Qigong (pronounced “chee-gung”) is a centuries-old Chinese practice that combines slow, flowing movements with intentional breathing and gentle focus. It requires no special equipment or fitness level, and it can be practiced standing or seated, in person or over Zoom. People come to it for many reasons—stress, pain, sleep, emotional balance, or simply a desire to feel more at home in their own body. Whatever brings you here, this is time you’re giving back to yourself, and your body knows what to do with it.

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The Science Behind the Practice

Research across evolutionary biology, neurology, physiology, psychology, anthropology, and interpersonal neurobiology confirms what Qigong has taught for centuries: the flow of energy in our bodies profoundly shapes perception, emotional balance, clarity, behavior, and well-being. Practicing Qigong is like calisthenics for your inner body, revitalizing you from head to toe and restoring your natural, healthy condition.

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Qigong is an ancient movement practice, but the reasons it works aren’t mysterious. A growing body of peer-reviewed research is revealing what practitioners have felt for centuries: movement combined with intentional breathing and visualization changes the body from the inside out. Qigong is thought to gently massage internal organs and ease physical tension, changing the interoceptive signals the body sends to the brain. It helps increase the circulation of oxygen and vital fluids, supporting numerous systems in your body: endocrine, lymphatic, digestive, circulatory, respiratory, excretory, interstitial (fascial), and cardiovascular, as well as the enteric, central, and autonomic nervous systems. It intervenes on the stress response system, is theorized to activate the social engagement system, and resets the inner systems that govern how you think, feel, and respond to life.

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Here’s what the science is finding.

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Whole Person Health

In the fall of 2023, the Harvard Medical School Osher Center for Integrative Health hosted the inaugural international conference on the Science of Tai Chi and Qigong as Whole Person Health, bringing together researchers from Harvard, UCLA, Tufts, and other institutions to take stock of the field. The resulting white paper synthesizes the evidence for Tai Chi and Qigong across a wide range of conditions, including falls and balance, cognitive health, mental health, sleep, cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal health, and cancer care, alongside the underlying neurophysiological, brain, and immune mechanisms that may explain these effects.

 

The authors position Tai Chi and Qigong as a natural fit for the whole person health model now gaining traction in mainstream medicine, one that treats physical, mental, and social well-being as inseparable rather than addressing each in isolation. Notably, the paper also considers Tai Chi and Qigong through the lens of traditional East Asian health frameworks, treating them as a legitimate part of the science rather than a layer added on top of it. A companion paper, Part II, turns from what’s already known to what still needs to be studied — including how factors like training style, dosage, and long-term practice shape outcomes, and what it will take to bring Tai Chi and Qigong further into mainstream healthcare implementation and training standards. A second international conference followed in the spring of 2026, drawing over 350 participants from 15 countries — a sign of the field’s growing momentum.

 

​Your Nervous System

Qigong and Tai Chi work directly on the autonomic nervous system, the part of you that decides, below conscious awareness, whether you’re safe or under threat. Qigong is the broader energetic/cultivation practice; Tai Chi, which evolved later, is a specific martial expression of those same underlying principles. The slow, rhythmic movements naturally deepen your breathing, which stimulates the Vagus nerve, the main highway of your parasympathetic (“rest and restore”) nervous system. Rather than just calming you down in the moment, regular practice appears to strengthen this system over time.

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A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis of 23 studies found that Tai Chi and Qigong significantly improved two critical measures of heart rate variability — high-frequency power and SDNN — both indicators of a well-regulated nervous system. A separate meta-analysis found that when a Tai Chi practice emphasizes breathing, as most traditional forms do, the benefits to autonomic balance are even greater. And a 2018 meta-analysis of 17 randomized controlled trials confirmed that the stress reduction observed in these practices is linked to improved balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the nervous system.

In other words, each time you practice, you’re tipping the balance a little more toward ease, for that session and cumulatively.

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​Your Brain

Brain imaging studies are showing that Qigong and Tai Chi do more than relax you; they change the structure and function of your brain in ways that support clearer thinking, better emotional regulation, and deeper body awareness. A 2023 systematic review of nine randomized controlled trials found that Qigong induced structural and functional changes across multiple brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula. The prefrontal cortex and hippocampus — areas involved in focus, pattern recognition, memory, and emotional balance — showed positive changes consistently across studies, whether participants were healthy or already experiencing cognitive decline due to aging.

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A 2024 case-control fMRI study comparing Tai Chi practitioners to water aerobics practitioners found that the Tai Chi group had stronger resting-state connections between the anterior cingulate cortex and insular cortex, regions responsible for body awareness, cognitive control, and the integration of thinking and feeling. Another fMRI study found that experienced Tai Chi practitioners showed more refined functional organization in both the anterior cingulate cortex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, along with enhanced integration in the somatosensory cortex, the brain area that processes what you feel in your body.

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A review in Frontiers in Psychology proposed what the researchers called a “prefrontal cortex hypothesis,” suggesting that Tai Chi strengthens the connection between the executive control system and the limbic network (including the amygdala and hippocampus), essentially building what they described as “an immune system of the mind.” Over time, the practice helps you feel better in the moment and it builds a more resilient, responsive brain.

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​Depression, Stress, and Emotional Resilience

A systematic review and meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Psychiatry concluded that Qigong is effective in reducing depression specifically through activating the parasympathetic nervous system. This is an important distinction. Rather than just managing difficult feelings, the practice appears to change the underlying conditions in the body that give rise to them.

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A large randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Network Open studied women facing ongoing adversity and found that those who practiced Qigong experienced significantly greater reductions in perceived stress and depressive symptoms than controls. What’s striking about this finding is that these changes emerged in people dealing with real, persistent hardship, though the between-group difference faded by the 22-week follow-up, suggesting the benefit may be most reliable as an early intervention or an ongoing effect with continued practice.

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A separate randomized controlled trial looked at people with inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) practicing a Qigong-based breathing and meditation program. Unlike the JAMA trial above, the improvements here in anxiety, depression, and quality of life were still significant at the six-month follow-up — not just early on. The study also found a drop in C-reactive protein, an objective marker of inflammation in the blood, suggesting the emotional benefits may be tied to a real physiological change, not just how participants felt about their symptoms.

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A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in adults with clinically diagnosed major depressive disorder found that Qigong-based therapy significantly reduced depression severity, an effect that held up whether Qigong was compared to an active alternative or to no treatment at all. The practice was also linked to meaningfully higher rates of treatment response and remission, suggesting the benefit isn’t just a modest mood lift but a difference substantial enough to change clinical outcomes for some practitioners.

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​Pain

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 10 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) found that Qigong significantly reduced chronic pain, though results varied by Qigong type and comparison group. The researchers noted that the likely mechanisms include improved autonomic regulation and enhanced mind-body awareness. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of 16 RCTs (1,175 participants) focusing on chronic low back pain found that Qigong significantly reduced both pain and disability, though the size of the improvement fell just short of the threshold researchers use to judge a change as clinically meaningful to patients, a real but modest effect, and one the authors say needs replication given high variability across the studies. And a meta-analysis in Scientific Reports found that Tai Chi showed positive evidence for pain relief across osteoarthritis, low back pain, and osteoporosis.

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Fatigue and Sleep

In a randomized controlled trial, people with chronic fatigue who practiced Qigong showed significant improvements in fatigue symptoms, daily functioning, and overall quality of life. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis pooled 13 randomized controlled trials testing Qigong, Tai Chi, and yoga in people with chronic fatigue syndrome and post-COVID syndrome, two conditions where persistent fatigue is often resistant to treatment. Across these mindful movement practices, fatigue levels improved significantly compared to control groups, with additional benefits for anxiety, depression, and sleep quality. The authors note that most of the included trials carried a moderate to high risk of bias, so this is a promising but not yet definitive body of evidence. Still, it’s notable that benefits showed up consistently across studies for a population with few effective treatment options.

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A randomized controlled trial published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that Qigong Eight Brocades practice improved sleep quality, with the benefits mediated through reductions in depressive symptoms and stress. Another RCT found that after 12 weeks of Eight Brocades practice, postmenopausal women showed improvements across sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, anxiety, and depression. When we settle the nervous system during the day, it remembers how to settle at night.

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Cellular Health

Preliminary research suggests that Qigong may support telomerase activity, the enzyme that protects your chromosomes from aging-related damage. A randomized controlled trial in people with chronic fatigue found a statistically significant association between Qigong practice and increased telomerase activity. However, the largest and most rigorous trial to date, published in JAMA Network Open with 271 participants, found that while telomerase activity increased in the Qigong group, the difference did not reach statistical significance. The research is still developing, but the direction of the findings hints that regular practice may benefit us all the way down to the cellular level.

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Balance / Fall Risk

A 2023 systematic review and meta-analysis of 24 randomized controlled trials found that Tai Chi significantly reduced both the risk and number of falls in older adults, while also improving key measures of balance, including the timed up-and-go test, functional reach, and gait speed. The benefits held for healthy older adults and those already at higher risk of falling, and effectiveness increased with longer, more frequent practice. Interestingly, the researchers found that the specific form practiced may matter. One of the most direct ways to protect balance as we age turns out to be one of the gentlest.

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Why Practice Together

The understanding that contemplative practice deepens in community is not unique to any single tradition. It runs through nearly all of them. In Buddhism, the sangha (a community of practitioners) is one of the three foundations of the path. In Christianity, monastic orders like the Benedictines, Cistercians, and Carmelites have organized entire ways of life around shared silence, prayer, and contemplative inquiry — not as an addition to the spiritual life but as its center. The Rule of St. Benedict, written in the sixth century, structures communal practice as the ground from which everything else arises: work, study, relationship, and service all flow from what is discovered together in stillness. Across traditions, the consistent insight is the same: something becomes available in shared practice that solitary practice alone cannot reach.

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Modern research is beginning to confirm this intuition.

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A pilot study published in the Clinical Social Work Journal found that practicing meditation while watching others practice — even on video — more effectively deepened the experience and strengthened feelings of social connection than practicing alone. Reviews of Qigong studies have found notably higher adherence rates in group training (73–95%) compared to home self-practice (63–80%). And studies on chronic pain have found that supervised group practice yields better outcomes than practicing at home alone.

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According to Dr. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory, human nervous systems are biologically wired for co-regulation, meaning we heal and stabilize faster by sharing cues of safety with others. While practicing Qigong alone provides excellent self-regulation, a group setting uniquely activates the Social Engagement System through the shared presence of calm individuals. Practicing together fosters synchronized breathing and collective movement, which naturally entrains the group’s heart rate variability and deepens the relaxation response. This collective environment removes the evolutionary threat of isolation, down-regulating the sympathetic fight-or-flight system more readily than solo practice. In this way, the group becomes more than the sum of its members — a living circuit of safety cues that helps every nervous system in the room settle more fully than it could in solitary practice.

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There’s something about showing up together, even via a screen. that helps each of us settle more fully into the practice. The shared commitment creates a kind of gentle accountability, a rhythm that makes it easier to keep showing up for yourself.

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And for many practitioners, this is where something deeper begins. When the nervous system is still and settled and the mind is quiet, we become available to a different quality of attention, one that can see our habitual patterns more clearly and respond to life with greater freedom. Qigong doesn’t just improve how we feel; it makes inner work sustainable and practical, and over time it helps to turn our attention toward how we meet the people and the world around us — toward openness, gratitude, and a quiet, perennial joy.

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References

• Bai, Z. et al. (2015). The Effects of Qigong for Adults with Chronic Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 43(8), 1525–39.

• Chen, W. et al. (2023). Tai Chi for fall prevention and balance improvement in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 1236050.

• Cheung, D.S.T. et al. (2019). Effect of a Qigong Intervention on Telomerase Activity and Mental Health in Chinese Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open, 2(1), e186967.

• Cheung, D.S.T. et al. (2021). Assessing the effect of a mind-body exercise, Qigong Baduanjin, on sleep disturbance: a randomized-controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 17(5), 993–1003.

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