Tai Chi is Physical Exercises for the Cultivation of Consciousness
China Sports Editorial Board
The American Medical Association describes Tai Chi as ” physical movement and mental concentration; its purpose is to moderately exercise all the muscles and achieve integration between mind and body.”
Benefits of Tai Chi
Tai Chi appears to be helpful for numerous medical conditions
- Arthritis
- Low bone density
- Breast cancer
- Heart disease
- Heart failure
- Hypertension
- Parkinson’s disease
- Sleep problems
- Stroke
Evidence Based Research
A large review study looked at 77 randomized controlled trials about Tai Chi or qigong, which included a total of 6,410 participants and found strong evidence that Tai Chi and qigong offer benefits for cardiorespiratory fitness, balance and fall prevention, physical function, bone health, mental health and quality of life.
A review of 19 studies showed that Tai Chi may be a cost effective exercise program for improving balance and increasing physical activity in almost all of the following measures: fear of falling, single-leg stance, posturography, rate of falling, flexibility, walking velocity, Berg Balance Scale, Timed up and Go, Functional Reach, ankle and knee joint strength and range of motion, and in showing that vigorous individuals benefit more than older frail individuals.
Exploratory studies are underway on the effects of Tai Chi on immune function, bone loss, arthritis, memory and immune disorders.
