15 minutes a day of Tai Chi is a passport to better health, fitness, peace of mind. As an alternative to passive meditation, this is a practice of a series of graceful movements performed in a slow, focused manner, complemented by deep breathing. It is a self-paced practice involving a gentle physical exercise and stretching as each posture flows into the next without pause, ensuring that your body is in constant motion.
Tai chi means great energy a Chinese technique from the 12th century and it cultivates your life force through movement creating enhanced vitality with peace, tranquility, order and control. T’ai Chi promotes psychic balance, diminishes anxiety, increases focus and concentration, and generally supports an overall sense of psychological wellness. It promotes serenity through gentle, flowing movements with low impact and minimal stress on muscles and joints, making it generally safe for all ages and fitness levels.
Benefits:
Moving and breathing
Graceful
Reduces stress
Muscle strengthen
Improved balance, flexibility and agility
Focus
Increased aerobic capacity
Increased energy and stamina
Enhance quality of sleep
Enhance the immune system
Lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure
Improve joint pain
Improve symptoms of congestive heart failure
Improve overall well-being in older adults
Reduce risk of falls in older adults
How to get started with tai chi
The physical techniques of t’ai chi ch’uan are described in the “T’ai chi classics”, a set of writings by traditional masters, as being characterized by the use of leverage through the joints based on coordination and relaxation, rather than muscular tension, in order to neutralize, yield, or initiate attacks. The slow, repetitive work involved in the process of learning how that leverage is generated gently and measurably increases, opens the internal circulation (breath, body heat, blood, lymph, peristalsis, etc.).
Selected resources
Books from Amazon:
The Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi: 12 Weeks to a Healthy Body, Strong Heart, and Sharp Mind (Harvard Health Publications
BodyWisdom Media: Tai Chi for Beginners
Tai Chi Illustrated
Step-By-Step Tai Chi
Medical conditions that can benefit from Tai Chi:
Arthritis.
Low bone density.
Breast cancer.
Heart disease
Heart failure.
Hypertension.
Parkinson’s disease.
Sleep problems
Stroke
Peer Reviewed Articles on Tai Chi:
Arthritis. December 2008 in Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Tai chi twice a week for 12 weeks reduced pain and improved mood and physical functioning more than standard stretching exercises in people with severe knee osteoarthritis
Another study showed significantly improved flexibility and slowed the disease process in patients with ankylosing spondylitis, a painful and debilitating inflammatory form of arthritis that affects the spine.
Low bone density. Osher Research Center and Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
tai chi may be a safe and effective way to maintain bone density in postmenopausal women.
Breast cancer. Medicine and Sport Science 2008
Tai chi has shown potential for improving quality of life and functional capacity (the physical ability to carry out normal daily activities, such as work or exercise) in women suffering from breast cancer or the side effects of breast cancer treatment.
Heart disease. September 2008 Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
tai chi significantly boosted exercise capacity, lowered blood pressure, and improved levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, and C-reactive protein in people at high risk for heart disease.
Heart failure. Harvard Medical School,
12 weeks of tai chi improved participants’ ability to walk and quality of life. It also reduced blood levels of B-type natriuretic protein, an indicator of heart failure.
Hypertension. Preventive Cardiology 2008
tai chi lowered blood pressure — with improvements ranging from 3 to 32 mm Hg in systolic pressure and from 2 to 18 mm Hg in diastolic pressure.
Parkinson’s disease. University School of Medicine in St. Louis, published in Gait and Posture (October 2008),
people with mild to moderately severe Parkinson’s disease showed improved balance, walking ability, and overall well-being after 20 tai chi sessions.
Sleep problems. July 2008 issue of the journal Sleep.
112 healthy older adults with moderate sleep complaints, experienced improved the quality and duration of sleep.
Stroke study: January 2009 issue of Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair.
136 stroke experienced improved standing balance compared to other traditional techniques
