How Qigong Can Calm Your Mind and Body

Studies show qigong can strengthen your body and mind, and reduce cortisol levels. We explore this Chinese meditative movement practice that dates back over 4,000 years.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2ywsck4e

Episode summary: Finding calm in your day to day life can be stressful, especially in a world that seems to be moving at such a rapid pace. Your life can change in an instant– and it can be really difficult to get yourself on your feet again. On this episode of The Science of Happiness, Ace Boral, an Oakland-based chef, joins us to try Qigong. Ace talks about his health struggles over the past four years, and how incorporating Qigong into his life over the past few weeks has helped him find mental clarity, emotional balance, and confidence in himself. Then we hear from Harvard psychologist Peter Wayne who has practiced and studied the benefits of Xigong. 

Today’s guests: Ace Boral is an Oakland-based chef.

Peter Wayne is an Associate Professor of Medicine, and serves as the Director for the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, jointly based at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

• Learn more about Peter’s work: https://tinyurl.com/342xndna

More episodes like this one:

• Moving Through Space, with Dacher Keltner: https://tinyurl.com/3u844n4d
• The Science of Synchronized Movement: https://tinyurl.com/n4bcrb5j

Tell us about your experiences with Qigong. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

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