{"id":10642,"date":"2019-07-25T07:32:08","date_gmt":"2019-07-25T07:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/?p=10642"},"modified":"2024-09-12T14:37:03","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T12:37:03","slug":"what-is-tai-chi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/fitness-sport-management-blog\/what-is-tai-chi\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Tai Chi?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Tai chi is an <a href=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/blog\/what-do-muscles-use-for-energy-during-exercise\/\">exercise<\/a> discipline that embraces the mind, body and spirit. It originates in ancient China and is one of the most powerful exercise modalities to develop a healthy mind and body.\u00a0 It&#8217;s not necessary to learn much about the origins of Tai chi&#8217;s roots to enjoy its health benefits; however, the following concepts can help you to understand how practitioners approach this art form:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Qi is an energy force which is thought to flow through the body. It is said that tai chi unblocks and encourages the proper flow of qi.<\/li>\n<li>Yin and Yang are opposite elements. These make up the universe and need to be maintained in harmony. Practising tai chi is said to promote this balance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Tai chi is easy to learn for beginners<\/h2>\n<p>What is helpful to know is that it is easy to learn and very quickly delivers its famed health benefits. For many, tai chi continues as a lifetime journey towards the ultimate goal of being well.<\/p>\n<p>Many people describe tai chi as &#8220;meditation in motion&#8221;. But this being said, this exercise might as well be given the term&#8221; medication in motion&#8221; according to experts at Harvard. There is because there is mounting evidence that tai chi &#8211; which started life as a martial art &#8211; is valuable in treating or staving off many health problems.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>It doesn&#8217;t matter if you are unfit\u00a0 &#8211; you can start tai chi right now<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Tai chi can be modified for anyone &#8211; from the fittest to people who use wheelchairs or recovering from surgery. During a tai chi session &#8211; which is low impact and slow motion &#8211; you are taken (without pausing) through a series of movements that are named after animal actions.<\/p>\n<p>For instance &#8220;white crane spreads its wings&#8221;. In addition, the moves in tai chi are named after martial arts moves, for example, &#8220;box both ears.&#8221;\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/blog\/which-breathing-techniques-are-good-for-swimmers\/\">Breathe<\/a> deeply and naturally as you move. Focus your attention \u2014 as in some kinds of meditation \u2014 on the sensations that you feel in your body.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10649 size-shop_single\" src=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/shutterstock_584186617-600x400.jpg\" alt=\"Trifocus fitness academy - tai chi\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Tai chi is different from other exercises<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The movements are generally circular and they are never forced. <a href=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/blog\/how-muscles-adapt-to-strength-training-and-bodybuilding\/\">Muscles<\/a> are relaxed as opposed to being tense. Joints are not fully extended or bent. The connective tissues in your body are not stretched.<\/p>\n<p>When performed correctly and practised regularly, tai chi can play a decisive part in a holistic approach to improving your health. The beneficial effects of tai chi may incorporate:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Less stress, anxiety as well as depression<\/li>\n<li>Enhanced mood<\/li>\n<li>Increased aerobic capacity<\/li>\n<li>Increased energy and stamina<\/li>\n<li>Increased flexibility, balance in addition to agility<\/li>\n<li>Improved muscle strength as well as definition<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some evidence shows that tai chi may also help:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Improve the quality of sleep<\/li>\n<li>Improve the immune system<\/li>\n<li>Help to decrease blood pressure<\/li>\n<li>Correct joint pain<\/li>\n<li>Improve symptoms of congestive heart failure<\/li>\n<li>Improve overall well-being<\/li>\n<li>Lessen the propensity of falls in older adults<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Tai chi is an excellent exercise for everyone. The fantastic thing about this exercise modality is that it is not stressful on the joints. This means that it&#8217;s low impact and can be used successfully in a rehabilitation programme.<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/contact-us\/\">Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy<\/a><\/h2>\n<p>Want to learn more about how the mind-body connection works? Trifocus Fitness Academy&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/courses\/mind-body-specialist-certification\/\">Mind-Body Specialist Certification<\/a> will help you gather this knowledge! For more information, please follow this <a href=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/courses\/mind-body-specialist-certification\/\">link<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/courses\/mind-body-specialist-certification\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5228 size-shop_single\" src=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Footer-600x140.jpg\" alt=\"Trifocus Fitness Academy Register button\" width=\"600\" height=\"140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Footer.jpg 600w, https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Footer-300x70.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mind-Body Certification\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/efbpfMyKorA?start=5&#038;feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tai chi is an exercise discipline that embraces the mind, body and spirit. It originates in ancient China and is one of the most powerful exercise modalities to develop a healthy mind and body.\u00a0 It&#8217;s not necessary to learn much about the origins of Tai chi&#8217;s roots to enjoy its health benefits; however, the following&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":10648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2121],"tags":[2373],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10642"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10642"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37425,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10642\/revisions\/37425"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}