Tai Chi Sifu

Archive for the ‘Fitness’ Category

As Xmas and the New Year approaches we will be inclined to overeat at parties over the festive season and as a result we will suffer the discomfort of indigestion. Here are a few tips that we should all follow:-

Only eat up to 75% fullness.
Stay away from rich greasy foods that play havoc with our digestive system.
Don’t overdo the sweet temptations.
Limit your alcohol intake.
Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day one glass of ice water one hour before each meal.
Always finish your meal with a cup of green tea which will help with the digestion.

So with that said and done let me wish you all a very Merry Xmas and a Happy, Healthy and Fit New Year filled with continuous desires to improve oneself in all aspects of your life.

Let 2011 be a year of commitment to good health and wellbeing.

In movement, flexibility is so important and more so in the practice of the Tai Chi Fitness program. The program will aid in joint mobility making you more supple, relieving joint pains and aiding in the recovery of joint injuries.

Tai Chi practice can either be done at a high, intermediary or low height depending on the intensity of the workout required. Stepping wider or longer will intensify your stances improving leg muscle strength, flexibility and also improving the amount of blood flowing through the arteries to the heart, making the exercise more cardiovascular. This non impact activity is easy on the joints.

Consult your doctor or health practitioner before embarking on any exercise program and also inform your trainer of any problems you might have.

Hands, eyes and feet co-ordination is important for the smooth transition of movement from one stance to the other as Tai Chi’s health benefits lie in its continuous flowing movements from beginning to end.

Coordinating the above with correct breath awareness will help in understanding left and right brain activity to enable you to move fluidly on either side in any direction that the Tai Chi form will take you.

Being able to co-ordinate hands, eyes and feet will assist greatly in learning the different Tai Chi forms. It’ll be just a matter of time as in a class you are given the building blocks to the form.

You are given three to five blocks per session as the brain cannot absorb more. With daily practice and the regular attendance to classes additional building blocks will be learned until the entire form is complete.

In our classes the energy flow of movement is explained and felt. The ability to relax and feel the flow is an exciting aspect of Chi Kung and Tai Chi training.

Tension in the muscles and joints hinder the feeling of the energy flow. One must learn to relax and with continuous practice of Tai Chi and Chi Kung, the energy flow will be felt.

Our bodies have what is called muscle memory and blockages must be eliminated gradually. We do not have to tell our bodies to stress, the body automatically goes into stress mode out of habit and it is this habit that needs to be changed. A habit is hard to break.

Good posture, correct breathing and a positive attitude have to be learned. Our internal dialog has to alter before change can take place.

Attending Tai Chi Fitness classes regularly will be invaluable.