More About Tai Chi …
For a full article about the benefits of tai chi—building, maintaining core strength and health for the long-term—please subscribe to the spring/summer issue of The Ginkgo Leaf. Below you will find a series of short explications about tai chi by Mark Carletti, PhD. Mark is a 25-year practitioner and teacher of tai chi, the lead instructor at DSMA (Somerville, MA). For more information, please go to: www.davissquaremartialarts.com.
A Foundation for Living Actively, Mindfully
Tai chi is very much a foundation for everything that you do on a daily basis. Regular practice will help you breath, stand and walk better. It will help you deepen your self awareness and sensitivity, be more aware of yourself and others around you. The developed internal calmness, patience and self assuredness will help you look at day-to-day life with less stress and anxiety. Overall, practicing tai chi can help your body function and work better, which in turn, has a healing effect on the entire body.
Listening to your Body and Practicing Tai Chi to De-Stress the Body
The first thing that tai chi teaches is not to take our bodies for granted; that is, to be mindful of our bodies—to be aware of our bodies. In order to practice tai chi well, being fully present in the moment is important. To achieve this might seem difficult at first. But with each movement, each step, you are being asked to feel the action itself. For instance, when your foot lands on the ground, which part of your foot landed first? Where was the weight? How did your right or left shoulder feel? These are actions that many of us take for granted and don’t put much thought into at all. However, practicing tai chi over time will help you learn to use your breath; to soften your body when your foot touches the ground; and to relax your shoulders, too. Practicing tai chi regularly actually de-stresses your body, sharpens your focus as well as awareness.
Breathing, Meditating, Moving to Relax the Body
The practice of tai chi is known to reduce stress in the body. Because tai chi itself is a moving meditation—a combination of breath work and meditation, either of which, on their own, has similar benefits to reduce stress. Practicing tai chi will help you understand your breath patterns, and consciously gain better control over them. Breathing then becomes more of a strategy to change your breath for a particular desired outcome. For instance, abdominal breathing, moving the diaphragm down as the belly extends, counteracts your body’s fight-or-flight mechanism. It elicits a relaxation response from the body, which lowers stress levels. In addition, tai chi (or any martial art form) is in part a mental escape, allowing the individual to ‘take a break’, to step away and return from practice with a fresher perspective. Moreover, to be a participant in a tai chi class offers an individual the opportunity to learn something new and set goals for learning. Furthermore, the added benefit of being in a class is socialization, to laugh with and enjoy the company of others while doing something impactful on your health.
Building and Storing Energy
The first step towards getting the most out of tai chi is to practice regularly. Consistency with tai chi practice strengthens and builds energy and stamina in the body. Also, regular practice with proper breathing teaches you to be more efficient with the expenditure of your energy. In other words, learning how best to use energy in each movement in order to conserve energy rather than waste it. You start to listen to your body; to understand and know when it is time to rest. Thus you are able to avoid depleting energy and help your body build chi—which makes your body healthier and more balanced.
Tai Chi’s Impact on Health
Active learning, such as learning new things, stimulates brain growth. Many studies have shown this to have profound effects on the neural networks of the brain. When practicing tai chi, you are asked to learn, and in some cases to re-learn, your body. Therefore, regardless of age, physicality or motor abilities, anyone can benefit and increase their wellness (their health status) from practicing tai chi. For example, one student may be working on fundamental motor skills, developing a more stable stance; while another may be learning to lift a shoulder in balance, in correct alignment, with the rest of the body. Tai chi’s impact on health multiplies as you learn (and re-learn) whole-body balance alongside brain stimulation and mindful breathing.
Lasting Benefits of Tai Chi
The beauty of tai chi is that it doesn’t turn off after a class. Once you’ve learned ‘the feel’ of correct posture and balance, you’ll notice when your body is out of alignment or imbalanced. In fact, when this happens, you’ll start correcting yourself—adjusting your posture, sitting more upright and standing straighter without locking your legs. You’ll start to notice when you are holding your breath or tensing your shoulders and neck for no apparent reason. You’ll continue to develop your sensitivity to how you feel internally, to grow your body awareness. You’ll become cognizant of others’ energies around you and how you manifest your own energy outwardly. These are the very lasting benefits of tai chi!
