Mobility
   
     

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Birth

Y
ou started life with a natural condition of suppleness and flexibility. A baby does not have sore knees, a bad back or arthritis.
The limbs can move comfortably within their natural range of motion. There is no stiffness in the muscles.


Aging

As people get older they lose the ability to move freely and easily. This reduces our quality of life. Tai chi was designed to off-set the stiffness commonly associated with aging.
Our aim is to regain the degree of mobility we started life with.
 

Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV, and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death. The chair is out to kill us.

(Professor James Levine, The Mayo Clinic)


Sitting

The main culprit for loss of mobility in most adults is sitting on their backsides too much. Sitting causes:

• Strained neck
• Sore shoulders
• Stiffness
• Upper back pain
• Lower back pain
• Loss of circulation
• Joint compression
• Swollen legs
• Heart disease
 
The solution is easy. Switch off the PC, the TV and walk whenever possible rather than drive.


Hands

Over-use and wrong use of the hands can cause immobility and arthritis. Main culprits:

• Computer mouse
• Mobile phone
• Tapping a touch screen
• Unnecessary application of force
• Gripping too hard
• Knitting
• Sewing
• Repetitive activity
• Using a keyboard
• Playing video games


Cross-train

It is common for people to seek to improve their fitness by body building, attending the gym, running or playing a sport.
Whilst the intention is good, the approach is often dubious. Will larger muscles necessarily improve mobility? Cross-training is essential but it must be done properly.
 

Metabolism slows down 90 percent after 30 minutes of sitting. The enzymes that move the bad fat from your arteries to your muscles, where it can get burned off, slow down. The muscles in your lower body are turned off. And after two hours, good cholesterol drops 20 percent. Just getting up for five minutes is going to get things going again. These things are so simple they’re almost stupid.

(Gavin Bradley)


Body building

Many forms of exercise actively reduce mobility. People strain themselves lifting heavy weights and working out at the gym. The muscles shorten. Joint mobility becomes limited.


Running

Most runners run with extremely bad posture:

• Elbows are stiff and locked (often raised)
• The body is leaning forwards or stooping; either at the neck or collapsing at the bottom of the rib cage
• Shoulders are lifted; often one higher than the other
• Considerable tension in the upper body
• Frozen sacroiliac; immobile
• Knees twisted (the foot flicks out sideways)
• Weight is bearing heavily down into the knees
• The skeleton is not moving freely, naturally or comfortably


Tired

Running with bad posture causes serious fatigue and adverse wear and tear on the body. It limits joint mobility and damages the skeleton.
The high degree of physical tension in the body uses energy and tires the runner out. As the runner tires, the quality deteriorates further.


Sport

Sport was not necessarily designed with health in mind. The aim is typically to compete, to win. Good body usage is not the goal. Mobility is only considered relative to the needs of the sporting activity.


External martial arts

The external martial arts are normally very effective in combat. But they seldom train in a healthy manner. A lifetime of practice is not always possible.
Often skill diminishes with age; strength decreases and mobility is lost. People compensate by pumping-up the muscles.


Smarter exercise

Tai chi poise is healthy. The body is used naturally and comfortably. The mind is quiet. We listen to what the body is telling us rather than push and punish ourselves.


A gentle art

In tai chi we seek a condition of pliability. We use the least amount of muscular strength at all times. Only by being extremely gentle in our physical contact can we use our nervous system skilfully.


Fluid movement

Flow and change like water. Hardness in our bodies will impede smooth movement. A tai chi exponent seeks to have the supple, soft body they once had as a child.
The joints are mobile and flexible, and the muscles move smoothly and easily.


Rest

Constructive rest helps us to release tension, lengthen the muscles and free the joints without effort.


Qigong

Qigong training involves strength building and increasing the range of joint movement. Students who train at home become stronger and more flexible in a short space of time.
The key factor is to maintain the habit of daily practice.


Self-massage

The whole-body self-massage routine is intuitive and easy to perform. It helps eliminate stored muscular tension and frees the joints.
Parts of the body neglected by conventional exercise are given necessary attention.


Tai chi

The tai chi form(s), pushing hands training and martial practice all encourage (and require) an agile, nimble body. From the onset, students are required to release tension and move freely.
As the student advances through the tai chi martial syllabus, the need for mobility increases significantly. Advanced practice cannot be undertaken by a stiff, immobile student.


Weapons

Weapons practice significantly improves mobility in the wrists, shoulders and hips. The student patiently increases their range of motion.


Chin na

Demanding and uncompromising, chin na necessitates free movement of the joints along with a notable degree of strength.
Muscular strength is not needed to apply chin na. Strength is required to practice receiving it. There is a risk of injury for any student who fails to invest in the appropriate level of conditioning.


Shuai jiao

In some ways, shuai jiao is even more challenging than chin na. Students need a strong body in order to handle the abrupt throws and sudden loss of balance.
A lack of mobility is dangerous in shuai jiao. We require students to undertake and pass a mobility assessment before learning shuai jiao.


Remobilise

In order to increase mobility the emphasis needs to be upon working the body both in class and at home between lessons. Adopt a multi-faceted approach:
 
• Strengthen your muscles
• Align your skeleton better
• Sit less
• Stand less
• Stretch more
• Improve balance
• Gain coordination
• Increase bodily awareness
• Be mindful of how you use your body


Page created 18 March 1997
Last updated 16 June 2023