01
Scientific Breathing Method
Tai Chi emphasizes abdominal breathing, whether through natural breathing or the movements of the form, it stresses abdominal breathing.Breathing is also coordinated with intention; during inhalation, the internal energy rises along the Du Mai (Governing Vessel) up the spine, and during exhalation, it descends along the Ren Mai (Conception Vessel) down the front of the chest, while the lower abdomen contracts during inhalation and expands during exhalation.This breathing exercise expands lung capacity.Scientific experiments show that lung capacity is proportional to strength and lifespan.For instance, a person in a deep, even, long sleep is likely to be strong, while short, weak, or uneven breathing indicates illness or weakness.The length and thickness of the breath waves reflect the strength of a person’s constitution.Thus, Tai Chi places great emphasis on breathing for health.
02
Smooth Circulation of Qi and Blood, Promoting Blood Circulation
Tai Chi practice requires the Qi to reach the extremities.The human body, from the external limbs and joints to the internal organs, relies on the nourishment and moisture provided by blood.Good blood circulation and ample blood supply are fundamental guarantees for the normal functioning of all body parts and are essential for determining lifespan.
Tai Chi movements guide the energy upwards to the Baihui (Hundred Meetings) and downwards to the Yongquan (Gushing Spring), promoting blood circulation, unblocking the meridians, and accelerating the frequency of circulation, ensuring that the major arteries are unobstructed and the capillaries remain robust, thus delaying aging. Long-term practice of Tai Chi leads to abundant Qi and blood, promoting health and longevity.
03
Unclogged Sweat Glands, Ensuring Metabolism
The waste produced by the body’s metabolism is expelled not only through the seven orifices and the digestive tract but also primarily through the sweat glands.Additionally, hair and sweat pores have natural regulatory functions for warmth and heat dissipation.Thus, traditional Chinese medicine states, “When sweat glands are open, no disease can invade; when they are blocked, various ailments ensue.”In modern society, as living conditions improve, with centralized heating in winter and air conditioning in summer, people are shielded from temperature extremes, but this has led to a decline in the skin’s ability to regulate warmth and heat.
Due to lazy hair follicles, clogged pores, and weakened skin permeability, the body’s secretions, deposits, and harmful substances like viruses cannot be expelled in a timely manner, leading to metabolic disorders and imbalances in Yin and Yang, resulting in various diseases. Tai Chi, as an internal martial art, has unique benefits for skin exercise. The movements of Tai Chi, regardless of the season, guide the skin’s expansion and contraction and the opening and closing of pores. Practitioners of Tai Chi maintain better skin purity and permeability compared to non-practitioners, ensuring unobstructed endocrine channels, making it difficult for viruses and waste to linger, thus preventing minor illnesses and major diseases.
04
Symmetrical Movements Compensate for Acquired Deficiencies in Body Functions
In daily life and work, people unconsciously develop many habitual patterns.These habitual patterns improve movement efficiency but also create defects in bodily movements.In other words, habitual movements tend to be unidirectional.For example, in daily life, actions like lifting, gripping, and pinching are often done with the right hand; while actions like jumping and kicking are predominantly performed with the right foot.Left-handed individuals do the opposite.
Whether left or right, these are unidirectional movements. Over time, such external unidirectional movements weaken the brain’s central nervous system’s ability to regulate in reverse, leading to imbalances in the body’s internal functions. If the right side is strong, the left side is weak, and vice versa. The strong tend to be lean, while the weak are prone to illness. Hence, there is a saying, “Men are left, women are right” regarding disease occurrence.This saying may not be scientifically accurate, but it is common for diseases to cluster on one side of the body. The structure of Tai Chi is precisely designed to ensure that “where there is an upper, there is a lower,” with movements alternating left and right, and the body compensating up and down, creating a symmetrical movement that integrates internal and external. The emphasis on alternating movements reinforces the brain’s reverse regulation function, maintaining overall coordination and balanced development of bodily movements, overcoming the defects caused by unidirectional movements.
05
Using Intention Rather Than Force, Enhancing Sensitivity of the Nervous System
As the body ages, the first signs appear in the atrophy and exhaustion of the nervous system.For instance, facial skin becomes loose and wrinkled, and hair loss occurs due to the decline in the regenerative function of nerve cells; hearing and vision deteriorate due to aging of the auditory and visual nerves; slow reactions and memory decline stem from the aging of the discriminative and retrieval nerves; and poor mobility in the legs is due to aging of the central control nerves.All these functions rely on the action of over 100,000 nerves.Any nerve’s atrophy directly leads to a decline in the function of a corresponding organ.
The greatest distinction of Tai Chi from other martial arts is that it emphasizes using intention rather than force, focusing on the mind rather than the form, and controlling the body through intention. Tai Chi practice requires full concentration, guiding Qi with intention; all external changes in form must follow the intention, where intention leads and the body follows, and when the mind is still, the form is still. The so-called intention refers to the various commands and signals sent by the central nervous system. In Tai Chi, the practice begins with intention, followed by physical movement, embodying the concept of integrating form and spirit.Conversely, if the mind is not calm and the intention is not focused, the body becomes scattered and disordered, losing the essence of Tai Chi practice. It is precisely due to this characteristic of Tai Chi that even advanced practitioners in their later years often retain sharp hearing, clear vision, and agile movements, with skin sensitivity that differs from the average person. The saying in Tai Chi, “A feather cannot be added, nor can a fly land,” describes the sensitivity of the practitioner’s skin. All these benefits are attributed to the practice of Tai Chi with intention, which delays the aging of the nervous system.
06
Moderate Exercise Maintains the Body’s Neutral State
Regarding the relationship between exercise and life, opinions have varied. It is often said:Life is in movement, as seen in the flowing water that does not rot and the door hinge that does not rust.Others believe:Life is in stillness, to reduce wear and tear on the body and conserve function.Those who hold this view often compare it to the longevity of turtles and cranes.In reality, both viewpoints have merit; the key is to balance movement and stillness.Indeed, life is in movement, but excessive and intense exercise undoubtedly leads to fatigue and premature aging; while excessive stillness often results in poor digestion, lack of appetite, fatigue, and a low spirit, making one susceptible to illness.Thus, many people rely on medication for prolonged periods.Therefore, overemphasizing either movement or stillness is detrimental to health; only moderate exercise, alternating between movement and stillness, is beneficial.
Tai Chi practice involves movement, but it emphasizes intention over brute force, resulting in minimal energy expenditure. In terms of mindset, Tai Chi practice emphasizes relaxation and tranquility. Here, “stillness” refers to the need to eliminate distractions during practice, seeking calmness within movement, focusing the mind on one thought to replace myriad thoughts, thus achieving movement in form while maintaining stillness in spirit. This unique approach of Tai Chi has a positive effect on maintaining the body’s neutral and balanced state, hence long-term practice can lead to longevity.
07
Long Breathing Leads to Softness, Preventing Aging of Bones, Joints, and Ligaments
Whether from the perspective of nature’s flora and fauna or the ecological development of humanity, all vigorous life forms exhibit good flexibility in their limbs or bodies:Any organism approaching death becomes stiff and withered.In humans, elderly individuals often experience osteoporosis, brittle bones, stiff joints, lax ligaments, and shriveled blood vessels, all results of losing flexibility.To maintain health and vitality, it is essential to keep the muscles, bones, and skin elastic.Tai Chi practice involves movements that rotate the fingers, wrists, arms, and waist, stretching and opening the hips, and all movements are completed in circular arcs. This spiral movement inherently strengthens the elasticity of the muscles, bones, skin, and internal organs. Therefore, advanced Tai Chi practitioners often have large lung capacities, significant skin expansion and contraction, long muscles, strong bones, soft skin, deep and even breathing, and a wide range of joint rotation. These are all indicators of good bodily flexibility. The extension of flexibility itself is a sign of longevity; conversely, any organ losing elasticity signifies the end of life.
08
Relaxed, Calm, Empty, and Agile: Cultivating a Transcendent and Refined State of Mind
It is well known that those who are clear-minded and have few desires tend to live longer.Conversely, those who pursue desires often die young.The reason is that those with many desires will inevitably seek more, leading to greed in eating and drinking, excessive worry, anxiety, overthinking, anger, surprise, and fear; all desires can cause harm.Traditional Chinese medicine holds that grief harms the spirit, anger harms the liver, worry harms the lungs, overthinking harms the spleen, anxiety harms the heart, fear harms the kidneys, excessive eating harms the stomach, and excessive sexual activity harms both essence and Qi.The process of practicing Tai Chi is also a process of regulating the mind.During practice, the body and mind emphasize relaxation, calmness, emptiness, and agility, with every movement and change of form flowing naturally, resulting in a harmonious state of body and mind.