What is Tai Chi?

Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese system of exercise that is both a martial art and meditative discipline. It is used to strengthen the body and quiet the mind. It balances the energy of the body with its slow and graceful movements, increasing awareness and improving health. It is practiced worldwide by people of all ages for health and longevity.

Brief History

Although Tai Chi is so very well suited to our modern world it is actually about 1200 years old. In its beginning, Tai Chi was primarily studied and practiced as a very effective form of Chinese martial arts. It is recorded that Buddhist and Taoist monks began practicing Tai Chi forms in monasteries such as the famed Shao Lin Temple. These forms were practiced to promote health and to protect and defend the monasteries from bandits and thieves. It also has roots in Traditional Chinese medicine and has been used to balance the body's energy by enhancing the flow of "chi" as it moves through energy pathways called meridians. We can trace the history from these early beginnings to the Chen family. Although Tai Chi had been cloaked in secrecy, there appeared a prominent martial artist by the name of Yang Lu Shan who perfected this style and began what we now call the "Yang Style" of Tai Chi. This family lineage continued with his sons and grandsons. One of Yang Lu Shan's grandsons, Yang Chen Fu, is largely responsible for popularizing the Yang Style and bringing it to the West. Cheng Man-Ching, who studied under Yang Chen Fu, was an exceptional practitioner who exhibited mastery of this excellent Yang Style martial art. He refined the original style to what we now refer to as the Yang Style Short form. Since Professor Cheng Man-Ching's death, senior students have continued to teach and propagate this beneficial form of Tai Chi.

Benefits

Tai Chi's benefits have been studied in China for hundreds of years. However, Western medical research is rapidly discovering what Chinese medicine has long realized. Tai Chi provides more health benefits than any other form of exercise. When practiced regularly there is wide range of benefits. It is an exercise that enables the practitioner to realize high level wellness by promoting physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. The slow, gentle and relaxing movements of Tai Chi are good for stress reduction by helping eliminate stress and its negative impact on the body. Other benefits include, but are not limited to the following:

• Boost the immune system
• Slow aging process
• Reduce anxiety, depression and emotional distress
• Lower blood pressure
• Enhance the body's natural healing ability
• Improve breathing and blood flow
• Reduce asthma and allergies
• Improve balance and coordination
• Enhance range of motion and joint mobility
• Provides low impact weight bearing exercise to promote healthy bones
• Improved digestion and elimination

Back to Tai Chi Page

DAVID N. BOLE, Ph.D., A.P. is director of the Traditional Acupuncture Center, a holistic health care facility offering a multi-dimensional approach to health and healing. Read more about Dr. Bole...