Chronic Illness Q&A with Dr. B.

Larrry Berkelhammer, PhD.

The purpose of this blog and the entire website is to provide evidence-based information on how to live a vibrant, meaningful life while living with chronic health challenges.

I post to this blog three times per week. Monday posts are mindfulness research articles, especially as they relate to health. Wednesday posts are videos of my presentations or interviews. Friday posts consist of Q&A related to living a meaningful, values-based life, regardless of the nature of your particular life challenges.

Here is this week’s question:

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: Can tai chi and the cultivation of chi cure cancer?

ANSWER: Daily practice of the Tai Chi Chuan form reduces stress, creates a deep state of physical relaxation, and increases psychological flexibility and resilience. Because our state of health is directly impacted by our level of stress or relaxation, when tai chi is practiced every day, physiological functioning improves. Energy flows through the body and the mind more efficiently.

Because of this, various states of disease are sometimes improved. However, there is no evidence that tai chi can directly cure cancer or any other disease. Nevertheless, when practiced correctly every day, we can improve the odds, but that is not the same as actually curing the disease.

This website is offered as a free public service, supplying information that has been found helpful to certain people living with chronic health challenges or issues related to wellbeing. No treatment is offered on this website. The advice is general, and may or may not apply to your individual situation, and is not a substitute for psychotherapy or medical treatment.

What questions do you have about living a life of mastery or about the relationship between the mind and health or wellbeing?
Just scroll down and type your question in the comment box below. Your specific question may not appear in this column. The reason for that is I wait until I get a certain number of related questions, then I pick one that covers them all and I answer that one. People in my classes and presentations asked most of the questions appearing in this column.