Qigong (Baduanjin)
Eight gentle breath-movement sequences. Meta-analysis support for sleep quality, balance, and blood pressure — at a lower intensity bar than tai chi.
Why
Baduanjin ("Eight Brocades") is the most-studied qigong form: eight slow movement-breath sequences, learnable from video, practicable in 15 minutes standing or seated. A meta-analysis of 19 RCTs found benefits for quality of life, sleep quality, balance, grip strength, and blood pressure. Where tai chi asks for choreography, Baduanjin asks for almost nothing — which makes it the gentle-entry option.
Slot in your day
How to do it
How
Learn the eight movements from a class or video. 15–30 minutes daily, standing or seated; pace each movement to slow breathing.
Ideal for
Deconditioned starters, older adults, anyone who found tai chi forms too much to memorise.
Sticking with it
Fixed morning slot before coffee — the sequence is short enough that "no time" never holds.
Evidence
Zou 2017 meta-analysis, 19 RCTs — Baduanjin improved quality of life, sleep quality, balance, grip strength, and systolic/diastolic blood pressure vs controls. Trials are mostly Chinese cohorts with modest blinding; direction is consistent, certainty moderate.