Tai Chi Qigong for Menopause

As a Tai Chi and Qigong instructor who is going through menopause, I wanted to share my experience of using these ancient movement practices to support my symptoms. In 2024, aged 48 years old, I started experiencing hot flushes at night along with night sweats, which progressed after a couple of months to hourly hot flushes night and day. Then came the emotional roller coaster, increased anxiety, low mood, unpredictable mood, difficulty with memory and processing, and changes to body composition. Yay.

As someone who has been practicing Tai Chi and Qigong for 19 years, it was time to reframe my personal practice and see how I could best support myself naturally. With the caveat, of doing this alongside living with a chronic health condition which presents with some similar symptoms. Preventative health is at the core of Tai Chi and Qigong, so my hope is that my years of training are already going some way to help me through this change.

I'll be updating this page regularly as I journey into menopause and out the other side.

Peri-Menopause & Menopause Symptoms

Typical physical symptoms include:

night sweats, hot flushes which sometimes cause dizziness, disturbed sleep, headaches, migraines, loss of bone density which increases the risk of developing osteoporosis, palpitations, soft tissue pain, joint stiffness and pain, lack of libido, increase in urinary tract infections, sensitive gums and teeth, fatigue, exhaustion.

Typical physical changes include:

light, heavy, irregular, or absent periods, body shape, weight gain, skin quality, thinning or loss of hair, increase in facial hair, tinnitus, loss of bladder control, urge and stress incontinence, vaginal dryness.

Typical mental health changes include:

difficulty with memory recall, concentration and mental processing, onset of poor mental health e.g. anxiety and depression, low mood, mood swings, low self-esteem, low self confidence.

* Always speak with your doctor / GP with the onset of any new symptoms or changes to your physical or mental health.

Exercise

I would say the most important aspect of managing peri-menopause and menopause changes / symptoms is frequent and varied exercise. Which must include body weight (weight bearing) such as Tai Chi, Qigong, mobility, yoga, Pilates, running, aerobics, dancing, walking, along with resistance exercises such as lifting free weights, using weight machines, or wearing a weighted vest etc. You are looking to strengthen the muscles, increase bone density, mobilise the connective tissue such as fascia, ligaments, tendons etc, as well as strengthening the heart and lungs, along with improving the function of all body systems from the lymph system, digestive system to the hormonal system.

Meditation / Mindfulness

Learning to pause from the outside world is an essential part of self-care. There are many methods to play with, and sometimes the most simple methods are the most effective. Breath work is at the core of all meditation and mindfulness, and is the gateway to physical and mental relaxation. Whatever stillness practice resonates with you, establish a daily routine of taking time out to reconnect with yourself. Try out some mindful and meditative practices from our resources; "relaxation breath work", "the absence of resistance", "love and kindness", or "the inner smile".

Balance

Learning about your unique health baseline, through observation, awareness and listening to your body
Avoiding the boom and bust cycle
Regulating stress, learning to self regulate and down regulate
Learn to relax consciously in movement, stillness, and through play
Explore activities that stimulate your right brain; creativity with art, words, rhythm or music, be playful, activities that use your imagination, activities that focus on body awareness, Tai Chi, Qigong, singing, dancing, spontaneous movement, playing visual and imaginary games, tactile activities, read books etc.
Planning time for appropriate rest and recovery
Establishing and maintaining a good sleep routine, to give you the best chance for better sleep quality
During restless sleep, develop the skill of non-resistance and gently practice breath work, mindfulness and releasing tension consciously
Self care can extend where financially possible to regular physical therapy such as physiotherapy, sports massage, cranial sacral therapy, Bowen therapy, Rolfing, Feldenkrais, chiropractic and osteopathic treatments, saunas (dry, steam, infra-red)
Spend time each day in the sunshine with exposed skin, to help support your natural vitamin D levels
Spend more active time socialising, with close friends and family members, to talk through and share your experience
Reduce your screen time
Avoid alcohol
Avoid smoking or vaping
Avoid recreational drugs

Complementary & Integrative Medicine

Explore the potential benefits of natural therapies to support your symptoms. The following list is not exhaustive, use trial and error to find therapies that resonate with you in mind and body. These may be used alongside traditional Western medicine as a multi prong approach to symptom management, consult with your doctor / GP for more information.

Complementary medicine: Naturopathy, herbal, Traditional Chinese Medicine such as acupuncture or Chinese herbs, Homeopathy, Kinesiology, Ayurveda medicine.
Body work: Reflexology, acupressure, cranial sacral therapy.
Spiritual healing: Reiki, sound healing, light therapy, crystal healing, biofeedback, Balneotherapy and therapeutic touch.
Therapy: Art, music, hypnotherapy.

Why Tai Chi and Qigong

Muscle Conditioning

Many people do not see Tai Chi and Qigong as muscle strength and conditioning training exercise, yet they are but in a unique way. Muscle tone is built through integrated body movements, without using the muscles in isolation. Tai Chi and Qigong help strengthen the muscles, equalizes muscle use, and reduce inappropriate muscle tension (chronic contraction). The lower body and legs become incredibly strong through body weight training, as all of the movements are performed in some level of a squat, which is deceptively demanding. And when aligned correctly the weight of your upper body and head (which is a lot!) travels through the tissue structure rather than through the joints, of which the by product is muscle strengthening in the lower body.

Pliable Connective Tissue

As we go through menopause and our collagen supplies diminish, which means maintaining pliable and elastic connective tissue is at the forefront of a healthy physical body. Connective tissue pain occurs when our bodies are not being taken through a range of motion that keeps the tissue pliable. Over time, the tissue become glue like and sticky, reducing our range of motion, inhibiting our joints, and in some cases causes pain and a poor habitual posture. This is not helped by a diminishing collagen supply where everything in the body loses elasticity. During peri-menopause and menopause, aim to be as fluidly mobile in your physical body as you can. Tai Chi and Qigong movements are just the thing to explore this concept, as they focus on elastic rebounding and spiralling movements that nourishes the connective tissue deeply and gently. Similar to 'pandiculation', which is when cats and dogs do their instinctive post nap stretch, we explore appropriate lengthening and releasing in a continual wave through the top of a movement (yang phase) to the base of a movement (yin phase). Never locking out, or over stretching the limbs, or causing tightness or the freeze state response. Instead with the skill of listening inwardly, we stay aware of every part of our movements, staying within our baseline and soft limit, to elasticise, relax and mobilise the connective tissue slowly and gently, over time. As my teacher describes this method, it feels delicious.

Release Physical Tension

To explore muscle tension in more detail, it is absolutely exhausting on the body to live in a state of stress which often comes out in the body through unconscious chronic physical tension. The stress and tension state drains your resources 24/7 and may cause muscle pain, joint pain, muscle fatigue, reduced mobility, low energy, lethargy, exhaustion, poor digestion, poor organ functioning and contributes to poor mental health. One of the most important aspects of Tai Chi and Qigong training is to learn how to consciously relax your muscle structure, called principle song or fang song. Which is, to perform a movement using the least amount of muscles possible, which makes you use your muscles more efficiently. Modern life and the demands on us are high, it is essential to learn skills to step away from the hustle and bustle, to relax deeply within mind and body, rather than through alcohol, drugs, doom scrolling and dissociation. A tense body equals a tense mind and vice versa, so the more we can do to release, soften, let go and melt, in both Tai Chi and Qigong movements, as well as in stillness practices like meditation and mindfulness the better. It is possible to trick our minds into relaxing by mimicking the body language of someone at ease and rest, with slow movements, slow breath work and a concentrated mind. Read more on deception training here. Take time to explore the possibilities of relaxing in as many way as you can, your stress response will love you for it.

Gain Energy

A mere clickbait title, the reality is actually back to front. Tai Chi and Qigong foster structural efficiency, which means less resources are used to perform a movement. Meaning your energy can be used for other tasks. Tai Chi and Qigong do not give you extra energy/resources, they reduce down the waste of energy that a poor posture or muscle contraction creates. Anything that causes you pain, stiffness or discomfort in the physical body and the same for your mental health is draining your resources. A well exercised, well aligned and relaxed body = more energy. A well stimulated, well rested and relaxed mind = more energy. Everything we do in Tai Chi and Qigong is to foster neutral in mind and body.

Balance, Stability, Fall Prevention

At the core of Tai Chi and Qigong movements are learning to root the body, through stepping, lifting, advancing and retreating movements. To develop the body method to stand one one leg with stability and ease, by sinking your centre of gravity, aligning your posture, relaxing the muscles and finding your centre. To train this over and over again in every movement to become muscle memory, so in the event of a trip and fall, you recover automatically and avoid the fall. This comes about by training the skill of body awareness and listening inwardly, to move your body with accuracy without using your eyes, and to know where your limbs are in space in relation to your body and the environment you are in. Tai Chi and Qigong as strength training exercises help to reduce the number of falls, the risk of falling and the fear of falling. Confidence in your structure is everything! The body does not lie, when set up correctly and trained repeatedly over time, you can regain balance and stability.

Brain Training

To help support your brain during menopause, Tai Chi and Qigong movements are effective at supporting brain function. By aligning the spine and releasing muscular tension across the spine, this helps the nerves that run throughout the body through the spine and up to the brain to function better, as well as helping to increase the flow of spinal fluid and circulatory blood into the brain. A compromised posture and chronically tight muscles can impede these functions. Tai Chi and Qigong movements also help build neural pathways between the left and right brain, aka cross lateral brain training. The complex and varied movements take your body through many patterns of brain connectivity for improved motor function skills, physical coordination, cognitive coordination, hand eye coordination, continuity in movement, and smooth flowing motion. The cognitive learning process takes you from mimicking the movements of your instructor, to learning by method instead, where you develop muscle memory that helps strengthen the normally less dominant right brain. All of these together help to aid your memory, processing, clarity and brain functioning.

Most importantly, Tai Chi and Qigong are right brain activities, which help to soothe your central nervous system. In the modern world we are stuck in the thinking brain, being logical, process oriented, with lists, jobs, errands, academia, computers, phones and social media. Fostering balance means to increase the number of right brain activities you regularly do, to give your brain a much needed rest and play. As adults, we lose our child like hearts. It may be hard to give yourself permission to be playful, creative, imaginative and silly. Part of state shifting in Tai Chi and Qigong, means to shift us out of our normal cognitive state and to move into a more right brain dominant state of curiosity, wonder and playfulness. This alone is worth every moment!

Mind Body Connection

Tai Chi and Qigong are a great way to help level your emotions, reduce stress, to find your centre, and to ground. Simply, Tai Chi and Qigong return you to you. I personally have found no better way to forget about the past and to avoid worrying about the future, than to be in my body in mindful movements. It is like returning to an old friend every time you train. There is only you and your body, the rest of life is on pause, giving you space to be, and space to breathe. In movement, you are focused on the moves, the routines, the choreography, your alignment, the body method, the principles, relaxing your muscles, elasticising your connective tissue, and your breath. There is no space for anything else, which is a healthy distraction and great for over-thinkers! Tai Chi and Qigong are sneaky ways to approach meditation without sitting still, and without over trying to force the mind to meditate. With a single point of focus and internal awareness, you get out of your head and come into the body, which is a good gateway into stillness meditation. In stillness you get a chance to explore your mind and body through gentle awareness, focusing on the meditation or mindfulness method, your posture, relaxing your muscles, using your imagination, sensing into the body, and focusing on your breath. Which gives you no space to think about the back stories, attached to the who, where, what, why and whens. The mind leads the body, and the body leads the mind. How we move has an influence on how we feel, and vice versa.

Moments in menopause to practice Tai Chi and Qigong, whether 10 minutes or more, there is potential in every situation to gently shift your state through simply movements that help reconnect you with you:

Feeling overwhelmed
Feeling frustrated
Feeling emotional
Feeling anger or rage
Feeling disconnected
Feeling numb
Feeling agitated and irritable
Feeling anxious
Feeling worried
Feeling grief and loss
Not feeling yourself
Feeling tired
Feeling stiff and immobile
Experiencing painful joints and muscles
Not knowing what to do to help yourself

Breath Work

The gateway to relaxation and the greatest gift in life, is to learn how to breath well. Get started by following along with my 'Nourish through Breath' course, which takes you through the health benefits of breathing well, as well as different methods to improve how you breathe. With just 20 minutes of conscious, deep and slow, nasal breathwork, this will shift your state from stressed to relaxed. Follow along with my breath work chimes to help learn how to slow down and regulate your breathing rate, down from 18-22 breaths per minute to 3-5 breaths per minute. This is the easiest and simplest way to help yourself in moments of difficulty. My tip is to train breath work daily for a month in moments that are calm and centred. It is easier to establish a routine that way when at peace, than to try and force yourself into slow and deep breath work when in an anxious stressed state.

Sleep Quality

Are you physically tired when going to sleep? Or mentally exhausted? How is your sleep quality during menopause? A lack of sleep can be the most debilitating symptom, as this has an impact of every part of life. It can feel like ground hog day and like living in a lead body. Tai Chi and Qigong are a good mix of activities in one, combining dynamic exercise, brain training, breathwork and relaxation, that can help support and improve your quality of sleep. My students report they always sleep better after class, and personally I experience the same. You may experience physical tiredness after a class, depending on the intensity you chose to train that day. You may also experience mental tiredness from focusing during class or learning new choreography. You may also experience tiredness that comes from releasing muscle tension and breathing deeply, similar to the after effects of having a deep tissue massage. Find your own personal sweet spot with the practices, through trial and error, not over training and not under-training. Following the ebb and flow of life. My article on living well with chronic fatigue may give extra insight into how to self manage fatigue and how to cope better.

Medical Research

I include medical research that is readily available online to support my articles. The difficulty with medical research is that there is no consideration of the quality of Tai Chi and Qigong teachers who provide the intervention to the groups, which means the participants may be being taught a watered down version of Tai Chi and Qigong. There is also no information on whether the participants have trained Tai Chi and Qigong before, for how long, and how frequently. The study lengths are simply not long enough to capture a true representation of the practices. Considering it takes two years for our connective tissue to re-wire, a 12 week course is limited in function. The other limitation is the classes are likely taught one hour per week, which is not ideal training conditions to take data from. Tai Chi and Qigong are every day practices, with regular hands on guidance from an instructor and full engagement from the student. I do not feel that medical research goes far enough to fully explore the health benefits,

When I work with my students over weeks, months, years and in some cases over a decade, I observe their journey through ebb and flow of life. I see first hand the transformation with students. I observe their posture, how they hold themselves, how they move, how their body changes through injury, illness as much as good health and progress. This is coupled with their feedback, how they feel, how their body is responding and the changes they experience across the whole of body, mind and spirit. For me, this is worth more than medical research as the proof is in the pudding.

Quality of Physical Life and Mental health, Tai Chi and Menopause

Jain, Ayushi Rajkumar, and Doss Prakash Sundarajan. “Effectiveness of Tai Chi Exercise Program on Sleep, Quality of Life, and Physical Performance in Postmenopausal Working Women.” Journal of mid-life health vol. 13,2 (2022): 127-132. doi:10.4103/jmh.jmh_223_21

"Tai Chi exercise intervention was given for 8 weeks to the women who achieved natural menopause and were included in the study (n = 76). They were assessed for sleep, quality of life and physical performance before and after the intervention." "A significant difference was observed in all the outcomes after 8 weeks of intervention." "Our study revealed that besides being low velocity and low impact exercise, Tai Chi was a safe and effective mode of treatment in postmenopausal working women. In this group approach sessions were interactive and improved socialization skills because it was conducted in a community setting minimum equipment's and greater feasibility."

Body Changes, Tai Chi and Menopause

James, Dara L. PhD, MS1,2; Larkey, Linda K. PhD1; Evans, Bronwynne PhD1; Sebren, Ann EdD3; Goldsmith, Kimberley PhD4; Ahlich, Erica PhD5; Hawley, Nanako A. MA5; Kechter, Afton PhD6; Sears, Dorothy D. PhD3. Mechanisms of improved body composition among perimenopausal women practicing Meditative Movement: a proposed biobehavioral model. Menopause 30(11):p 1114-1123, November 2023. | DOI: 10.1097/GME.0000000000002262

"Our model describes select psychological, behavioral, and physiological factors, and potential mechanistic pathways of Meditative Movement practice driving improved changes in body composition and weight outcomes for perimenopausal women." "The proposed model details a novel, evidence-supported means to reduce the risk of deleterious shifts in body composition throughout perimenopause and menopause thereafter. We suggest that these changes may occur directly and/or indirectly through psychological, behavioral, and physiological mechanisms that facilitate the desired changes in body composition."

Bone Density, Qigong, Tai Chi and Menopause

Xu, Hong MM; Liu, Jian MD; Li, Peishan MD; Liang, Yujie MD. Effects of mind-body exercise on perimenopausal and postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Menopause 31(5):p 457-467, May 2024. | DOI: 10.1097/GME.0000000000002336

"This study aims to evaluate the impact of mind-body exercises, including tai chi, yoga, Pilates, qigong, baduanjin, and mindfulness-based stress reduction, on bone mineral density, sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and fatigue among perimenopausal and postmenopausal women." "A total of 11 randomized controlled trials, comprising 1,005 participants, were included in the analysis. Traditional meta-analysis indicated that mind-body exercise significantly enhanced bone mineral density in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women compared with control groups." "The findings of this meta-analysis demonstrate that mind-body exercise positively influences bone mineral density, sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and fatigue among perimenopausal and postmenopausal women."

Bone Health, Fall Prevention, Tai Chi and Menopause

Zhang, Y., Chen, H. Effect of Tai Chi exercise on bone health and fall prevention in postmenopausal women: a meta-analysis. J Orthop Surg Res 19, 471 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13018-024-04962-y

"There were 12 studies eventually included in this meta-analysis. A total of 1,272 postmenopausal women were involved, including 628 in the experimental group (intervention with Tai Chi exercise) and 644 in the control group (without any intervention). Briefly, postmenopausal women practicing Tai Chi presented a significant increase in vertebral bone density confidence interval, and health status score. In contrast, there were no significant differences for postmenopausal women between the two groups in terms of serum calcium, clinical balance, number of falls, and total falls." "Tai Chi exercise can improve the bone mineral density of postmenopausal women, thereby maintaining bone health. Hence, Tai Chi exercise is necessary to prevent osteoporosis."

Earth Qigong for Women

Earth Qigong for Women offers a transformative approach to health, combining simplicity, grace, and power in an accessible practice for women of all ages. This gentle yet effective medical Qi Gong routine promotes natural healing and vitality through mindful movement and breath. With a focus on posture, alignment, and dynamic relaxation, it blends standing, stepping, and walking exercises to harmonize body and mind, enhance flexibility, ease tension, and cultivate inner calm and balance. Helping support women going through peri-menopause and menopause. Find out more here.