Health and the Practice of Tai-Chi
Tai-Chi Chuan, to give it its full name, is a unique healthy system of exercise developed hundreds of years ago in China by Taoist monks. It has recently been attracting the attention of medical personnel and physiotherapists.
In hospital tests, this exercise has impressed cardiologists as a form of exercise that has great potential in treating heart patients. According to the Chinese, it should be practiced for 20 minutes each day over a period of years, as this can prolong youthful life and rejuvenate the body.
The 108 basic moves or forms of Tai-Chi use every part of the body – even the eyes - in a pattern of continual flowing movement. The exercises are performed in a slow leisurely manner, without any muscular effort. And because it isn’t strenuous, anyone of any age can practice Tai-Chi without any health risks, and with the promise of renewed vitality and longer life.
The History of Tai-ChiIn China, Tai-Chi is viewed with great respect, and many Chinese claim that can lower high blood pressure and alleviate joint diseases and gastric disturbances, and regain health. For most of it’s long history, the exercise was a closely guarded secret of the Chinese elite, and the Communists, who took over all of the Chinese mainland in 1949, viewed it with suspicion.
They discouraged the practice of Tai-Chi, in their efforts to bring revolutionary thinking to the fore, and thought Tai-Chi was too traditional. Later, however, they had second thoughts, and recognised it’s therapeutic value. It is now practiced extensively throughout China and in many parts of the world.
There are usually mass demonstrations in the art of Tai-Chi, not only in China but in Russia as well. Tai-Chi began to catch on in the United States in the 1960s, although it was secretly practiced in Chinatowns over the country before this time.
At first, Tai-Chi was limited in its practice to the East and West coasts, but they soon began to spread inland across the country. Now, along with Acupuncture, the art of Tai-Chi is getting the attention of the medical community and thousands across the West, including Europe, are discovering this easy effortless way to lasting health.
Tai-Chi and the HeartOne test of Tai-Chi’s effect on the heart was made by using an electrocardiogram on a Tai-Chi teacher whilst exercising. It was found that the heart rate did not change at all whilst she practiced Tai-Chi. Doctors appreciate a physical therapy that does not put stress on the heart and are impressed by its therapeutic possibilities.
The value of Tai-Chi seems to stem as much from its healthy psychological effects as from its physical ones. Modern medicine is finding more and more connections between mental attitudes and physical health, and this may help to explain the value of Tai-Chi, which is designed to have a calming effect on the mind and nervous system.
Comparing it to traditional vigorous exercises with its strenuous repetitions, this often does not get to the heart of the matter and can do more harm than good, so psychiatrists have noted. What is needed, they say, is total exercise, one that encompasses both mind and body. Tai-Chi has often been recommended to people recovering from heart attacks because of this fact.
A Natural TranquiliserIt has been demonstrated that Tai-Chi has a tranquilising effect on the emotions. Just a 10 minute break for a round of Tai-Chi exercises puts over-stressed people in a better healthier frame of mind and helps them to bear the pressures of every day living without illness or a nervous breakdown.
Probably the most difficult aspect for a beginner to follow is the need for total relaxation. Most Westerners can see the need for daily exercise, but often they don’t really enjoy doing it. In contrast, Tai-Chi requires that you relax your facial muscles, shoulders, abdomen, thighs, and follow the shifting pattern of movements with a light calm mind.
Eventually you will experience a sensation almost as though you are floating. All the movements of Tai-Chi are geared towards relaxation. The weight of the body shifts continuously from one foot to the other and the movements are performed in circles, arcs and spirals. The end of each movement becomes the beginning of the next one, which conserves energy and gives a feeling of tranquility and emotional security.
To perform the exercise properly, the body must move as a unit, and this principle on unity-in-movement is one of the ways which it contrasts the most to Western forms of exercise regimes. Tai-Chi, practiced correctly over a long period of time, creates a kind of protective psychological shield that helps a person to combat stress, one of the main causes of disease.
The Mystery of "Chi"At the heart of Tai-Chi is the Chinese concept of Chi, a word of many meanings – air, vitality, spirit, breath, atmosphere, and circulation. It is hard to define Chi. One Tai-Chi expert calls it “biophysical energy generated by respiratory rhythm”. Perhaps the best English translation is “intrinsic energy” or “vital force”.
Whatever Chi is, doctors of Chinese medicine say it can be cultivated through practice of the exercise and stored in a spot called the tan-t’ien located exactly three inches below the navel. Once stored, the Chi can be circulated by the mind throughout the body to sustain health. In an ancient book on Tai-Chi, the author states "The mind directs the Chi, which sinks deeply into the bones. The Chi circulates freely, mobilizing the body so that it heeds the direction of the mind. If the Chi is properly cultivated, your spirit of vitality will rise and you will feel as though your head were suspended by a string from above". It is this vital energy as manifested through the Tai-Chi exercise, that that accounts for prolonging and rejuvenating life. Tai-Chi is a mystery, but it works. In the same way, Acupuncture has cured apparently incurable diseases, even though it is not yet clear how it works. If you practice Tai-Chi every day, you will eventually build up this inner health and strength, or Chi.
The Beginners Guide to Tai-Chi If you’ve been looking for a way to relieve stress, improve your concentration and improve your physical fitness, I have important news for you...
Other Alternative Health Therapies:
Learn the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
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