Tai chi for healthy aging...

Tai chi re-trains the body to move like it is supposed to move. Like an animal would. No tension, no impediments. Free, spontaneous, comfortable movement.

Sure, not all tai chi classes do this. Everyone has their own agenda. But trained correctly, tai chi was designed to restore the body to its natural, healthy state.

How well you do and how far you can rejuvenate your body is down to you. It is your responsibility. The more you put into the training the more you will get out of it.

Ideal form of exercise?

According to the book The Blue Zones it is important to think of exercise in terms of what you can reasonably do long-term.

The ideal form of exercise is moderate enough that you can do it for the rest of your life. It needs to be joint-friendly, provide a gentle workout and be sustainable.

This sounds rather like tai chi, doesn't it?

Stiffness?

Stiffness and inflexibility are indisputable signs of being old. Work on this. Once your muscles are tense and your body is stiff you cannot remedy this situation overnight.

Hitting the gym or buying an expensive drop handle bicycle will not get rid of stiffness. You need to do something else. Rather that force and hammer your muscles, they need to be softened and relaxed. Patience is needed.

Be smart...

If you're fat, don't try and run it off. See a dietician and/or follow a measured, gradual diet carefully and consistently. If you are out of shape, start with something that isn't going to hurt your body.

Tai chi for health is perfect for this. It is low-impact, easy to do at home between lessons and will not damage you.

Laziness?

Let's be honest here. If you are an adult and unfit - regardless of your age - this is your responsibility. Don't blame somebody else. Nor your job or your family. It's all you. You did this. You made a choice.

Now you get to make a new choice. You get to take responsibility for improving your health, fitness and decreasing your physical age.

Start by doing some research...

Do something real...

If you want your physical age to be impressive, put away your ego and commit to making a more tangible effort. Start by being sensible.

Don't just leap into some naive endeavour ill suited to your current physical condition.

Substantial qualities...

Think about the qualities associated with youth: nimble, balanced, agile, light, mobile, coordinated, squatting easily, flexible, supple, fit, dynamic, spontaneous, changeable, strong, virile, stamina, dextrous, good poise, free, no pain...

These cannot be faked with hair dye and a risqué outfit. Nor will a fancy car, nice clothing or expensive technology hide a decrepit body.

Kidding yourself?

Quite often people respond to aging with vain attempts to disguise their age. Who are they fooling?

Plastic surgery, blonding your hair or dressing like a teenager are superficial, facile efforts to appear to be young. They require no effort and offer only a desultory, aesthetic change.

 People at birth are soft and supple:

At death, they are hard and stiff.

When plants are alive, they are green and bending;

When they are dead, they are dry and brittle.

Soft and bending is the way of the living;

Hard and brittle is the way of the dying.

Therefore, a great strength that is inflexible,

Will break in the wind like an old dead tree.

(Lao Tzu)

How does an older person move?

Their steps are often very heavy and their legs are locked and immobile. There is a sense of clumsiness.

People frequently walk in an agitated manner; over-striding and erratic. The lower back is inflexible and the sacroiliac does not move correctly. The back is stooped, the neck stiff and the hands are tight.

How should a young person move?

This is an interesting question. There should be a sense of ease. No struggling, grunting or groaning, no pain in the back or the knees.

The body responds instantly to the dictates of the mind. A young person is spontaneous and free.

How old is your body?

People start tai chi most weeks of the year. We see a lot of new starters. Over the years the physical condition of the intake has changed. It has worsened.

Quite often young people start class with poor physical health; raised, tense shoulders, stooping, poor balance, stiff joints, tense muscles, poor motor skills and limited flexibility.

These are appalling health conditions for a 20 year old. The individual may well be 20 but their body is not. Their body is old.

How old are you?

That is an easy question to answer. But it is just a number. Consider instead your age relative to the people around you or people you see in your everyday life.

Do you look old for your age? Are you flexible? Strong? Supple? Do you get out of breath? Are you happy?

 Many people are so uncomfortable in the absence of noise that they will leave the television on even when no one is watching.

I have passed people on lonely mountain paths carrying radios that were blasting out rock music. They like the scenery but fear the silence.

We are overwhelmed by noise pollution which keeps us from being able to relax and which wreaks havoc on our nervous system.

(John Lash)

Oasis...

Week in, week out, people attend tai chi classes. The instructor is always friendly. The lessons are always stimulating. Your fellow students are always courteous, well mannered and nice.

Your personal life may be in turmoil, your work life may be tedious or disappointing, yet tai chi class remains a constant: comfortable, familiar, friendly and fun.

Instead of being met by rivalry, one-upmanship and stress, you encounter friendship and warmth.

Freedom from stress?

A tai chi class is a quiet place, yet somehow neither boring nor lacking in stimulation. There are no mobile phones, no TV screens, no computers, no concerns, worries or deadlines.

Instead, you can relax, let go and get some much needed 'me' time.

When the incessant noise and distraction ends, you will start to feel different. Tai chi will assist you in becoming quiet inside.

A calmer mind?

Most people have minds that are like adverts chattering noisily: worrying, flitting and unsettled. Qigong and tai chi slowly encourage you to become quieter inside.

By moving slowly and calmly, you are aware of what is happening as it happens.

Talking less

It is good to talk, yet talking is also a problem. If your mind is never still and quiet, you cannot possibly feel relaxed and at peace.

For many people talking is a compulsive habit, serving to mask the anxiety within. Without the chatter, people feel alone and isolated.

Immersion...

Tai chi creates a situation where your attention is absorbed with where you are and what you are doing, so the mind becomes quieter automatically.

Unlike concentration, you allow the mind to open and become expansive. You feel, hear and see everything around you. The chattering of your thoughts will begin to fade.