Key Points
- Even gentle exercise modalities improve health
- Tai chi, yoga and other gentle exercise types improve physical function, quality of life, and mental health
- Meditation is likely to be more effective for improving anxiety, altruism, and some aspects of pain
- More intense physical activities provide greater benefits to physical health
- Gentle exercise and meditation can be used in conjunction with other exercise modalities
- Any exercise and physical activity is better than nothing!
While most research has traditionally focussed on aerobic exercise along with growing attention on resistance training, other modalities of exercise have also demonstrated health benefits. At the end of the day, doing exercise that one can enjoy is critical to adherence and so too, health. So, the take-home message is, that to move is better than to not!
Qigong/Tai Chi
Even gentle exercise like qigong can improve health. A meta-analysis of trials concluded that qigong has a significant effect on physical ability and might also improve depression and balance.1 Tai chi can also help to improve the quality of life and general physical health of people with knee osteoarthritis.2
Yoga
Yoga results in small to moderate improvements in health-related quality of life and mental well-being in people aged 60 years and over.3
Meditation vs exercise?
A 2017 review concluded that meditation was likely to be more effective than exercise for improving anxiety, altruism, and encouraging positive life changes. Additionally, meditation was more effective at reducing chronic neck pain at rest and the ‘bothersomeness’ of pain. Exercise though was more effective for improving physical health-related quality of life, HDL and LDL cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose levels. Both were similarly effective for improving well-being, reducing alcohol consumption, and perceived stress.4 These results suggest that both meditation and exercise are beneficial. Of course, exercise can be meditative when approached mindfully and so, there might be an opportunity to combine the relative benefits in a time-effective manner, and this is an avenue for future research.
References
1. Chang P-S, Knobf T, Oh B, Funk M. Physical and Psychological Health Outcomes of Qigong Exercise in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. The American Journal of Chinese Medicine. 2019;47(02):301-22.
2. Hu L, Wang Y, Liu X, Ji X, Ma Y, Man S, et al. Tai Chi exercise can ameliorate physical and mental health of patients with knee osteoarthritis: systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Rehabilitation. 2021;35(1):64-79.
3. Tulloch A, Bombell H, Dean C, Tiedemann A. Yoga-based exercise improves health-related quality of life and mental well-being in older people: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Age and Ageing. 2018;47(4):537-44.
4. Edwards MK, Loprinzi PD. Comparative effects of meditation and exercise on physical and psychosocial health outcomes: a review of randomized controlled trials. Postgraduate Medicine. 2018;130(2):222-8.
