Tai chi is a low-impact exercise that has its roots in traditional Chinese martial arts and medicine. It involves slow yet determined movements that stretch the muscles. It also integrates proper breathing techniques that make you more attuned to your mind and body. Tai chi has health benefits for the mind while helping to prevent and soothe pain due to age-related conditions!
Let’s find out more about the health benefits of tai chi.
1. It Reduces the Risk of Falling
As we age, our risk of falling increases. This poses numerous problems for the elderly. Firstly, their bodies aren’t as spry as they used to be, and recovery will be very hard and painful for them. Secondly, their bodies are more fragile, and broken bones that need bone replacement are likely. Thirdly, elderly people tend to live alone—getting prompt care will be hindered if no one is around to see them fall.
Tai chi can help prevent them from falling. In a study published on BMJ Open in 2017, researchers discovered that people who practiced tai chi were 20% less likely to fall than people who didn’t practice tai chi. This statistic improved the more consistent the practice was—the more you do tai chi, the less likely you are to fall.
2. It Improves Your Cardiovascular Health
We all know that exercise is good for the heart. It gets the heart racing and the blood pumping, delivering much-needed energy and nutrients around the body. It also ensures our organs get the stimulation it needs to maintain good health and get stronger!
Tai chi doesn’t seem like much of an exercise compared to running or swimming, but it is. Indeed, this is one of the greatest benefits of tai chi. This makes it a great activity who can’t do high-impact exercises like the elderly or people with mobility issues. And it’s not bad at all—in a span of a few weeks, you can lower bad cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. You also get to stretch muscles that don’t get a lot of work, especially if you work a desk job or just don’t move around much.
On top of that, people who practice tai chi reportedly experience fewer bouts of stress, depression, and anxiety. These are all conditions that contribute to heart problems.
3. It Improves Mobility in Old Age
As we age, we generally lose trust in our bodies. Our backs could be aching, knees could be wobbling, hips could be cracking, and more. But, the more you practice tai chi, the less of this you experience. Combined with the reduced risk of falling, people who practice tai chi tend to be happier with their bodies, whether it be physically, mentally, or spiritually!
This is very important as you get older because our muscles and bones naturally grow frailer. Elderly people need to constantly move unless they want to become weak because eventually, this weakness will give way to stagnancy and isolation from the rest of society.
Tai chi allows you to move your body without being too hard on yourself. Additionally, it encourages you to go outside—many people who practice tai chi love to do it out in the open for that extra freshness.
4. It Boosts Brain Function
As we mentioned earlier, tai chi reduces the likelihood of stress, anxiety, and depression. That’s because tai chi helps you relax and work the brain simultaneously. Thus, it improves your overall mood, boosts cognitive function so your mind is as fresh as ever, and prevents mental health problems as much as possible.
Working out the brain is very important to prevent neurological disorders from occurring. Dementia, for example, can be largely prevented by stimulating the mind a lot, which the elderly usually stop doing after they retire and their kids leave to live their own lives. So, with tai chi, you’re essentially hitting two birds with one stone by focusing on both physical and mental health.
5. It Promotes Bone Health
Another thing that we mentioned earlier is that our bones and muscles naturally grow weaker as we age. This is especially the case for post-menopausal women. Indeed, according to the Endocrine Society and the NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center, at least 50% of post-menopausal women will develop osteoporosis.
You can do a couple of things to prevent osteoporosis like not smoking, not drinking alcohol, exercising frequently, and eating healthy food. But, if you’ve already been diagnosed with osteoporosis, you must do some wellness exercises to stop it from progressing.
Tai chi can help you with that. It’s low-impact and virtually painless, but you still reap all the benefits like bone strength, reduced fall risk, and more. It’s an awesome exercise that can be incorporated into any daily routine!
