Anecdotal Evidence

On several occasions I have had people come to me who have been attending classes, sometimes for quite a while, sometimes for just a few weeks, and tell me of a benefit they have found from practising Tai Chi.

One man informed me he had improved his golf swing and now practises every day at home.  Since then others have come forward with the same claim.  The Tai Chi has loosened muscles and joints and made the movements more relaxed and comfortable, thereby improving the swing.

People have told me that it has improved their stamina.  I have seen evidence of this when someone starts to come but has to sit down before the end of the session.  After a few weeks they are completing the session standing comfortably, all the way through.

An Asthma sufferer told me that it had helped their breath control.  They now needed to use their inhaler less and less and were finding their breathing generally improved.

Simple things such as aligning the knees over the feet when weight bearing and bending the knees to ‘rise’ or ‘sink’ during the Tai Chi lesson can have several effects,  from less pain in the knees to less pain in ankles and hips.  Many people have been surprised.

One lady was telling me how much stronger her back was, she hadn’t realised that she was stooping until I corrected her posture.  She is now keeping a check on herself.  Posture can have a marked effect on our levels of pain and in some cases is even the cause.

I can say from personal experience that it helps to alleviate symptoms of Arthritis, the slow gentle movements prevent stiffening, keeping the joints flexible. The corrections to posture can help prevent a lot of pain. The breath control and relaxation helps with stress, many of us don’t even realise we are stressed.