Tai
Chi
T'ai
chi chuan, also known as Tai Chi, is a fitness regimen that was developed
to promote the flow of chi, or energy within the body.
Through
slow flowing movements, Tai Chi increases strength and muscle tone,
enhances range of motion and flexibility, and improves balance and
coordination. As well, practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine
believe that although these positions are low impact and low intensity,
they have the power to break up chi blockage, and reestablish the flow
of this vital force.
All
Tai Chi movements are pairs of opposition, i.e. left and right, yield
and thrust, etc. which reflect the attempt to harmonize the two opposing
forces of yin and yang.
Ultimately,
Tai Chi is a moving form of meditation where precision movements and
controlled breathing are synchronized to enable the practitioner to
flow with the direction of energy in and around the body.
Tai
Chi has beneficial effects similar to those of western aerobic exercise,
minus the stresses and strains. This could account for its recent surge
in popularity in the West.
What
Can Tai Chi Treat?
Tai
Chi offers a variety of quality of life benefits, such as improved
cognitive ability, decreased levels of anxiety, depression, stress,
and muscular tension, improved circulation, speed of rehabilitation
following surgery, injury, or serious illness, and enhanced energy
combined with an overall sense of well being.
