The Health Benefits of Tai Chi practice

The ancient Chinese practices of Tai Chi combines slow, deliberate movements, meditation and breathing exercises. The routines were not designed to burn calories or raise your heart rate. Instead Tai Chi is a martial art that can help your circulation, balance, and alignment.

In China, it is believed that Tai Chi can delay aging and prolong life, increase flexibility, strengthen muscles and tendons, and aid in the treatment of heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, digestive disorders, skin diseases, depression, cancer, and many other illnesses. The low-impact moving meditations include standing and balancing. Although Tai Chi is an excellent fitness activity for beginners and people with health conditions, elite athletes also benefit from doing the slow movements, because everyone needs better balance and muscle control.

Scientific evidence

Most of the research on Tai Chi has been done in older individuals in the area of balance and fall prevention. This area of research is important because fall-related injuries are the leading cause of death from injury and disability among older adults. One of the most serious fall injuries is hip fracture; one-half of all older adults hospitalized for hip fracture never regain their former level of function. Because Tai Chi movements are slow and deliberate with shifts of body weight from one leg to the other in coordination with upper body movements (sometimes with one leg in the air), it challenges balance and many have long assumed it helps improve balance and reduce fall frequency. This assumption has been credited and strongly supported by some research.

One study compared men age 65 and older who had more than 10 years of experience practicing Tai Chi and no involvement in any other regular sports and physical activity, with similar-aged men who had not practiced Tai Chi or any other physical activities (they were sedentary). It was found that the men who studied Tai Chi performed better on tests of balance, flexibility, and cardiovascular function.

Tai chi isn’t just for the elderly. In another study involving 22 people ages 22 to 76 years with mild balance disorders, it was found that eight weeks of Tai Chi training significantly improved function.

Tai Chi and stress relief

The demands of living are stressful for adults of all ages. Studies have shown that simply slowing down and focusing on deliberate movements or poses can greatly reduce stress in your life will provide the distraction you need from your hectic lifestyle. The mind-body connection caused by this form of breathing coordinated with body movement and eye-hand coordination promote calmness and an inner sense of peace.

So I suggest that you give Tai Chi a chance if you're looking for a creative and physically active way to improve how you mentally and physically respond to stress. Feel free to contact us at 305-542-5549 for a FREE Tai Chi class at our studio in Miami Shores. You can read more about us at www.MiamiShoresKravMaga.com  or www.mma-f.com .