- Email: [email protected]
Chi in Tai Chi does not mean energy
International Journal of Cardiology 107 (2006) 119 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijcard
Letter to the Editor
Chi in Tai Chi does not mean energy Tsung O. Cheng The George Washington University, Medical Center, Washington, DC 20037, United States Received 12 December 2004; accepted 13 December 2004 Available online 20 April 2005
Keywords: Tai chi; Cardiopulmonary function; Chinese healing art
To the Editor: In doing a literature search on the effect of tai chi exercise on cardiopulmonary function, I came across a recent review published last year [1]. Although the author did an excellent job in proving the cardiopulmonary benefits from tai chi exercise, she unfortunately misunderstood the meaning of dchiT in tai chi. Tai chi is the shorter version of tai chi chuan, which is in Chinese. It originated in China. The word dchiT here stands for the Chinese character which is not the same as dchiT or dqiT in qigong ( ) which is another form of ancient Chinese healing art. Qi ( ) in qigong means energy, whereas chi ( ) in tai chi means top or peak or most or very.
E-mail address: [email protected]. 0167-5273/$ - see front matter D 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2004.12.091
This distinction is extremely important in order to avoid misunderstanding the true meaning of tai chi exercise, which has been increasingly practiced throughout the world in recent years. It was most unfortunate that this misinterpretation of the word dchiT was not commented upon either in the accompanying editorial [2]. Lest this mistake be perpetuated in subsequent publications that cite this reference, I am submitting this communication to right the wrong. References [1] Taylor-Piliae RE. Tai chi as an adjunct to cardiac rehabilitation exercise training. J Cardiopulm Rehabil 2003;23:90 – 6. [2] Humphrey R. Tai chi in cardiac rehabilitation. J Cardiopulm Rehabil 2003;23:97 – 9.
Letter to the Editor
Chi in Tai Chi does not mean energy Tsung O. Cheng The George Washington University, Medical Center, Washington, DC 20037, United States Received 12 December 2004; accepted 13 December 2004 Available online 20 April 2005
Keywords: Tai chi; Cardiopulmonary function; Chinese healing art
To the Editor: In doing a literature search on the effect of tai chi exercise on cardiopulmonary function, I came across a recent review published last year [1]. Although the author did an excellent job in proving the cardiopulmonary benefits from tai chi exercise, she unfortunately misunderstood the meaning of dchiT in tai chi. Tai chi is the shorter version of tai chi chuan, which is in Chinese. It originated in China. The word dchiT here stands for the Chinese character which is not the same as dchiT or dqiT in qigong ( ) which is another form of ancient Chinese healing art. Qi ( ) in qigong means energy, whereas chi ( ) in tai chi means top or peak or most or very.
E-mail address: [email protected]. 0167-5273/$ - see front matter D 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2004.12.091
This distinction is extremely important in order to avoid misunderstanding the true meaning of tai chi exercise, which has been increasingly practiced throughout the world in recent years. It was most unfortunate that this misinterpretation of the word dchiT was not commented upon either in the accompanying editorial [2]. Lest this mistake be perpetuated in subsequent publications that cite this reference, I am submitting this communication to right the wrong. References [1] Taylor-Piliae RE. Tai chi as an adjunct to cardiac rehabilitation exercise training. J Cardiopulm Rehabil 2003;23:90 – 6. [2] Humphrey R. Tai chi in cardiac rehabilitation. J Cardiopulm Rehabil 2003;23:97 – 9.