Time Magazine Says Tai Chi- Perfect Exercise

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Tai Chi = Perfect Exercise - says Time Magazine

Why Tai Chi Is the Perfect Exercise

Especially for seniors. The slow-motion martial art builds strength,

agility and, best of all, balance

BY CHRISTINE GORMAN TIME Magazine.

Monday, Jul. 29, 2002

 

It's easy to tell people to make exercise part of their daily

routine. It's not so easy to tell them what to do. Some folks like

to run marathons or climb mountains. But if you would rather care

for your body without risking life or limb or increasingly creaky

joints, you might consider Tai Chi Chuan, the ancient martial art

that looks like a cross between shadow boxing and slow-motion ballet.

 

Not to be confused with Falun Gong, a quasi-religious and political

movement that uses similar exercises, Tai Chi combines intense

mental focus with deliberate, graceful movements that improve

strength, agility and — particularly important for the elderly —

balance.

 

Practitioners praise Tai Chi's spiritual and psychological benefits,

but what has attracted the attention of Western scientists lately is

what Tai Chi does for the body. In many ways, researchers are just

catching up to what tens of millions of fidyl people in China and

Chinatowns around the rest of the world already know about Tai Chi.

Scientists at the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene reported last

week that Tai Chi offers the greatest benefit to older men and women

who are healthy but relatively inactive. Previous studies have shown

that Tai Chi practiced regularly helps reduce falls among healthy

seniors. The next step, from a scientific point of view, is to

determine whether Tai Chi can help those who are already frail.

 

There are several styles of Tai Chi, but most of them start with a

series of controlled movements, or forms, with names like Grasping

the Sparrow's Tail and Repulse the Monkey. There are many good how-

to books to get you started, or you can choose from among the

growing number of classes offered at rec centers and health clubs

across the U.S. (These have the added benefit of combining

instruction with a chance to meet new people.) Either way, the goal

is to move at your own pace. As Tai Chi master Martin Lee of the Tai

Chi Cultural Center in Los Altos, Calif., puts it, " Pain is no gain. "

 

It can take a few months for the effects to kick in, but when they

do they can act as a gateway to a new lifestyle. " Once people start

feeling better, they often become more active in their daily life, "

says Dr. Karim Khan, a family-practice and sports physician at the

University of British Columbia.

 

Any form of exercise, of course, can do only so much. " For older

individuals, Tai Chi will not be the end-all, " says William Haskell,

an expert in chronic-disease prevention at Stanford University. " But

Tai Chi plus walking would be a very good mixture. " Younger people

probably need more of an aerobic challenge, but they can benefit

from Tai Chi's capacity to reduce stress.

 

The best thing about Tai Chi is that people enjoy it, so they are

more likely to stick with it long enough to get some benefit. It

helps when something that's good for you is also fun.

 

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Augie

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