East meets West in Quest for Optimal Spine Care
Dr. Roger Härtl, renowned neurosurgeon at Weill Cornell Medicine interviews Dr. Yang about how t’ai chi and qigong can help heal back pain.
Can t’ai 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 last week about the physical and mental benefits of t’ai chi and qigong for back pain. The occasion was an episode of the webinar series Dr. Hartle 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 t’ai 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, while Prof. Pier discussed the importance of the spine in expression through dance — he calls it “the fifth limb” — how he is integrating t’ai 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 t'ai 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.
View this webinar below: "T'ai Chi and Qigong for Back Pain: Using an Eastern Practice for Better Spine Health."
Watch the video on YouTube
