How T'ai Chi Can Make Your Genes Healthier!

Decades after the European famine during the Second World War, when researchers analyzed Dutch medical records, they could spot the effects of prenatal exposure to famine. In 1944 people in Holland experienced severe hunger. On average, they consumed only around 500 calories per day. Thousands of children were born underweight, and more than 20.000 people died of malnutrition. Children who survived the famine were more prone to developing health problems even 20 and more years later. Children of those children — born decades later in a well-developed country — were still significantly underweight. Scientists were amazed. It looked like the DNA of the famine victims, and their children's DNA got “scarred”.

It is still being researched how, but science has proven we can affect our and our descendants' lives with good or bad habits. The relatively new medical field called epigenetics has shown that you are not only what you eat or drink; you are also how much your mother worked out or loved you, your father's stress and your grandfather's beer and tobacco.

Can T'ai Chi Change Genes?

T'ai Chi Ch'uan — in English speaking areas often shortened to T'ai Chi or Thai Chi — is a Chinese martial art based on mild and calming moves known to promote energy flow throughout the body. This is the main reason T'ai Chi has become popular all over the world as a form of recreation and an exercise to achieve longevity. Its practice and theory evolved together with several Chinese philosophical movements like Taoism and Confucianism, and that's why Taoists call it “the elixir of youth”. Some medical institutions use this mind-body discipline as a therapy to heal many diseases.

Much of a person is involved and recruited in every movement, and that's why this discipline is considered to be a symphony of perception, consciousness and sensations. It is extremely exciting, while at the same time very relaxing. T'ai Chi challenges your predetermined ways of being, your mind, physical self, and relationships with others. So as other sports, it promotes growth. But unlike the majority of sports, the most important use of T'ai Chi is for health purposes. It reaches deep inside and allows stripping away a person's armoring, and opens up all the closed places of our being. The basic philosophy of T'ai Chi is to help open ourselves and become more powerful. It might be paradoxical, but it's proven to work.

READ Tai Chi: When Martial Art Is Used To Fight Stress And Embrace Life

Epigenetic Changes Related To T'ai Chi Practice

A T'ai Chi practice group from the 2012 study has also shown significantly slower methylation changes related to aging, meaning that T'ai Chi may be associated with some beneficial epigenetic changes.

So, what is Epigenetics and how it can influence changes in our genes?

Epigenetics is a relatively new medical field offering explanations on how exposure to toxins, stress, our diets, or even the amount of love we receive in our lives might subtly alter the genes we pass on to our children. It is the study of biological processes and mechanisms which are able to switch genes. Chemicals known as epigenetic marks offer some basic instructions to our genes, telling them when to switch on or off. All our cells are made of the same DNA. Epigenetic marks help to silence certain gene sequences and activate the others. If these marks don't work properly, gene mutations can occur. Things like diet and exercise can activate or shut down these marks. This is why someone gets cancer or passes an illness down to their offspring.

When compared to other forms of exercise, T'ai Chi showed better results. It is still unknown how exactly T'ai Chi can influence these positive changes, but it is most likely due to integrated holistic combination of psychological and physiological aspects. It is considered to impart its benefits on a molecular well-being of the cells.

T'ai Chi And Insomnia

The majority of those who suffer insomnia take some prescription drugs to help them sleep better. Over the years, many studies have shown side effects of prolonged usage of these drugs. More and more people are converting to natural solutions to battle their insomnia, mostly with yoga or T'ai Chi.

The Eastern discipline is not only helpful to older people. A study published in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care conducted on middle school children combined T'ai Chi and an educational program on stress reduction. This study on teenagers lasted five weeks, and after this time, the participants stated that they experienced relaxation, calmness, increased self-awareness, better sleep, and less reactivity. This study offered hope that all ages can benefit from T'ai Chi regarding sleep management and the overall well-being.

READ Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) To Relieve Stress

T'ai Chi's ability to influence our genes is something of a great importance. While research has shown it is a fact that T'ai Chi is able to benefit to sleep disorders, issues like fibromyalgia or heart disease, it is still unknown in which way exactly. In the following years, we will have more information, as epigenetic changes — and the widespread benefits of this calming discipline — are yet to be discovered. So far, many studies have shown T'ai Chi is able to influence the whole body.

T'ai Chi is relaxation and exercise combined. Learning its techniques is a great opportunity to cultivate Chi, your body's internal energy, circulate it and use it for numerous health benefits.