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Tai Chi is part of traditional oriental medicine and related to Qi Gong (or Chi Gong). It is widely used by millions in China and taught among the martial arts in the U.S. Now UCLA researchers have performed research showing that elderly people who performed Tai Chi enjoyed better immune responses against the shingles-causing virus, compared to people who just received health education.

Shingles affects about one million people in the U.S., and most commonly affects people over the age of 50.

112 healthy volunteers, aged 59-86, were involved in this study. All participants had had chickenpox. Half of them had three Tai Chi classes each week for 12 weeks, while the other half had health education classes (but no Tai Chi lessons). They all had blood tests before and after their vaccinations. Six months later, the researchers found that those who had received the Tai Chi lessons had almost twice the immunity levels against shingles, compared to the other group. In fact, the researchers found that the Tai Chi group managed to develop a level of immunity similar to what younger people would have after the vaccination.