The Chinese have been using Tai Chi for millennium to help maintain health, a practice that the Western World is just now beginning to appreciate. The movement started slowly, with teaching studios cropping up in strip malls and people's backyards. Because some of these early students were receiving medical care and soon began showing improvement in their conditions, this sparked an interest in the medical community and, since that time a number of very positive studies have been conducted.

One group that is concentrating integrating Easter and Western approaches to health maintenance and rehabilitation is Peter Wayne's Tree of Life Tai Chi Center and Harvard University, where he is leading the way in evaluating the efficiency, and safety, of Tai Chi in the treatment and rehabilitation of various biomedical conditions. There are programs for residents, physicians and medical students who want to learn Tai Chi and lots of work being done with the results obtained by these participants.

These researchers have been drawn from such prestigious research institutes in the area as Harvard Medical School, Mass General Hospital, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital , Brigham and Women's Hospital and Beth Israel. Peter Wayne directed the design and implementation of the clinical trials for the program. These trials involve studies in osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, Parkinson's disease, balance as stability issues and many more. The work done at the Center has already been published at a number of peer review medical journals and has been presented at several conferences.

There is still a great deal of work to do of course but results are coming in and so far they are very positive. The fact that such prestigious institutions as those mentioned above are contributing such an effort shows the vast potential for using Tai Chi in this manner. In the coming decades movement arts, such as Tai Chi and Qigong will be fully integrated into Western medical treatment and rehabilitation paradigms.