretch
[pagebreak] Now pull right hand back and push left hand forward. Slowly continue to alternate hands for 6 to 9 reps with each arm. End by gently shaking out arms and legs (like doing the Hokey Pokey), then come to stillness, resting right hand on top of left, just below navel. Hold this position as long as you like.
Qigong: Your Stress Rx
Taking care of ourselves right now is often last on our busy to-do list. Here, five reasons qigong is just what you need to stay healthy and happy this minute and all year long.
It brightens your mood: For adults who experience a case of the blues over the holidays, doing qigong may ease depression as effectively as drugs—without the side effects—suggests a study from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Participants reported a 70% drop in symptoms after 2 months of practice, which seems to regulate serotonin levels.
It deepens your sleep: Practicing tai chi helped people with sleep complaints drift off about 18 minutes faster and slumber 48 minutes longer in an Oregon Research Institute study. The meditative movements may modify circadian rhythms, so you sleep through the night.
It revs immunity: Adults who did qigong and tai chi for 3 hours a week after receiving a flu vaccine produced three times as many antibodies as those receiving only the vaccine, reveals a study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This added protection could be helpful if your immune system is suppressed due to stress and lack of sleep.
It eases headaches: Qigong may also be a drug-free sigh of relief from stress-related headaches, according to UCLA researchers. Women affected by these headaches who did tai chi reported less frequent and less severe pain. The exercise limited muscle spasms and inflammation that can contribute to headaches.
It prevents slips and falls: By improving balance and reaction time, qigong can help you navigate slippery sidewalks. The slow, coordinated exercises enhance awareness of your body movement, improve control over the muscles that support the knees, and may even help you avoid a turned ankle, finds another University of Illinois study.
