Fitness & Exercise

Graceful Movements of Tai Chi Help Body and Soul

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"I call it meditation in motion," Xu tells WebMD. "You erase everything from your mind, concentrate on the movement, it is very much a mind-body connection ... making circular movements, moving smoothing, gently. Life today is very stressful; people have job problems, relationship problems. Fifteen to 20 minutes of tai chi every day can reduce that stress and lower blood pressure especially."

Xu is currently working with the Arthritis Foundation, providing education on the benefits of tai chi in preventing arthritis. "Because you move the whole body, the wrist, the elbow, the knee, because all the joints are moved, tai chi keeps the joints lubricated. It is a total body exercise. It is a smooth and relaxed form of exercise, very soft, like a continuous dance," says Xu.

During the past 10 years, Xu has worked with Emory School of Medicine professor Steven L. Wolf, PhD, in studying tai chi and elderly people. In a study involving 200 people aged 70 and older, one group took 15 weekly tai chi sessions and 15-minute twice-daily practice sessions in between; another group took balance training classes using a computer-operated balance platform that helped them learn to control their sway under increasingly difficult conditions. Wolf found improvements in certain key areas, most notably in reducing the rate of falling, for the tai chi group.

"Tai chi is a low-technological, inexpensive group activity," says Wolf. "Our data suggest that tai chi can influence older individuals' functioning and well-being significantly and provide some appreciation for why this exercise form has been practiced by older Chinese for more than three centuries."

Vital Information:

• Tai chi is an ancient Chinese exercise tradition that involves making slow, controlled movements.
• Practicing tai chi can improve mild balance problems in people of all ages and can reduce the risk of falls.
• Other health benefits of tai chi include reduced stress, greater relaxation, and lower blood pressure.