The Chinese art of tai chi appears to protect against shingles as efficiently as a vaccine against varicella zoster and even augment the immunity conferred by the vaccine.

In a controlled study of adults vaccinated against varicella zoster virus, those who had earlier been assigned to perform a westernized version of tai chi exercises had significantly higher levels of vaccine-stimulated cell-mediated immunity than did controls, found Michael R. Irwin, M.D., of the University of California at Los Angeles, and colleagues at UC San Diego.

And even before they were vaccinated, tai chi alone helped those who practiced it to mount an immune response to varicella zoster virus comparable to that of patients half their age, the investigators reported in the April issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

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If you're ever in Chinatown early in the morning, you'll see an army of senior citizens in the park. Some of them will be doing tai chi. Some of them will be doing some other crazy Chinese exercises that i've seen my grandparents do. I don't know what these exercises are. I don't know where they learned it. It seems like another one of those things that all old Chinese people just know to do. Considering how spry they all seem to be, i think they're on to something.

Now, about tai chi. I like tai chi. I like the flow of movement, i like the balance required to do the form, i like that you need to be able to move different parts of your body in different directions and sometimes at different speeds. But it's not for everyone. It takes a long time to learn because for most people, it's not usual to need that much control over your body parts just to get by in your daily life. This alone is often very frustrating for many people. And because it's so low impact, you aren't going to get that immediate confirmation that you've done something. You aren't going to experience that muscle soreness that you would if you lifted weights or biked. It's going to seem like a waste of time with no measurable results.

There are benefits, though. It's just that it takes a while to see them. And you really need to do the tai chi a few times a week to truly benefit. Doing the form on and off as your time allows isn't going to get you anything. But if you do have the patience to learn the entire form and take the time to practice it daily, you will start to see differences. Physically, you will have better balance, better flexibility. You may even find that you recover from illnesses and physical injury more quickly than you did before. Psychologically, you will feel more energized, less stressed.

I confess, i'm a terrible student. I am one of those once-a-weekers. Except when i'm on vacation. Then i do it everyday, and it's great. It's especially great because then i get to do my tai chi on the beach next to a lake. If you ever want to test your balance, try pivoting on one leg in the sand.

That's my tai chi endorsement. Anybody interested in learning, my teacher teaches for free. Every Monday at 6:30pm.