Taiji is known as a good exercise for health and a good martial art. A natural question is whether and how Taiji can be beneficial to a person’s health in the environment of the current coronavirus pandemic. This article discusses this topic.
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A person with better health is in general less likely to become susceptible to getting sick, whether the illness is due to the new coronavirus Covid-19, or some other illness. Taiji is already known to give rise to a lot of benefits for health. [1] A 2019 article [2] has shown that modern scientific research during the past 25 years or so has provided preliminary confirmations of this long-standing belief; that article also provided an explanation why Taiji can give rise to such health benefits. A brief summary of that journal article can also be found in a recent article posted in this website. [3] <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, the reasons that Taiji can give rise to all those health benefits can also be applied to why Taiji can be beneficial in preventing or overcoming any illness associated with the new coronavirus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Good health requires adequate supply of oxygen to various parts of our body. Although Taiji movements are soft and slow, Taiji is an aerobic exercise that provides oxygen and stimulates blood circulation. Taiji exercises your heart and lungs. It synchronizes with breathing, especially with lower abdominal breathing for experienced practitioners, and brings in more oxygen. Lower abdominal breathing also massages the internal organs inside your abdomen.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The fundamental principle of Taiji of relaxation can reduce stress. It is emphasized in almost every aspect of Taiji, including associated meditation exercises. Relaxation reduces anxiety, hypertension, diabetes, and ADHD. It soothes the mind, leads to better sleep quality, and reduces various bodily pains. On the one hand, it relaxes the mind, but on the other hand the mind is involved and leads the forms, and that may be why Taiji can slow down the onslaught of Alzheimer’s Disease.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another fundamental principle of Taiji is to keep your upper back straight. This guiding principle manifests all throughout the Taiji movements and results in good posture. This guiding principle together with the emphasis on keeping your feet separated by a shoulder width lead to better balance and stability.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Taiji movements, as well as various accompanying warmup exercises such as the Eight Silk Brocade [4] or the self-massaging Paida exercises [5] stretch and strengthen your muscles, tendons, and ligaments, and increase flexibility. These exercises stimulate air and blood circulation throughout your body, and also strengthen all parts of your body, thus increasing your immune system.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As a matter of fact, more than 15 years ago, Taiji was found that it can increase immunity to shingles, caused by the reactivation of the chickenpox virus (the varicella-zoster virus, or VZV). Taiji can increase a person’s immunity by as much as taking the shingles vaccine VARIVAX. Furthermore, if a person takes the VARIVAX vaccine, practicing Taiji can increase that person’s immunity even more. [2]<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n Our\n discussion in this article will focus on the reasons associated with oxygen\n and blood circulation, stress reduction, correct posture, exercising your\n muscles, tendons, and ligaments, and increased immunity.<\/strong>\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n