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What is exercise?
In order to exercise the body a person must work the muscles,
tendons, ligaments, bones, nerves and cardiovascular system in a
coordinated manner.
There are many different approaches.
The Western way is usually to push and punish the body.
The Taoist method is to treat the body with care and respect; to work
the body gently and carefully.
Definition
Exercise involves putting the body under
sufficient duress in order to provoke a change: muscles get larger,
better endurance, cardiovascular fitness improves...
Without harming the body in the process.
The drawbacks of exercise
Not all forms of exercise are necessarily
good for you. For example, running may improve
cardiovascular health but is also very hard on the
joints.
Lifting heavy weights can cause significant tension to accumulate and - if the
muscles are large enough - adversely affect the
skeleton. Most forms of exercise have
pros and cons; especially sport.
The risk of heart failure was
more than double for men who sat for at least five hours a day outside of work
and didn't exercise very much, compared with men who were physically active and
sat for less than two hours a day.
(Dr. Deborah Rohm)
Ideal form of exercise
According to the book The Blue Zones it is
important to think of exercise in terms of what you can reasonably do
long-term.
The ideal form of exercise is moderate enough that
you can do it for the rest of your life. It needs to be joint-friendly, provide
a gentle workout and be sustainable.
This sounds rather like taijiquan, doesn't it?
Daily exercise
Dr Michael Greger (author of How Not To
Die) recommends 90 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every day.
The three doctors who wrote The Okinawa Program maintain that
taijiquan -
with its ancient origins and incredible health
benefits - is the ideal form of
exercise for modern
people.
Isn't
taijiquan just
slow motion
exercise?
No.
Some of the training
methods are slow,
and some are not.
As the student gains greater skill, their movements become
fluid and
dynamic.
They move at whatever speed the
situation demands.
To quote
The
Taijiquan Classics: "If the
opponent's movement is quick, then quickly respond; if his movement is slow,
then follow slowly."
A balanced approach?
For many people, their fitness regime
does not take into account
'motor learning'.
Motor learning is about the process of using the body, rather than simply
exercising the body.
Agility,
mobility, relaxed
spontaneous movement, balance,
structure, alignment, biomechanics, efficiency,
ambidextrous body use, joint
health, coordination,
skill,
emotional wellbeing or
psychological flexibility.
The balanced approach is to combine exercise with motor learning.
Motor learning
Instead of being physically strenuous, taijiquan
challenges the body in different ways:
Healthy skeletal alignment
Optimal body use
Learning how your muscles work
Timing
How and why to relax your body
Proprioception (relative position of body parts/awareness of how much strength is being applied)
Rhythm
Mind/body unity
Leverage
Kinaesthetic awareness (knowing where your limbs are positioned without needing to look)
Footwork
Stance
Biofeedback
Ambidextrous use of the limbs
Gait (manner of walking)
Ergonomic body use
Taoist way
Tai chi and qigong
combine exercise with motor learning.
The exercise feels to be so mild that it is hard to believe that anything is really
happening.
There is no sweating, straining or panting for breath.
There is gain without pain.
Much of the training is concerned with how the body is
being moved, rather than purely exercise.
Medical proof
The Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi is one of many reputable books detailing how
taijiquan can improve the health of virtually anybody.
Extensive testing around the world suggests that taijiquan is the nearest thing
we have to the 'perfect exercise'.
The benefits of taijiquan emerge gradually over time. They are significant and long-lasting.
Tai chi can be practiced throughout most of your life.
When we are young, we can enjoy lots of external movement. When we are older, we
become less active and can't as easily enjoy large movements, speed, high
impact, and quick twisting of the muscles. Unfortunately, this is exactly the
time our bodies really need good exercise to maintain youthful energy and
health. Most of the exercise systems available in our society can't satisfy this
need.
(Adam Hsu)
Sarcopenia (muscle loss with aging)
Adults over the age of 50 lose approximately
1% of muscle mass each
year as a natural consequence of aging.
The only way to offset this is to engage in a strength building regime that can
be sustained throughout your natural life.
Qigong and taijiquan qualify as ideal methods for
accomplishing this goal.
However, daily practice is a must.
Little & often
Instead of pushing your body hard and putting it under duress,
just do a little exercise.
Keep it mild.
Encourage things to move, to release, to flex.
Regular, mindful exercise has been found to be more
healthy than sustained bursts of hard activity.
Tai chi is intended to improve health and
wellbeing through frequent, regular
practice using low effort.
Moderation
Tai chi advocates moderation; not taxing or
tiring the body.
Rather than train for a lengthy period of time, aim to
practice little & often.
20-30 minute increments, with rest breaks in-between is ideal.
Instead of pushing your body hard and putting it under duress,
just do a little exercise.
Resting will keep your
concentration sharp and offset fatigue.
Be here, right now
If you enter a busy gym, there is usually very loud music designed to 'numb-out'
the mind whilst exercising.
This is not wise.
Whenever the body is being used, the mind must be present, aware and alert.
Spacing-out is dangerous.
It can result in poor alignment, exertion and injury.
'Active rest'
Some people use the jargon term 'active rest'.
This isn't actual rest at all. It is an active break; not a rest.
Biofeedback
Tai chi encourages the student to exercise with intelligence, to 'listen' to
what the body is telling you.
If something feels too heavy, too hard, too taxing... then it is a warning.
If a joint feels sore, then do not ignore it.
If the same injury occurs again and again, you risk long term damage that will
eventually affect your quality of life.
No pain
Pain is not something to be fought or ignored.
It is something you must listen to and learn from. It is something you want to
avoid experiencing altogether.
So, people's shoulders being
up like this (lifted) it doesn't just affect their shoulders. It pushes their
neck vertebrae out - which is why they get sore necks. It actually makes their
chest lift a lot. It puts pressure on your heart. It does a whole lot of things
that are not good for you.
(Bruce Frantzis)
Tear & repair mentality
The drawback of sport and mainstream exercise is that the emphasis is not upon
good body use, optimal alignment, emotional, physical and psychological
wellbeing.
The onus is upon the outcome rather than the process involved.
There is the pressure to win, to succeed, to perform, to be the best. Or to look
good; muscular, trim or sexy.
People push themselves and the body can suffer. Seeking to repair the body afterwards is not as smart as avoiding injury in
the first place.
The 70% rule
The 100% capacity approach is the 'no pain, no gain' attitude to
exercise.
It opens you up for strain and injury because you are fully committed (and
often forcing) at all
times.
Most people exceed their natural range of safe movement frequently
throughout the day without realising it.
If you remain well within your limits at all times there is less risk of
injury.
A tonic
Tai chi is not going to fix you up.
It was never intended (or designed) to be something employed for repair.
At best, it may be seen as a tonic.
A tonic is a medicine taken daily in order to maintain and invigorate the
body.
It may significantly improve your
fitness.
However, you should take note of the small print, the conditions of use:
It must be administered every day
When you stop taking it, the fitness benefits go away
This is something to really think about.
Re-read the
paragraph if you need to.
Guidance
In a taijiquan school, a
qualified instructor with decades of experience is overseeing your progress.
This means that faults in body use will be identified and gently corrected.
Bad physical habits can be slowly removed and replaced with healthy,
intelligent alternatives.
Small errors will continually emerge and these too can be curtailed.
New, stimulating skills and insights ensure continued enthusiasm and
curiosity.
Mental health & wellbeing
Exercising the body is only half the story with taijiquan.
To fully embrace the art, you must be prepared to rigorously
challenge and expand the
mind.
Starting your day with
taijiquan
It is beneficial to start your day with taijiquan practice.
Instead of feeling stressed, rushed, tired and anxious... your day begins
with clarity and ease.
You will feel:
• Energised
• Calm
• Alert
• Relaxed
• Warm
• Composed
This makes driving safer.
You will be capable of thinking more clearly and effectively throughout the
day.
Remember: in order to get the benefits of taijiquan you need to
practice the art...
Body building and weight lifting are fashionable
activities today. The emphasis is upon developing external muscles which
creates an armouring effect that can eventually distort the bony structure.
It is the over developed musculature that actually torque's the bones and
discourages them from bearing additional weight. The body attempts to
compensate and problems arise.
Running does not necessarily in and of itself
improve posture that is already poor and constricted. It often exaggerates
problems due to the substitution of inappropriate muscles. The repetitive
inappropriate development of the musculature (as in body building or weight
lifting) often leads to diminished sensitivity. Stress occurs in the knees
and lower back, encouraging injury.
Swimming is an activity that can either create structural problems or
release them depending upon the way it is taught and practiced. Professional
swimmers are known to develop shoulder tendonitis and kyphosis. Overriding
head/neck righting reflexes (as occurs when the head is repeatedly turned
but the body does not follow) eventually result in overdeveloping shoulder
muscles, pinching nerves and distorting the rib cage.
Various sport activities emphasize strength, endurance and speed.
Development of muscle control rather than skeletal balance takes precedence.
Gaining speed at the expense of mounting tension, is too often the goal.
(Liz Koch)