Fluid Movements for Health and Happiness
By T.A. Sloane
Tai chi chuan is a style of kung fu that consists of fluid, graceful
standing movements. Often called the "moving meditation," it
emphasizes softness over hardness, a concern with things internal
rather than external, yielding over confrontation.
Practiced for centuries in China, tai chi (pronounced "tie jee") has
evolved into a system of about 100 movements to circulate chi, the
body's internal energy. The Chinese Taoists believed that stagnation
was the cause of disease and aging. Nature moves unceasingly, and
tai chi prevents stagnation.
Significant Health Benefits
Though known more for promoting inner healing and relaxation than
aerobic power, tai chi lowers blood pressure almost as well as moderate-
intensity aerobics, according to results of a Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine study presented in 1998. A review in the July 1997
issue of the Harvard Health Letter noted that tai chi reduces some stress
hormones and by conferring improved muscle strength-particularly in
the lower body-lowers the risk of falling (the leading cause of death by
injury in seniors).
Looks Simple but Requires Year of Training
The series of standing, graceful postures are meant to move chi smoothly
throughout the body. The postures stimulate or sedate, as necessary, the
energy channels, or meridians, which influence the various organs. Each
movement is clearly defined by a specific alignment of the body and
balance. Yet, like a slow-moving river, the motion never stops.
Although the slow, supple moves look simple, they require intense control, concentration and energy developed over months and years of training.
A variety of tai chi styles have evolved, including the Yin and Yang styles
(more about that later) and the Chen, Wu and Sun schools. Each style
includes numerous "forms"-combinations of stances that flow
continuously into one another. All stances and breathing, in turn,
originate from the center of the body, which is the tan t'ien (pronounced
"dantian"), about two inches below the navel.
Because there are so many styles of tai chi and so many organizations
that offer instruction, it is hard to track specifically how many people
practice it in the United States. But as more Americans become
disenchanted with traditional medicine and the impersonal aspects of
managed care, they're turning to tai chi and other practices that treat
the body as a whole, not merely the physical symptoms.
Movements Reflect the Circular Motions of the Universe
According to Dr. Effie Chow of the East West Academy for Healing
Arts in San Francisco, the teachings of tai chi chuan are derived from
the complementary relationship between yin and yang, two fundamental
forces that some people believe create and harmonize the universe by
their interaction.
"Yin and yang is the underlying principle of Chinese medicine and
Chinese philosophy," she notes. "It is the also the underlying principle
of tai chi. For example, reaching out is yang, the coming into the center
is yin. The external self is yang; the internal self is yin. It's a balance of
nature, the dual polarities that keep nature balanced, and without it there's
havoc, chaos, and illness and destruction."
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