Social Prescribing Explained: How Gentle Movement and Qi Gong Support NHS Personalised Care
Social prescribing is one of the most hopeful shifts in UK healthcare. Instead of offering only medication and appointments, it recognises that people also need movement, connection, purpose and calm.
This article gives you a clear, plain-English overview of what social prescribing is, why the NHS is investing in it, and exactly where gentle movement and Qi Gong fit in. It links directly into Bright Beings Academy’s live online and local classes, plus our impact data, so you can act on it straight away.
If you’d like the full Qi Gong overview first, you can also read
Qi Gong and Social Prescribing in the UK: A Complete Guide for Link Workers.
What is social prescribing?
Social prescribing is a way for health and care professionals to refer people to non-medical, community-based support.
Instead of only offering “more tablets” or “come back in six months”, social prescribing connects people with things like:
Gentle exercise and movement classes
Arts, music and creative groups
Nature walks and gardening
Peer support and talking groups
Volunteering and learning opportunities
It’s especially useful for people who are:
Living with long-term conditions and feeling stuck
Dealing with stress, anxiety, low mood or burnout
Feeling lonely, isolated or disconnected
Visiting their GP repeatedly, but not getting lasting change
Social prescribing link workers sit at the heart of this model. They listen carefully, help people explore what matters to them, and co-create a plan that includes community activities – not just clinical care.
For a deeper look at how this links to Qi Gong specifically, visit
Qi Gong and Social Prescribing in the UK: A Complete Guide for Link Workers.
Types of activities used in social prescribing
Across the UK, social prescribing programmes often group activities into themes like:
Move – walking groups, low-impact exercise, yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong
Create – arts, crafts, writing, music and performance
Connect – social clubs, coffee mornings, peer support, befriending
Learn – courses, skills groups, digital inclusion
Volunteer – community projects and mutual aid
Qi Gong usually sits in the “Move” category, often alongside Tai Chi and other gentle forms of exercise. But in reality it also supports “Connect” and “Calm” – because people practise together and feel the benefits in their nervous system and mood.
You can see how the evidence for pain, breath and mood stacks up in
The Science Behind Qi Gong for Social Prescribing: Pain, Breath and Mood.
Why the NHS is investing in social prescribing
NHS England and local systems are turning to social prescribing because:
Long-term conditions, pain and multimorbidity are rising
Anxiety, depression and work-related stress are widespread
Loneliness and isolation are harming health as much as smoking for some people
Standard ten-minute appointments cannot address complex life situations
Social prescribing is part of NHS personalised care. Rather than treating people as a diagnosis, it asks:
“What matters to you? What would help you feel more alive, connected and confident?”
Gentle movement and mind–body practices like Qi Gong are a natural fit here. They support physical health, emotional wellbeing and social connection, all in one place.
If you work in a PCN, Trust or local authority and want to bring Qi Gong into your offer, you can also explore
Partner with Bright Beings Academy: Qi Gong Provision for PCNs, Trusts and Local Councils.
Where gentle movement and Qi Gong fit in personalised care
Many people referred to social prescribing:
Feel too anxious, unfit or sore to join a gym
Worry about being judged in mainstream exercise classes
Need something that meets them where they are, not three steps ahead
Qi Gong is a strong option because it is:
Gentle and low-impact – ideal for arthritis, joint pain and fatigue
Breath-led – supportive for COPD, long COVID and stress-related breathing patterns
Regulating – helps calm the nervous system and reduce fight-or-flight
Adaptable – can be done standing or seated, in a hall or online
Social but not overwhelming – people share space without forced sharing or intensity
To see how this plays out for pain, lungs and mood, you can dive into
The Science Behind Qi Gong for Social Prescribing: Pain, Breath and Mood
and
Qi Gong for Mental Health Within Social Prescribing: Calm the Nervous System, Not Just the Mind.
How Bright Beings Academy supports social prescribing in practice
Bright Beings Academy offers both UK-wide online and local in-person Qi Gong options that map neatly onto social prescribing pathways.
UK-wide: live online Qi Gong
For anyone in the UK who needs or prefers to practise from home, you can refer into:
These Zoom classes are:
Fully guided and beginner-friendly
Suitable for standing or seated practice
Designed to support pain, stress and deconditioning in a gentle way
For a social prescribing specific overview of the online option, see
Online Qi Gong for Social Prescribing: A UK-Wide Option for Housebound and Rural Patients.
You can also share the general overview page:
Local: New Malden and Chessington
For people in Kingston, New Malden and nearby areas, there are in-person choices:
New Malden Qi Gong Mondays – a gentle, daytime class at the Graham Spicer Institute, ideal for over-50s and those needing a softer, often chair-friendly start.
Qi Gong Live Classes at the Hook Centre, Chessington – an early evening community class for healthy ageing, balance and stress relief.
You can see how these classes connect to local social prescribing in:
Social Prescribing in New Malden: Qi Gong for Over-50s and Gentle Chair-Based Exercise
Social Prescribing in Chessington and Hook: Community Qi Gong for Healthy Ageing
Evidence snapshot: how Qi Gong is already helping older adults locally
To support your conversations with colleagues, commissioners or link workers, there is real-world evaluation data you can point to.
The Brighter Living Qi Gong Impact Report summarises charity-funded Ki Gong and armchair yoga delivered in New Malden, Chessington and Kingston:
Weekly sessions reached around 100 older adults across three sites
A small evaluation (28 questionnaires) showed most participants reporting improved overall quality of life
44% noticed better flexibility and ease of movement
Many also described less pain, more energy and feeling less alone
You can explore this in more detail here:
These local findings line up with the wider research on pain, breath and mood in
The Science Behind Qi Gong for Social Prescribing: Pain, Breath and Mood.
How to talk about social prescribing and Qi Gong with patients
Here’s a simple script you can adapt in your own words:
“There’s a gentle movement and breathing class called Qi Gong. It’s very low-impact and you can do it standing or sitting. Research suggests it can help with pain, sleep, stress and confidence when people do it regularly. It doesn’t replace your usual medical care, but it could give your body and mind extra support. Would you like to try a few sessions?”
Then you can offer options:
For home-based support:
Live Online Qi Gong ClassesFor KT3 residents:
Social Prescribing in New Malden: Qi Gong for Over-50s and Gentle Chair-Based ExerciseFor KT9 residents:
Social Prescribing in Chessington and Hook: Community Qi Gong for Healthy Ageing
For a full map of options and referral tips, you can also check
How to Refer Patients to Qi Gong: A Practical Guide for GPs and Social Prescribing Link Workers.
FAQs: Social prescribing and Qi Gong
1. Who is social prescribing for?
Social prescribing is usually offered to people whose health is affected by social, emotional or practical issues as much as by medical ones. This includes people with long-term conditions, mental health challenges, loneliness, caring responsibilities or complex life stresses.
Qi Gong is particularly useful for those who are deconditioned, anxious about movement, or looking for a gentle way back into their body and community.
2. Do people need to be “spiritual” to benefit from Qi Gong?
No. Qi Gong is presented at Bright Beings Academy as a practical mind–body exercise. People do not need any particular beliefs to take part. The focus is on movement, breath and awareness, with language that is accessible for all backgrounds.
For a closer look at the emotional and nervous-system side, see
Qi Gong for Mental Health Within Social Prescribing: Calm the Nervous System, Not Just the Mind.
3. How does Qi Gong complement standard medical care?
Qi Gong does not replace medication, physiotherapy or psychological therapies. Instead, it:
Encourages gentle, regular movement for joints, muscles and circulation
Supports breath awareness and pacing
Helps calm the nervous system, which can reduce symptom flare-ups
Offers a predictable, low-pressure weekly routine
It sits alongside your existing care plan as an extra support, not a substitute.
4. How does this help us meet NHS personalised care goals?
Social prescribing and personalised care are about seeing the whole person. Qi Gong helps by:
Giving people an active role in their own wellbeing
Reducing reliance on passive treatment alone
Building confidence, connection and self-management skills
Providing measurable changes in pain, movement, sleep and mood
For commissioners and PCNs, the local evaluation in the
Brighter Living Qi Gong Impact Report: Health and Wellbeing Outcomes for Older Adults in Surrey
can support business cases and funding bids.
5. Where can I find a quick overview of all your social prescribing Qi Gong resources?
You’ll find a cluster-wide guide and link list at:
Qi Gong and Social Prescribing in the UK: A Complete Guide for Link Workers
FAQ: Social Prescribing and Qi Gong with Bright Beings Academy
Next steps
If you’re a GP, social prescribing link worker, PCN lead or community organiser and you’d like to bring Qi Gong into your personalised care offer, you can start here:
Refer people anywhere in the UK to
Live Online Qi Gong ClassesGuide KT3 residents to
New Malden Qi Gong Mondays
and
Social Prescribing in New Malden: Qi Gong for Over-50s and Gentle Chair-Based ExerciseSupport KT9 residents with
Qi Gong Live Classes at the Hook Centre, Chessington
and
Social Prescribing in Chessington and Hook: Community Qi Gong for Healthy Ageing
And whenever you need a local, real-world case study, keep the
Brighter Living Qi Gong Impact Report 2019–2020
close by as a simple, powerful story of what gentle movement can do.
I look forward to connecting with you in my next post.
Until then, be well and keep shining.
Peter. :)
