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What is Tai Chi?

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While workouts like high-intensity interval training (HIIT) have only been popular since the early 2000s, many other types of workouts have been around for much longer. Pilates, for example, began almost a century ago as a rehabilitation method for injured soldiers and dancers. The origins of yoga can be traced back more than 5,000 years. And we know that wrestling is even older – with famous cave paintings of the sport dating back more than 15,000 years.

Although Tai Chi only began recently, it is still considered an ancient practice, having been started by a Taoist monk who lived around 1300 AD. It is still practiced by many today – and for good reason.

What is Tai Chi?

According to the US National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), Tai Chi is a yoga-like practice that involves a series of slow, gentle movements and postures, a meditative state of mind and controlled breathing.

Although we know that Tai Chi originated from the martial arts of China, over the years the exercise has become increasingly focused on health promotion and rehabilitation. This is because Tai Chi has been the focus of more than 500 published medical studies. It is “credible medical research that has accelerated the popularity of Tai Chi in the West,” notes Peter Wayne, director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Massachusetts.

In fact, “Tai Chi is now a practice that millions of people around the world participate in,” says Dr. Paul Lam, a family doctor from Sydney, Australia, who has practiced Tai Chi since 1974 and is now a Tai Chi teacher. It is practiced by following certain movements and postures, similar to yoga. Because Tai Chi and yoga are ancient, low-intensity exercises that have been shown to have similar health benefits and are particularly beneficial for the elderly, it is believed that the two practices have more similarities than differences.

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What are the health benefits of Tai Chi?

Practicing Tai Chi offers numerous health benefits, with the most studied and well-known benefits being associated with improvement in symptoms associated with “arthritis, Parkinson's disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),” says Dong-Yun Wang, a resident physical therapist in Flushing, New York who recommends Tai Chi to help her physical therapy patients.

It's also known to improve posture and sleep and “reduces stress, boosts immunity, and lowers blood pressure,” says Lam.

Wayne adds that the exercise also “improves balance and mobility and reduces falls in older adults.” and that there is evidence “supporting its ability to relieve neck, back and knee pain” and even “improve cognitive function and mood.”

Tai Chi can improve both lower body and upper body strength. “If practiced regularly, tai chi can be comparable to strength training and brisk walking, which can improve the aerobic fitness of older people,” says Wang.

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Does Tai Chi have any disadvantages?

Despite these benefits, Tai Chi is not for everyone. “As with all activities and exercises, there is a risk of injury with Tai Chi,” says Lam. Still, 2019 research suggests that tai chi injuries are far less common than other forms of exercise, and NCCIH research concludes that “tai chi appears to be safe for almost everyone.”

Because tai chi is so different from other Western exercises, with its emphasis on slow movements and mindfulness, “it can take a few weeks of getting used to before it becomes fun and beneficial,” Lam explains. To get started, Wang recommends checking online to see where tai chi classes are offered in your area, or contacting someone who is into the practice to experience it together.

If you live in a larger city, “you may find a group of people who already practice it in the park or another public place,” says Wang. She explains that you will see an instructor leading the group and that you can simply ask to join them before “following the group's movements and trying to mimic the entire form.”

To make it more enjoyable and easier to commit to the practice long-term, Wayne advises: “Ask an interested friend or family member to start with you.”

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