Tai chi is a low-impact, Chinese martial art that’s been around for centuries. It is practiced worldwide as a self-defense technique and as a health benefit. It is also a good technique that reduces your chances of falling, reduces your risk of heart failure, reduces chronic pain, and helps cognitive function parts of your brain. Basically, tai-chi is a fluid, more peaceful and slower martial art and that’s because the mind and body are at work as one as they flow gracefully from one movement to the next.
Below are the Benefits of Tai Chi:
Fall Reduction
Tai chi can come in handy, especially when you are older and your risk of falling increases. Luckily, Tai chi is able to reduce your risk of falling and tripping because it helps improve your balance and flexibility. I bet Tai Chi would especially come in handy if you live in a two-floor house or if you have to go up and down the stairs to get to your apartment. However, on second thought, maybe you should move to the ground floor, just in case. The point is, Tai Chi just might make your daily life easier and it’ll make you worry less about falling in your old age
Helps with Chronic Pain
Tai chi can alleviate any chronic pain you may feel as a result of any health complication that you may suffer from, even ailments that result from depression. Tai chi can even alleviate chronic pain from fibromyalgia or arthritis. Whatever pain it is you got, Tai Chi may be able to help you to relax and make the pain less than it was before. Tai Chi has to be a better than suffering from the pain alone, though, right. Also, depending solely on medicine to make the pain go away can only go so far, and those can come with their own adverse side effects if you’re not careful. Why not give Tai Chi a try with all of this information in mind?
Heart Improvement
Tai chi can improve the oxygen capacity of the heart. Whether it can manage chronic heart failure, one cannot say. However, it certainly can be said that Tai Chi can make the heart stronger due to the oxygen it’s able to carry into the heart. And a healthy heart is a heart that is happily pumping. Also, it could be a gateway into exercising before you try other things that will do more for your heart, like protect it from heart disease and other health complications.
Cognitive Function
Tai chi can help your brain’s cognitive ability. That means that your mind won’t go to waste in your old age and waste away that quickly when you do Tai Chi. Plus, it might just make your mind even better by making it smarter, more alert, and better at memorization. It probably helps that the focused breathing during Tai Chi helps bring oxygen into the brain which probably has a hand in helping with its cognitive functioning.
Reduces Stress
Tai chi can also make your worries disappear for a while because it’s an exercise with meditation and breathing exercises included. Tai Chi is also good for the stress of all sorts. So, if you have stress, it’s good to give Tai Chi a try just to expel them from your body for a day. Who knows, it could do wonders for you.
Improves Mood
Tai chi can help you if you have anxiety or depression. The deep breathing during the meditation part of tai chi helps release mood-regulating hormones that make you happier. Tai Chi is a natural way to soothe your sadness however it should be used in conjunction with professional help, like counseling or therapy. All in all, you’ll find that tai chi is a peaceful and mellow martial art with an equally peaceful philosophy behind it.
Better Sleep
Tai chi can make you sleep better at night. With focused breathing that makes you feel happier and with slow, fluid-like movements that connect you better with your own mind, it’s no wonder how relaxing Tai Chi can be. It’s also an exercise as well, so it can make you tired due to expending energy as well. Whatever it is that makes you tired, Tai Chi is a good sleep aid, and it’s a natural way to do so.
Weight Loss
Practicing Tai Chi also equals weight loss. If you need to lose like a pound or two, then tai chi is a good technique to lose weight with. Still, don’t expect any big changes since you’ll only lose one pound over a 12-week period since tai chi is low impact exercise and all. However, something is better than nothing, though. When you are ready to add something to your exercise routine other than Tai Chi, you can try other martial arts like karate or capoeira. There are other forms of martial arts out there other than tai chi, and tai chi doesn’t have to be the only martial art you learn to lose weight with.
Overall, Tai Chi is a good exercise that has a lot of benefits to it. It is a peaceful exercise where the body and mind work as one to go from one movement to the next. It also makes you happier, makes your heart a little stronger, helps your brain a little, and helps you lose weight a little.
Basically, it’s a gateway to other martial arts for some martial artists. If you just want to take a martial art that moves at a slower pace and take its time with its moves, you can take Tai Chi. However, if Tai Chi makes you interested in other martial arts in addition to Tai Chi, there’s probably an abundance of martial arts around in your area. However, Tai Chi in itself is a good martial art choice that’s been around for centuries, and if for some reason, you can’t do anything other than low impact exercises, then Tai Chi is a great martial art for you.
