Taiji and Health
2007-04-R4
(Copyrighted 2007
by Don M. Tow)
Taiji (also commonly known as Tai Chi or Taijiquan)
was invented several hundred years ago in
Although the Taiji movements are not necessarily easy to learn and remember,
they can definitely be learned and remembered by even senior citizens if
they satisfy three requirements:
There are three components of Taiji:
Movement, meditation, and deep breathing.
All the major muscle groups are utilized in
executing the gentle, slow movements of Taiji.
These movements can improve strength,
flexibility, coordination, and muscle tone.
The meditation aspect of Taiji involves
concentration, relaxation, and using the mind to lead the movements.
It frees the mind from worries and anxieties,
relaxes the mind and body, but at the same time enhances concentration, and
contributes to cerebral activities.
The deep breathing aspect releases tension,
facilitates blood circulation and increases oxygen supply to various parts
of the body (for a more detailed description of breathing and Taiji, see the
article “Breathing and Taijiquan”
(in
the "Archived-Taiji" page).
In recent years, there have been more and more
scientific and medical researches that have found evidence for the health
benefits of Taiji.
For example, the January 2007 issue of the
Newsletter of the Pacific College of Medicine (http://www.pacificcollege.edu/eZine/2007/jan/index.html)
stated that “in a recent study in
Annals of
Behavioral Medicine, researchers concluded
that the movements associated with Tai Chi helped seniors improve their
physical functioning.
Study participants who took Tai Chi twice a
week for a 6 month period noticed a significant improvement in their ability
to accomplish daily tasks such as carrying groceries, walking up stairs, or
moving medium-sized objects.
…
Those who took Tai Chi were less likely to fall
– one of the largest causes of serious injury for seniors.”
Another recent study was reported in a 3/23/2007
Reuters article (http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/news-33454-66.html).
It reports on a study led by Professor Michael
Irwin, from the
The article also said “Shingles is caused by the
varicella zoster virus.
People who had chicken pox as children are
susceptible to shingles.
About one third of adults over 60 years old
will suffer from shingles.
The virus can remain dormant in the body and as
the immune system weakens with age it may cause shingles, which can be very
painful and usually lasts three to five weeks.”
It also quoted Professor Irwin “These are
exciting findings, because the positive results of this study also have
implications for other infectious diseases like influenza and pneumonia.”
Results of this study have been published in
the April 2007 issue of the American Geriatrics Society.
There are many different sets of Taiji exercises that
one can practice.
Some are easier to learn than others.
It is also possible to formulate a simplified
set of Taiji exercises that can be considered as a set of warm-up exercises
before doing the more traditional Taiji sets, such as the Simplified Yang
Style 24 Form or the Mixed Style 42 Form.
Alternatively, such simplified set of Taiji
exercises can also be considered to be a complete set of exercises
themselves.
I can speak from experience that I have
formulated a set of seven simple Taiji-like exercises that can be performed
in as little as 10-15 minutes (the time duration depends on the number of
repetitions) and that I have successfully taught my 94-year-old
mother-in-law in a few short lessons.
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