Tai Chi

Love it!!!!

BTW: It is NOT associated with any religion!

I looked it up on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNWPk6tYoUM

Doesnt look like you'll need to worry about religous stuff. I am told it helps with blood flow and overall health and is almost like a meditation.

Also helps with balance and muscular stamina.

Good luck

Not to be snarky but, do you watch tv? Reality shows? Do your friends? Cause really I think God would rather me slow down and meditate than watch the Kardashians.

How do you log qigong as exercise using the options MFP provides? I don't see it in the database. And how many calories does it burn?

ETA: I found this: "When performed smoothly and without stopping, tai chi, the most popular form of qigong, can burn about 280 calories an hour, according to Bill Douglas, founder of World T'ai Chi and Qigong Day, writing on the website Taekwondo101.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/302738-calories-burned-from-qigong/#ixzz1ijA2RmT9"

HEY TAI CHI IS AN EXCELLENT FORM A EXERCISE FOR PEOPLE WITH ARTHRITIS AND GREAT FOR STRETCHING, AND BREATHING CONTROL, IT PREACHES NO RELIGION. I HAVE BEEN DOING TAI CHI FOR A LONG TIME, I ALSO DO QI GONG. IT IS A GREAT ADDITIONAL FORM OF RELAXING YOUR BODY. IN ADDITION TO YOUR REGULAR WORKOUTS.. THERE IS NO "BOOGIEMAN " BEHIND THIS ANCIENT FORM OF STRETCHING AND RELAXATION. THERE ARE MANY GOOD DVD'S OUT HERE BUY ONE AND SEE FOR YOURSELF. PEOPLE SHOULD DO THEIR RESEARCH BEFORE VOICING AN OPINION ON MATTERS THEY ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH..GOOD LUCK ..PEACE ISSY:flowerforyou:

Tai Chi's lovely, but if you're looking for a workout, look to Tai Chi's big brother Kung Fu. Tai Chi isn't going to raise your heart rate enough to do much of anything, and that quote saying 280cals/hr is a crock.

<--- former Kung Fu/Tai Chi instructor.

If you do get into Tai Chi, find someone to teach you Push Hands. It is the best coolest part of it.

So how many calories do you suggest it burns?

I've been doing Tai Chi since September, and I find it to be a great exercise. It burns a huge amount of calories (check out the database on MFP), works your joints and improves your balance. It is a great exercise for seniors.

I am taking lessons from a couple who were Tai Chi masters in China. He teaches Chen style, which is more martial, which appeals to the men. She teaches Yang style and I am taking lessons from her.

If you are interested in learning Tai Chi, take a few sample lessons before you commit to courses. Not all tai chi teachers are equal. When I was searching for a tai chi master, I went with a friend who grew up in Hong Kong, and had a good idea of what to look for. There were certainly classes that I took once before figuring out that it wasn't for me. i.e. too oriented towards fighting; too hard on the knees. I also had a bad experience taking lessons from my community centre from a young man who knew a little bit about it, but who was not qualified.

Chinese medicine is all about medians of energy coursing through the body. One of the first treatsies on Chinese medicine was written about 6,000 years ago, and I do believe that the Chinese have discovered something that Westerners have not. Tai Chi uses that knowledge.

There is a spiritual element to it. My friend, who starting taking instructions two years ago recently told me that our instructor knows how to do tai chi meditation, but is hesitant to teach it to us because it could also work against us. It's not much information to pass on, but it does let us know that there can be more to it. I am not interested in learning the meditation and want to keep it on the level of exercise.

Yoga is also a spiritual discipline, and many Catholic priests in India are aware of its occult potential, and have warned Westerners about it. In my own studies, I have found it interesting that Eastern Orthodox monks have prohibited following the breath into the body when praying the Jesus prayer, when this is the first thing that they teach you when you start to learn yoga meditation. There is an element of self-hypnosis to doing that, and that might just open you up to other influences that you might not be able to control. So I can see why they warn against it.

In Tai Chi, what I have done is to Christianize the references to energy. When we are told to pay respect to the ancestor's of Tai Chi, I pray for their souls. When I am told to visualize energy coming into my body, I will pray that the Lord fill me with his grace and presence. When I am told to expel negative energy, I ask the Lord to deliver me from evil, and visualize that.

I have no intention of learning the meditation. I have found the physical effects of Tai Chi to be excellent. Several years ago, I was in a bad traffic accident, and have had trouble walking ever since. Taking Tai Chi has helped me to overcome the constant pain I was in, and has restored motion to parts of my body that were all seized up. For this reason, I intend to continue with it as exercise well into my old age.

Good luck in your quest. I hope that you find a good Tai Chi instructor.

We do very basic tai chi in my theatre department and I'm not a huge fan. It is all very slow and I could see where it'd be great to calm down and gain balance but I have never saw it as a workout unless you do something intense. If you want something similar and that I know is a great workout, try yoga!

Not to be snarky but, do you watch tv? Reality shows? Do your friends? Cause really I think God would rather me slow down and meditate than watch the Kardashians.





I freakin hate hearing about the kardashians!!!!!