In another example, the healing form Eight Pieces of Brocade (Baduanjin qigong) is based on a series of static postures.Meditative practiceutilizes breath awareness, visualization, mantra, chanting, sound, and focus on philosophical concepts such as qi circulation, aesthetics, or moral values. In traditional Chinese medicine and Daoist practice, the meditative focus is commonly on cultivating qi in dantian energy centers and balancing qi flow in meridian and other pathways. In various Buddhist traditions, the aim is to still the mind, either through outward focus, for example on a place, or through inward focus on the breath, a mantra, a koan, emptiness, or the idea of the eternal. In the Confucius scholar tradition, meditation is focused on humanity and virtue, with the aim of self-enlightenment.Use of external agentsMany systems of qigong practice include the use of external agents such as ingestion of herbs, massage, physical manipulation, or interaction with other living organisms. For example, specialized food and drinks are used in some medical and Daoist forms, whereas massage and body manipulation are sometimes used in martial arts forms. In some medical systems a qigong master uses non-contact treatment, purportedly guiding qi through his or her own body into the body of another person. Forms
There are numerous qigong forms. 75 ancient forms that can be found in ancient literature and also 56 common or contemporary forms have been described in a qigong compendium. : 203–433  The list is by no means exhaustive. Many contemporary forms were developed by people who had recovered from their illness after qigong practice.
According to evaluations completed by the physician investigators, a significantly higher proportion of patients in the clocortolone pivalate group than patients in the vehicle group demonstrated a good or excellent response at Days 4, 7, and 14.Due to the chronic and lengthy nature of some steroid responsive dermatoses such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, a study of 27 patients was conducted, wherein these patients were treated with Cloderm from 30 days up to 7 months. The results of these treatments showed a low rate of adverse reactions and no signs of striae, atrophy, or hypopigmentation. Adverse reactions that were experienced included burning, itching, irritation, dryness, and/or folliculitis.Additionally, a clinical study investigated the potential of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis suppression. Ten men with no major health issues applied 30g of clocortolone pivalate 0.1% cream twice a day for 21 days while wearing a plastic sweat suit for twelve hours per day. Through the measurements of plasma cortisol and urinary 17-ketosteroid levels, the investigators monitored effects on the HPA axis, and no signs of adrenal suppression were evident.In total to date, 559 patients have participated in clinical trials involving Cloderm, and there was little evidence of local and/or systemic adverse effects. Specifically, only 4.4 percent experienced adverse events, most of which were local application-site reactions, such as dryness, stinging, burning, or itching. Regulation history
Cloderm, the brand formulation of clocortolone pivalate 0.1% cream, was approved by the
Food and Drug Administration in 1977 for the treatment of corticoid responsive dermatoses.