Pearls of Wisdom

By Judith Horstman

With slow movements as fluid as silk, the gentle Chinese practice of Tai Chi seems tailor-made for easing sore joints and muscles.

Every day, in community centers, parks, gyms and living rooms across America, people are practicing tai chi. As they move together through a series of slow and synchronized postures, it may look as though they are performing some kind of dance.

What they are actually doing is an ancient Chinese practice designed to exercise body, mind and spirit. As they move through tai chi postures, they are gently working muscles, focusing concentration, and, according to Chinese philosophy, improving the flow of “Qi ,” the vital life energy that sustains health and calms the mind. (Qi is pronounced “chee,” and is often spelled “chi.”)

In China, where tai chi has been practiced for some 600 years, tai chi isn’t just a feel-good workout: it’s therapy, a preventive measure and a remedy for almost every ailment, including arthritis.

Along with other Chinese imports, such as acupuncture and herbs, tai chi is becoming popular in the West. It appeals to people of all ages because it’s not intimidating. Seniors particularly like tai chi because the slow, synchronized movements are easy to learn and to perform.

Once scarce, classes can now be found through YMCAs, some churches, community centers, karate schools and even through some health maintenance organizations. Tai chi is taught at some summer camps for children with juvenile arthritis. In Australia, a tai chi program designed especially for people with arthritis is supported and taught by the Arthritis Foundation of Australia.

Doctors recommend tai chi for people with a variety of musculoskeletal conditions because it improves flexibility and builds muscle strength gradually.

“There’s no doubt that tai chi, done properly, can be a beneficial exercise for people with arthritis,” says Paul Lam, MD, a Sydney-based family practitioner and tai chi master who designed the Australian arthritis program.

Martin Lee, a tai chi authority and author of many books who has directed classes for years, says he has seen many people’s overall health improve as they do tai chi. “Tai chi relieves stress,” he says. “It can be very healing.”

Tai chi is an exercise almost anyone who can walk can do safely, says Dr. Lam, who began doing tai chi nearly 30 years ago for his own osteoarthritis. Tai chi takes the joints gently through their range of motion, he says, while the emphasis on breathing and inner stillness relieves stress and anxiety. Classes are inexpensive, and it can be practiced almost anywhere at any time, with no special equipment or clothing.

Peter Stein, MD, a Greenbrae, Calif., rheumatologist, says he finds tai chi especially good for people with fibromyalgia and those with a high level of muscle pain. “People in pain often can’t even do yoga,” he says. “They need something milder and more soothing, and tai chi is very good for relieving pain.”

Philip Mease, MD, a Seattle rheumatologist, says people who say they don’t like exercise enjoy and stick to tai chi. “When people enjoy it, they are more likely to continue to exercise alone, or in a group, which I think is more fun,” he says.

Meditation in Motion
Tai chi, with its focus on breathing and flowing gestures, is often described as “meditation in motion. “It emerged sometime between the 1300s and 1600s in China. Some say it was developed by monks, others by a retired general. They agree its ancient roots are in the martial arts, but tai chi movements are never aggressive. They are based on shifting body weight through a series of light, controlled movements that flow rhythmically together into one long, graceful gesture. The sequences have poetic names, such as “waving hand in the cloud” or “pushing the mountain”, and can be quite beautiful to an observer.

Tai chi movements are intended to balance the flow of Qi in mind as well as body. They use the whole body and are performed slowly, with concentration on breathing and inner stillness.

The concept of Qi is at the heart of tai chi. In Chinese medicine, it’s believed that disease is due to blocks or imbalances in the flow of Qi . Chinese use acupuncture, herbs and tai chi in the belief they can help balance the flow of Qi to cure illness and maintain health.

Most Western doctors question the concept of Qi , since it hasn’t been scientifically proven to exist or to aid health and healing. Nevertheless, some physicians who treat the elderly or those with musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis have been impressed by how tai chi improves pain, range of motion and physical balance.

See Part 2 for the rest of the article

Tags: Tai Chi in San Diego

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 at 3:23 pm and is filed under Health & Fitness, Tai Chi & Qigong. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.