Tai Chi

For people having a sedentary lifestyle, and those who want to start exercising but do not know where to start, the idea of ​​heavy exercise can easily send them straight to the couch. If the thought of load, strain and discomfort during exercise you do not like and makes you retreat to the safety of the couch relaxing with tea and donuts, the tai chi may be for you.

 Tai chi is an ancient Chinese martial art practiced with as much softness in the muscles, unlike other "hard" martial arts such as taekwondo and kung fu that cause muscle tension. Postures done in a smooth motion, and they resemble the movements of martial arts seemed done under water.

For those who are familiar with Tai Chi, is a common misconception that it is only good for the elderly. While it is a popular form of exercise among the elderly, especially in China, tai chi is found useful for the health of young people, as well.

Benefits of tai chi are: 

• Relieves anxiety and stress 
• Improves balance and coordination 
• Relieves arthritic conditions 
• Relieves muscular tension 
• Protects the joints from stiffening 
• Corrects bad body posture 
• Reduces fatigue 
• Increases flexibility and endurance 
• Improves cardiovascular health 
• Improves sleep

While tai chi is beneficial for all age groups may be particularly attractive to people in older age. Slow pace, relaxed poses, simple movements make it easy and routine physical exercise for people who are elderly or have a chronic disease. Besides being easy to implement, it is particularly useful for health.

 In a study conducted in 2006 found that tai chi helps improve balance, muscle strength, endurance and flexibility in just 6 weeks. Further improvements can be seen after 12 weeks. Researchers concluded that tai chi is a powerful intervention that can reverse some functional limitations and to help people live better.

 Another study found that tai chi improves the function of T cells. T cells are crucial to the overall strength of the immune system.
 
Brisk walking is a popular type of exercise among many people, especially the elderly, but it can be good for health to deal with tai chi. Researchers found that tai chi is more effective than brisk walking and includes some fitness improvements - strength of the legs, flexibility, balance.
  
The benefits of tai chi are clear - it may be useful for physical and mental health, no matter how old you are and what you have physical abilities. Much more useful than a cup of tea and donuts on the couch.