Tai Chi

A gentle yet powerful form of mind and body exercise which is beneficial for mental and physical health. It can be performed standing or seated and doesn’t need much space to do! The movements are linked together in a sequence and are performed slowly. Many of our class attendees say how practising tai chi helps them to be more mindful and cope with their worries and stresses.

The roots of tai chi were established thousands of years ago in China, from which it has evolved into 4 main styles (Chen, Yang, Sun and Wu). Each style has distinct characteristics and set sequences of movements, which are familiar to tai chi practitioners throughout the world.

Tai chi is good for every body and shown to have many health benefits in clinical research studies. Founder of the Tai Chi for Health Institute, Dr Paul Lam, found that practising tai chi helped his arthritis symptoms. He has since developed several tai chi for health programmes to make the benefits of tai chi accessible for all. Although the programme has been shown in research to be beneficial for its use within Arthritis, the programme is also beneficial for anyone.

Yang
This is a graceful and flowing form of tai chi which has some twisting movements. We advise that you don’t attempt this style if you have a knee injury or musculoskeletal condition such as Osteoarthritis. Also if you have severe difficulty with your balance as some sequences involve standing on one leg. Sun style tai chi is much more suitable in this instance for people with musculoskeletal conditions, such as osteoarthritis.

Sun
The stances are more upright and contained with smaller movements in Sun style tai chi. There are no twisting movements and when the body turns it’s with the weight off the standing leg. We’ll be practising Dr Lam’s Tai Chi for Arthritis programme. This programme has been proven to improve balance and prevent falls. Also improving joint mobility, muscle strength and sense of wellbeing.