Tai Chi

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Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention

Tai chi is a gentle exercise which originated in ancient China. Classes are slow, but done so intentionally to help build a strong foundation. With a good foundation you will gain more health benefits and learn more. It is very important to remember to move within your comfort zone and take breaks if necessary. Movements should be done within your personal range of motion, and you can always visualize the full movement.

Tai Chi For Health Institute

Tai Chi Principles

Outward Movements-

Slow, smooth, continuous- like water flowing in a river
Imagine moving against a gentle resistance

Body Structure-

Supple, upright body posture
weight transfer

Internal Components-

Jing- mental quietness or serenity
Song- loosen or stretch the joints
Chen- sinking into the Dan Tian
Huo- agility, to move nimbly

Dan Tian Breathing Method

The dan tian is located three finger lengths below the belly button.

Breath in, visualize the air entering your nose, flowing down your lungs, and into your dan tian. Try to keep your upper abdomen still, focus on only expanding and contracting the lower abdomen. As you breathe out, you want a do a small contraction at the end of the breath, to make sure all the air has exited your lungs and dan tian. A good way to do this is to keep a hand on the Dan Tian and keep your other hand on the upper abdomen. This will allow you to feel the proper area filling with air. We want breaths to be on a count of in for three seconds, and out for three seconds. This count and be longer to work on breathing more deeply, but we do not want it to be any shorter than three seconds. As always in tai chi, these three seconds counts are slow and controlled.