Taoist Tai Chi® arts and Arthritis
If you have been recently diagnosed or have been suffering for years, you know that arthritis of all kinds can cause pain and problems with mobility and flexibility. Over time it can affect your energy and your enjoyment of life. Research has shown that tai chi is very effective in helping people who have arthritis. With Taoist Tai Chi® practice many people have found they can reduce pain, move more flexibly and freely, and increase their energy. In addition people practicing Taoist Tai Chi® arts have found a sense of lightness and well-being.
Related Resources:
Stories of Improved Quality of Life
In the first video, a man describes how osteoarthritis and psoriatic arthritis have severely affected his joints, and how Taoist Tai Chi® practice has reduced the issues surrounding these conditions and allowed him to regain a level of mobility he did not think would be possible.
Next, a woman describes how Taoist Tai Chi® practice has significantly improved her arthritis and, as a result, has made a tremendous difference in her personal and professional life.
In the third video, long-term practitioner of Taoist Tai Chi® arts tells the story of how she began practicing as a “back cripple,” unable to walk, stand, or even sit for long periods due to severe pain, and has since become pain free through her dedicated Taoist Tai Chi® practice.
What are Practitioners with Arthritis saying about Taoist Tai Chi® arts?
“Taoist Tai Chi® arts changed my life. I was able to get off my rheumatoid arthritis drugs completely. I felt physically and emotionally strong enough to adopt a baby on my own.” ;
– Margaret, Kingston, Canada
“Great improvement in the problems related to arthritis. Even [my] hands and fingers have REALLY straightened.”
– Helen, Courtice, Canada
“I have flat feet. This was so painful that it was hard for me to walk at all. My Taoist Tai Chi® arts instructor helped me find moves from the set that I could do, first only a little, but with daily practice more and more. Now some 10 years later my feet get tired and ache but there is no severe foot pain. I recently had my feet examined by a foot specialist. He looked at the x-rays and asked me what I did for exercise. I showed him some of my Taoist Tai Chi® practice. He said, “I do not know why the Tai Chi works but never stop doing it because all the joints in your feet are out of alignment. Usually this causes crippling arthritis, but your feet show almost no sign of arthritis at all.”
– Polly, Vancouver, Canada
“As a result of Taoist Tai Chi® practice, I no longer suffer from osteoarthritis in my spine and no longer take medication.”
– Michelle, Goldcoast, USA
“Taoist Tai Chi® practice has reduced my need for medication for arthritis in my knees and has stabilized my back.”
– Cate, Edmonton, Canada
How does Taoist Tai Chi® practice help?
Taoist Tai Chi® arts involve a full range of motion with deep stretching and continuous turning of the spine. They exercise the whole physiology including muscular, skeletal, and circulatory systems, as well as tendons, joints, connective tissue and organs. This whole body approach has a profound effect on our health, increasing strength, flexibility and resilience, whatever our condition.
Taoist Tai Chi® arts are also a form of moving meditation that has a deep effect on the brain, calming and clearing the mind.
Move More Confidently – Be Active – Be Social
