Tai Chi and Qi Gong are a set of exercises that can be done by anyone, and can benefit everyone. They’re especially good for older adults and people looking to maximize health benefits, with a light set of regular exercises. They are often mentioned and performed together, and complement each other well.
Gentle, Yet Effective Exercises
Both are a rather gentle form of exercises that promote health and wellness. They embody relaxed effort, and promote circulation and the flow of energy, or Qi (“Chee”). They are less strenuous than “hard” martial arts like Kung-Fu, so we call them “soft” exercises, and they are sometimes considered moving meditation. You can picture the slow movements that look like moving under-water. This promotes strength, flexibility and balance, as well as focus, patience and discipline.
Because it is gentle, it is a very accessible set of exercises. Nevertheless, like a gently flowing stream can carve out a deep canyon, continued practice offers many health benefits. The movements strengthen the muscles, and promote circulation to the internal organs, improving the function of both. One way to use them is to start your day with a light exercise to get your blood pumping. They can be modified, and performed seated if standing is difficult.
Useful Benefits - Mind and Body
The exercises promote proper alignment in movement, helping to prevent injury and pain. They strengthen muscles, helping balance and promoting fall-prevention. They help both heal, and prevent many common, but sometimes serious physical problems.
For example, there is a standing Qi Gong exercise called Zhan Zhuang. In English we call it, “standing holding a ball”. The posture is very simple - stand correctly with arms out in front as if holding a large beach ball for progressively longer periods of time. Practicing this stance, we learn quickly that it’s hard to stand still! As a meditation, this is true for our mind as well, always running back and forth!
It also works on muscles you didn’t know you had! But the exercise is great for helping to realign posture, and practicing a relaxed mind.
It’s also worth mentioning that the exercises are great cross-training for other sports. Practicing Tai Chi and Qi Gong are excellent ways to improve your Golf, tennis, and bowling games. They will help maximize movement efficiency and avoid injury.
Where to Start
The best way to learn Tai Chi and Qi gong is through an experienced teacher. There are many different styles of each. For example, Tai Chi movements are more like Martial Arts. They’re movements are more about external, or muscle strength. In Tai Chi there is a lot of variety in different styles. Some are more for seniors to promote strength and longevity. So ask the instructor about their style.
Qi Gong varies a lot as well, but tends to focus more on health, wellness, and spiritual aspects. There is also a lot of overlap, so talk to a few instructors to make sure their style is a good match for your goals.
If you can attend the class in person, that is best. But lessons can also effectively be done online. Once you have learned the basics from an instructor, it should be easy to continue practice at home. This is important, because you’ll get the best benefits from regular practice.
At Community Zen we’re working towards developing classes both in-person and online, so if you have any interest, let me know.
Michael Savalli LAc
Image by freepik
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