To Treat Pain, PTSD, and Other Ills, Tennessee Vets Try Tai Chi

Alternatives to opioids growing in popularity

Veterans in Murfreesboro, Tenn., enjoy a wheelchair tai chi class. Other alternative health programs now commonly offered at VA hospitals in the United States include yoga, mindfulness training, and art therapy. Blake Farmer/Nashville Public Radio

Every week in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Zibin Guo guides veterans in wheelchairs through slow-motion tai chi poses as a Bluetooth speaker plays soothing instrumental music.

“Cloudy hands to the right, cloudy hands to the left,” he tells them, referring to the move traditionally known as “cloud hands.” “Now we’re going to open your arms, grab the wheels and 180-degree turn.”