{"id":5983,"date":"2019-09-20T02:00:42","date_gmt":"2019-09-20T06:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dontow.com\/?p=5983"},"modified":"2019-09-20T21:52:47","modified_gmt":"2019-09-21T01:52:47","slug":"trying-to-understand-why-taiji-has-so-many-health-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.dontow.com\/2019\/09\/trying-to-understand-why-taiji-has-so-many-health-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Trying to Understand Why Taiji Has So Many Health Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Modern medical\/scientific research in the last 25 years have shown that practicing Taiji can give rise to a variety of health benefits. These benefits include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The author recently published an article summarizing the health benefits of Taiji based on these modern medical\/scientific research. [1] The present article extracts the part of that published article on why Taiji can give rise to such benefits. After we discuss the fundamental principles of Taiji, then we will discuss how these fundamental principles can give rise to various health benefits..<\/p>\n
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Fundamental Principles of Taiji:<\/strong> There are several fundamental principles of Taiji:<\/p>\n Applying These Fundamental Principles:<\/strong><\/p>\n Principle 1: Good Posture:<\/strong> Keeping the upper body straight as in Principle 1 means that the weight of the whole back is firmly supported by the pelvic structure and the legs, and avoids putting any unnecessary stress on any part of the upper body. This is similar to the usual suggestion that when we sit, we should sit upright. Separating your two feet also as in Principle 1 provides a firmer foundation because as long as your center of gravity is between your two lines of feet support, you will not fall. Good posture also means to keep a low stance, because that strengthens your leg muscles. That is why to a certain extent, the lower the stance, the more health benefit the Taiji exercise will bring. <\/p>\n Principle 2: Move Body Strategically:<\/strong> Rotate your waist as much as possible means that you are constantly exercising and strengthening your muscles on both sides of your spine. Doing the cat step means that you have firmer support since the heel provides much stronger support than the toes. This also maximizes the force of your hand strike because when you are stepping down on your toes, your foot and body also move forward as your hand strikes your opponent.<\/p>\n Principle 3: Deflect, Supplement, and Constantly Change Direction: <\/strong> When your opponent tries to punch you, you don\u2019t resist that force head on; otherwise, the stronger person will win. Instead, you deflect that force with a small force perpendicular to the incoming force and also supplementing with a force along the direction\n
change direction.<\/li>\n
Breathing.<\/li>\n
of the incoming force. This uses the principle of \u201cfour ounces can deflect a thousand pounds.\u201d This could cause the opponent to lose balance, and the opponent will pull back. Then you also reverse direction and apply a strong force in the new direction. This means that you are constantly changing directions and changing between defending and attacking, as in the Taiji symbol.<\/p>\n