Movement and Health - Yuanji Dance

http://www.jssm.org/vol9/n1/17/v9n1-17pdf.pdf

 

In China I visited Lianhuashan, Ezhou, Hubei Sheng. This is a martial arts based retreat based on the Yuanji system handed down by generations of the Zhang family. Besides Gung Fu and Qi Gong there is a movement referred to as dance which to the Westerner appears close to Taiji. There are many moves taught in this system. While in Lianhuashan I spent several mornings following the routine. It is graceful and restorative. The movements like Taiji are helpful in maintaining and restoring balance. The link is to a study of this art.

Breathing and motion are, I believe essential to good health. Many traditional lifestyles are based on this concept. Yoga is one and Yanji another.

The conclusion of the study.

"In summary, we demonstrated clinically relevant effects
in general cognitive and perceptual-motor functions
after long-term Chinese Yuanji-Dance practice. Even
though practical considerations interfere with the perfect
experimental design, our matched comparison group
design can partly overcome the problems caused by limited
resources for experimentation. Our two groups are, as
far as possible, matched for reducing other influences.
Only one “Yuanji-Dance” is given the treatment and
therefore, differences can be attributed to the treatment. In
addition, because matched comparison group designs do
not require that the evaluator controls who does, and does
not, get the intervention, they are often a very pragmatic
design choice when dealing with real-world evaluations.
To sum up, our study really showed observed difference
between our intervention and comparison group. Yuanji-
Dance really has facilitating effects on general cognitive
and perceptual-motor functions.
Conclusion
Our study verified that Yuanji-Dance practice can benefit
the general cognitive and perceptual-motor functions of
elderly people and not influence the dynamic walking
balance. Reduction of response time would be effective in
preventing a fall after a trip because response time is an
important factor in affecting success of recovery after the
trip. This implies that Chinese Yuanji-Dance practice for
elderly adults may improve their personal safety when
walking especially under the condition of multiple task
demand."