Therese Iknoian

Yoga is well known for making people more flexible, supple, lithe, and limber. In fact, you’ve probably seen photographs of yogis or yoginis contorting themselves into different yoga postures. However, recent studies indicate that it’s a safe and effective option for relieving moderate low back pain.In a study funded by NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), participants suffering from chronic lower back pain were divided into three groups: one group took 12 weekly yoga classes, one group took 12 weekly stretching classes, and one group was given a self-care book and encouraged to exercise to relieve pain.

The ancient practice of T’ai Chi and Qigong includes postures and movements, as well as a philosophy. T’ai Chi also has its own lingo — words and concepts you need to know.Basic T'ai Chi and Qigong movementsIf you’re practicing the ancient postures of T’ai Chi, you need to become familiar and fluid in adopting the basic stances and movements.

Yoga itself is at least 5,000 years old, and yoga exercising — what you know as yoga postures, or asanas — emerged about 600 years ago. Even though yoga has evolved over the centuries as it traveled to new cultures, its principles are universal. Yoga is a practice of mind, body, breath, and spirit. The articles in the Cheat Sheet touch on the physical and mental benefits yoga offers, offer suggestions for how to enhance your yoga practice even when you’re on your own, and remind you why warming up is so important to any exercise routine — even one as “user-friendly” as yoga.

Posture alignment refers to how your muscles are integrated and your bones are aligned to support your body for optimal movement during yoga or other exercise. The aim of good posture alignment is to establish a solid foundation with your body so you can support your limbs, back, and head while you exercise. You want your body to be safe, secure, and able to expand more fully and freely during each exercise.

Qigong (chee-gung) covers a lot of different types of movements and practices that involve using and feeling the body's energy. That can include being healed by someone else's energy, passively meditating in a way that unblocks and uses your energy better, and moving in a meditative way that unblocks your energy channels.

T’ai Chi (properly pronounced tie-jee, but often heard as tie-chee in the West) is an ancient martial art focusing on smooth, slow movements that cultivate inward focus and free energy flow. T'ai Chi — compared to fighting arts — wants you to use your mind to focus and move. Some people even call T’ai Chi a moving meditation.

T’ai Chi is not only about the movements (or forms), but about the principles by which you practice the movements. If you tap into the principles of T'ai Chi properly, you discover the stillness in the movement and, in turn, the energy that flows through your spirit. If you don’t tap into the principles, T’ai Chi becomes nothing but a series of dance steps without a soul.

If you’re practicing the ancient postures of T’ai Chi, you need to become familiar and fluid in adopting the basic stances and movements. The following illustrations show some elementary positions to master:

Breath is life. Breath is energy. You can live for weeks without food and for days without water, but only for minutes without breathing the air in and out of your body. Breathing not only keeps you alive, but it also gives you more energy and more calm so you can face what life brings you. That’s why breathing is so vital.