The Health Benefits of Tai Chi for Positive Ageing
We all know about the importance of exercise – especially as we are living longer and want to age positively and enjoy those extra years coming our way. With 50 becoming the new 40 or even 30, 60 the new 50, we are all looking to embrace life and have the health and energy to live it to the full, but for many of us hitting the gym just doesn’t appeal. So what about more gentle alternatives?
There are always new exercise crazes hitting the tabloid headlines – but more traditional forms of exercise such as Tai Chi have stood the test of time – and been applauded by institutions such as the Harvard Medical School for delivering health benefits.
The Benefits of Tai Chi
Said to be the equivalent of a brisk walk, this gentle exercise format encompasses the process of slow, gentle movements with breathing techniques which have elements of meditation, strengthening the body while focusing the mind. Tai Chi has been proven to address physical, mental and emotional health issues.
I know my own introduction to Tai Chi was on a holiday in the Caribbean several years ago, where our very flexible and lively instructor informed us that he had walked away from the stress of corporate life, discovered Tai Chi, and trained to be an instructor. Our collective jaws dropped when he went on to tell those of us who had just been wobbling on one leg while he performed the sequence perfectly, that he was approaching his 80th birthday. A birthday he believes he would not have seen had he continued with his stressful life.
The Physical benefits of Tai Chi:
Balance
Leg Strength
Flexibility
Range of motion
Reflexes
Improves expansion and contraction of the arteries
We have touched on the importance of balance and flexibility in previous articles, and the importance of acting now in order to ensure that we are flexible later. We should think of our bodies as our ‘flexible friends’! In fact Tai Chi is thought to be so beneficial in this respect – with claims that regular activity such as Tai Chi can help reduce falls in the elderly by 45%, some residential care homes much like Amherst House care home in Horley, are now building Tai Chi into their weekly programmes. Due to the seemingly gentle nature of the exercise Tai Chi is also used in many rehabilitation programmes.
The history of Tai Chi goes back more than 2000 years with its roots in Yin and Yang. According to the Tai Chi Union for Great Britain, Tai Chi promotes the flow of ‘Qi’ energy through meridians or pathways through the body, assisting the free flow of energy, aiding relaxation and reducing stress.
Stress in the body is a key contributor to premature ageing. Tension and stress contribute to many health conditions and Tai Chi is an excellent way to combat the stresses and strains of modern life as it concentrates both the mind and the body in its movements.
As Tai Chi does not place a strain on bones or joints it is an excellent form of exercise at every age.
A fabulous alternative to the gym!
Original article and pictures take para.llel.us site
Tai Chi Chuan or any Tai Chi is a type of Kung Fu so at some depth it’s a martial art, but it’s also more than that. It’s a healing art, and a meditation in itself that can help one’s balance. It provides a tangible mind/body/spirit connection, as well as a deeper connection with one’s surroundings. It can do wonders for the ailed as well as athletes of all types. It’s also a folk dance (the only way I can fake the ability to dance is by repeating Tai Chi moves).
Tai Chi is a physical art that betters one’s well-being and it’s also a metaphysical art that provides a way to cultivate energy. Tai Chi is all about developing grounding and rooting. Since it is done standing and walking, the meditative nature of Tai Chi is highly applicable and transferable to the rest of our day as we walk and stand around others.
There are four main forms of Tai Chi: Chen, Sun, Yang and Wu and there are many different styles within each. No matter how different they are, each contain some of the same practices and entirely the same theories.
In Tai Chi, there is not one superior type of posturing, there are only more dedicated practitioners. The interesting thing about Tai Chi, as opposed to practically everything in the postmodern world, is as long as you keep in mind certain concepts you can’t do it wrong, you can only refine it. In this way there is constant potential to learn more from the same movement.
In Tai Chi a couple movements are just variations of yoga's warrior poses, only done with less of a deep stretch. And in the form I practice there are a couple of movements that involve brushing oneself, tapping certain body parts and even adding a moderate stomp. In Tai Chi, there is infinite variation and change is good. Being flexible and accepting of new ways to do things and new forms to do is a big lesson. It’s said that in the long form there is a variation of every movement possible and there is definitely a reflection of every martial art, healing and internal art.
The Benefits of Bone Tapping
One of the simplest healing arts, a primal uncle of Tai Chi as I was taught, is called bone tapping. Bone tapping is about healing yourself using your own touch. Because grounding is so important and because so few people do actually ground, the following procedure is both a grounding and healing series:
Using any part of your hands and fists begin to tap yourself. Begin with your calves and shins, the harder the better, but keep it reasonable. Exhale as you tap throughout the series, and definitely as you begin tapping the abdomen. Breathe out the tension, do not tense up. Bone tapping is primal, like the instinct to walk around after getting slightly hurt.
Hit the sides of the calves, the backs and even knock on the shins and/or rub them downward. Hitting the back of the knees is said to stop varicose vein formation. Even though it’s called bone tapping, one begins by and primarily taps next to the bones. The basic premise is that this sends vibration father and deeper, and vibration eliminates tension and inflammation, preventing all sorts of distress and disease. Continue up to include the thighs and legs all over. Proceed to the coccyx and the lower back, then the front equivalent and continue upwards tapping the chest, back, shoulders, arms, neck, chin and head all the way to the crown of your head. Then, and this was and is considered a moderate secret, end by tapping the softest bones of the body, the clavicles or collar bones.
Global Meditation for Peace
Tai Chi Chuan and Yoga are not only intimately related, but sourced from the same vein. We can trace practically all martial arts and internal arts back to or back through India. Since all meditative movement originates from the same place, let’s all come together in a meditation for peace and unity of humanity. If every meditator, if every yoga practitioner, and Tai Chi and Chi Gung practitioner all perform their practice out in the open for all to see maybe we can raise awareness of our healing, meditative and intuitive movements. Maybe we can share an idea or movement with someone (like on how to properly tap your body to heal for instance) that might help them! In this way we can change things. So today, bust out your form, or rock some sun salutations, or meditate in a place you normally would not and see what happens.
Ethan Indigo Smith is an author, philosopher and yoga practitioner. He currently resides in Tahoe City, California where he writes, snowboards and teaches yoga. He first learned chi gung in Canada after hurting himself on a snowboard trip and has been practicing meditative movement of some sort ever since. For many years he practiced chi gung, bone tapping and tai chi, he learned predominantly from Sam Edwards of Eureka Productions. He began integrating many systems towards refining his snowboarding. A practitioner friend, from a family of practitioners and body workers, introduced Ethan to The Five Tibetan Rites of Rejuvenation, which he has been practicing for eighteen years. He currently practices in the Tahoe area and teaches Tibetan Fusion at Mountain Lotus Yoga Studio, a fusion of chi gung, asanas, and the Five Tibetan Rites of Rejuvenation. Recently Ethan has been developing his meditation practice, learning Buddhist meditations from Khenpo Ugyen Wangchuk, and grounding meditations from The Reno Psychic Institute and Christian Michael Steele. Ethan has written several books, including a metaphilosophy titled The Matrix of Four, The Philosophy of The Duality of Polarity, which looks at individual and collective consciousness and the idea of the righteous rebel. He also wrote 108 Steps to Be in The Zone, a look at the numerical significance of 108, related meditative movements and many helpful concepts. He also wrote Tibetan Fusion on the combination of chi gung, the Five Tibetan Rites and meditation. He recently finished The Little Green Book of Revolution, in which he explores Native American Indian culture vis–à–vis the pollution and politics of the postmodern world. Facebook: Ethan Indigo Smith
Original article and pictures take www.gaia.com site
