Harvard Medical School’s
Top Ten Reasons to practice T’ai Chi
According to the Harvard Health Publications of the Harvard Medical School regular practice of T’ai Chi Ch’uan may be useful in the treatment and prevention of many health problems while giving practitioners control in relieving their own aches and pains.
“A growing body of carefully conducted research is building a compelling case for tai chi as an adjunct to standard medical treatment for the prevention and rehabilitation of many conditions commonly associated with age,” says Peter M. Wayne, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Tai Chi and Mind-Body Research Program at Harvard Medical School’s Osher Research Center.
Tai chi for overall fitness
Improves
- Muscle strength
- Flexibility.
- Balance
- Aerobic conditioning
Tai chi for medical conditions
When combined with standard treatment, tai chi also appears to be helpful for numerous medical conditions. For example:
- Arthritis
- Low bone density
- Breast cancer
- Heart disease
- Heart failure
- Hypertension
- Parkinson’s disease
- Sleep problems
- Stroke
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Can T’ai Chi Slow Aging?
Tai Chi Intervention Increases Progenitor CD34+ Cells in Young Adults
This study provides direct evidence of Tai Chi’s effects upon the aging process. Tai Chi has been shown to have many great health benefits. Scientists conducted a study to compare the rejuvenating and antiaging effects among Tai Chi group and a brisk walking group and a third no exercise group. After a year of practice the CD34+ (a stem cell important to a number of important functions) cell counts in peripheral blood of the participants was determined, the participants in the TCC group outperformed the sedentary group with respect to the number of CD34+ progenitor cells. No significant difference was found between the TCC group and the BW group. TCC practice sustained for more than 1 year may be an intervention against aging.
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