The webinar was titled “T’ai Chi and Qigong for Back Pain: Using an Eastern Practice for Better Spine Health.” The recording is no longer available.

Spine Time: Tai Chi and Qigong for Back Pain

June 30, 2021

Dr. Roger Härtl, renowned neurosurgeon at Weill Cornell Medicine, interviewed Dr. Yang about how tai chi and qigong can help heal back pain.

Can tai chi and qigong help heal an injured spine? To find out, Dr. Roger Härtl, who directs Weill Cornell Medicine’s Center for Comprehensive Spine Care, interviewed Dr. Yang about the physical and mental benefits of tai chi and qigong for back pain. The occasion was an episode of the webinar series Dr. Härtl hosts for the center, called Spine Time. Dance professor Stephen Pier from the University of Hartford rounded out the panel.

Dr. Yang discussed how the physical and mental practices of tai chi and qigong, including lengthening the body, spiral motion, functional meditation, and moderation, helped him slowly heal from chronic back pain caused by a bicycle accident. Prof. Pier discussed the importance of the spine in expression through dance, calling it “the fifth limb,” and how he was integrating tai chi and qigong practices to speed his recovery from a minimally invasive spinal surgery.

In the conversation, Dr. Härtl, Dr. Yang and Prof. Pier explored the essential physical and mental practices that enhance recovery from surgery and injury. They discussed the basics of tai chi and qigong, including mental principles, movement and stillness, core strength, and how sound sleep benefits healing. Drawing from Chinese philosophers, they shared potential ways to transform adversity to blessings.