Tai chi chuan health benefits

Tai-Chi Chuan Yang Style  is being offered to adults at Millennium Martial Arts in Vaughan, Ontario.

Tai Chi is a slow moving meditative exercise for relaxation, health and self defense. Our classes focus on the meditative exercise of the body, rather then on the martial arts applications.

Tai Chi fosters circulation of "Chi" (vital force that animates the body) within the body, calm, and tranquil mind. Tai Chi is performed slowly, softly and gracefully with smooth even transitions between movements and by correctly executing these Tai Chi movements the student learns balance, alignment, rhythm of movement and fine-scale motor control. Tai Chi helps the student correct poor postural, alignment or movement patterns which contribute to tension and injury. The meditative nature of the Tai Chi exercises calms and relaxes the mind. When practicing Tai Chi as Meditation the students should keep their mind empty of all thought, and should only feel the movements, the weight distribution as one goes from posture to posture, the straightness of the spine and breathing. Studies have shown that Tai Chi helps with strengthen the bones.

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Tai Chi Chuan
Daily Tai Chi  practice promotes better health and mental clarity, helps with balance, and circulation of the Chi (energy) and the blood and calms the mind through meditation.

The researchers are discovering that Tai-Chi with regular practice over a period of short time can improve one's health and produce amazing benefits:

• Balance and strength. The Oregon Research Institute found that, after six months, tai chi participants were twice as likely to have no trouble performing moderate to rigorous activities and the benefit was greatest among those who started with the poorest health or worst function. An evidence-based review of many studies confirmed better balance -- 
  
• Osteoarthritis. Patients with osteoarthritis assigned to a tai chi group during a three-month study reported less joint pain and stiffness than when they started.
  
• Sleep. The Oregon researchers found that tai chi participants had improved sleep quality and length.
• Shingles. When combined with the vaccine, tai chi helped create even greater levels of immunity. Tai chi participants also reported improvements in function, pain, vitality, and mental health.

• High blood pressure. In a study lasting 20 years, patients with hypertension -- whether  were given drugs to control blood pressure. At first, participants in both groups had a drop in blood pressure. But blood pressure in the tai-chi group stabilized over time. They even were able to lower their use of blood pressure drugs.
• Immune system. Just 30 minutes of daily tai chi and qigong training for one month might produce a tangible impact on the body’s immune system. In one study, blood samples taken the day before training started and after it was completed showed a statistically significant difference in white blood cell counts. 
• Stroke. In one study looking at mortality, patients practicing qigong had a 50% reduction in death from any cause, death from stroke, and sickness related to stroke. However, it’s not clear if the qigong participants were already healthier, making them more likely to live longer.
• Fibromyalgia. One small pilot study showed fewer symptoms and improvement in function among patients with fibromyalgia who were practicing tai chi and qigong. Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that can cause widespread pain and fatigue. Larger trials are needed to confirm the results.