Therese Iknoian

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.

To get started with Yoga with Weights, you need a little willpower, an open mind, and a sense of adventure; at least, those are the only intangibles you need. Taking the first step in any new activity is usually the hardest part. As for the tangibles, you need some equipment to get going.At minimum, you need a quiet and comfortable place to exercise, hand weights, and ankle weights.

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.

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.

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.

You can follow a T'ai Chi mini-form routine that targets a specific area, such as balance, if you don't have enough time for a complete T'ai Chi practice. The mini-form described here can help you achieve better balance, staying upright and walking steadily, and not wobbling or risking spraining an ankle. In this routine, you walk T’ai Chi style — being slow, flowing, focused, and stabilized.

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:

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.

Trying or reading about other things can supplement your practice so your T’ai Chi actually becomes better. Take a look at the following items, any one of which can help you become a more well-rounded and better T’ai Chi practitioner: Read a little Taoism: Taoism (dow-ism) is the philosophy underlying T’ai Chi, as well as other Chinese internal martial arts or spiritual and health practices, such as Qigong.