How happy do you want to be?
          Western Medicine is just starting the test the health benefits of Tai Chi and some of the results have been remarkable. These results are due to a combination of the benefits of meditation, stance training, where pressure is placed on the bones, the twisting of the torso and the flow of saliva, chi and blood. Increased saliva production helps the health of the upper intestine and keeps the absorbtion of food efficient. Part of the aging process is the contraction of the blood system and tai chi helps to open this again to refresh all areas of the body by bringing nutrients to help repair any damage and to carry away waste and poisons. In modern medicine, after an operation the physiotherapist will recommend you to 'think' in the area of the operation as blood goes there and recovery rates increase. Now, imagine what can be done if you are trained to 'think' in ALL parts of the body.

          During a lecture on Tai Chi to open our School, Master LiuYong gave a wonderfully funny chat about tai chi and health and said 'Tai Chi will not make you live longer but it will make you live more!' So, besides the benefits listed below it has to be remembered that we cannot out live our genetic defects but we can feel healthier and more vibrant during our time and then die happy. He told us the story of a Chinese Tai Chi Master who invited all his friends to his funeral the day before he died! He was so sensitive and alert that he felt his heart failing and had the chance to complete his life with honour and dignity, a beautiful ideal.

          OK, please find below some of the recent medical research on the benefits of studying this wonderful art.

Improves Back Pain
          The twisting of the spine and rotation of the hips act to release stress within the back and allows that area to relax and attain health – it is a self massage that allows the skeleton to fix itself by taking blood to damaged areas – the blood then refreshes the area to help repair damage and open the joints to allow the skeleton to go back into its correct position.

Increases Happiness
          It just makes you feel good. A three-week study in New Zealand showed decreases in sadness, confusion, anger, tension and fear, and increases in energy and happiness in traumatic brain injury patients who practice tai chi. A marked decrease in salivary Cortisol levels (stress hormones) has been measured in medical research.

Improves Balance
          In a 15-week study of people aged over 70, reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, tai chi was found to increase participants' physical confidence and reduce falls by 47.5%.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
          In a study by the Miami University School of Medicine, 13 ADHD teenagers participated in a Tai Chi class twice a week for 5 weeks and were then rated on the Connors Scale and again two weeks later. All the participants displayed less anxiety, daydreaming behavior, inappropriate emotions, hyperactivity and improved conduct. These changes persisted over the two week (no tai chi) follow up.

Lowers Blood Pressure
          One study in the Postgraduate Medical Journal found attending a tai chi class twice weekly for three weeks, and then once a week for a further five weeks, offered participants a significant decrease in both diastolic and systolic blood pressure.

Eases Symptoms of Diabetes
          A pilot study from the University of Queensland showed tai chi exercises produced a host of benefits in diabetes sufferers, including improvements in blood sugar levels, better sleeping patterns, reported weight loss and increased energy levels after just three months.

Eases Supports the Joints
          Knee pain can be a barrier to exercise, however, a 12-week study from Daejeon University, Korea reported tai chi, performed for 50 minutes a week, provided a significant decrease in pain and fatigue in rheumatoid arthritis sufferers.

Tai Chi May Boost Immune System
          March 29, 2007 -- Tai chi, a traditional Chinese martial art, may give older adults' immune system a boost. That news comes from experts at UCLA and the University of California, San Diego. They included Michael Irwin, MD, who is the Norman Cousins Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA's Semel Institute for Neuroscience and the co-director of UCLA's Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology. Irwin's team studied 112 healthy adults aged 59-86 (average age: 70) for about six months. First, the researchers split participants into two groups. One group took tai chi classes three times a week for 16 weeks. Each class lasted 40 minutes and included a set of 20 tai chi exercises. The other group took a health education class -- with no tai chi lessons -- for the same amount of time.

          After the 16-week programs ended, the researchers gave all participants a single shot of Varivax, a vaccine that targets the varicella zoster virus that causes chickenpox and shingles. Participants had already had chickenpox earlier in life. The vaccine just served as a way to test their immune systems.
Over the next nine weeks, participants periodically had their blood tested to check for antibodies against the virus. Those who had taken the tai chi classes mounted a stronger immune system response to the vaccine than those in the health education class.

          By the end of the 25-week study, the tai chi students' immune system response was nearly TWICE that of the health education students

Post Menopausal Bone Loss
          According to a recent survey amongst ladies already suffering from Osteoporosis in Hong Kong, just 45 minutes of light Tai Chi per day slowed bone loss in post menopausal Chinese ladies by between 2.6 and 3.6 times the normal rate.

Psychological Effects
          Tai Chi's use of diaphragmatic breathing and focused meditation has a relaxing effect on the individual. Practitioners show improvements in self-esteem, self-confidence, sleep and mental health (depression, anxiety, etc.) as the result of participating in a Tai Chi program.

The Internal Organs
          The turning of the body, in conjunction with deep abdominal breathing, "wrings out" the organs, flushing blood out as they're compressed and allowing it to flow back in when the movement compresses another part of the torso. This flexing reduces pockets of stagnation in the various organ systems and invigorates them by rubbing them together and bringing blood to the area.