MEDITATION IN PSYCHOTHERAPY FORUM ARCHIVE
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Moving Meditation in Psychotherapy
Jim Spira · 4/7/98 at 5:26 PM ET
It is great to hear about the use of Tai Chi / Gi Gong (Chi Kung) for patients. I myself have been using a series of repetitive movements, taken from the Long Yang Form (Yang Chen Fu style) which patients of all sorts can learn quickly and easily. I have taught this series of seven Tai Chi "warm up" exerices to groups of patients with Depression, Axiety Disorders, PTSD, Dissociative Disorders, Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, MS, Arthritis, Type A Personality, Vestibular Imbalance, and others - all with stunning results.
The series takes 20 minutes, and then is followed with a period of Chi Kung (Microcosmic Orbit) and Zen Meditation for the next 30 minutes. I have also made a videotape which I give out to patients so they can follow at home.
I have one ongoing TaiChi group, comprised of those who have done the 8-week series of basics, and wish to learn the actual Tai Chi Form (which takes about a year to learn). But even without learning the Form itself, getting patients to engage in moving their whole body, expanding with the inhale and contracting with the exhale, focusing their attention on the movement instead of their thoughts, is of tremendous value.
Perhaps we can speculate on ways that this is helpful, and generate ideas on how to effectively document the value of moving meditation for various types of patients. Of course, it would also be valuable to explore the type of patients (cognitive style) for whom moving vs sitting meditaiton is valuable.
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