Taijiquan Benefits A-Z

Benefits A-Z

Making Life More Livable

 

Marc Sabin Taijiquan


Taijiquan is generally safe for everyone.

Please consult your physician before beginning this or any exercise program. You may need to modify some exercises to suit your needs. If you have limited mobility, it is possible to learn and practice Taijiquan. Adaptive versions can be performed in a seated position or while immersed in water. Taijiquan’s benefits are not to be considered medical advice and are not a replacement for medical care. Consult your physician about any health problems, injuries, or if you are pregnant.

A: Arthritis Relief

Many people suffering from arthritis find that Taijiquan relieves some of their symptoms. This is true for both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Consistent practice also helps increase the range of joint mobility as well as takes pressure off of joints, improving the movement of synovial fluid.

B: Better Balance

One concern that arises as people age is the decline in basic balance. Taijiquan has been shown to reduce the risk of falls amongst older people. The gentle practice of Taijiquan cultivates better balance for young and old alike.

C: Cardiovascular Improvements

Although not an aerobic exercise, Taijiquan’s emphasis on training and strengthening the legs helps blood return from the extremities back to the heart. Taijiquan's relaxation emphasizes releasing unnecessary tension, which can improve blood flow. As a result, the entire cardiovascular system is strengthened.

D: Supporting Digestion and Assimilation

The movements of Taijiquan help improve digestion and nutritional assimilation. The internal organs benefit from gentle massaging action in the torso, which supports the process of peristalsis (the muscular process of moving food through the digestive tract).

E: Easier Emotional Suppleness

Taijiquan demonstrates marked improvements in emotional equilibrium and ability to remain calm under stress. The process of releasing tension from the body may cause buried emotional memories to rise to the conscious surface where they can be released along with bodily tensions.

F: Improved Physical Fluidity and Flexibility

Taijiquan's soft stretching, fluid movements and careful attention to proper anatomical alignments improve muscle and joint flexibility. Taijiquan’s circular and rotational movement patterns generate movement and relaxation simultaneously.

G: Cultivating Grace and Agility

Taijiquan's gentle exercises and stretching cultivate a natural way of moving. Gradual improvements in agility and mobility accumulate over time, leading to an improved ability to get around gracefully.

H: Balancing Hypertension or Hypo-tension

Blood pressure reflects stress in the mind and body. Because Taijiquan helps with relaxation, it plays a role in balancing blood pressure and circulation by promoting gentle ways to use the body to promote more open blood vessels.

I: Strengthening Immune System

Taijiquan exercises massage and stimulate the lymphatic system, thereby improving the body's natural immune functionality. The body's ability to fight off infection and disease is strengthened gradually and consistently. Relaxation helps fluids move throughout the body, allowing them to carry nutrients and remove waste.

J: Increased Joy in Living

The sequence of Taijiquan facilitates moving in a natural way. The lack of strain delivers a pleasant sensation leading to a feeling of kinesthetic happiness. Blended with the social interaction of classes and friendly practice, Taijiquan offers a place of enjoyment and camaraderie

K: Healing Knee Pain

When properly executed, Taijiquan movements can effectively reduce some forms of knee pain. When careful attention to alignment is paid, Taijiquan can help strengthen the legs’ stability, frequently helping the recovery from some knee injuries and surgical interventions.

L: Increasing Lung Capacity

The combination of exercise and increased blood flow contained in Taijiquan’s gentle movements preserves the ease of a normal breathing rate, yet helps stimulate an increase the oxygen intake. Lung capacity increases even as breathing remains steady and gentle throughout the movements.

M: More Mobility and Nimbleness

Taijiquan improves general mobility by focusing on smooth, balanced movements resulting in greater ease and comfort. Taijiquan’s emphasis on rotational movement rather than flexion and extension helps the lubrication and functionality of the joints.

N: Neurological and Nervous System Improvements

The human brain is at the helm of every human activity. Yet the majority of what happens in life takes place at the subconscious level. Nerves transmit stimuli to the brain where perception takes place. Taijiquan develops sensitivity and awareness through the mind/body connection.

O: Strengthening Bones from Osteoporosis

Bone density—especially in the hip joint—is supported by physical exercise. By emphasizing the turning of the hips and pelvis throughout its movements, Taijiquan plays a part in helping improve bone density and slows down the process of osteoporosis.

P: Relieving Chronic Pain

Pain is information. Often secondary and tertiary misalignments arise in the body to accommodate pain. The slow movements and careful alignments in Taijiquan help adjust the body postures, reduce imbalanced pressures, and alleviate some forms of chronic pain and discomfort.

Q: The Free Flow of Qi Improves Quality of Life

Ultimately, quality of life is the most important benefit Taijiquan cultivates. The combined effectiveness of exercising the mind, body, and spirit helps restore a feeling of harmony and wellness putting one in touch with the vibrancy of life. As awareness increases, Qi—the intrinsic—individual energy can be pleasantly observed coursing through every cell in the body.

R: Cultivates Relaxation

Movement can begin in one of two ways: Either muscles contract thus starting motion, or muscles can relax. Taijiquan’s postures take advantage of comfortable alignments to generate dynamic—yet effortless—strength. With careful attention to moving with ease, practitioners learn to release unnecessary tension and move with an invigorating sense of relaxation.

S: Spinal Alignment

Taijiquan is premised on having an upright and balanced body. It encourages effortlessly lengthening the spine. The gentle spinal stretch takes pressure off the disks and musculature of the torso and back. A better-aligned spine permits easier transmission of nerve impulses throughout the body and back to the brain.

T: Tension Transforms into Tensegrity

Taijiquan reduces tension without eliminating it entirely. With proper alignment, the entire body integrates into an efficient whole. The skeletal system holds its alignments through flexible connective tissues such as the ligaments and fascia. This method permits the body to be dynamically relaxed, intrinsically strong, and buoyantly alive.

U: Unifying Mind, Body, and Spirit

Taijiquan unifies the visible with the invisible. It cultivates greater awareness of increasingly subtler qualities. At the physical level, it develops a unified body power. At the mental level, it cultivates consistent attention to what is. At the spiritual level, it gives access to and instills confidence in inner strength.

V: Improved Vibrancy and Vitality

One of the beneficial consequences of Taijiquan practice is the sense of increased life force. Often under the strains of modern living, remaining happy and enthusiastic about living day-by-day proves challenging. The physical and energetic movements of Taijiquan uplift the spirit and calm the body, leading to an improved sense of vitality.

W: Whole Body Wellbeing

United we stand. Taijiquan strengthens connections in the body, and between the mind and body. Feeling a sense of wellbeing results from integrating various aspects of being in a body with its capabilities and limitations. Taijiquan practice helps one accept conditions as they are and embrace the unknown, securing a sense of belonging in the world.

X: Gentle, Low-impact Exercise

Exercise is the balm of being in a body. In addition to its martial capabilities, Taijiquan offers a great form of low impact exercise that anyone can do regardless of age, gender, size or ability. Created in part as a method for ensuring longevity, Taijiquan practice provides its practitioners a lifetime of new discoveries.

Y: A Greater Sense of Youthful Vitality

Taijiquan encourages youthfulness by its emphasis on softening the body in likeness of a child. Youthfulness contains softness. It is supple and flexible. Also, Taijiquan principles adhere to the qualities of water. Water is both the softest of substances yet it can wear away mountains. Ultimately the soft overcomes the hard.

Z: Adding, Zest, Zip, and Zeal to Each Day

Soft and gentle, Taijiquan gently coaxes enthusiasm, laughter, and a cooperative way of being in the world—even when facing an adversary. Its method requires listening, joining, sticking with, and following in an effortless flow. Taijiquan practice cultivates an increased physical, emotional, and mental ease. It strengthens and enlivens.