A Golden Opportunity: T’ai Chi Chih for Health and Wellbeing

This article on TCC was recently published in the international journal The Bulletin, a publication of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International…. a society of key women educators. I am thrilled the article got accepted because it has been published internationally, giving TCC more exposure worldwide.

In addition, I just got a letter of acceptance for me to present TCC at the DKG International Convention 2006 in San Diego in mid-July. It is a huge convention with 5,000 expected to attend. Another golden opportunity… for sure! In the flow, Linda Braga

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The curiosity to learn a new skill and connect with the larger world is a lifetime journey. Seniors are no exception. They have the time and inquisitiveness to pursue new interests. This article is about some older adults who are enjoying a new path to wellness through a form of meditation called T’ai Chi Chih. It is a practice for all ages. Its simplicity and beauty attract beginners, offering a way to experience relaxation and rejuvenation.

A Desire for “the Good Life”

Everyone wants the good life, one filled with health and vitality. The advertising world knows this, and capitalizes on our desire to stay young forever. Products for good nutrition, relaxation and rejuvenation entice us to stay youthful. Magazines are loaded with beauty products and methods to help us learn how to relax. With the current demands of our modern times, the challenge is how to maintain a life style that promotes wellness on a physical, emotional and spiritual level.

Most people in the working world today are stressed out. They keep on living at a frantic pace, juggling career and family life, often at the cost of their own health. Most feel they have no choice.

Often, people don’t a make a change in their life until a crisis hits. In China, the word crisis has two different meanings: danger and opportunity! Most crises come at the most inconvenient times. But they do get our attention and help us to set new priorities. Surprisingly, a personal crisis can be a golden opportunity for positive change. It certainly was for me.

A Crisis Brings Change

In the 1980’s, a demanding job as Resource Specialist, parental health problems, and rough times in my own family brought me to a point of crisis. One day, a flyer landed on my doorstep, advertising a class for stress reduction. Despite my busy schedule, I decided to take the class. It changed my life.

The class was T’ai Chi Chih® Joy Through Movement. With 20 easy circular patterns and alternating rest poses, it is the perfect anecdote for stress. The soft, flowing movements circulate and balance the intrinsic energy of the body. This gentle form of meditation brings the body-mind-spirit into a state of harmony and balance. For me, it was the perfect answer.

After becoming accredited to teach T’ai Chi Chih (TCC), I began offering workshops and evening classes for various groups. This provided a nourishing balance of “doing” and “being” in my life. It also encouraged me to embody all that I knew about relaxation and wellness.

Moving Meditation for Older Adults

Two years ago, I retired as Resource Specialist to pursue my new career: offering daytime T’ai Chi Chih classes for seniors. Today, there are many classes offered at local Community Centers that provide enrichment and new skills to a growing population of older adults.

What I discovered did not surprise me. Though older adults have more time and no career demands to worry about, life is still stressful. With personal health issues, family changes, and loss of spouse, they too need to learn how to decrease the stress in their life, and relax.

Many seniors (ages 60 – 90) come to TCC class, curious about whether they can actually do the movements. By the end of the first lesson, they have smiles and positive comments that this form of movement is relaxing and very easy to do. The simple circular patterns, usually performed standing, can be modified to a seated pose. Students develop a new sense of softness and relaxation in their movements that carry over to their thoughts and actions after class. Soon they are hooked on feeling good, feeling relaxed.

Health and Wellness Benefits for Everyone

T’ai Chi Chih offers many health benefits to those who practice regularly. In a five-year study done at UCLA, it was shown that T’ai Chi Chih boosts the immune response of the body by 50%. This is significant. Other studies and reports by students confirm other health benefits, including lowering of blood pressure, improved balance and strength, mental clarity and calmness, improved digestion and elimination, and better sleep.

One student, an 85-year-old woman, came to class and participated the full hour without sitting down. When the class was over, she said that she felt so calm she thought she was dreaming…and had to pinch herself to see if she was really awake! Her family tells her she is much more patient now. She feels good, enjoys new friends, and has a positive outlook on life.

Another student, a woman in her late 70’s with diabetes and other health problems, left T’ai Chi Chih class and walked halfway home before she realized that she had left her cane in class!

A TCC student with breast cancer and respiratory problems began a regular practice of T’ai Chi Chih. Her health improved so much that last year that she passed the training to become accredited to teach TCC herself.

A student with physical limits has been a long-time student who does much of her practice seated in a chair. She is an inspiration to others who can see that she is a calm, centered person. They all want to be like her! She says that T’ai Chi Chih has been a life-saver for her.

Many of these seniors remark that this class is a refuge from their busy schedule that includes caring for grandchildren and family members as well as themselves. They enjoy the class and make it a priority in their schedule. Those who attend two days a week and practice at home are making very good progress, and are experiencing even greater benefits.

A Golden Opportunity for You

For those of you still in the world of work, and those of you now retired, consider what you can do to nourish yourself daily through relaxation and renewal. T’ai Chi Chih classes are offered in many cities throughout the USA and other countries. If your schedule prohibits you from taking a scheduled class, consider private lessons. Experience a new sense of peacefulness and vitality. Through the quiet meditative practice of T’ai Chi Chih, you will find that you are calm, centered and joyful. You become “strong like a mountain, flowing like a river.”

For more information on the practice of T’ai Chi Chih and teachers in your area, visit the web site at: www.taichichih.com. The UCLA study can also be accessed at this web site.

Rosalind Braga, current Co-President of Zeta Phi Chapter in California, is a retired Special Education teacher. She currently offers T’ai Chi Chih classes through the San Leandro Adult School, and has been a presenter of T’ai Chi Chih at many Delta Kappa Gamma Chi State Conventions.