Tai Chi Exercises

FunWriter | Jan 22, 2010 |

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There are therapeutic reasons that many people use Tai Chi as an everyday exercise. Other people find that Tai Chi relates to forms of dance and others use it as a way to meditate and escape the world. It takes a lot of physical and mental strength in order to practice Tai Chi exercises, which are like dance steps that are performed very slowly. Your body and mind will work as one during Tai Chi exercises, and this is one of the reasons that it is looked upon with such high regard.

Exercise of Chi

Breathing is a major part of performing Tai Chi exercises. Many people are familiar with "Chi" though it is technically spelled, "Qi." To enter a trance state, you do not have to do this portion of the exercise in a manner of meditation, though it will help. Begin by taking the Horseback riding stance, for this exercise. With your chin level, stand with your back straight, at the beginning of this exercise. Your knees will bend at ninety degrees, with your feet spread apart a distance of approximately three feet. You will find that your balance is at its prime in this position for meditation purposes, though you may feel a stretch in your legs. Without using force, keep your arms extended forward and breathe in and out in a slow and deep manner. You want to remove every trace of air from within your lungs during this exercise. You will want to finish this exercise with your palms facing each other, near your chest, so begin to pull them toward your body in order to achieve this by the end of the exercise. Breathe in and out in a slow and deep manner.

There are many great purposes to this Tai Chi exercise. I was taught to master this practice before anything else, even when I was studying Kung Fu. There are so many personal uses for this exercise. It is not used for just exercise purposes, as it can help you to mentally prepare for something that is important like an interview at a new company. You can increase your fitness in the cardiovascular realm by doing this. There are so many bad elements that get stuck within your lungs and through these breathing exercises you are inhaling to 100% capacity and then blowing out all of this air, cleansing yourself completely. But do not make the mistake of thinking that you will clear your lungs of carcinogens by doing these exercises.

Another exercise is called grinding corn.

Monks use the grinding corn exercise in meditation and warming up for further exercise when practicing Tai Chi. You will begin by putting yourself in the horseback riding stance, in order to do the grinding corn exercise. Staying low in your stance, extend your arms forward and use a circular motion to move your hands, and imagine that you are using bricks in your hand to grind corn pellets against a stone table. Get into a good rhythm and repeat these circular motions in a slow manner, alternating the circles.

You will feel your entire body engage in order to support the stance, making your muscles truly work, though the brunt will be felt in your thighs, much like when you do the horseback riding stance. You can increase the workout on your muscles if you hold a weight while doing the circular motion exercise.