One of the ancient martial arts practiced by the Chinese is T’ai chi ch’uan. By practicing this, you develop a specific type of bodily awareness. Tutors tell you that you need to focus on the strength of the Earth and the ch’i of the heavens, centring on your fundamental posture, breathing and specific exercises as you eliminate all the tension and stress from your body.

T’ai chi for beginners starts with an understanding of how your powerful mind dictates everything that happens to your body. You will learn how important it is to adopt the correct posture and the right type of breathing – slow, deep and natural and breathing that comes from the abdomen. Most of us tend to believe that we breathe deeply by using the chest, but you’ll need to focus on rhythmic breathing using the abdomen instead. When you do so you are using the diaphragm correctly and focusing on longer and deeper breaths, thereby increasing the oxygen supply and benefiting all your internal organs. As you do so, you will be taught to turn your waist slowly while you maintain a grounded posture. By doing this you will stretch and lengthen the important, core muscles giving you enhanced strength and resilience.

T’ai chi also teaches you to use your hands and arms in a specific way pushing gently but slowly. By doing this, you are helping to redirect unnatural forces, pressures and any perceived threats. You are creating a cooperative environment that will enable you to remain calm and relaxed. As you do this more and more you will find that you’re able to redirect negative energy and relieve pressure like never before.

It has been proven time and again that t’ai chi will work wonders when it comes to weight loss. You might not think that this is possible, as there don’t appear to be any active exercises or intense cardiovascular actions associated with the method. Remember that you are helping to relieve a considerable amount of stress by creating a much more palatable mindset. When you do this, you are less likely to react to stress and pressure by turning to too much food. You’ll also be able to interact with others on a far more positive and friendly basis as you push more and more of that negative energy away.

T’ai chi for beginners can be enjoyed with others as a great social activity and when practiced correctly can be a great deal of fun, as well.

The researchers, led by Dr. Arnaud Dechamps, looked at 21 obese women who didn’t normally engage in any form of physical activity. They randomized half of the women to a t’ai chi program, and the other half to a standard exercise program. Both groups exercised two hours per week.

The results, published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, show that, after just ten weeks, not only were the women in the t’ai chi group less fat, their blood pressure had decreased, and their mood had improved significantly. The researchers also found that the beneficial effects of t’ai chi were all but temporary. They lasted a considerable six months after the end of the last t’ai chi session.

The weight-loss effects of t’ai chi are not limited to obese people. They extend to anyone who wants to lose weight the healthy way. The journal Work reports, for example, that, in one Canadian study, 52 people who participated in a 12-week t’ai chi program successfully lost weight, as demonstrated by significant reductions in their waist circumference.

The group consisted of employees working long hours at the computer, one of the categories at high risk of overweight. The employees were asked by the researchers – of York University in Toronto – to practice t’ai chi twice a week. Each session lasted 50 minutes. As in the French study, the beneficial effects of t’ai chi went above and beyond weight loss. The most significant additional benefit was an improvement in heart function.

So, how can t’ai chi help people lose weight? For one thing, despite common belief, we do burn calories when we practice t’ai chi. T’ai chi may not be a strenuous form of physical activity, but our body uses up to 300 calories per hour when we do it.

Another reason why t’ai chi facilitates weight loss has to do with its stress-relief properties. Research shows that we tend to eat more when we are stressed. We also tend to eat the wrong food. A study by Leeds University researchers found, for example, that we are more likely to choose high calorie food and drinks when we are under stress. By reducing our levels of stress, t’ai chi reduces also our tendency to eat more than we need and unhealthily.

There is overwhelming scientific evidence that losing excess weight is important for many reasons. It makes us feel good about ourselves, increases our self-confidence, and reduces our risk of developing serious health problems associated with overweight and obesity, like diabetes and heart disease.

Used as part of a healthy lifestyle, t’ai chi can help us lose those extra pounds and – keep them off!

Improved school performance

An increasing number of primary and secondary schools around the UK offers T’ai Chi classes to pupils as young as five. And both instructors and teachers are finding that this has positive effects, not only on the children’s physical abilities, but also on their intellectual and social skills. After T’ai Chi, children tend to have improved classroom behavior, are better able to concentrate, and achieve considerably higher exam results.

Major health benefits

There is also scientific evidence that practicing T’ai Chi regularly results in important health benefits for children. A new study, published last month in the journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, found this is true, in particular, for two of the most common medical conditions in children: asthma and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The study looked at the research conducted to date on T’ai Chi in children. The research on ADHD, which is characterized by impulsivity and inability to concentrate, showed significant improvements in children who attended 30-minute T’ai Chi classes, twice a week for five weeks. “After the 10 Tai Chi sessions the adolescents displayed less anxiety, daydreaming behaviors, inappropriate emotions and hyperactivity,” says Dr. Tiffany Field, of the University of Miami. And these changes persisted for two weeks after the last T’ai Chi class.

The research on asthma showed improvements in children who participated in 40-minute T’ai Chi classes, held three times a week for twelve weeks. Comparisons between asthmatic children who did and did not practice T’ai Chi have found that the latter have fewer symptoms.

The message from the research and those who work with younger people is clear. T’ai Chi is a simple, and yet effective, way to improve the quality of life of our children. It is worth considering.

According to a randomized controlled study – the gold standard for assessing the effectiveness of any therapy – practicing T’ai Chi regularly can reduce the pain we experience during a tension headache. It can also improve our energy levels and the way we interact with others, making our life significantly better.

Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles invited a group of 21 adults aged 20 to 65 suffering from tension headaches to participate in a T’ai Chi program. T’ai Chi classes lasted one hour and were held in a local park, twice a week for 15 weeks. They were aimed at teaching participants the most popular and widely practiced form of T’ai Chi: the Yang style short form.

At the end of the program, the researchers compared the T’ai Chi group with an age-matched group of adults, also suffering from tension headaches, who did not practice T’ai Chi. They found that the T’ai Chi group had significantly less pain and enjoyed a better quality of life, as a result of increased vitality, enhanced physical functioning and improved interactions with other people.

“Tension-type headaches… represent approximately 78% of all headaches… and are often the result of temporary stress, anxiety, fatigue or anger,” says Dr. Ka-Kit Hui, who led the study, published in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. These findings provide evidence that people with tension headache can benefit from T’ai Chi.

Not only that. T’ai Chi also offers important advantages over pain medications. “Virtually all pharmaceutical-based interventions include some risk… of side-effects or complications, particularly over a long-term course of use” Hui says. Acetaminophen, for example, can cause liver damage. Ibuprofen has been associated with gastrointestinal ulcers and bleeding. T’ai Chi has no side effects, and should be considered as a life quality-enhancing, “viable alternative to medication.”

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Myth:  T’ai Chi is only for older folks.

Truth: Nothing could be more far from the truth. This misconception is due to the fact that most of the initial research published on the benefits of T’ai Chi focused on the elderly. The reality is, T’ai Chi is practiced all over the world by an estimated 2.5 million people of all ages, including children.

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Myth:  T’ai Chi is a sort of religion or cult.

Truth: T’ai Chi is neither of these things. It is a form of exercise originated from an ancient martial art. And it can be practiced by anyone – regardless of religious or other belief or background.

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Myth:  T’ai Chi can be performed only in a standing position.

Truth: People in wheelchairs, or unable to stand for long periods of time, practice what is commonly referred to as chair or seated T’ai Chi. This kind of T’ai Chi is being offered in centers worldwide, and its therapeutic benefits have been confirmed in several studies.

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Myth: Because its movements are performed slowly, T’ai Chi is less strenuous and, therefore, less effective than other forms of exercise.

Truth: There is evidence that T’ai Chi is as effective as, and in some cases even superior to, other forms of exercise. And it doesn’t carry the same risks. For example, if compared to aerobic exercise, such as walking, cycling, dancing, running or swimming, T’ai Chi does not exert pressure on the heart. Yet, its proven benefits are many and various, including decreased anxiety, stress and pain; improved heart and lung fitness; reduced risk of disease; improved balance; and increased muscle strength.

Take stroke for example. Many stroke survivors are unable to move an arm or leg. This makes it difficult for them to exercise regularly, which instead is a key to full recovery. Yet, in a new study by the University of Arizona, in the US, a group of patients, who had a stroke at least three months before, were able to practice T’ai Chi successfully three times per week for fifteen weeks, without experiencing any side effect. Consider that each of the three weekly sessions lasted 50 minutes, which is a significant amount of time for someone who has recently survived a stroke.

And there’s more. Because of its safety profile, T’ai Chi has become a preferred form of exercise for patients with a dementia illness, such as Alzheimer’s disease. And note: these patients are at very high risk of exercise-related adverse events, particularly falls.

There is also research indicating that people who have, or are at risk of, heart disease can practice T’ai Chi safely, and experience significant benefits, as a result. So much so that researchers at the University of Nevada, who conducted one the latest studies on this topic, said that T’ai Chi represents a “safe alternative exercise… [which] may help prevent or even reverse the progression of cardiac disease.”

In addition to all this, T’ai Chi has the great advantage that it can be used safely also in the presence of medical problems most of us are likely to suffer from at some point in our life. Here are the two most common of these problems and simple strategies to address them, as recommended by the Australian Tai Chi for Health Institute:

• Shoulder problems. Slowly perform any movement involving this part of your body, especially when raising your hands above the head.
• Knee problems. Stand up between movements, instead of keeping your knee bent.

You also probably know that one of the most dreaded factors that may affect employees’ wellbeing is stress. This is true in all work settings and countries worldwide. And high levels of work-related stress inevitably lead to increased absenteeism and lower productivity.

Now, considerable amount of money goes into expensive stress-prevention programs, increasing the pressure on budgets already stretched by the current economic crisis. So, an American team of researchers from the University of Vermont has recently come up with a relatively inexpensive and easy-to-implement idea: using T’ai Chi as a way to protect employees from stress and, in turn, improve workplace attendance and performance.

To test the effectiveness of their idea, they asked a group of hospital nurses–one of the categories most at risk of work-related stress–to attend once weekly 45-minute T’ai Chi sessions at their place of work. The nurses also practiced T’ai Chi on their own, at least ten minutes per day, four times a week. After 15 weeks, the researchers compared this group with another group of nurses, similar in size and age, who did not practice T’ai Chi.

The results, published in the February 2012 issue of the journal Applied Nursing Research, speak for themselves. “The Tai Chi group took no unscheduled time-off hours, whereas, the control group was absent 49 hours during the study period,” says Dr. Mary Palumbo, who led the study. What’s more, improved employee wellbeing and reduced levels of absenteeism led, in the Tai Chi group, to “a 3% increase in work productivity.”

The bottom line? If you want to avoid the negative consequences of employee stress and keep your business on the road to success, T’ai Chi may well be one of the most effective, and least expensive, ways to do so.

But what do you do when you go away on vacation or travelling round and want to stay on top of your T’ai Chi practice? Well, all is not lost. All it needs is a little thought and your fitness levels will not suffer.

Here’s a few ideas to keep you on track as you travel…

If you’re staying at a Hotel, then book one with a Gym.

The gym will be a great place to practice, as you won’t feel out of place in an exercise environment. The other users will quickly ignore you and let you get on with your routine.

They might even become interested enough for you to show them some basic moves and get them inspired to take up T’ai Chi for themselves! The more the merrier!

Just make sure you have a large enough area to move around without bumping into other users or gym machines.

If you don’t stay somewhere with a gym, then you may be able to find a gym local to you that will let you use their facilities at a cheap rate for a few days.

Do some research on the Internet or ask the local tourism people to recommend somewhere near you.

Again, make sure there’s enough space to practice and move around without standard gym equipment getting in your way.

Force yourself to practice by packing your normal T’ai Chi clothing and footwear.

Just taking it along will make you feel guilty enough to practice! Every incentive helps when you’re on the road and need to get in your regular practice sessions.

Take along a T’ai Chi DVD or book to look at when you arrive at your destination.

If you like ‘active’ relaxation, then it will be enough to get you motivated to make time to practice your Forms.

If the thought of practicing in the gym is a bit off putting, then clear an area in your hotel room and practice there. Your routine doesn’t have to be a full blown Form. If you have limited room to move around, then simply practicing some detailed hand and foot movements will be just enough.

Remember: Every little helps.

On a more general fitness level, just watching what you eat, drinking plenty of water and moving around a lot will keep your fitness levels up when you’re on the road.

Look after yourself generally and your T’ai Chi will not deteriorate.

So there we are… a few ideas to keep you going on the road. If you give it some thought beforehand and think laterally, there’s no reason to worry about your T’ai Chi performance suffering as you travel.

Just think of it as a challenge and you’ll soon enjoy overcoming any obstacles in your way!

To find out how you can improve your health, fitness and understanding of T’ai Chi in as little as 10 minutes per day, check out “T’ai Chi For Life, Health and Fitness” at www.taichi-exercises.com/the-proven-benefits-of-tai-chi right now!

Motivation is high at the beginning, so to keep up the momentum and interest, it’s best to try and cement a regular T’ai Chi practice routine into your life from the word go.

Here’s a few tips to help you do just that…

First, use the Calendar function on your PC, smartphone or other device to pencil in your training times. If you don’t have access to these, then buy a planner or diary and make your entries there.

Make time to carefully write in the training periods and imagine the feelings of excitement you’ll have when you practice. This all helps to build and consolidate excitement in your mind. Then when your allotted practice session draws near, you’ll feel motivated to practice your T’ai Chi forms, safe in the knowledge it’s doing you good and enhancing your health and fitness.

If it helps, write an inspiring affirmation or the reason ‘why’ you want to stay fit and health next to your training times. It’ll give you a boost every time you read it and help you stay on course.

Even better, build your life around your T’ai Chi commitments, rather than trying to slot your sessions into the hustle and bustle of your everyday life.

There’s nothing guaranteed to sink your plans quicker than trying to shoehorn your fitness routine into a hectic lifestyle. If you can stay on course for 30 days or more, then you’ll be well on your way to making a T’ai Chi an unbreakable event in your life. Promise yourself you’ll practice no matter what. Stay determined.

Because once you bite the bullet like this and make your T’ai Chi time a priority, it will soon become a fixed routine.

In fact, it’ll become a subconscious habit. And we both know how hard it is to break a habit don’t we!

So make your T’ai Chi habit a ‘good’ habit you won’t want to break – EVER!

To find out how you can improve your health, fitness and understanding of T’ai Chi in as little as 10 minutes per day, check out “T’ai Chi For Life, Health and Fitness” at www.taichi-exercises.com/the-proven-benefits-of-tai-chi right now!

With this background, stress is becoming a real problem. But as a T’ai Chi practitioner, you have a better chance of combating stress than people who don’t practice this fantastic art.

Meditation is has risen in popularity as a way of beating stress, but what many people don’t realise is that T’ai Chi is a form of meditation in its own right.

Basically, meditation comes in many forms:

• Guided visualization
• Deep breathing meditation
• Mindfulness meditation
• Muscle relaxation
• Body scan
• Music or instruction Meditation

But the one we’re interested in is, ‘Meditative Exercise’ – T’ai Chi.

T’ai Chi is unique in as much as it incorporates some of the other forms of stress relief, plus it helps make the body function better at the same time. And that’s a good thing!

And to test how good T’ai Chi is as stress reliever, official studies have shown how effective it can be…

At Vermont University, Mary Val Palumbo and her team studied two groups of nurses from an academic medical centre. One group attended a 15-week T’ai Chi ch’uan program consisting of one 45-minute session of exercise per week.

This group also exercised on their own, ten minutes daily on most days of the week.

The other group did not participate in the program. Work-related stress decreased by 20 percent in the TC group and by 8 percent in the non-TC group.

Not only that…

“The Tai Chi group also showed a 3% increase in work productivity compared with the control group,” says Palumbo.

“In addition, the group had no unscheduled combined time-off hours, whereas the control group lost a total of 49 hours during the 15-week intervention.”

So from this, we can see that T’ai Chi is an amazing form of stress relief and Meditative Exercise.

Now if you’re thinking of taking up T’ai Chi for stress relief, or to gain the other proven health benefits you’ll experience with regular practice, then check out “T’ai Chi For Life, Health and Fitness”.

Because the truth is, T’ai Chi is proving time and time again to be outstanding as an all-round antidote to modern day living.

To find out how you can improve your health, fitness and understanding of T’ai Chi in as little as 10 minutes per day, check out “T’ai Chi For Life, Health and Fitness” at http://www.taichi-exercises.com/the-proven-benefits-of-tai-chi right now!