The Wearable Sensors and Virtual Reality for Tai Chi and Qigong Intervention Research (We Sense Tai Chi): Feasibility Study

admin admin — Sun, 10 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Tai Chi and Qigong (TCQ) interventions as mind-body exercise have increasingly demonstrated a spectrum of health benefits, but few were assessed using objective measurements, such as wearable sensors. In addition, Tai Chi instruction provided with live online and recorded videos increases accessibility but has some challenges. For example, participants can only see Tai Chi movements in two dimensions when watching a video compared to three dimensions when participating in an in-person class. There is also a limited experience of being part of a group when the Tai Chi classes are viewed online. Virtual reality has the potential to improve the experience of recorded Tai Chi classes, but Tai Chi research has not yet used this technology. The current study examined the feasibility and acceptability of using wearable sensors and virtual reality (VR) videos to deliver a remotely delivered TCQ intervention for older adults. This 2-week feasibility study enrolled 16 participants who were 50 years or older. Half of them had practiced Tai Chi for over one year and the other half had never learned Tai Chi before enrolling in the study. Participants were instructed to join the TCQ intervention classes and wear sensors at home to measure their sleep and heart rate variability. All participants had a 2-hour in-person group training on how to use wearable sensors and VR headsets and completed a set of questionnaires at both the pre-intervention and post-intervention time points. The questionnaires asked for demographic information, general health, perceived stress, physical activity, and sleep quality. Focus groups were conducted to obtain a deeper understanding of the participants’ experiences using the wearable sensors and VR for the TCQ intervention. Descriptive analyses were conducted for the feasibility of using wearable sensors and VR and completing the assessments. The completion rate for all the questionnaires and focus group interviews was 100%. The results showed that older adults had high acceptance of using wearable sensors and VR headsets for TCQ intervention, and high satisfaction with participating in the study (14 out of the 16 participants feel positive or very positive). However, over one-third of the participants had some level of difficulty using sensors and VR videos. In conclusion, we found high acceptability and good feasibility of using wearable sensors and VR for TCQ intervention. Our results suggest that more training and consultations are needed to help older adults effectively use wearable sensors and VR in an intervention study.

The Great Border Project: A Proposal to Study Torsion Energy Fields (TEF’s) in Human Beings to Explain Qi

John Alton — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The Chinese history of Qi—loosely translatable as “vital force”— is fundamental for understanding not only traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), but also, arguably, Chinese Civilization. However, Westerner medical and physical scientists have staunchly opposed the possibility that Qi exists. While there have been some meager studies done of Taijiquan and Qigong masters that show some ability to spontaneously regulate autonomic body functions, such as cardiovascular flow and oscillations, no Western medical researcher has shown that any Taijiquan or Qigong master can exude exceptional electromagnetic energy, beyond modest infrared radiation that others with no experience with either Taijiquan or Qigong have been able to produce.

Ironically, a new Western framework for understanding and verifying Qi has emerged over the past 50 years: Torsion Energy Field (TEF). Based on proposals put forth by Albert Einstein, along with other historic physicists (e.g., Nicoli Tesla), TEF provides a plausible concept that can be used to test both modest and extravagant claims of TCM, not only in terms of human health but in environmental management (feng shui). According to theory, TEF’s are generated by spin-spin polarity of particles (electrons, protons, molecules) that become organized in inanimate objects as complex general TEF’s that become even more complex in living organisms. When set into motion, the TEF’s generated by objects and living organisms make Torsion Waves (TW’s) that propagate infinitely across spacetime and intersect with other TEF’s, thus becoming “entangled,” despite spacetime separation.

The Great Border Project (GBP) is a research proposal to use one simple experimental method for TEF detection developed by Professor Konstantine Meyl, using a duel Tesla coil system and a wooden frame. With this simple design, Meyl was able to demonstrate that Tesla coils produce both left and right side TEF’s. Gao Peng (University of Science and Technology of China) successfully repeated Meyl’s original TEF detection experiment, supporting its viability as a method for TEF detection. The GBP proposes to adapt the work of Meyl and Peng to test the effect of various living organisms, in particular a human being, on the Telsa-coil-generated TEF’s. The short-term goal of the GBP is to show that the presence of living organisms will have distinct, measurable effects on TEF behavior generated by Tesla coils. The long-term goal is to show that the beating human heart with particular harmonics that have already been associated with Taijiquan and Qigong health benefits will emerge as reliable markers for TEF that relate to health and longevity. Such an outcome not only will help to explain the legitimacy of ancient traditional Chinese health practices, but may open a pathway for the development of a new scientific technology of Qi that can serve to the betterment of humankind.

The Journal of the International Society of Chinese Health Practices

The Wearable Sensors and Virtual Reality for Tai Chi and Qigong Intervention Research (We Sense Tai Chi): Feasibility Study

The Great Border Project: A Proposal to Study Torsion Energy Fields (TEF’s) in Human Beings to Explain Qi