There are a lot of benefits from practising Tai Chi Chuan. It improves one's well-being and health. Here is a short article on Tai Chi by the Mayo Clinic Staff last Dec 2005. Read on!
Tai chi is a series of gentle movements that can bring about stress reduction, improved balance and many other health benefits. Find out what tai chi is all about.
Tai chi (ti-CHE) is sometimes described as "meditation in motion." Originally developed in China as a form of self-defense, this graceful form of exercise has existed for about 2,000 years. It's becoming increasingly popular around the world, both as a basic exercise program and as a complement to other health care methods. Health benefits include stress reduction, greater balance and increased flexibility —especially for older adults.
What is tai chi?
Tai chi is a noncompetitive, self-paced system of gentle physical exercise. To do tai chi, you perform a defined series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner. Each movement or posture flows into the next without pausing.
Who is tai chi for?
If you're trying to improve your general health, you may find tai chi helpful as part of your program. Tai chi is generally safe for people of all ages and levels of fitness. Studies have shown that for older adults tai chi can improve balance and reduce the risk of falls. Because the movements are low impact and put minimal stress on your muscles and joints, tai chi is appealing to many older adults. For these same reasons, if you have a condition such as arthritis or you're recovering from an injury, you may find it useful.
Tai chi appears to offer both physical and mental benefits no matter what your age. It's used to:
-Reduce stress
-Increase flexibility
-Improve muscle strength and definition
-Increase energy, stamina and agility
-Increase feelings of well-being
Tai chi hasn't been studied scientifically until recently. Preliminary research shows that for older adults, in particular, practicing tai chi regularly may:
-Reduce anxiety and depression
-Improve balance and coordination, reducing the number of falls
-Improve sleep quality, such as staying asleep longer at night and feeling more alert during the day
-Slow bone loss in women following menopause
-Reduce high blood pressure
-Improve cardiovascular fitness
-Relieve chronic pain
-Improve everyday physical functioning
Types of tai chi
Like yoga, many styles of tai chi exist. Some of these styles include:
-Chen
-Hao
-Sun
-Wu
-Yang
-Zhao Bao
The intensity of tai chi varies somewhat depending on the style. For example, the Chen style may be more fast-paced than other styles. However, most styles are gentle and suitable for everyone. Talk to your doctor and tai chi instructor to make sure the style you're using is appropriate for your physical capabilities.
Pros and cons
When learned correctly and practiced regularly, tai chi appears to be a very positive form of exercise:
-It's self-paced and noncompetitive.
-You don't need a large physical space or special clothing or equipment.
-You can do tai chi anytime, anyplace.
-It's easy to do in groups as well as by yourself.
-You can add new movements as you become more proficient.
-Because tai chi is slow and gentle, it has virtually no negative side effects. It's possible you could strain yourself or "overdo" things when first learning, but with proper instruction, this shouldn't pose a barrier to practicing tai chi.
How to learn tai chi
To gain the full benefits of tai chi and reduce the small risk of injury, learn the correct way to do the postures and movements. Strict attention to your body position and breathing are critical, so it's best to study directly under a teacher rather than with a book or videotape. As you attend a series of classes, the instructor can give you personal guidance and correct any errors in your approach before they become habit. As you practice, you learn how to do tai chi without straining your muscles and joints.
Once you're comfortable with the tai chi basics, you can do it by yourself. You may find it helpful to practice tai chi in the same place and at the same time every day. You'll likely experience some health benefits right away, but they probably won't be dramatic. Be patient. Health benefits accumulate over time.
You can find tai chi classes in cities throughout the United States. To locate a class in your community, contact your local senior center, YMCA or YWCA, health club or wellness center.
Although tai chi is generally safe, consider talking with your doctor before starting a new program. This is particularly true if you have any problems with your joints, spine or heart.
Philippine Tai Chi Network Forum
Tai chi: Stress reduction, balance, agility and more
What is Tai Chi?
No Tai Chi is not a recipe nor a place. It is a graceful yet powerful martial art which originated from China. Read this article I found at http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Philosophy/Taichi/index.html
The Chinese characters for Tai Chi Chuan can be translated as the 'Supreme Ultimate Force'. The notion of 'supreme ultimate' is often associated with the Chinese concept of yin-yang, the notion that one can see a dynamic duality (male/female, active/passive, dark/light, forceful/yielding, etc.) in all things. 'Force' (or, more literally, 'fist') can be thought of here as the means or way of achieving this ying-yang, or 'supreme-ultimate' discipline.
Tai Chi, as it is practiced in the west today, can perhaps best be thought of as a moving form of yoga and meditation combined. There are a number of so- called forms (sometimes also called 'sets') which consist of a sequence of movements. Many of these movements are originally derived from the martial arts (and perhaps even more ancestrally than that, from the natural movements of animals and birds) although the way they are performed in Tai Chi is slowly, softly and gracefully with smooth and even transitions between them.
For many practicioners the focus in doing them is not, first and foremost, martial, but as a meditative exercise for the body. For others the combat aspects of Tai Chi are of considerable interest. In Chinese philosophy and medicine there exists the concept of 'chi', a vital force that animates the body. One of the avowed aims of Tai Chi is to foster the circulation of this 'chi' within the body, the belief being that by doing so the health and vitality of the person are enhanced. This 'chi' circulates in patterns that are close related to the nervous and vascular system and thus the notion is closely connected with that of the practice of acupuncture and other oriental healing arts.
Another aim of Tai Chi is to foster a calm and tranquil mind, focused on the precise execution of these exercises. Learning to do them correctly provides a practical avenue for learning about such things as balance, alignment, fine-scale motor control, rhythm of movement, the genesis of movement from the body's vital center, and so on. Thus the practice of Tai Chi can in some measure contribute to being able to better stand, walk, move, run, etc. in other spheres of life as well. Many practitioners notice benefits in terms of correcting poor postural, alignment or movement patterns which can contribute to tension or injury. Furthermore the meditative nature of the exercises is calming and relaxing in and of itself.
Because the Tai Chi movements have their origins in the martial arts, practicing them does have some martial applications. In a two-person exercise called 'push-hands' Tai Chi principles are developed in terms of being sensitive to and responsive of another person's 'chi' or vital energy. It is also an opportunity to employ some of the martial aspects of Tai Chi in a kind of slow-tempo combat. Long-time practitioners of Tai Chi who are so-inclined can become very adept at martial arts. The emphasis in Tai Chi is on being able to channel potentially destructive energy (in the form of a kick or a punch) away from one in a manner that will dissipate the energy or send it in a direction where it is no longer a danger.
The practical exercises of Tai Chi are also situated in a wider philosophical context of Taoism. This is a reflective, mystical Chinese tradition first associated with the scholar and mystic Lao Tsu, an older contemporary of Confucius. He wrote and taught in the province of Honan in the 6th century B.C. and authored the seminal work of Taoism, the Tao Te Ching. As a philosophy, Taoism has many elements but fundamentally it espouses a calm, reflective and mystic view of the world steeped in the beauty and tranquillity of nature.
Tai Chi also has, particularly amongst eastern practitioners, a long connection with the I Ching a Chinese system of divination. There are associations between the 8 basic I Ching trigrams plus the five elements of Chinese alchemy (metal, wood, fire, water and earth) with the thirteen basic postures of Tai Chi created by Chang San-feng. There are also other associations with the full 64 trigrams of the I Ching and other movements in the Tai Chi form.
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