Tai Chi: A Balance between body and spirit, page 2/3With Tai Chi you really start to know your body. Your posture and energy levels will increase! |
Positive effects of Tai Chi
Tai Chi increases your sense of your own body. Through this heightened awareness, problems of posture, that often lead to tension and headaches are identified and corrected. The exercises strengthen the muscles in the back and therefore relieve pressure on the spinal chord. This is especially relevant for people with a history of slipped disks and those who spend much of their working day sitting at a desk.
Tai Chi practises a deep abdominal breathing. This is very beneficial for the circulation. The gradual, gentle movements have a calming effect on the nervous system. Many people, who practice regularly, report feeling more emotionally stable and less likely to lose their cool. Through regular Tai Chi practise, tensions are relaxed and ease of movement, through into later years, can be significantly improved. The body’s natural defence mechanisms are stimulated and enhanced, and there is a general improvement in co-ordination of movement and sense of well being.
Techniques of Tai Chi
To make the relatively complicated series of movements in Tai Chi comprehensible to a wider spectrum of the population, the People’s Republic of China created a so-called simple form in the 1950’s, that consists either of 24 or 48 Yang-style exercises or 36 Chen-style exercises. These techniques are now widely taught throughout Europe and they offer a specified sequence of movements of varying speed and complexity.
When Tai Chi is practised regularly there is a resulting inner and outer calm, and stressful situations can be handled in a much more effective manner. Anyone can learn Tai Chi; what is important is to develop a feel for the relatively complex sequence of movements. For this reason it is strongly advised to have some sort of guidance while learning, preferably in a structured course. Mistakes, such as moving too quickly are then easily rectified by the teacher. But be warned! Learning Tai Chi is time-consuming!
