ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
This article is part of the Research TopicTraditional Exercise and Medical Integration: Strategies for Disease Prevention and Health OptimizationView all articles
A Community-Based Daoyin Program for Health Promotion: Effects of the Qi and Mind Harmonizing Method on Body Constitution for the Health of Older Adults
Provisionally accepted
Yun-Ning Tsai1,2,3
Yu-Hsin Chang2,4,5
Yi-Chang Su3,6Shen-Ming Lee5Cheng-Huan Hsiao7Chi-Kuei Lin8Jui-Shan Sunny Lin3,4*- 1Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- 2Chander Clinic, Taipei, Taiwan
- 3National Defense Medical Center, Taipei City, Taiwan
- 4Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan
- 5Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan
- 6National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Taipei City, Taiwan
- 7E-MED BIOTECH INC., Taichung City, Taiwan
- 8Shin Kong Wu Ho Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan
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This study assessed the potential of the Qi and Mind Harmonizing Method—a traditional Daoyin practice—as a community-based mind–body intervention to improve body constitution, cardiovascular function, sleep, and psychological well-being in older adults. An 8-week pre-post intervention trial was conducted at community centers. Daily practice was combined with weekly 60-min group sessions. Primary outcomes included changes in body constitution. Secondary outcomes included regional body constitution scores, brachial artery blood pressure, PSQI, HRV indicators, and BSRS-5. After 8 weeks, 90 participants showed significant improvements in body constitution: Yang deficiency (−1.9, P = 0.002), Yin deficiency (−2.3, P < 0.001), and phlegm stasis (−2.2, P < 0.001). Improvements were observed in various body regions. Systolic pressure (−3.6 mmHg, P = 0.015), mean arterial pressure (−1.9 mmHg, P = 0.046), and pulse pressure (−2.4 mmHg, P = 0.037) decreased. Sleep quality improved (PSQI −1, P = 0.002). HRV analysis showed reduced LF, LF(%), and LF/HF ratio (P = 0.018–0.022), and increased HF(%) (P = 0.028). BSRS-5 scores improved from 3.9 to 3.2 (P = 0.009), indicating better psychological well-being. The results provide preliminary support for considering the integration of Daoyin into scalable public health approaches to healthy aging
Keywords: Public Health, Aging, Daoyin, Body Constitution, Sleep, Autonomic Nervous System, psychological well-being
Received: 10 Jun 2025; Accepted: 27 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Tsai, Chang, Su, Lee, Hsiao, Lin and Lin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jui-Shan Sunny Lin
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