Tai Chi: Healing in motion:
The fastest-growing exercise in America, Tai Chi can help relieve everyday stress
and strain, whatever your age.
By Jane Kwiatkowski of The Buffalo News, September 2007
Perhaps it was the Celebrex commercial, featuring nimble people in orange jackets
practicing Tai Chi outdoors. Or, the thousands of baby boomers who today are
looking for a healthy way to ease on down the road of life.
Maybe it's because Tai Chi has so very many styles: Chen. Sun. Yang. Wu. Hao.
Hu Lei. Zhao Bao. Whoa.
Whatever the reason, the martial art called Tai Chi has become the fastest-growing
exercise in America, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association.
"Tai Chi just reached a tipping point," said author Arthur Rosenfeld. "It is
popping up everywhere."
Consider Tai Chi another tool in your fitness work chest. Proceed cautiously
and take the time to understand this eclectic exercise. It could help you keep
your equilibrium in the face of whatever life serves your way. It may even help
you sleep.
At age 71, Patricia Honsberger finds time weekly to stand like a golden rooster,
one of the Tai Chi movements that works the abdominal muscles. She heads out
— like clockwork — every Tuesday morning to pick up her mother Alice Eidenier
for their Tai Chi class. Honsberger thought Tai Chi would help with the arthritis
pain suffered by her 94-year-old mother.
"Tai Chi has been the thing for us," said Honsberger, who recently returned from
a Tai Chi cruise to Mexico. "Otherwise, I would have to go on some quiet hikes.
It's hard looking after a mother who is in pain all the time."
Tai Chi's exercise involves prolonged movements, requiring muscles to keep working
for long periods of time. Breathing enhances these movements and helps to increase
the joint's range of motion. When you least expect it, all of this kicks in for
balance and strength — to prevent a fall, for example. That's why this martial
art has traditionally been associated with longevity and maintenance.
Cross-trainer for life
Yang, one of the slowest and least physically challenging styles of Tai Chi,
accommodates people with movement problems. It is thought to be best suited to
the unflexible American physique. It is also probably the most accessible style
in the area. You can find Yang at many fitness outlets.
Practicing Tai Chi — Yang style — helps carry you through the day. Late-afternoon
doldrums can be trumped. Early morning joint stiffness, too. Stress-induced insomnia,
meanwhile, could evaporate with a five-minute breathing hit of Tai Chi. One instructor
called it a cross-trainer for life.
“I figure I have another 30 years, and I want my physical body to keep up with
my spirit," said Penelope J. Klein, 60, who is also a black belt in judo and
teaches physical therapy at D'Youville College. “If you think about it, Tai Chi
serves many people, including caregivers."
In our culture, the practice of Tai Chi is oftentimes associated with Jackie
Chan and fighting, suggested Rosenfeld. This dilution often occurs when tradition
is passed from one culture to another — or when there are small amounts of true
practitioners.
The downside of the popularity of Tai Chi is that there is no regulatory body,
Rosenfeld said. “It's no problem to announce you're a Tai Chi master by putting
on some silk pajamas and all of a sudden you're charging $40 an hour."
When searching for a Tai Chi instructor, he said, first determine how many years
of experience he or she has.
“Ask the teacher to talk about his or her lineage," suggested Rosenfeld, the
Floridabased author whose martial arts training spans more than 27 years. “These
things are passed down through families. An unwillingness to discuss the specific
tradition should serve as a warning flag."
Eastern belief has a life force (chi) circulating unhindered through your body.
Sickness occurs when that flow becomes disrupted. Rosenfeld believes those who
practice Tai Chi are being proactive.
"Think about it. We are not a Mazda. We are mind and body together," said Rosenfeld,
during a telephone interview from his Florida home. “Our crisis in health care
resulted from an abandonment in responsibility. The idea that somebody outside
of you knows more than you about your body is preposterous. The doctor works
for you. You are your health and happiness."
Tai Chi people
JudyAnne Bonafede is an exercise fanatic and racewalker who moves with maximum
efficiency. Her brand of Tai Chi is often best practiced with a sword, an elite
straight double-edge weapon. She understands her body, how it works and how it
feels when it doesn't. She also teaches a beginner's Tai Chi class.
"I'm enjoying exploring my body," said the 54-year-old. "I notice a definite
improvement in health and posture, a relaxed control. There is good energy when
you get with Tai Chi people."
Ken Stuczynski, 38, teaches Tai Chi at Buffalo Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
A martial artist who took up Tai Chi in 1999, he said the exercise "forces you
to use muscles and not your joints to support your weight. It also teaches you
to align the spine gravitationally."
He distinguishes other styles of Tai Chi that are taught in the area:
• Eight Tigers — Distinctly different because of Japanese influence. Defined
by spiritual focus and sliding feet more than stepping. Reiki influence.
• Taoist — Physical-therapy oriented. Focus on body alignment. Postures
lean and are not as upright.
• Shuyun — Renamed after the grandmaster in California to differentiate
it from the Wu Family style it came from. Known for “Eight-Step Preying Mantis"
kung fu that is all elbows.
“Tai Chi is always better when performed in fresh air," Stuczynski said. “Traditionally
the best time to do Tai Chi is just before sunrise and an hour before the last
meal of the day. People who are serious about it will practice almost daily or
even more than once a day. I do a little bit here and there, but use my classes
as my more structured practice.
“The ideal school accepts people with all levels of interest," Stuczynski added,
“for maintenance as well as for learning and progressing. You can get as far
into Tai Chi as you want."
Harmony Tai Chi
Harmony Tai Chi distills the essence of the Chen, Yang and Wu styles. The Chen
style, one of China's oldest, originated as a martial art and is quite dynamic.
The Yang style emphasizes slow, expansive movements. The Wu style moves from
a smaller stance than the others. Those who study Harmony Tai Chi combine the
grace and tranquility of one school with the dynamism and agility of the others.
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