Tai Chi for Everyday Wellness

Instant Tai Chi: Exercises and Guidance for Everyday Wellness

Excerpts from the forthcoming new book by Ronnie Robinson, scheduled for release August 28, 2018

Introduction

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Tai chi is an ancient Chinese exercise system that offers many benefits to help combat the stresses of 21^st-century living. Within these pages you will discover how to increase relaxation, reduce stress, improve your body awareness and sustain a sense of peace and contentment. Through regular practice of this fascinating, multi-faceted art, not only will you achieve an increased understanding of yourself, you will also learn how to relate more effectively to others.

Most people are familiar with the slow, graceful sequence of movement of Tai chi. In China these movements are practised daily in every park of every Chinese city. This is the Hand Form and it is featured in Chapter 4. Although it is also possible to practice tai chi with a partner or using weapons, the solo Hand Form is where most people’s training begins.

 

Tai Chi Principles

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Tai chi is different from other forms of exercise. You don’t need to get hot or run around, and your heartbeat doesn’t have to rise. Instead, tai chi is about moving in a slow, fluid and balanced way that creates harmony between your mind, your breath and your body. Although the Hand Form consists of a series of separate postures, they are performed one after the after as a seamless flow. Through applying mental focus, being aware of your breath and staying grounded, tai chi can bring you into a meditative state. Over time, you will find that you can stay in this state, not just when you practise tai chi, but in all of your life.

Benefits for the mind and spirit

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One of the great benefits of tai chi, is that through its movements we return to a place of reflection and quietness. This helps us to develop a deeper sense of who we are, what our purpose is and how we relate to the world at large. Instead of having a busy mind and a still body, we discover an inner stillness through physical movement. We are able to recognize when we are at peace and, if we sense disharmony, we can take steps to centre ourselves again. Ultimately, tai chi can lead you to a feeling of oneness with everything around you. On a psychological level, tai chi brings increased self-confidence, stress reduction, patience and understanding. When you are at work you may notice that your concentration and mental clarity are improved. Tai chi can also lift your mood and make you feel more positively about life. If your body is habitually compressed and tight, this inhibits your energy flow and results in lethargy, lack of spirit, low self-esteem and depression. In tai chi, you learn to stand upright with a clear open passage from the base of your spine to the crown of your head and this allows your spirit to rise upward. When your body is upright and open, you simply feel better.

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