If you are a Tai chi beginner, it is essential to know the amazing health benefits of Tai Chi before you practice it.
Like a fine wine, we get better with age. However, our bodies seem not to have gotten the memo, and most people have to work extra hard to maintain even a sliver of the energy and agility from their youth.
One way to ensure that you are still strong and healthy at sixty, seventy or even eighty is by trying something new and exciting like Tai Chi. This traditional Chinese discipline has been known to have some pretty amazing effects on those who practice it and as a beginner, you have a whole lot of awesomeness to look forward to.
What Exactly is Tai Chi?
Before we dive into all the awesome benefits of Tai Chi, it is important to understand exactly what it is.
Tai Chi is a traditional Chinese martial art that has been practiced since the early sixteenth century. The term Tai Chi itself is an abbreviation of the actual Chinese term which when literally translated means “supreme ultimate boxing”.
As an art, Tai Chi has a number of applications with self-defense, physical exercise, and meditation being among the most common. Depending on what the purpose of your learning is, you will get to try out different styles and techniques all aimed at improving your overall well-Being In One Way or Another.
5 Amazing Benefits of Tai Chi
As an elderly person trying out Tai Chi for the first time, your aim is probably to boost your health and fitness as well as to get some form of relaxation and stress relief. Below are five rewards that you as a Tai Chi beginner have to look forward to:
1. It improves blood flow
The exercises involved in Tai Chi involve a lot of physical exertion which is bound to get you heart pumping. This significantly improves blood flow and perfusion to all organs and tissues in your body. This isn’t even the best part.
Tai Chi is a quality based exercise and not a quantity based one. This means that even with simple exercises and movements, you will get to enjoy the improved blood flow. This is great news for beginners with physical limitations including arthritis.
2. It helps alleviate stress
Over the years, Tai Chi has evolved into more of a meditation exercise than a set of fighting technique. Think of it as friendlier yoga.
This helps you relax and meditate which is a great way to get rid of stress. This way, you get to enjoy all round health with a mind that is just as healthy as the rest of the body.
3. It improves flexibility
Tai Chi is fundamentally about stretching. This helps you as the beginner develop flexibility in your bones and joints. For seniors, this comes as good news as it helps give the old bones a boost of energy and allows the person practicing to regain normal posture.
It also helps stretch muscles which prevent wasting due to lack of use.
4. It is a way to lose weight
What most people do not know is that most diseases associated with age are significantly promoted by being overweight. These include hypertension, osteoporosis, diabetes and heart failure.
Tai Chi as an exercise will help you lose weight and stay fit. This way, you won’t be exerting any unnecessary strain on the body.
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5. It comes in handy as a self-defense tool
Last but not least, learning Tai Chi will come in handy as a self-defense technique. Hopefully, you won’t have to use it.
How to Make It A Little Bit More Fun
The truth is, exercising is not always fun. However, you can make Tai Chi a lot more fun in the following three ways:
Get a partner or a team
Working out alone can be a real bore to most people. Get a friend or two to join you and you won’t believe just how much fun you will have while harvesting the benefits of tai chi.
Get some rhythm into your routine
If you are taking on Tai Chi for both the health benefits and a little fun, it wouldn’t hurt to have some music as you practice your routines. This helps give you rhythm and morale and is a great way to exercise if you can’t get a partner.
Challenge yourself
Finally, challenge yourself in order to jazz things up in your Tai Chi class. Some people have been known to include light weight training as a part of the routine.
For instance, you can push yourself by walking with weights. Get a small pair of dumbbells to swing around as you do your long whip practice or whichever other technique. You won’t regret it.
Sources
- www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-health-benefits-of-tai-chi
- www.beginnerstaichi.com
- www.taichiforhealthinstitute.org/programs/tai-chi-for-beginners/
Hope you are now familiar with the health benefits of tai chi. Follow it and have a healthy life.
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