Tai Chi

Tai Chi

Ooooh, now it’s getting interesting!

What is Tai Chi?

“Tai chi is a non-competitive martial art known for its self-defense techniques and health benefits. As a form of exercise, it combines gentle physical exercise and stretching with mindfulness. … Tai chi also appears to reduce pain and the symptoms of depression in some cases.”

 Joseph Nordqvist (medicalnewstoday.com)

Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese martial art used for revealing stress and anxiety. It has been shown to have a positive impact on people suffering from depression too! Tai Chi is a slow moving exercise that performed correctly, can improve your well-being and overall health. Check out this beginner video below by Dr Paul Lam.

Although the benefits of Tai Chi are difficult to prove, there are no bad sides to the art. It is said that it will improve your balance, especially in older people, and help you relax and relieve stress and anxiety – and we could all do with a bit of that! Check out this short video session below for a good way to get into doing short daily exercises to get you started.

Another benefit is weight loss. A study showed that in adults, a loss of 1 pound over 12 weeks with no other lifestyle changes has been accomplished. This of course is good for those of you who would like to shed a few pounds. 1 pound may not sound like much, but if you consider it is equal to nearly half a kilo, and then factor in that this is without any other weight loss schemes. Now imagine what that would mean if you were on a diet and jogging along side it! You could lose quite a lot of weight over a few months.

For me, Tai Chi is mostly about the revealing of stress, and it certainly does that. It most probably has a lot to do with the breathing practice. Tai Chi uses controlled breathing as a way to totally relax and harness energy/power. It is a peaceful exercise.

The best part of performing Tai Chi is that you can do it in the privacy of your own home everyday, and not even brake a sweat! Of course to get you started it is advisable to join a class, at least until you get the basics down. But it is not absolutely necessary. There are plenty of videos online that will walk you through the steps. But know that it is said that it could take 30-36 class hours to get the basics down. But this may be beneficial as for a beginner, if you’re not doing the moves correctly, you could experience joint pain and aches. So it is definitely advised that you get taught by a professional in-person when starting out.