What is Tai Chi?
Tai Chi is a martial art
that utilizes gentle, flowing
movements to enhance health
in the body and the mind.
So what can it do for me? Let’s take some time to look through all the things that you
can expect from learning this relaxing, slow martial art.
The benefits of including Tai Chi into your exercise regimen are
numerous. Because of the slow, meditative approach to movement,
some people question it as an exercise modality since the aerobic
component is not high. You should not dismiss it, however, simply
because you might not break a sweat doing it! The intensity of this
form of exercise can be increased or decreased depending on the
depth of the postures and the duration of practice. It is certainly
a low-impact form of exercise which is beneficial to people with
existing joint issues and to people who want to avoid joint issues.
Some of the impressive benefits of Tai Chi:
Physical benefits
As you would expect, there are many physical benefits when one
practices any form of exercise over a period of time. The benefits
that research has proven with the regular practice of Tai Chi are
surprisingly far-reaching, especially in our current climate of anti-aging
remedies.
The Mayo Clinic lists some of the benefits of Tai
Chi as:
- Improved aerobic capacity
- Increased energy and stamina
- Improved flexibility, balance and agility
- Improved muscle strength and definition
- Enhanced quality of sleep
- Enhanced functioning of the immune system
- Reduction in blood pressure
- Reduction in joint pain
- Improved symptoms of congestive heart failure
- Reduction in the risk of falls in older adults
That list is impressive just by itself! There are other studies that
have proven improvement for those who live with chronic conditions
such as fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s disease, osteoarthritis,
COPD and others. It has also been proven to improve bone mineral
density in elderly women.
Mental benefits
The benefits of Tai Chi are not only substantiated as physical benefits.
There are important mental and emotional benefits as well.
Let’s return to the list of benefits from the Mayo Clinic.
They also
list the following as resulting from practicing Tai Chi:
- Decreased stress, anxiety and depression
- Improved mood
- Improved overall well-being
And I would add the following to that list:
- Increased mental focus
- Improvement in working memory/executive function
- Social enjoyment and interaction
In Tai Chi, you should try to connect with and learn to control the
energy in your body. This is part of the “healing” aspect and meditative
component of Tai Chi. You must remain relaxed throughout
and maintain your wrists in “delicate lady’s wrists” to help the flow.
As you move, think about your legs being light and your body
flowing in a relaxing state. Sometimes it helps to envision light
flowing through your body. The energy flow in Tai Chi keeps the
movement going. Think of the Tai Chi symbol, the Yin/Yang circle.
It flows from one to the next and back again, and each side cannot
exist without the other.
Every move in the form is connected to the next movement. It is
not a telegram where you start a sentence and then stop. You don’t
stop between each posture. Use your rotation and weight shift to
connect each move. Remember that “hold the ball” is a transition,
not a separate posture. Think about gathering the energy into the
“ball” and then releasing it throughout the posture.
(Source: Open the Door to Tai Chi: Tai Chi for the Everyday Person)
