Of course only your physician can help you decide what is right for your personal therapy as you enter the menopausal transition. However, you may find that you need to educate your physician regarding the benefits Tai Chi may offer you at this important time in your life. Or, perhaps if you ask around you may find a physician who has already educated himself or herself about the benefits Tai Chi may offer all women, but definitely has much to offer women entering menopause.

D., a lecturer in Health Care Ethics at the School of Nursing in Dublin City University, Ireland says that, “. . . . evidence there is suggests that the benefits of tai chi extend beyond those of simply exercising. The combination of exercise, meditation, and breathing all may help relieve anxiety and depression. . .

//www.intelihealth.com by Natural Standard and the Faculty of Harvard Medical School.

But, no matter how you slice it, research is indicating that Tai Chi may be a “very" effective multi-level beneficial therapy for women. A Chinese study reported in the December 2004 “Physician and Sportsmedicine" found that tai chi could retard bone loss among postmenopausal women significantly. Bone mineral density was measured before and after the study period. Both groups experienced general bone loss, but the rate of bone loss for the Tai Chi group was less than in the control group. In fact, the Tai Chi practicing group of women slowed bone loss by 2.6 to 3.6 times more. The study reported, “Bone loss was 2.6 to 3.6 times slower (p<.01) in the distal tibia in the [Tai Chi] exercise group compared with bone loss in the control group."

Now, there may be even more benefit ancient Chinese health therapies can offer to relieve the discomfort of life changes. Tai Chi is known as a general therapeutic form of “Qigong" (pronounced chee gung) exercise. Qigong means “energy exercise" or “breathing exercise" in Chinese. This indicates that Qigong combines gentle motion, or physical stimulation, with breathing techniques, and visualization/relaxation techniques to achieve substantial health benefits. There are over 7,000 Qigong therapies in the Chinese Medica (the Traditional Chinese Book of Medicine). Tai Chi, again, is a highly sophisticated general health Qigong practice, therefore this Qigong research may be relevant to the Tai Chi’s applications for those in menopause. An interesting study at healthy.net, revealed that sex hormone levels may be balanced by the practice of Qigong exercises (). The report stated, “…female sex hormone (estrogen) levels tend to increase in men and decrease in women. Three studies indicate that qigong exercise can reverse this trend. The effect of qigong exercise on plasma sex hormone levels was determined for hypertensive men and women. The sex hormones levels were measured before and after qigong practice for one year…" Results showed that high estrodiol levels in men lowered to near normal, and low estrodial levels in women raised to near normal after qigong practice.

Currently all alternative therapies research is only about one half of only one-percent of the National Institutes of Health’s budget, meaning that Tai Chi research is only a tiny fraction of that tiny fraction. Given the emerging possibilities of benefit Tai Chi is showing already with such limited research, this is inexcusable. Massive resources should be used to fully explore what Tai Chi offers, so that all hospitals can not only offer classes, but prescribe them. Tai Chi should be covered by medical insurance and national health insurance programs. The future is ours, by beginning to demand of our health system a natural and cost effective approach to our health and well-being. Share this article widely with everyone you know, but especially your health professionals, and your local media’s health reporters.