The history of ancient things always consists of a mix of fact and myth. The harder you try to pin down a starting point, an original spark, the more myth and the less fact you are likely to encounter. This is especially true of tai chi, because the art was for many centuries practiced in secret. But what we can say for sure is that it originated in China, that it is related to other healing and martial arts such as chi kung and kung fu, and that it draws on the philosophy of Taoism.
Some time around 2700 B.C., the semi-mythological Yellow Emperor appears in a text that expounded on the invisible workings of the body, and gave rise to acupuncture.The Emperor is said to have practiced health-giving exercises based on the movements of animals. This is the first reference to something resembling chi kung or tai chi.
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Tai chi was once only known in China. Today it is practiced all over the world. This article explores the ideas that lie at the center of this energizing health-giving system of exercise. And it looks at what the graceful art of tai chi can do for you.
Tai chi is a gentle form of exercise that anyone can do. In China it is practiced daily by millions of people, old and young. And it is becoming increasingly popular in the West, primarily the United States.
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Tai chi is fantastically good for you. It is a holistic system, meaning that it benefits the mind and spirit as well as the physical body. Regular practice trains your powers of concentration, improves your mental awareness, and teaches you how to control stress.
The physical exercises combined with good breathing techniques help to improve your posture, flexibility, and balance.They also relax the muscles and nervous system, which in turn aids the functioning of the internal organs: practitioners claim that tai chi improves the digestion, lowers the blood pressure, and boosts the immune system.
Many of the benefits proceed from the slow, measured rhythm of tai chi. It is impossible to do tai chi in a frantic manner, and so it is impossible to remain stressed while you do it.
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As recently as thirty years ago, Eastern health systems were considered exotic curiosities. Most people viewed practices such as tai chi, yoga, and acupuncture with skepticism or disbelief—if they knew about them at all. And the medical profession looked askance at any medical or therapeutic wisdom that originated outside the Western clinical tradition.
But this has changed in the last generation or so. It is now widely accepted that Eastern philosophies are based on a deep understanding of the body. As a result, many of the ideas that underpin tai chi are now seen as complementary to Western understanding, rather than contradictory of it.
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