Come On Out & Practice With Us In Greensboro
Time Magazine, in the Wednesday July 31, 2002 edition, explains
"Why Tai Chi Is the Perfect Exercise"
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 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.
Sifu Carter (Khayr)
(336) 587-1215
