While there are still those who think Tai Chi is boring, or too slow, or for “old people”, many experts disagree! Many “regular” practitioners also disagree. So let’s take a look at what some experts are saying.
What Harvard and other institutions of higher learning are saying:
In November 2021, Peter Wayne, medical editor of Introduction to Tai Chi, from Harvard Medical School and a researcher, stated that Tai Chi “was more like a multidrug combination that uses different components to produce a variety of effects”. Dr. Wayne, is also an associate professor of medicine and Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He referred to scientific studies on the health benefits of Tai Chi, compared to most drugs. Dr. Wayne was also referring to how Tai Chi integrates the body and improves posture and alignment. The benefits are both physical and mental.
According to a May 24, 2022 article in Harvard Health “Staying Healthy” newsletter, Tai Chi “could be the perfect activity for the rest of your life.” They even go so far as to suggest it “might well be called ‘medication in motion’,” because of its value in preventing and/or treating many health problems.
I also want to site one older article where I, and the majority of (if not all) practitioners, totally disagree with Harvard! On their website, they publiished: The types of exercises that are most beneficial for the body. They discussed health benefits, such as balance, range of motion, bone strengthening, joint protection, and memory loss. Tai Chi is cited as second to swimming. While swimming is wonderful and has many benefits, it “rotates the body about 65% of the ways the body can move.” Tai Chi, on the other hand, moves the body about 90% of the ways it can move. In addition, Tai Chi offers meditative benefits, as in Alpha Brain Waves, and requires a “Meditative Mindfulness state of consciousness.”
Looking at the above articles from 2021 and 2022, maybe they have had a change of mind or heart!
According to Dr. Michael Irwin, profession of behavioral sciences and director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA, they have seen “viruses and improved vaccine response among people who practiced” Tai Chi. Dr. Irwin has published more than a dozen articles indicating that Tai Chi “lowers rates of insomnia, depression, illness, and inflammation”, as well. When comparing Tai Chi to more strenuous exercises, Irwin says, a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology concluded that Tai Chi was nearly as effective as jogging at lowering risk of death among men.
According to researchers, 61,400 men in China who regularly practiced Tai Chi lowered their risk of death as much as their jogging counterparts. Findings were published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Another review, published in the journal PLoS One (PDF), discovered that regularly practicing Tai Chi also improved cardiovascular health, especially heart and lung heart. This was found to be the case even in healthy adults.
Kristi Hallisy, PT, DSc, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, a certified exercise expert for aging adults, and a Tai Chi fundamentals certified instructor, recommends considering Tai Chi as “a multicomponent exercise”. Even after only 5 sessions, she has seen positive changes in her patients in the “balance, strength, and confidence” when walking or climbing stairs”.
How Tai Chi Differs from Other Exercises:
Movements are usually circular,
muscles are relaxed,
joints are partially, but not fully extended or bent,
connective tissues are not stretched,
unlike almost every other physical exercise, Tai Chi demands focus (central to its meditative benefits), and is
easily adapted for anyone, including those in wheelchairs, in bed, post-surgical, etc.
Research Findings: Tai Chi can be used in conjunction with medical treatments to treat disease, improve or eliminate symptoms, improve function (physical and mental), and improve quality of life. Tai Chi improves muscle strength,upper body strength, lower body strength, proprioception, flexibility, and balance. It may also include aerobic conditioning and be a “mild to moderate aerobic exercise” depending on the style/family, lineage, martial components, speed, instructor, and fitness level of the practitioner.
Tai Chi provides practitioners with overall toning. The weight bearing aspects have been shown to stimulate bone growth, which is certainly beneficial in preventing and improving osteoporosis.
Tai Chi’s deep, focused, abdominal breathing, in conjunction with related movements, enhances a meditative (or semi meditative) state, clears the mind, and improve focus. Stress, anxiety, and pain are improved.
According to Shirley Chock, owner and executive director of Aiping Tai Chi, a Milford, Connecticut, a study with 702 participants, published in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society, found that 16 one-hour weekly reduced the number of falls by 67 percent.
In 2022, Explore: Journal of Health and Healing (a leading publication in Integrative Medicine), published a systematic review which examined how Tai Chi affects functional mobility, balance, and falls (particularly in Parkinson’s disease). Because many of Tai Chi’s movements require the practitioner to move slowly and repetitively shift weight from one leg to the other, it challenges the “balance control system”. This improvement in balance helps those with and without Parkinson’s who have fallen or fear falling. Tai Chi has The Parkinson’s Foundation endorsement Tai Chi, as a holistic approach to Parkinson’s. Strength, flexibility, posture, and motor functions are improved as well and Parkinson’s patients enjoy a safer gait!
A study in the Journal of Rheumatology reported that Tai Chi reduced pain and stiffness among people who have arthritis. According to another study in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science, it improves kidney and heart function among people with related health issues.
I could go on and on, but this is a blog not a research paper!
Best of all, because of its gentle nature and slow movements, there are virtually no contraindications for Tai Chi. However, contrary to what many new students believe, it is important to warm up and cool down.
Even though modifications can be made for most health conditions, it is also important to check with your medical provider prior to starting any new exercise program.
Bottom line: There are no downsides to practicing. Also a comment that bears repeating: Did you notice the words “regular practice”! I have yet to come across an article stating that once a week or on occasion is beneficial! This is also true of all exercises, serious sports, music performances, etc!
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