Tai Chi incorporates breath, movement, and mental focus into a moving meditation. The practice began as a martial art in ancient China and evolved into the beneficial form of exercise people know today.

Tai Chi exercises are performed slowly. They strengthen the muscles and joints with minimal impact. The low to no impact nature of Tai Chi makes it suitable for most people and all ages. This meditative movement practice started thousands of years ago in China and is now used as a holistic method of health care by more than 250 million around the world. Tai Chi unites and brings balance to mind, body, and soul and has a wealth of health benefits for anyone choosing to practice it.

There is a variety of forms of Tai Chi; each has evolved its own style and tenets.

Some of the better known Tai Chi styles include:

• Chen style
• Sun style
• Yang style

Learning Tai Chi

Tai Chi can be practiced almost anywhere. The practitioner’s body and a few feet of space are the only equipment required. The movements of Tai Chi consist of 13 core poses, which flow gracefully from one form to the next while practitioners breathe deeply, and remain intently focused on their movements.

Tai Chi means “ultimate fist” and many describe it as a moving meditation. Many of the movements have names, which relate to nature in some way. People practice Tai Chi alone or in groups.

It is best to learn Tai Chi from a certified instructor. Determine why you would like to learn Tai Chi and allow your reasons to inform your choice of learning setting and instructor. Once you have selected a teacher and setting, practice Tai Chi consistently to gain the benefits of the practice.

While the benefits of Tai Chi practice may be experienced in 12 weeks or less, a consistent practice of six months or longer, ensures the experience of prolonged health benefits. Tai Chi is also a practice, which evolves as the student’s knowledge base grows.

Within the variety of available styles of Tai Chi, a common structure exists. Each class begins with a warm-up to heat the body and prepare for the slow yet intense stretches and strengthening exercises. Following the warm-up, the instructor demonstrates and guides the class through each of the moves to be practiced.

There could be a sequence of a few moves or hundreds depending on the style being taught and the achievement levels of the practitioners in the class. During the breath work or qi gong portion of the class, students breathe deeply while linking their breath to slow gentle movements. Qi gong means life energy, during this part of class students are literally working with their vital energy, strengthening and directing it.

Benefits

Tai Chi or Tai Chi Chuan, as it is traditionally known, offers many health benefits to practitioners:

• Improvements in flexibility, agility and balance
• Improved muscle strength and definition
• Less stress and lowered anxiety levels
• Expanded aerobic capacity
• Greater energy and endurance:
• Better sleep quality
• Strengthened immune system
• Decreases in cholesterol levels and lowered blood pressure
• Decreased joint pain
• Alleviate symptoms of congestive heart failure
• Increased overall sense of well-being in older adults
• Decreased instances of falls in older adults

Since Tai Chi strengthens the immune and central nervous systems, it may be employed to prevent as well as offer therapeutic relief to a variety of ailments:

• High Blood Pressure
• Heart Disease
• Chronic Pain
• Fibromyalgia
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Osteoarthritis
• Gout
• Diabetes
• Viral Infections
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Headaches
• Sleep Problems

Studies to discern the benefits of Tai Chi continue. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health has fostered studies analyzing the effect of Tai Chi on:

• Postmenopausal bone loss
• Post cancer patients
• Incidents of depression in elderly patients
• Fibromyalgia related symptoms, fatigue, muscle pain and insomnia
• Osteoarthritis in the knee
• Chronic heart failure patients
• Rheumatoid arthritis patients

Excellent Workout For The Elderly

The broad range of benefits associated with practicing Tai Chi makes it a highly recommended activity for the ill and the elderly.

Final Thoughts

Many practitioner’s start their day with an early morning Tai Chi practice in open air settings, like parks or their own yards. They allow nature to inspire them as they build positive energy and cultivate a sense of well-being and stillness from their surroundings.

Research continues to support Tai Chi’s effectiveness as a preventative and complementary treatment for systemic and chronic illness. It may be easily incorporated into patients’ lives with few contraindications to prevent its use.

Tai Chi and yoga share many characteristics. They both combine movement and mental focus to build a strong body and a clear and focused mind. Both practices also come from ancient origins in the East. Tai Chi originated in China thousands of years ago; yoga emerged in India many thousands of years ago as well.

Most important, both practices use the breath as a focal point for the mind. In Tai Chi, the goal is to breathe deeply and naturally. In yoga, practitioners link their breath to their physical movements. These similarities make it easy to consider integrating the two practices.

Use Tai Chi As A “Warm-Up” For Yoga

Tai Chi’s slow movements and meditative quality make it a complementary way to perform warm-up exercises prior to a yoga practice. Tai Chi practices offer long as well as short forms. A short form Tai Chi practice may easily precede a complete yoga practice. The nature of Tai Chi allows it to serve several purposes as a warm-up.

• Transitioning from sleep to waking movements if it precedes a morning yoga practice
• Transitioning from regular daily activities and entering the meditative state conducive to practicing yoga
• Building energy for use during a yoga practice

Use Tai Chi As A “Cool-Down” For Yoga

The slow and meditative movements of Tai Chi, as well as the mental qualities it engenders, make it an excellent follow-up to a yoga practice. Yoga poses build strength and endurance by holding various postures (asanas) for several breaths at a time. Some styles of yoga, specifically vinyasa, link the poses into a series of flowing movements. In general, the pace of yoga may be faster than Tai Chi or less fluid.

The continuous slow-motion movements of Tai Chi may be applied as a series of counter postures to soothe the muscles and joints following a yoga practice.

It may also assist with smoothing and calming one’s energy in preparation of Svasana (corpse pose) the final pose of a yoga practice. During Svasana, the body and mind are allowed to rest and integrate the benefits of the yoga poses.

Practice Tai Chi To Prepare For Meditation

Depending on how they are practiced, both Tai Chi and yoga can be moving meditations. Each uses the breath as a focal point and guided movements or postures to build strength and direct energy in the body. While Tai Chi explicitly offers moving meditation, it can be argued that yoga’s meditative qualities are more implicit and come with extended practice.

The poses of yoga are intended to prepare the body for seated breath work and meditation. They are two of the traditional eight limbs of yoga, pranayama (breathing exercises) and Samadhi (meditation). By practicing Tai Chi prior to a seated meditation, a practitioner may find themselves more able to access the state of mind and quality of energy best suited to a seated meditation practice.

They may also find themselves able to sit for a more extended period of time, as they won’t have expended as much mental energy centering and dissipating their thoughts to prepare for meditation.

While many people practice Tai Chi or yoga exclusively, the two may be combined to form one practice. As with many mind-body forms of exercise, the practice may be customized to meet the capacity of the practitioner and to supply specific desired benefits.

Tai Chi Yoga, Tai You Chi, and Yo Qi Gong classes are a few of the combination style class formats currently offered. If a practitioner is not sure where to start, they may seek these class formats in their community or online. With time and practice, they may even develop their own regimen based on what they learn and personal experience.

Alternating Days For Yoga and Tai Chi

Besides combining the two into one routine, another option is to practice both but on different days. Since each practice yields its own set of benefits for health and wellness there is no reason not to do Tai Chi on a Tuesday and Yoga on a Thursday. This makes for a well-rounded fitness lifestyle where yoga can do more to support physical strength, while Tai Chi can provide elinghlightment, and general emotional and mental wellness.

Tai Chi is mostly known to people as a slow moving, low-impact, meditative form of exercise. However, they may not be aware that Tai Chi also teaches people how to cultivate their personal energy (chi or qi: pronounced “chee”).

This component of Tai Chi is actually its precursor; Qi Gong (also called Tai Chi Qi Gong). The two are distinct in form and purpose, but appear similar in action.

Tai Chi builds the external body and generates energy through action (yang)–strengthening the musculoskeletal system. Qi Gong cultivates existing energy with breath work and mental focus directing it internally to facilitate organ health and healthy body systems (yin). Tai Chi and Qi Gong are sometimes practiced during the same session.

Tai Chi and Qi Gong consist of a specific series of exercises or forms performed in a specific order. Tai Chi forms tend to be longer and more precise than Qi Gong forms. Several components of the practice need to be performed well to successfully calm the mind when practicing Tai Chi and Qi Gong.

Focus On The Breath

Tai Chi and Qi Gong practitioners employ a deep and expansive breathing style. The abdomen is unrestricted and the breath flows freely in and out of the body through the nostrils. It is steady and smooth not forceful. This breathing style enhances oxygen levels, encourages a quiet mind, and facilitates emotional balance.

Preparation For The Forms

Perform warm-up exercises and Qi Gong exercises to prepare for your Tai Chi practice. For example, the session can begin with the Ball of Energy exercise. The practitioner first rubs their hands together to generate heat then alternately draws the hands apart and back together without touching.

They visualize a ball of energy ebbing and growing between their hands. The exercise ends by drawing the hands completely apart and bringing them to rest by the sides. The warm-up begins the process of creating a state of mental calm and concentration.

Move With Focus And Alignment

In order to properly build, direct, and retain energy, the prescribed application of focus and alignment needs to be followed. Tai Chi and Qi Gong teach specific forms with the purpose of building physical and energetic health. The emphasis on alignment, breath, and which part of the exercise receives your mental focus may change, but the forms and their order do not.

At this point, the practitioner may actually move into meditation. By continually applying the forms, practitioners eventually reach a level where the movements simply flow without them having to actively name and direct each movement.

When this occurs, they enjoy the moving meditation aspects of Tai Chi and Qi Gong as well as the accompanying benefits, a calm mind and general sense of well-being.

Close Your Practice Well

In Tai Chi and Qi Gong, the method used to close the practice is as important as the rest of the practice. The energy cultivated during the practice must be appropriately settled, dispersed, and stored. If not done correctly, the practitioner will experience the opposite of the intended effect of the practice.

A practice needs to end as instructed by a qualified teacher in accordance with the Tai Chi or Qi Gong form being used. The close requires drawing the chi into one or more of the body’s energy centers and refocusing on the present. Completing the practice in this manner allows participants to retain and integrate the calming effects of the practice into their daily activities.

An Activity For All Ages

Tai Chi and Qi Gong may be practiced by people of all ages and fitness levels. It effectively calms the mind while increasing focus and awareness making it beneficial for people seeking improved mental health and stress relief.

Tai Chi and Qi Gong may be learned through a variety of media, books, videos and audio recording, however most sources recommend learning the practice in a class setting or via private instruction first.

Tai Chi provides a simple, accessible, and effective way to exercise the body and mind. The series of slow movements, performed with intense focus while breathing deeply calms the sympathetic nervous system, which guides the fight, or flight response. There are several styles of Tai Chi. Most of them incorporate poses, which take their names and movements from animals, vegetation, and other natural phenomena.

Activities, which support the health of the body, can also support mental health via the mind-body connection. Physical exercise provides many benefits. Tai Chi in particular offers a long list of physical and mental benefits. Regarding physical health, this form of exercise builds strength and muscular endurance, improves balance, increases flexibility, offers pain relief, and maintains joint health–allowing practitioners improved range of motion.

The mental health benefits include improved self-esteem and confidence, a more positive outlook and a general sense of well-being. It also allows practitioners to learn how to focus their attention; this ability may help some ease their tendency toward worry or anxiety.

The National Alliance On Mental Health reports that 18.1% of US adults experience some type of anxiety disorder, which includes Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and various phobias. People also experience anxiety on a day-to-day basis as the pressure and stressors of life trigger the stress response in the body.

Tai Chi and Stress

A 2010 article published in the American Academy of Family Physicians journal, “Exercise, Yoga, and Meditation for Depressive and Anxiety Disorders,” analyzed several studies on the effects of Tai Chi, and other mind-body therapies, on anxiety and stress.

Analysis of the study outcomes showed Tai Chi improves the symptoms of depression in adults ages 50 to 84. The results also show the improvement may be primarily associated with the social support found by practicing Tai Chi in-group settings. The authors based this conclusion on follow-up observations, which showed declines in the improvements after class participation ended.

Tai Chi and Anxiety

Exercise in general causes improvements in the symptoms of people with anxiety disorder order. They experience a decrease in panic attacks, nervousness, and other symptoms. Tai Chi’s meditative element may lend further support for symptom relief.

The data analysis of the studies covered in the previously mentioned AAFP article indicated that meditation is an effective therapy for people with anxiety disorders.

Why Does It Work?

Tai Chi causes changes in the brain, which build cognitive functions and keep the brain young.

• In general, people experience a loss in grey matter as they age. Grey matter is the conductor of brain activity; it carries the electrical signals of our thoughts to the different sections of the brain. Tai Chi practitioners build grey matter up to 40 percent with extended and consistent practice.
• It increases cortical wall density. Thicker cortical walls are associated with decreased cognitive decline, which supports faster decision making, improved ability to focus and better memory.
• Tai Chi builds neuroplasticity. It helps the brain build new connections based on daily experiences and reorganize current connections. As they learn and perform Tai Chi exercises, practitioners exercise their mental muscles: building attention, memory, and proprioception. This strengthens a person’s ability to manage daily stressors.
• These brain benefits also prevent cyclical negative thoughts. Instead of worrying about past, present or future outcomes, Tai Chi practitioners are better able to move on to the next thought and address stressful situations in a forward thinking fashion.
• Tai Chi is a meditative movement practice that involves slow, fluid movement as one transitions from one form to the next. This type of movement requires a high level of concentration from the mind, which in turn allows a profound calm to take place. This calming of the mind does not stop once a session of Tai Chi is over, with regular practice it becomes a part of the practitioner, which allows them to cope with life’s stress in a more calm and peaceful manner helping to reduce anxiety exponentially.

Tai Chi is especially beneficial for older adults and elderly people who find other forms of physical activity challenging. The slow-motion, low impact and meditative nature of the practice allow them to access multiple benefits without having to set aside time to exercise and an additional period of time to meditate. They experience health gains, stress relief, and decreased anxiety with one activity.

Consistent practice, two to three times per week, is the key to successfully using Tai Chi to combat depression and anxiety. The combined physical and mental benefits of practicing Tai Chi, along with its effectiveness, make it a popular alternative therapy with people of all ages.