Benefits of Tai Chi

Gentle Tai Chi incorporates gentle simple movement with the breath to:

Promote relaxation

Slow, flowing movements
- Slow, rhythmic movements activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps to calm the body and reduce stress hormones.
Deep breathing
- Deep, rhythmic breathing further enhances relaxation by slowing the heart rate and blood pressure.
Mindful focus
- Mindfulness, helps individuals detach from negative thoughts and emotions, leading to a sense of calmness and inner peace.

Gentle Tai Chi promotes relaxation which helps relieve stress and can help lower blood pressure.

Promote Relaxation

Improve balance and posture

Slow, controlled movements
- The slow, deliberate nature of Tai Chi movements allows for greater focus on body position and weight distribution, improving proprioception – the body's awareness of its position in space.
- Slow movement enhances muscle strength, especially in the legs, a key ingredient for good balance.
- Slow movements strengthen the muscles responsible for posture, leading to better alignment and stability, which are crucial for maintaining balance.
Weight shifting
- Tai Chi movements involve shifting weight back and forth from leg to leg which helps to train the body to adjust to changing balance conditions.
Focus on vertical alignment
- Tai Chi’s approach to good posture centers around a principle of verticality; the head is centered over the shoulders and torso, the torso rests over the hips, and the hips are centered over the legs and feet.
- Tai Chi emphasizes balancing the body in a way that minimizes muscular tension while maintaining an upright posture. The practice recommends to elongate the spine while still allowing for its natural curves.

Improve Posture

Improve Balance

Increase lung function

Coordinated breathing and body movements
- Tai Chi and qigong encourage coordination of breathing and body movements. This synchronization can enhance respiratory muscle strength and improve lung capacity.
Slow repetitive movements
- Tai Chi involves slow, repetitive movements that engage the muscles of the respiratory system, including the diaphragm and intercostal muscles. This strengthens these muscles, making it easier to breathe deeply and efficiently.
Deeper controlled breathing
- The slow, gentle movements of Tai Chi allow for deeper, more controlled breathing, improving oxygen intake and circulation

Gentle Tai Chi encourages belly breathing which fills the entire lung and not just the top third

Increase

Lung Function

Build muscle stamina

Repetitive, controlled movements
- The slow, repetitive nature of Tai Chi movements improves muscular endurance, allowing you to maintain activity for longer periods without feeling tired.
- These movements engage muscles that may be sedentary, enhancing their ability to sustain activity without fatigue.
Focus on deep breathing and controlled movements
- Tai chi's focus on deep breathing and controlled helps improve oxygen utilization in the muscles, further enhancing stamina.
Muscle Engagement
- Even though Tai Chi is a low-impact activity, it engages various muscle groups through standing postures and movements, strengthening them and improving their ability to work together.

Build

Muscle Stamina

Stimulate neural pathways in the brain

Slow, mindful movements
- The slow, mindful movements encourage focus and concentration, strengthening connections between brain regions involved in movement, mood, and cognitive functions. This, in turn, can lead to improved memory, attention, and executive function.
Mind-body connection
- Tai Chi stimulates neural pathways by promoting mind-body connection, enhancing brain plasticity (ability to change and adapt), and improving cognitive functions. Brain plasticity allows the brain to reorganize and rewire its neural connections in response to learning, experience, and injury.

Gentle Tai Chi moves introduce the brain to new or forgotten arm and hand positions and movements

Stimulate

Neural Pathways

Tai Chi Trudy

Gentle Tai Chi and Qigong

(Tie Chee)

(Chee-gung)

Benefits of Tai Chi

Gentle Tai Chi incorporates gentle simple movement with the breath to:

Promote relaxation

Slow, flowing movements

Slow, rhythmic movements activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps to calm the body and reduce stress hormones.

Deep breathing

Deep, rhythmic breathing further enhances relaxation by slowing the heart rate and blood pressure.

Mindful focus

Mindfulness, helps individuals detach from negative thoughts and emotions, leading to a sense of calmness and inner peace.

Improve balance and posture

Slow, controlled movements

The slow, deliberate nature of Tai Chi movements allows for greater focus on body position and weight distribution, improving proprioception – the body's awareness of its position in space.

Slow movement enhances muscle strength, especially in the legs, a key ingredient for good balance.

Slow movements strengthen the muscles responsible for posture, leading to better alignment and stability, which are crucial for maintaining balance.

Weight shifting

Tai Chi movements involve shifting weight back and forth from leg to leg which helps to train the body to adjust to changing balance conditions.

Increase lung function

Coordinated breathing and body movements

Tai Chi and qigong encourage coordination of breathing and body movements. This synchronization can enhance respiratory muscle strength and improve lung capacity.

Slow repetitive movements

Tai Chi involves slow, repetitive movements that engage the muscles of the respiratory system, including the diaphragm and intercostal muscles. This strengthens these muscles, making it easier to breathe deeply and efficiently.

Deeper controlled breathing

The slow, gentle movements of Tai Chi allow for deeper, more controlled breathing, improving oxygen intake and circulation

Build muscle stamina

Repetitive, controlled movements

The slow, repetitive nature of Tai Chi movements improves muscular endurance, allowing you to maintain activity for longer periods without feeling tired.

These movements engage muscles that may be sedentary, enhancing their ability to sustain activity without fatigue.

Focus on deep breathing and controlled movements

Tai chi's focus on deep breathing and controlled helps improve oxygen utilization in the muscles, further enhancing stamina.

Stimulate neural pathways in the brain

Slow, mindful movements

The slow, mindful movements encourage focus and concentration, strengthening connections between brain regions involved in movement, mood, and cognitive functions. This, in turn, can lead to improved memory, attention, and executive function.

Mind-body connection

Tai Chi stimulates neural pathways by promoting mind-body connection, enhancing brain plasticity (ability to change and adapt), and improving cognitive functions. Brain plasticity allows the brain to reorganize and rewire its neural connections in response to learning, experience, and injury.

(Tie Chee)

(Chee-gung)

Benefits of Tai Chi

Gentle Tai Chi incorporates gentle simple movement with the breath to:

​​Promote relaxation

Slow, flowing movements

Slow, rhythmic movements activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps to calm the body and reduce stress hormones.​

Deep breathing

Deep, rhythmic breathing further enhances relaxation by slowing the heart rate and blood pressure​.

Mindful focus

​Mindfulness, helps individuals detach from negative thoughts and emotions, leading to a sense of calmness and inner peace. ​

​​​

​​​​​​Improve balance​ and posture

Slow, controlled movements

The slow, deliberate nature of Tai Chi movements allows for greater focus on body position and weight distribution, improving proprioception – the body's awareness of its position in space.

Slow movement enhances muscle strength, especially in the legs, a key ingredient for good balance.

Slow movements strengthen the muscles responsible for posture, leading to better alignment and stability, which are crucial for maintaining balance.

Weight shifting

Tai Chi movements involve shifting weight back and forth from leg to leg which helps to train the body to adjust to changing balance conditions. ​​​

​​​​​Increase lung function

Coordinated breathing and body movements

Tai Chi and qigong encourage coordination of breathing and body movements. This synchronization can enhance respiratory muscle strength and improve lung capacity.

Slow repetitive movements​

Tai Chi involves slow, repetitive movements that engage the muscles of the respiratory system, including the diaphragm and intercostal muscles. This strengthens these muscles, making it easier to breathe deeply and efficiently.

Deeper controlled breathing​

The slow, gentle movements of Tai Chi allow for deeper, more controlled breathing, improving oxygen intake and circulation​

​​​​​

​​Build muscle stamina

Repetitive, controlled movements​

The slow, repetitive nature of Tai Chi movements improves muscular endurance, allowing you to maintain activity for longer periods without feeling tired.

These movements engage muscles that may be sedentary, enhancing their ability to sustain activity without fatigue.

​Focus on deep breathing and controlled movements

Tai chi's focus on deep breathing and controlled helps improve oxygen utilization in the muscles, further enhancing stamina. ​

​​​​Stimulate neural pathways in the brain

Slow, mindful movements

The slow, mindful movements encourage focus and concentration, strengthening connections between brain regions involved in movement, mood, and cognitive functions. This, in turn, can lead to improved memory, attention, and executive function.

Mind-body connection​

Tai Chi stimulates neural pathways by promoting mind-body connection, enhancing brain plasticity (ability to change and adapt), and improving cognitive functions. ​Brain plasticity allows the brain to reorganize and rewire its neural connections in response to learning, experience, and injury.

Promote relaxation

Slow, rhythmic movements activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps to calm the body and reduce stress hormones.

Deep, rhythmic breathing further enhances relaxation by slowing the heart rate and blood pressure.

Mindfulness, helps individuals detach from negative thoughts and emotions, leading to a sense of calmness and inner peace.

Improve balance and posture

Tai Chi movements involve shifting weight back and forth from leg to leg which helps to train the body to adjust to changing balance conditions.

Increase lung function

Slow repetitive movements

Deeper controlled breathing

The slow, gentle movements of Tai Chi allow for deeper, more controlled breathing, improving oxygen intake and circulation

Build muscle stamina

Repetitive, controlled movements

Focus on deep breathing and controlled movements

Tai chi's focus on deep breathing and controlled helps improve oxygen utilization in the muscles, further enhancing stamina.

Stimulate neural pathways in the brain

Mind-body connection

Tai Chi stimulates neural pathways by promoting mind-body connection, enhancing brain plasticity (ability to change and adapt), and improving cognitive functions. Brain plasticity allows the brain to reorganize and rewire its neural connections in response to learning, experience, and injury.