Tai Chi is considered as a type of martial arts which is renowned for its effectiveness in its techniques of defense as well as its health benefits. It is also believed to be a type of motivation which evokes serenity and inner peace within the one who practices. The words ‘Tai Chi Ch’uan’ could be taken to me ‘the ultimate first’ or ‘boundless first’. Tai Chi is practiced in five different forms, and every one of these forms comes with its own methods and the principals. It is a practice which is considered to be safe for people of all ages because it does not pressurize the muscles and the joints. It is also a technique which does not call for a setup cost seeing how it does not require any specialized instruments or equipment.
The second theory, on the other hand, has more evidence supporting it and for this reason is more convincing of the two theories on the Origins of Tai Chi. This particular theory states that Chen Wan-Ting developed the practices of tai chi more than 1540 years before our time and that it was kept secret at the inception of the concept by his family, friends and his followers. This was then a practice which remained within the confidence of a very small community and was also practiced amongst that community over a course of several generations. This practice is believed to have later been made public which was adapted by people all over the world because of a student of Tai Chi named Yang.
The student Yang took what he had learned by fall of the eighteenth century and taught it to many others around China. It was from there that the practice was carried on to the other parts of the world by the same students of Yang and from there; it also took many forms and ultimately became known under five different techniques. It was only at the dawn of the twentieth century that the benefits if Tai Chi were first recognized by the experts.
It is hard to point out exactly how our body works and keeps all of the internal functions going and how our brain forms thoughts and heart pumps blood. We are also at a loss for ideas as to what force it is which takes charge of all of these processes within our body. For thousands of years, the Chinese have considered a life force Qi to regulate all of these processes in the body and these Chinese are also of the view that all of us were born with this force within our body which was passed down to us by our parents. There is also a consensus amongst the same believers that we also acquire this Qi every day from the food we eat, the water that we drink and also from the air that we take in.
The same concept of Qi is what the first principle of Tai Chi is based on, and the second principal is the theory of the Yin and Yang. We can agree that everything that the earth is a sum total of things that exist in pairs which are each other’s opposites like dark and light, male and female, etc. Yin and Yang, however, are not just two opposites of each other rather; they also represent a thought process. Through this concept, everything is considered to be a part of a bigger whole, and no one element or thing could manage to exist on its own. These are the basic ideas which the Tai Chi finds its basis from and upon the same ideas also stood the five techniques of Tai Chi.
It is undeniable how many benefits Tai Chi could offer us and amongst the same benefits are also the maintenance of strength, flexibility, balance and a perfect peace of mind. There has also been found plenty of evidence which suggests that tai chi could offer assistance in treating as well as preventing a number of health problems. Research has also presented us with piles of evidence which suggests that the exercise could be used for the treatment and rehabilitation of a number of different conditions which could relate to the factor of age and since it is easy to adopt, it is a practice which could be picked up by any person from physically fit to one confined to wheelchair or even those who are on their road to recovery from surgery.
Tai Chi is an exercise which could successfully improve the strength of the lower body as well as the upper body by making the muscles healthier and more strenuous. Tai chi is also seen to restore as well as significantly improve balance. Research has also been able to declare that it could also reduce the number of falls. The ability to balance one’s body in space, also known scientifically as Proprioception is a quality which normally declines with age. Tai chi, however, trains the same sense and coupled with its ability to strengthen and make flexible the body structure, makes it easier to recover from stumbles.
Comparing the wide array of benefits that it provides against the physical effort that the exercise requires, it is important that each one of us consider making the tai chi a part of our remaining lives. It is guaranteed to provide us with better quality of life and much more of the inner peace that we seem to search for in our daily lives.
Works Cited
Cohen, Lily. Tai Chi Chuan and the Chinese Philosophy. n.d. 14 May 2016 <http://thewaytowellness.com/pages/Tai-Chi-Chuan-And-Chinese-Philosophy.html>.
Harvard Health Publications. "The health benefits of tai chi." Harvard Health Publications 1 May 2009.
Nordqvist, Joseph. What is Tai Chi? What are the health benefits of Tai Chi? 02 September 2013. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265507.php>.
The Telegraph. History of Tai Chi. 17 May 2011. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/8517475/History-of-Tai-Chi.html>.
