Why choose Tai Chi?

Moving like a flowing stream in a continuous, uninterrupted motion, you will learn to perform a set of both slow and forceful body flexing gestures whilst you perform refined, deep breathing in harmony with your movements. You will experience greatly improved physical functioning, improved mental focus, a wonderful sense of harmony, balance and well-being, and a calmer sense of mind, a sense of place and of a growing awareness of true energy within.

Many of our students have chronic medical problems and unlike some exercise regimes, the Tai Chi program can be tailored to help those in need of life-enhancing benefits. These benefits include relief from arthritis and joint pain or assistance with Asthma management and many other chronic medical conditions.

International research has demonstrated that Tai Chi creates a physical sense of balance and completeness, so you will feel better. Your metabolism will improve, your heart and lungs will function better, your digestion and circulation will improve and your bones, muscles and joints will strengthen. Tai Chi is a fantastic form of gentle exercise that works your entire body. You’ll increase your flexibility and gain strength whilst losing weight.

Face your daily challenges and pressures with positive energy! Tai Chi’s rhythmic movements activate the central nervous system achieving mental relaxation and stress reduction resulting in a calming sense of well-being — a proven factor in reducing depression, digestive problems and immunity disorders. It helps you focus your outlook and be more positive.

Sleep Better One of the many benefits is deeper, more rewarding sleep. When perform Tai Chi, it will bring your mind and body alignment with nature as one in balance. Lots of TCFA students experienced its benefit in sleep and told us: “I slept like baby after Tai Chi”.

Combat Age Related Health Problems By opening your body’s “pathways”, Tai Chi combats the effect of aging. Nothing aged you more than sickness. When practise Tai Chi, you are required to calm your mind, relax your body to achieve absolutely yin and yang balanced condition. Once you have achieved metabolism control with Tai Chi; it can slow down the process of aging and prevent age related health problems.

Fight Disease and Medical Problems Both history and modern technology has approved that Tai Chi is not only relaxing, it helps healing diabetes, high blood pressure, migraine, liver problems, stomach problems, depression to arthritis — Tai Chi is a gentle way of fighting many common ailments.

Better Concentration and Memory When performing Tai Chi, you are required to focus your mind in a calm condition to direct your body coordination. You have to use both left and right part of your brain to complete the procedure of circling. This reveals another of Tai Chi’s great benefits. Fantastic for Aged or Those in Recovery Process Because of Tai Chi’s gentle yet empowering influence on the body, it is a proven technique for the elderly to keep fit and improve their health and well-being. For those recovering from an accident or surgery it is a stunning aid to recovery.

What is Tai Chi?

Tai Chi is a Chinese traditional martial art and was originally practiced purely for self defence. In use, the mind focuses to lead Chi (Qi), sending the energy power through your body’s meridian pathways to the attacker. Nowadays, Tai Chi has been proven to be a nature and body science and is mostly practised for health purpose.

Tai Chi came from the Chinese words Tai Chi Quan. In the old language, Tai means Supreme, Chi (ji) means Ultimate and Quan (Chuan) means Boxing. The circular movements of Tai Chi are ultimately complying with the philosophy of Yin and Yang balance in harmony for endless positive circle.

Everything contains Yin and Yang. For example, the sun is Yang and the moon is Yin. Sunshine side is Yang, and the shadow side is Yin. The sky is Yang and the earth is Yin. Yin has Yang inside and Yang has Yin. The Tai Chi symbol shows this. See how the white right-hand half (Yang) has a small black (Yin) circle within it; while the black left-hand half has a small white circle within.

Tai Chi movements are designed to use the power of nature to maintain our body in good condition. In recent times, Tai Chi has become popular internationally not just as a sport; it is also being practised as a means of keeping fit as well as preventing and curing some diseases. Tai Chi has proved its efficacy in treating chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, neurasthenia, arthritis, diabetes, stomach problems and back pains. It is one of the best alternative medicines.

What is Qigong?

Qigong is a series of exercises that were put together under Daoism and can be traced back for several thousand years.

The Chinese character chi "Qi" means breath, air or life force. The character "Gong" means work, achievement or developing a skill in something. Gong, is used with any study or training which requires a lot of energy and time, work or self-discipline. Thus Qigong is the training or study dealing with energy work. Qigong is method training of Tai Chi.

These exercises were developed to unblock and stimulate the acupuncture meridians or channels so that the Qi energy (and blood) can flow smoothly or unobstructed in the channels to supply the whole body.

The breathing method involves using the diaphragm and abdominal muscles which massages and stimulates the organs in the body while the mind focuses and so increases your awareness of your own body and what is going on inside. For example, where your energy and blood flow or where the pathways are blocked or stagnant. Qigong also increases the acuteness of your senses.

Qigong's ultimate aim is spiritual enlightenment by mastering your own body, your mind and discovering and knowing your "true self". On the way to spiritual enlightenment, by practising Qigong regularly, you will achieve your optimum health. Optimum health is not just an absence of diseases, but includes one’s ability to handle life's stresses, manage emotional ups and downs very well and make the right decisions with clarity of mind.

 Another aspect of Qigong that is rarely discussed is that you're putting the responsibility for your health maintenance and healing yourself back in your own hands by not relying on others. Qigong practice will give you the suppleness of a child's body, the strength and energy of a circus strongman, and the mind and spirit of a "sage".

How can Tai Chi Help?

Because Tai Chi is a gentle, relaxing exercise, with a meditative component, it will produce a feeling of well-being and of being relaxed within its practitioners. This relaxed state is sometimes described as 'inner peace'. It has been acknowledged that Tai Chi is not only a physical exercise, but also a training for the nervous-system.

It was only in the 1980s that the first paper on an experimental study on Tai Chi and written in English was published. Since then, the benefits of Tai Chi have been and remain to be, thoroughly researched in many countries across the world including Australia, Britain, the USA and of course, China.

The following list of links will connect you to a brief article on each of the diseases or conditions most of which are associated withbecoming older.

Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia

Arthritis

Cancer

Chronic kidney disease

Coronary heart disease

Depression

Diabetes

Hypertension

Osteoporosis

Stroke

Back pain