You are in good company! 3 million Americans practice tai chi says Harvard Medical School

Researcher Catherine Kerr practices outside to “feel the sensations of the sun and wind and the ground beneath my feet.” (Photograph by Jim Harrison)

Here are just a few highlights from a 2010 article in the Harvard Magazine:

For anyone who practices tai chi regularly, “brain plasticity arising from repeated training may be relevant, since we know that brain connections are ‘sculpted’ by daily experience and practice,” explains Kerr, who is investigating brain dynamics related to tai chi and mindfulness meditation at HMS. “Tai chi is a very interesting form of training because it combines a low-intensity aerobic exercise with a complex, learned, motor sequence. Meditation, motor learning, and attentional focus have all been shown in numerous studies to be associated with training-related changes—including, in some cases, changes in actual brain structure—in specific cortical regions.”

Scholars say tai chi grew out of Chinese martial arts, although its exact history is not fully understood, according to one of Kerr’s colleagues, assistant professor of medicine Peter M. Wayne, who directs the tai chi and mind-body research program at the Osher Center. “Tai chi’s roots are also intertwined with traditional Chinese medicine and philosophy, especially Taoism, and with another healing mind-body exercise called qigong,” he explains. “Though these roots are thousands of years old, the formal name tai chi chuan was coined as recently as the seventeenth century as a new form of kung fu, which integrates mind-body principles into a martial art and exercise for health.”
Tai chi chuan is often translated as “supreme (grand) ultimate fist”: the first part (“tai chi”) refers to the ubiquitous dialectical interaction of complementary, creative forces in the universe (yin and yang); the second, the fist, is what Wayne describes as the “manifestation or integration of these philosophical concepts into the body.”

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Tai chi, considered a soft or internal form of martial art, has multiple long and short forms associated with the most popular styles taught: Wu, Yang, and Chen (named for their originators). Plenty of people practice the faster, more combative forms that appear to resemble kung fu, but the slower, meditative movements are what many in the United States—where the practice has gained ground during the last 25 years—commonly think of as tai chi.

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Surveys, including one by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (http://nccam.nih.gov/health/taichi), have shown that between 2.3 million and 3 million people use tai chi in the United States, where a fledgling body of scientific research now exists: the center has supported studies on the effect of tai chi on cardiovascular disease, fall prevention, bone health, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis of the knee, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic heart failure, cancer survivors, depression in older people, and symptoms of fibromyalgia. One study on the immune response to varicella-zoster virus (which causes shingles) suggested in 2007 that tai chi may enhance the immune system and improve overall well-being in older adults. However, “in general, studies of tai chi have been small, or they have had design limitations that may limit their conclusions,” notes the center’s website. “The cumulative evidence suggests that additional research is warranted and needed before tai chi can be widely recommended as an effective therapy.”

Most recently, Wayne and his fellow researchers have focused on balance issues and on cardiovascular and bone health—areas where tai chi’s benefits have begun to be evaluated most rigorously. “We’ve conducted systematic reviews of the literature, and in older people there is sound evidence that suggests tai chi can improve balance and reduce risks for falls, which have significant consequences on public health, particularly given our aging population,” he reports.
Wayne points to a study by Fuzhong Li at the Oregon Research Institute (which carries out assessments of tai chi’s impact on health conditions, including a current project with Parkinson’s patients): it looked at 256 elderly people, from 70 to 92 years old, and compared how they benefited from tai chi and seated exercise, respectively. “They reported greater than a 40 percent reduction in the number of falls in the group that received tai chi,” Wayne reports. “This is a very significant finding. Older people with thinning bones are at very high risk for fractures; a fall related to hip fracture, for example, is associated with a 20 percent increase in mortality within one year and very high medical costs.”

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Yet from a Western scientific standpoint, it’s difficult to pinpoint why and how tai chi affects us. In typical drug trials, a well-defined chemical compound targets physiological systems, and outcomes can be measured against placebo controls. But tai chi is a multicomponent intervention, Wayne notes, with many active ingredients—movement, breathing, attention, visualization, and rich psychosocial interactions with teachers and other students. All of these can affect many physiological systems simultaneously. Moreover, many of the older study subjects also have complex chronic conditions, so identifying a logical control is challenging: it’s just not possible to have a placebo in a tai chi study. “For these reasons,” he says, “we need to be creative in designing tai chi trials, and cautious in interpreting the results.”

Read the entire article here: http://harvardmagazine.com/2010/01/researchers-study-tai-chi-benefits

Chapter 32 Tao Te Ching

Burney Falls (McArthur-Burney Falls State Park)

Eternal Tao has no name.
Although simple and subtle,
no one in the world can master it.

If those who rule could grasp it,
everything in the world would honor them,
heave and earth would join
to rain sweet dew on the people
without a command being given.

Rule is begun by naming,
but naming can proliferate.
Know when to stop.
Know when reason sets limits
to avoid peril.

Imagine Tao's presence in the the world:
it flows like streams and rivulets
into great rivers and the sea.

--A new translation by Stephen Hamill

Chapter 37 | Hua Hu Ching

A superior person cares for the well-being of all things.
She does this by accepting responsibility for the energy she manifests,
   both actively and in the subtle realm.
Looking at a tree, she sees not an isolated event but root, leaves, trunk, water, soil and sun:
   each event related to the others, and "tree" arising our of their relatedness.
Looking at herself or another, she sees the same thing.

Trees and animals, humans and insects, flowers and birds:
These are active images of the subtle energies that flow from the stars throughout the universe. Meeting and combining with each other and the elements of the earth, they give rise to all living things.

The superior person understands this, and understands that her own energies play a part in it.
Understanding these things, she respects the earth as her mother, the heavens as her father,
   and all living things as her brothers and sister.

Caring for them, she knows that she cares for herself.
Giving to them, she knows that she gives to herself.
At peace with them, she is always at peace with herself.

Healing Hands

"Humans can build all kinds of sophisticated instruments because of the magnificence of the hands and the fingers. Another higher function of the hand is the power of healing. Knowing the major points of the hands and fingers will enable you to stimulate and maintain the organs in good function." - Mantak Chia in his book Chi Self Massage: The Taoist Way of Rejuvenation

illustration by Juan Li

The palms are where all major energies of Chi join. The palm can be the place from which the life-force is sent out to heal others or yourself. The palm is also the place where energy can be received and enter into the bone structure and into the major organs.

The pericardium (P-8) is the main place of energy concentration. You can collect the energy in this point and transmit stronger energy from this point. (Figure 3-1)

The large intestine (LI-4) is the major point which controls all the pain in the body, especially in the sense organs (eyes, ears, nose) and headaches. (Figure 3-2)

The fingers are connected to the organ's meridians. (Figure 3-1 and 3-2).

Massaging the hands and palms will help to increase the flow of Chi along the related meridians and will result in a harmonious increase of the functions of respiration, circulation and digestion.

Wu Chi Posture Refinement

Wu Chi (Formless Form)

Stand with feet shoulder width apart.
Toes pointing forward, or if more comfortable, pointing slightly apart.
Knees are slightly bent.
The bowl of the pelvis is neutral, nothing spills out.
This stance causes the lower back to flatten, as if you were leaning against a wall.
Pull the navel toward the spine to help flatten the low back.
Shoulders relax down and back, opening the chest.
Allow the heart to move forward, drawing the should blades together toward the spine.
Adjust the head so it is on top of the spine.
Slightly tuck the chin.
Let the arms form a gentle "ward off" as they move forward.
Palms face slightly inward, toward the tan tien.

Heaven gently pulls the head and upper torso upward into the universe.
Earth gently pulls the tailbone toward the center of the planet.
Upper body rising and lower body descending creates space in the center.
Qi fills the space.

Turn your attention to the breath.
Notice your natural rhythm.
Now lengthen the inhale and exhale.
Make each inhale as long as the exhale.
Deepen the breath bringing it all the way into your center.
Let the belly be soft.
Fill the tan tien with your breath.

Feel the energy of Qi moving in the breath, blood and nerves.
As you breathe deeply, continually adjust toward ease in the posture.

This alignment supports the cultivation of Qi.
Do this alignment at the beginning and end of your Qi Gong or Tai Chi practice.

You can also use the Wu Chi posture as its own complete meditation.

Qigong, Tai Chi and Yoga are All Rooted in the Cultivation of Qi

"Our longing to continuously improve ourselves and maximize our potential and even bring peace to our own little corner of the world leads us to ask, 'How can I learn to cultivate Qi? How can I gain access to the promise of Qi with all its benefits and gifts?'

The answer? Cultivate Qi! With sincere intent, you can evolve through the phases of Qi cultivation and mastery that have been recognized for thousands of years. In your personal practice, through exposure to wise instructors and in communication with your fellow practitioners, you will consistently evolve through the phases in perfect timing. There is no rush; this is not a race. Relax into it.

Most important is that every kind and style of Qigong--including Tai Chi and Yoga--shares a basis in essential principles...However, in every unique school or system these phases and the essential principles are clothed in the accouterments of that particular approach. Each has its particular practices, movements and philosophies. The good news is that this multitude of forms and traditions is rooted in a common foundation of principles."

---The Healing Promise of Qi

Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration in Nevada City, Sunday March 8th

Body Balance Academy practitioners join the community celebration of the Year of the Sheep.

Mark your calendars and welcome the Year of the Sheep at Nevada City’s Chinese Lunar New Year Festival on Sunday, March 8, from 12-3 p.m. Mini-parade from the Chinese Monument on Commercial Street to the Robinson Plaza, where there will be entertainment, food, and exhibits. Bring the whole family!

Chinese New Year Festivals are rare in rural communities, and the Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra is proud to present this celebration, our fourth year in a row. The community parade begins at 12:00 noon at the Chinese Monument on Commercial Street (the old Chinese Quarter), led by ceremonial Lion Dancers from Eastern Ways Martial Arts of Sacramento. The mini parade entourage, which includes community entries, will make its way down Commercial Street and end at the Robinson Plaza where the Lion Dancers will spearhead an afternoon of Asian culture and entertainment. Food will be available for sale on Union Street.