The Benefits Of Tai Chi

Tai Chi As An Inclusive Discipline

As a discipline that does not place too much stress on either joints or muscles and is very low impact, Tai Chi is safe for almost everyone, regardless of age, gender and physical condition. People who are pregnant, suffering from chronic back pain, have fractures, osteoporosis or a hernia should enquire about modifications that can be made for them to make teir Tai Chi experience safe, however.

Would You Benefit From Tai Chi?

Often referred to as "meditation in motion", Tai Chi may appeal to those who want to practice mindfulness while also moving. The general benefits of Tai Chi include less stress, anxiety, and depression, something that translates to feeling more comfortable within your skin and in the world at large. Despite the gentle nature of the discipline, Tai Chi does indeed offer increased stamina, strength and flexibility. You may also find that practicing Tai Chi causes you to sleep better, and leads to an improvement in your overall health.

Research suggests that Tai Chi has particular benefits for people suffering from chronic heart failure, diabetes, Parkinson's Disease, fibromyalgia, and depression. In elderly people, who are usually prone to falling, the risk of falls — which can be hard to recover from and are even fatal in some cases — is greatly reduced. 

How Tai Chi Impacts My Life

Sometimes my master talks about the history and the legends of the Yang Style tradition, and this theoretical part of learning is my favorite, because it makes me feel connected and rooted in a way few things do these days. There are some amazing, inspiring stories, about the Taoist monks observing the animals, copying and naming the positions after them, about warrior mothers of 10+ children overcoming the need to sleep, and the fattest and strongest man in China. 

But fewer and fewer students are reaching the mastery, both in the Eastern and Western population, and that must be a worry and a disappointment for the masters. With all the migrations and the merging of cultures in recent history, a lot has been lost: traditions weakened, philosophies misinterpreted, reinvented and dispersed into something new that barely fulfils its purpose any more. That’s my feeling anyway, and perhaps the reason I became interested in Tai Chi in the first place. Though I do not consider myself to be a devoted student, and I sometimes skip the class and stay in bed, I know that Tai Chi will be a constant in my life, whether I do it once a week or every day, because it improves the quality of my life and I want to achieve a little more than a glimpse of the stability and peace I observe in my master. 

He became a sort of personal hero on one occasion, about a year into my doing Tai Chi regularly. It was Christmas time, cold and wet outside, and a bunch of us were waiting for him to arrive and start the class. He was stuck in traffic somewhere and he sent a message he’d be late. We chatted, feeling mildly annoyed at the fact that the class would start later and be shorter as a result. The master arrived about 15 minutes later, apologised for being late, and started the class, all in such a calm manner that it became obvious he did not allow being stuck in traffic to have any effect on his mood and behavior! 

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It was impressive! He was able to accept it with calmness, clarity and perspective that I immediately wished I’d had. I realised just how affected I was by the fragmentation of life into tedious daily routines in which I am not present. I vowed there and then that my number one goal would be to be more like my teacher in any situation, particularly if it’s one I feel I have little or no control over. I vowed to try and not let circumstances make me restless and irritable and try and train my mind to keep things in perspective. I believe I have made progress since then, but I am still not completely free from feelings of worry and frustration if I find myself late and stuck in traffic.