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Tai Chi Books
Therese Iknoian
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Published:
August 30, 2001

T'ai Chi For Dummies

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Overview

For nearly 5,000 years, people have practiced T’ai Chi as a way to prolong life, build strength and stamina, improve concentration, and achieve psychological balance. Hundreds of millions of satisfied customers can’t be wrong.

Whether you already dabble in T’ai Chi and would like to get a deeper understanding of the basics, or you’re only thinking about trying it and want to find out more before you take the plunge, T’ai Chi For Dummies is for you. In plain English, Therese Iknoian and Manny Fuentes demystify T’ai Chi principles and practices for Westerners. They unravel exotic sounding terms and concepts and break down movements in ways that more traditional instructors and authors either can’t or won’t. And with the help of crystal-clear illustrations and step-by-step instructions, they get you on track with a T’ai Chi fitness program guaranteed to help you:

  • Increase balance and flexibility
  • Combat fatigue and reduce stress
  • Tone muscles
  • Unlock your power centers and boost energy
  • Improve focus and concentration
  • Breathe “mindfully” and meditate
  • Enhance your sense of inner peace and well-being

Discover just how easy it can be to make T’ai Chi and its sister discipline Qigong part of your everyday life. With this friendly reference as your guide you’ll quickly master the basic movements and forms, as well as:

  • T’ai Chi’s Yang 24-Movement Form
  • Qigong and Push Hands techniques
  • Techniques that help speed recovery from specific injuries
  • T’ai Chi movements for aerobic exercise
Exercise is good for the body and soul. Now let Therese Iknoian and Manny Fuentes show you how to energize, find inner peace, and tone your muscles with the gentle art of T’ai Chi.
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About The Author

Geraldine Woods is the author of more than 40 books, including the popular English Grammar For Dummies. She has taught high school and middle school English for over 25 years.

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CHEAT SHEET

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.
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T’ai Chi is usually practiced slowly so that you can fully embrace and appreciate the principles. But it can provide aerobic conditioning if practiced at a faster pace. Remember that at its roots, T’ai Chi is a form of combat training. If you were in battle, you'd be moving to save your life — literally. You can do any of the forms, alone or in combinations of two or three.
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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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Mind-body movements rely on a good and full energy flow. But even non-mindful movements require the power that comes with a surge of focused energy! Ever turn on the hose to water your garden or lawn, only to have a mere trickle of water dribble out? Chances are, the first thing you did was size up the length of the hose for a twist or a kink.
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T'ai Chi is more than just movements and postures. As with many disciplines that originated in the East, T’ai Chi incorporates a philosophy along with its physical practice. The principles of T’ai Chi in the following list tell you how to live in harmony in your world: Slow down. This is the Grand Ultimate Principle because you begin to find all the benefits of T'ai Chi if you go slowly.
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Wellness for energy and happiness is not only about the movements (or forms) you practice, but about the principles by which you practice the movements. If you tap into the principles properly, you discover the stillness in the movement and, in turn, the energy that flows through your spirit. Slowing down — Principle #1 Go slowly.
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You don’t have to munch on mung beans and tofu to embrace T’ai Chi and its principles as a part of your life, day-in and day-out. Following a T’ai Chi path means just looking at, experiencing, and reacting to things a little differently. It provides a means for changing your life physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually.
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You can perform T'ai Chi routines to target a specific area, such as flexibility in your trunk, hips, back, and legs. This is helpful if you don’t have enough time available for a complete T'ai Chi practice. Lunging side to side in T'ai Chi Lunging side to side is a warm-up movement, depicted below. By taking a wide stance and sliding your hips back and forth, you stretch not only your hips but also your inner thighs and legs.
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If you treat yourself poorly all the time except when you’re exercising, you also won’t fully benefit from the journey. You must take care of your body in all ways. You need to treat your other daily functions as vitally as your exercise routine. If you take care of your body (and mind!), they’ll take care of you.
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T’ai Chi is not only about the movements (or forms), but also about the principles by which you practice the movements. If you tap into the principles 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.
Read More
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Mind-Body wellness is all about benefits to the mind and the body. So if you’re a newcomer to mind-body movement of any kind — say, you’ve never even done something like Yoga — you may want to take a look at some basics before you forge ahead. These concepts are important to know in some way so that you can move on to Mind-Body wellness with a better base of knowledge.
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Chi, your energy source, flows throughout the body. By practicing mindful awareness through standing or walking, you become aware of your chi and encourage free movement through the body. Mindful standing You use this to figure out how to move your chi in its orbit through your body. At first, you let your hands and arms take part in the circling to help move along your chi.
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The power of T'ai Chi comes from muscular relaxation and not intense muscular effort. Many T’ai Chi beginners try too hard to get it right too soon. When the body is properly aligned and relaxed, you can conjure up an amazing amount of power with seemingly little effort. This power comes from the body’s inner strength.
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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.
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If you have limited time available for T'ai Chi practice, you can follow mini-form routines to target a specific area, such as strength. The mini-forms described here can help you achieve better functional strength — lean and toned muscles that do what you want, when you want, and have enough tone and conditioning to not get hurt or leave you stranded in a pinch.
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These two basics in T'ai Chi — posture and breathing — are actually basics of life. That is one of the beauties of T’ai Chi — its concepts, principles, and basic constructs are things you can learn and apply almost immediately to your everyday life. So think of these two basics as helping you learn how to stand — and standing, as you well know, comes before learning to “walk so you can run.
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T’ai Chi has its own lingo, like any other practice. The terms in the following list represent the basic concepts you need to know to enhance your practice of T’ai Chi: Chi: Otherwise known as "life energy," chi is the life force that pulses through your body and keeps you vital. Blocked chi can cause sickness or unhappiness.
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For quieting the mind, calming the body, and developing chi, nothing surpasses T'ai Chi's standing meditation practice. It can give you an even better (and more peaceful) kick-start to your day than that cuppa joe. You can also use standing meditation to give yourself a little stress-free oasis in your day. (Try the bathroom stall at your office if you have to — who will be the wiser?
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T’ai Chi is heavily steeped in Taoist philosophy. So knowing the basics about how to live that philosophy can give your T’ai Chi practice a real boost. And knowing the why and wherefore behind a form can help you do it better! Wellness tip #1: Weigh your effort Westerners tend to do harder than they need to most of the time — force the lid off the jar, jam the car into the smallest parking space, lift too much weight in the gym, and so on.
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Practicing T’ai Chi on a regular basis may give you physical and mental benefits, depending on how much, at what intensity, with what seriousness, and how often you incorporate it into your life. Some of the benefits listed here aren’t completely proven by fully recognized scientific studies. Nonetheless, the various benefits of T'ai Chi may include the following: Better cholesterol levels Decreased depression Decreased risk of cardiovascular disease Increased immunity (less sickness) Increased muscle strength and flexibility Less lower back pain Less asthma Developing better balance with T'ai Chi Good balance has been easier to study than some other areas.
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The mind has been shown to have a powerful effect on the body, whether spiritually or just hopefully. Meditative and mindful movement takes this power and actively applies it. So whether you believe in the mindful benefit, the spiritual benefit, the healing energy pulsing through the body, or, well, you just believe, you may indeed find what you want or need.
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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.
Read More
Read More
Most people who know a little about T’ai Chi think of its movements, called forms. But T’ai Chi isn't just about moving in interesting ways with your body (making the shapes of T'ai Chi). You actually build on the principles of mindful movement so you can gain healthful benefits. Every movement in T’ai Chi has its origin in some martial application.
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Typically, in classical T’ai Chi practice, you find that the movement is oriented in two ways: by compass (north, south, east, west) or by clockface (12 o’clock, 6 o’clock, and so on). That takes some thinking compared to traditional Western exercise where you just face front, wherever front is, then turn right or turn left.
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When you start to perform any action in T’ai Chi, you visualize it. In other words, you think it through first. Don't just let your mind go along for the ride — use it to see not only what you’re going to do, but sort of inside what you’re going to do. You see yourself completing it. You imagine the energy flowing to all the right places.
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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.
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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.
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