The Practice of Tai Chi

There are many different exercises a person can do to help reduce stress and achieve a certain discipline in their lives. Many choose yoga or pilates, while others choose the Chinese practice of Tai Chi Chuan. Tai Chi Chuan can be dated back to the second millennium B.C. From there it advanced from a form of yoga to something that resembled boxing. There are many other different stories on how Tai Chi actually originated. Tai Chi Chuan can be translated to "supreme ultimate force." Force can be thought of as a way of achieving balance. So it would really be "supreme ultimate discipline." Much like yoga, not a lot of people understand the meanings and effectiveness of Tai Chi Chuan. A lot of people don't even use the Chuan part and just say Tai Chi. Let's look at what Tai Chi Chuan truly is and how it can affect you.

One of the easiest ways of describing Tai Chi is that it is a "moving yoga." There are a number of forms or sets which contain movements to help achieve the desired effect. Some of these moves you will see in a number of martial arts. Though in the martial arts the moves are performed at a rapid pace, in Tai Chi they are slow moving with graceful and easy transitions. The movements may also look like those from some animals and birds in the wild. The focus is not the same as it is in the martial arts or yoga, but more meditative.

One goal of Tai Chi is to foster the "chi" of the person doing it. Chi is the sense of one's being: in yoga it's your center. Doing this is supposed to help increase your health and vitality. Learning to do them will help circulation in the nervous and vascular systems. Another goal of this practice is cultivate a calm and tranquil mind. Learning to do these movements will promote balance, alignment, and fine-scale motor control. Hence the practice of Tai Chi will help you walk, stand, run, and so much more. Some people have also found it to help them improve their posture. There are many different styles of Tai Chi: Chen, Hao, Sun, Wu, Yang, and Zhao Bao. Much like yoga, the different styles have different advantages and different paces. The Chen style is faster than the others.