Tai Chi - a gentle way to keep healthy

Tai Chi Quan is one of the most famous martial arts in China. It was founded by a Wu Dang  master Zhang San Feng in 12^th century. Tai Chi Quan is widely practised by people of all age groups across China and has been for many centuries. In fact, 24-form  or 42-form Tai Chi Quan (simplified forms) class is offered at most Chinese universities nowadays. 

Why Tai Chi Quan is decidedly popular in China and in many overseas countries? I had an opportunity to learn Wu Dang style Tai Chi Quan, which includes 108 forms and over 700 movements, ten years ago. Based on Chinese traditional medical science, the thesis is that a disease is caused by inner energy flow blocks. Therefore, according to the master Taoist, all the movements of Tai Chi were designed to help human being’s enhance their inner energy system to flow smoothly and for people to breathe deeply. 

The essence of Tai Chi is to help people return to their natural state. As we all know, when a baby is in the mother’s tummy, he/she relies on the navel to absorb nutrition. But after a baby is born, the navel function is obviously lost. Tai Chi helps people to rebuild the connection between nature and the human body through focusing on this pivotal part. 

When you do any Tai Chi movement, bear in mind the concept of Yin Yang and a cycle. The Yin Yang picture is based on a navel’s cross section. Every movement has to be as smooth as a consistent cycle. Pick your comfortable position. Don’t think too much, just follow the flow of your body and you will feel refreshed after the practice. It normally takes 36 minutes to complete the entire set of 108 forms. However, it varies dependent on each person’s own pace. There is no strict restriction regarding the speed. The optimal times to practice are between 7am to 9am or 7pm to 9pm. It is recommended that you start the movement facing south as our body is a magnetic subject. This direction is aligned with the magnetic direction of the earth.

To see real benefits of Tai Chi are only fully realized through persistence. Your body will let you know how good it is after 3 months if you practise it every day.

There are side benefits of doing Tai Chi. Take myself as an example, I became more focused and calm after practising Tai Chi for 10 consecutive years. It also teaches me that a person must be humble and unassuming. This leads to no resentment, just like a cycle.