Health benefits of Tai Chi

cleansy

I saw ads for tai chi for a long time and thought of a Chinese hearts and minds campaign. That article reads like it was sponsored as well. Anyone else with the same impression?

esperent

> A growing body of carefully conducted research is building a compelling case for tai chi ... And yet this article doesn't link a single one. This is just a marketing post, nothing interesting here. I'd expect better from a university.

Squeeeez

"this gentle form of exercise" - cue Chen Xiaowang (head of one of the major styles of Tai Chi) : https://youtu.be/gj6UaEay5Lg

mark_l_watson

There are a near infinite number of Qi Gong and Tai Chi videos on YouTube. I prefer to following new videos, and where my wife and I live they have Tai Chi and Yoga classes. A great use of time, and the feeling good benefits are manefest.

tmtvl

Tai Chi basically has the exact same 2 major health benefits which various other sports do: 1. Getting otherwise sedentary people moving. 2. Giving people a way to form social bonds with others over a shared hobby. Anything beyond that is probably speculative and may depend on the school/teacher.

PrimalPower

Tai Chi is interested. It's essentially a standing form of yoga. IMO, in theory it's even more useful for desk workers than yoga. If you look at the history of Ashtanga Yoga, it was primarily developed for the traditional life. Where even non-laborers spent a significant amount of time on their feet and moving around. This is why doctors, nursers, actors, laborers, retail workers, etc... sing praises about yoga. I struggled to get much out of it, as I found it stretched the stuff that wasn't that tight for me and didn't focus on my problem areas. The martial arts background of Tai Chi, alongside the pivot to longevity focused practices in East Asia, makes Tai Chi uniquely suited to the woes of a desk worker. Unfortunately Tai Chi lacks serious standardization or centralization, so it's hard to know if a particular school/class will work for you nor is it as easy to self-study. Of course, you don't need the Eastern traditions to obtain these same benefits. Dynamic stretching, Pilates, and functional strength training can work too, but I find that the eastern stuff has a meditative/spiritual aspect that regular training does not.