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touted to keep you lean, muscular, and full
of energy. There is so much pumping irony:
strenuous and vigorous workouts may be
harmful to your physical health.
According to the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF
CARDIOLOGY, jogging is causing runners to
drop dead from heart attacks. Many
individuals have experienced heart attacks
even after running on a treadmill.
The medical journal LANCET reports that
aerobics is causing deadly artery clogs and
heart disease in many individuals who never
before had such problems.You do not need to
jog until you are blue in the face, or pump
iron like Arnold Schwarzenegger in order to
be physically healthy. You can be fit the
Taoist way
Lao Tzu explained, "The softest things in
the world overcome the hardest things in the
world." You need not over-exert yourself in
order to be physically fit.
Chinese exercises, such as Tai Chi and
Qi
Gong, are never vigorous. Once your
breathing becomes abnormal or irregular over
a long period, you lose the spontaneity of
the exercise, and hence its health benefits.
Tai Chi is a self-relaxing exercise with
slow and even movements coordinated with
breathing and directed by a peaceful mind.
Therefore, it is beneficial to both mental
and physical health. With its thousands of
years of practice, Tai Chi can rid all parts
of your body of spiritual and physical
ailments, clear your mind and strengthen
your brain, and promote good digestion and
healthy kidneys. Most importantly, Tai Ci
exercises can help lower your blood
pressure, soften your blood vessels, and
regular the flow of "qi" (the internal vital
energy) in your entire body.
What is "qi"?
"Qi" is internal vital energy. It is
important because it moves your body. It is
the source of growth in your body. "Qi" is
always in motion in the form of ascending,
descending, entering and leaving your body's
organs and systems. It nourishes not only
your body by transforming food energy into
blood, but also your blood by keeping it
flowing. In addition, it helps maintain your
body's temperature. "Qi" plays a vital role
in Chinese health and healing.
With regard to "qi", Lao Tzu said, "Qi is
elusive and evasive, and yet it manifests
itself."
Tai Chi exercises focus on correct posture,
slow and spontaneous movements, and natural
healthy breathing.
Your central nervous system is the most
important system in your body: it receives
vital information from outside and inside
your body; it directs your movements. Your
central nervous is healthy only if you keep
your spinal column erect because vitality
and blood circulation are transmitted
efficiently from your lower body to your
brain only when your spine is kept erect.
Tai Chi exercises are based upon a natural
posture (children have naturally erect
spinal columns; only adults, especially
older people, have bent spinal columns) with
an erect spine.
Next to your central nervous system, your
digestive system is important to your
overall health as it stores and supplies all
nourishments for your body. Some of the
characteristic movements of Tai Chi
reinforce the expansion and contraction of
your body in an opening and closing motion,
thereby instrumental in vibrating and
stimulating your stomach and intestines for
a better and healthier digestive system.
Your respiratory system is also critical to
your long-term health. In Tai Chi, breathing
is valued more than physical power:
breathing ' not muscular strength ' propels
the movements of your body. Western physical
exercises, on the other hand, emphasize
muscular strength instead of the spontaneity
of breathing and natural body movements. In
Tai Chi, your mind directs the "qi", letting
it sink down into your abdomen, where
natural breathing takes place. According to
Taoism, you breathe through your abdomen
(like babies and young children), not
through your lungs. This explains why people
in the West limit their breathing to the
lungs; as a result, their lungs tend to
enlarge as they grow older, crowding their
hearts, leading to heart disease.
Your circulatory system is connected to your
respiratory system. Tai Chi enhances your
deep breathing, which guides your "qi" to
move your blood (which cannot move itself)
to different parts of your body for
transporting oxygen and nutrients. By
regulating the circulation, Tai Chi
exercises through natural movements and deep
breathing provide a healthy heart.
Hormones in your thyroid gland are
responsible for physical growth of your
body. In Tai Chi, you keep your neck erect
without pressure, centered without inclining
to the left or to the right; you integrate
the slow and smooth movements of your head
and neck. These movements not only enhance
the activity of your thyroid gland but also
act upon your kidneys to remove wastes.
In summary, you need the spontaneity of
Taoism in physical movements as well as in
natural breathing to optimize physical
health benefits from exercise. Western
exercises, focusing on pumping power and
strength, may seem too "unnatural" for that.
About the Author
Stephen Lau is a researcher, writing
synopses of medical research for scientists.
His publications include "NO MIRACLE CURES"
a book on healing and wellness. He has also
created several websites on health and
healing. http://www.longevityforyou.com
http://www.zenhealthylifestyle.com
http://www.chinesenaturalhealing.com
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