Tai Chi the Perfect Exercise: Medication in Motion
In 2013, the number of participants (aged six years and older) in Tai chi amounted to approximately 3.47 million in the United States alone. To date there are reported to be over 500 studies about the various physical benefits of tai chi, from improving balance and attention span, to boosting the immune system to beating back the symptoms of arthritis, asthma, hypertension, and insomnia.
Tai Chi is sometimes called Chinese Yoga. Tai Chi is the culmination of 7000 years of Taoist research, medical practice, breathing technique, movement patterns, universal theory, and self-defense all rolled into an individualized system. New Age it aint! What it is, is the most advanced and favorable exercise in the world. Time Magazine once called it "the perfect exercise."
The slow graceful movements of the dance that we see here in the West are really an ancient Chinese martial art. Tai Chi is done for health and fitness and Tai Chi Chuan applies the martial component. Every one practicing Tai Chi Chuan gets the health and fitness benefits but those who limit their training to Tai Chi do not get the martial applications.
Tai Chi appears effortless and unfortunately many think that translates to an ineffective workout. But it is with the practice of Tai Chi that you get the strength benefits of weight lifting, the flexibility improvement of yoga, the core strength improvement of Pilates, and its fitness benefits even correspond to that of moderate aerobics! Add to this the low impact form of exercise that straightforwardly adjusts to any age or fitness level while providing a plethora of health benefits. Although the movements are performed in a slow, controlled manner, the exercise aspect of the system actually burns a decent number of calories. For instance a 125-pound person burns about 240 calories in an hour session, while a 155-pound person burns 300 calories, and a 185-pound person burns abour 356 calories. A Tai Chi session is the equivalent, in terms of calorie burning, as an hour-long walk done at 3.5 mph.
For athletic performance, few workouts can match the benefits of Tai Chi. The attentive and specialized breathing produces a seriously elevated endurance and aerobic threshold: to make our point, regular practitioners of Tai Chi can easily run 1.5 miles without a committed jogging routine. Tai chi is the standard for balance training and has been shown to decrease fall risk of the elderly who practice Tai Chi. Tai Chi also creates incomparable “core strength” while at the same time it yielding flexibility of the waist and hips. The slow relaxing practice of Tai Chi develops incredible accuracy, speed and power which for those practicing the martial side are well established This practice is not only sustainable through the entirety of one’s lifetime, but it has no reported consequence. Tai Chi practice will also reduce body fat significantly; ideal for those pondering a swimsuit.
Tai Chi has many distinct advantages over other types of exercise. Unlike many types of exercise that are particular physical fitness concentrating on some muscle groups and ignoring others, Tai Chi works all the muscles of the body within its routine. One common misperception of Tai Chi is that is provides no aerobic cardiovascular exercise. In 1978, prominent Tai Chi instructor by the name of Lawrence Galante with an associate conducted an experiment. They took 25 tai chi students, ranging in age from 20 to 60 years of youth. The students had been studying Tai Chi for a period of one to seven years. Galante and his assistant monitored the pulse rate, blood pressure and heart rate of all the students before and after they practiced their form. In all cases, the researchers found that if the form was practiced in a low stance, great cardiovascular stimulation occurred-between 60-80 percent of the maximum heart rate as recognized by the American Heart Association (AHA). On the other hand, if the tai chi movements were performed in a high stance, there was very little heart stimulation (less than 60 percent of the maximum heart rate). According to Galante, a person could easily meet the standards set by the AHA by practicing Tai Chi three times a day.
Here’s some additional evidence to support a Tai Chi exercise program:
Muscle strength. In a 2006 study published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Stanford University researchers reported benefits of tai chi in 39 women and men, average age 66, with below-average fitness and at least one cardiovascular risk factor. After taking 36 tai chi classes in 12 weeks, they showed improvement in both lower-body strength (measured by the number of times they could rise from a chair in 30 seconds) and upper-body strength (measured by their ability to do arm curls).
In a Japanese study using the same strength measures, 113 older adults were assigned to different 12-week exercise programs, including Tai Chi, brisk walking, and resistance training. People who did Tai Chi improved more than 30% in lower-body strength and 25% in arm strength — almost as much as those who participated in resistance training, and more than those assigned to brisk walking.
“Although you aren’t working with weights or resistance bands, the unsupported arm exercise involved in tai chi strengthens your upper body,” says internist Dr. Gloria Yeh, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. “Tai Chi strengthens both the lower and upper extremities and also the core muscles of the back and abdomen.”
Flexibility. Women in the 2006 Stanford study significantly boosted upper- and lower-body flexibility as well as strength.
Balance. Tai Chi improves balance and, according to some studies, reduces falls. Proprioception — the ability to sense the position of one’s body in space — declines with age. Tai Chi helps train this sense, which is a function of sensory neurons in the inner ear and stretch receptors in the muscles and ligaments. Tai Chi also improves muscle strength and flexibility, which makes it easier to recover from a stumble. Fear of falling can make you more likely to fall; some studies have found that Tai Chi training helps reduce that fear.
Aerobic conditioning. Depending on the speed and size of the movements, tai chi can provide some aerobic benefits. But in the Japanese study, only participants assigned to brisk walking gained much aerobic fitness. If your clinician advises a more intense cardio workout with a higher heart rate than Tai Chi can offer, you may need something more aerobic as well.
And best of all most people do Tai Chi without even sweating. As for your health it’s medication without the bad side effects. What a perfect exercise.
-Sifu
THE WAY TAI CHI SYSTEM http://dovertaichinh.jimdo.com/
