Tai Chi is derived from ancient exercises that were developed around 5,000 years ago.  At that time, ancient Chinese were suffering from arthritis due to the weather, the repetitive flooding of the Yellow River, and the heavy physical work they were involved in in order to survive.  The archeological evidence showed that the skeletons of Chinese from that period had marked arthritic deformity.  In the oldest complete and systematic description of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic, it was recorded that doing movements of the torso and four limbs could alleviate the muscle soreness, joint pain, sensation of heaviness and numbness, and edema in the lower limbs.

Around 3,000 to 4,000 years ago, people became interested in promoting health and longevity.  They further developed the ancient exercises for arthritis.  Mimics of animal movements and breathing techniques were incorporated into the exercises.  The exercises for health and longevity became very popular at that time.

The oldest extant record of these exercises was from a tomb dated 2,500 years ago.  A book about breathing techniques and a painting of 44 movements of these exercises were excavated.  These original artifacts and the replicas can be viewed in museums in China.

Since then, these ancient exercises have been developed by millions of Chinese Medicine practitioners, monks, hermits, and anyone who wants to improve health and longevity.  Different branches, schools, and styles arose during the development.  Tai Chi is one of them.  Others include various Chinese martial arts and Qi Gong.  Tai Chi itself also gave rise to many styles.  The major styles are Chen, Yang, Wu, Woo, and Sun.
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Tai Chi (Tai Ji) is the name of the Yin-Yang symbol relating to Chinese culture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, or anything Chinese.  Tai Chi represents the Yin-Yang theory, which is the foundation of Traditional Chinese Medicine.  The Yin-Yang theory is based on ancient Chinese philosophy that everything has two opposite sides, Yin and Yang.  These two opposite sides are in constant dynamic transformation into each other, just like the night and the day.  The two small circles in contrast to their background in the Yin-Yang symbol are the Yin within Yang and Yang within Yin.  Yin within Yang correlates to the dusk and Yang within Yin to the dawn.  The transition between Yin and Yang is gradual and smooth like the night into the day and the day into the night.  The ancient Chinese philosophy believes that everything, from the universe to each individual human body, needs to be in Yin-Yang balance to function smoothly.  When Yin and Yang are out of balance, disasters or diseases occur. The movements in Tai Chi exercises also reflect the philosophy of Yin-Yang balance.

Tai Chi is a set of movements that reflect the philosophy of the Yin-Yang theory and bring balance to the body.  The movements in each Tai Chi set are continuous as flowing water; the transitions between movements are gradual and smooth as floating clouds; each set is designed to balance all the muscles in the body without over-exercising any parts of the body.  Tai Chi moves involve shifting weight from one side to the other and turning the ankles to different directions, which particularly stimulates the circulation of lower limbs. Poor circulation of lower limbs is one of the leading health problems in modern sedentary life.
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Tai Chi has been practiced in China for 5,000 years.  Its history tells us that it is designed to strengthen the body, promote the health, and, possibly, expand the life-span.  Modern research has shown that Tai Chi can stimulate the cardiovascular and central nervous systems, strengthen the immune system, increase breathing capacity, and enhance flexibility, strength, and kinesthetic sense.  Numerous statistical or clinical trial studies have proved that Tai Chi is beneficial to people with hypertension, osteoporosis, depression, cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, diabetes, cancer, and many other conditions.  Most importantly, Tai Chi exercises are proven to be excellent in improving people's emotional well-being.  A sample list of professional articles published most recently is as follows:

• "Beneficial effects of regular Tai Chi exercise on musculoskeletal system" published in March 2005 Journal of Bone and Mineral Metabolism. Conclusion: Regular Tai Chi exercise may have an association with higher Bone Mineral Density and better neuromuscular function in early postmenopausal women.
• "Tai Chi Chuan, health-related quality of life and self-esteem: a randomized trial with breast cancer survivors" published in December 2004 Supportive Care in Cancer. Conclusion: the Tai Chi group exhibited improvements in Health-Related Quality of Life and self-esteem from baseline to 6 and 12 weeks, while the support group exhibited declines.
• "Effects of tai chi mind-body movement therapy on functional status and exercise capacity in patients with chronic heart failure: a randomized controlled trial" published in October 2004 American Journal of Medicine. Conclusion: Tai chi may be a beneficial adjunctive treatment that enhances quality of life and functional capacity in patients with chronic heart failure who are already receiving standard medical therapy.
• "Tai chi for treating rheumatoid arthritis" published in 2004 Cochrane Database for Systemic Reviews.  Conclusion: The results suggest Tai Chi does not exacerbate symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. In addition, Tai Chi has statistically significant benefits on lower extremity range of motion, in particular ankle range of motion, for people with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
• "Comprehensive therapeutic benefits of Taiji: a critical review" published in September 2004 American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation. Conclusion: Controlled research evidence was found to confirm therapeutic benefits of Taiji practice with regard to improving quality of life, physical function including activity tolerance and cardiovascular function, pain management, balance and risk of falls reduction, enhancing immune response, and improving flexibility, strength, and kinesthetic sense.

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Anyone can!  Although Tai Chi exercises are low impact compared to many modern exercises, they are designed for all ages.  The earlier you start practicing Tai Chi, the more you benefit from it, especially when you grow older.  Tai Chi movements appear very gentle and slow.  However, you would not believe how much strength and stamina you need to complete a 15-min non-stop Tai Chi routine.  Tai Chi exercises greatly improve the circulation of extremities as well as the whole body without causing common injuries encountered in many other kinds of exercises and sports. 

 Many people including fitness trainers in this country started to realize that you need to do regular exercises for your health but that doesn't always mean the more the better.  Over-exercising does more harm than good.  It may cause serious injuries, or even debilitating illness. The intensity of Tai Chi exercises can be adjusted to fit each individual.

If you are young or very athletic, you will find our Tai Chi fitness programs (Level II) very challenging and aerobic-like.  You will also have a chance of learning Tai Chi fan, sword, saber, cane, and horsetail whisk.  You will never be bored with the class and you will gain enormous health benefits by practicing more dynamic Tai Chi. HolliBalance also specializes in Senior Tai Chi programs in which careful attention is given to make sure the client is getting active while staying safe.  Tai Chi is also excellent for rehabilitation from injuries through concentrating on certain areas of the body to strengthen and stretch.  Tai Chi is an ideal choice among various mind-body exercises for people of all ages and all sizes.
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