Staying healthy and fit have now become much easier thanks to the Ba Duan Jin exercise that was introduced at the online “Launching Ceremony of Ba Duan Jin Exercise Video for Cancer Patients” on 8 January 2021 in conjunction with World Cancer Day 2021.

The online ceremony was officiated by Director of Institut Kanser Negara (National Cancer Institute) (IKN) Dr Mohd Anis bin Haron @ Harun. Also present at the event were UTAR President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat; Head of Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM) Unit of IKN Dr Teo Chiah Shean; Acupuncture, Tuina and Qigong practitioner from United Kingdom Dr Xie Yu Hong and IKN members.

The video was produced with the collaborative effort of Dr Teo, UTAR Chinese Medicine Department Head Assoc Prof Dr Te Kian Keong and the Ministry of Health, with the objective to promote the exercise. Dr Xie can be seen in the video, demonstrating the Ba Duan Jin exercise. It also aimed to encourage cancer patients to self-practice Ba Duan Jin exercise at home and remain active physically, especially during Movement Control Order (MCO). The video is available on IKN’s YouTube Channel.

“IKN is grateful to UTAR for this collaboration to work on this meaningful project that benefits the cancer patients, as well as the public. Studies have shown that Ba Duan Jin exercise can help to improve the quality of life for cancer patients and relieve cancer symptoms, such as cancer-related fatigue. Therefore, we are also very thankful to Dr Xie for performing the exercise demonstration,” said Dr Mohd Anis.

He also mentioned, “Our T&CM unit has promoted Ba Duan Jin exercise since 2018 and Dr Teo has started this exercise on a daily basis at the waiting area of the unit since January 2019. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions, the daily exercise had to be stopped. So, we hope, through this video, the cancer patients can access and view it from their home and practise this exercise on their own to keep themselves physically active.” He also expressed his hope to form continuous public-private partnership (PPP) with UTAR in the future, especially in the field of research and public education for cancer patients.

“Ba Duan Jin is one of the most common forms of Qigong (energy exercise), consisting of eight separate, delicate and smooth exercise movements in which each section brings certain function-enhancing benefits to different physical parts of the body or particular organs. In China, the exercise has also been used for the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of respiratory infections, including Covid-19. The benefits are far-reaching and it is glad to know that this form of exercise is now introduced to the IKN for its patients to learn and practise. I hope this will give them added purpose to continue to be active physically and mentally,” said Prof Ewe in his speech.

He added, “UTAR is indeed privileged to join hands with the IKN in launching this traditional Chinese mind-body exercises, Ba Duan Jin Video and to have participated in this meaningful video production project. This video project is indeed a good opportunity for both parties to come together to share knowledge and expertise for a positive effort in helping the patients of the Institute to practise Ba Duan Jin as a healthy physical activity to improve overall well-being.” Prof Ewe also thanked Dr Xie for sharing his knowledge and expertise through the video.

Prior to this, UTAR, though the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine and IKN have also collaborated on several meaningful initiatives such as the setting-up of the Traditional Chinese Medicine herb specimen corner in the Institute and the successful conduct of an herbal pharmacy workshop. The collaboration enabled UTAR and IKN to further promote Traditional Chinese Medicine to both patients and other health professionals to give them a deeper understanding of the benefits of Chinese Medicine that can play a complementary role in treating certain illnesses and in pain management. In addition to that, the collaboration enabled staff and students to be continuously updated on industry changes and demands while gaining the necessary practical skills, experience and knowledge to make them better health professionals.