Benefits of Tai Chi and 4 Minute Fitness
... In other words, why bother?

There is a whole range of possible benefits, many being documented by western medical studies.

• Practicing tai chi exercises regularly can improve sleep as well as daytime functioning in elderly people with moderate sleep disorders.
  Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (2004;52:892–900).
  
• Tai chi boosts shingles immunity in elderly people, new research shows. It adds to their general health, too -- especially when those in poor health practice the gentle meditation.  The practice fosters a calm and tranquil mind.

  In what is believed to be the first study of its kind conducted in the United States, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have shown that behavioral interventions and integrative exercise programs such as tai chi can have a direct, positive effect on the immune system in older adults. Psychosomatic Medicine, September, 2003

• According to a review done my the Harvard Health Letter - July, 1997, tai chi... reduces some stress hormones, reduces risk of falling (the leading cause of death by injury in older folks), and improves balance.
  
• The Mayo Health Letter - February, 1998 - "In recent years, a gentle form of ancient Chinese martial arts, called tai chi, has gained attention as a method for improving balance... reduced their risk (of falling) by about 40%."

• The BC Medical journal reports - (May, 1997) - All manner of illnesses have been researched, mostly in China, but also in North America and Europe. Benefits have been claimed for joint disorder, heart disease, hypertension, substance abuse disorders, and stress related illnesses, to name just a few."

• Other studies conclude that tai chi may delay the decline of cardiorespiratory function in older individuals (Lai et al. in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society - 1995), and appeared to be a part of rehabilitation and a safe alternative exercise for people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (Kirstens et al. in American Journal of Physical Medical Rehabilitation, 1991)
  
• a 1992 Australian study of 96 practitioners found that tai chi had the same effects on heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormones as brisk walking.
  
• An Atlanta study of 200 people in their 70's found that 15 weeks of tai chi training cut their risk of falling nearly in half, and reduced their blood pressure as well.
  
• According to Robert Whipple, an expert on balance and gait at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, "The human frame is phenomenally unstable. We stand on a narrow foundation... Tai chi has come up with the best possible biomechanical scenarios for keeping a person stable - to maximize your base by widening your stance, and to keep your head and torso as vertical as possible."
  
• According to "Health After 50" (John Hopkins Medical Letter, July,1999), on "Nipping Anger in the Bud..."
  Practice a relaxation technique. The most popular are deep breathing, yoga and tai chi (a Chinese martial art involving a series of slow, graceful movements). These techniques decrease blood pressure, breathing rate, heart rate and muscle tension."
  
• Another John Hopkins publication (1999). "Deep breathing may improve fitness levels in people with chronic heart failure. Yoga-derived breathing training (as practiced in tai chi) may increase oxygen levels and ease breathing difficulties."
  
• Consumer Report, Feb. 2000. "A routine that combines moderate exercise with meditation techniques, such as a concentration on breathing, may give a two for one reward for stress relief. Tai Chi and yoga are gentle, slow exercises that promote balance, flexibility, stretching and mental calm."

• Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine, 2003. "Tai chi exercises may help prevent shingles."

Tai Chi for Busy People™ offers all these benefits, BUT it is much easier to learn and practice than traditional tai chi!

Note: always check with your health care professional before undertaking tai chi practice.

Physical benefits

1. Increased flexibility - particularly in the often forgotten spine. Maintenance of flexibility in spinal joints is 'oh so important'.
2. Full range of motion in a lot of your joints - motion is lotion, as they say. Better yet - use it or lose it!
3. Increased strength, particularly of the leg muscles
4. Better balance, fewer falls
5. Improved posture
6. Improved immune functioning. (Why? Mental stillness and reduced stress help immune function, as does exercise.)
7. Improved, deeper breathing - leading to increased oxygenation and vitality of all tissues, improved immune functioning, deeper relaxation
8. Many people have reduced pain - particularly noticed in shoulders, back, legs and knees
9. Increased vitality, energy and life - and an increased awareness of the ever present 'chi'.
10. Enhanced coordination, and improved fine motor skills.
11. Decreased blood pressure
12. Decreased breathing and heart rates

1. Reduced stress
2. Increased relaxation
3. Increased concentration and mental focus
4. Improved memory
5. Increased sense of happiness and contentedness (is that a word?) and inner peace
6. Greater ability to 'be in the moment', to pull out of the craziness of everyday living
7. An often profound sense of being here, now. (Wherever you go, there you are...) In other words, reducing the tendency to live in the past, or worry about the future.
8. A higher level of happiness

Create many of these Benefits in your life - easily

The problem has always been that tai chi has been far to complicated and time consuming to learn, so the vast majority of people who really needed the benefits didn't get them.

Until now. Tai Chi for Busy People™ seminars and the video offer huge potential benefits to those who need them most!

Tai Chi for Busy People™ is a tool to use anytime you need it - anywhere.

Just five minutes before or after work, before a major presentation, before interacting with the family or before bed. Or to improve performance in almost any sport!    

Five minutes of peace.

This unique tai chi program, which incorporates full body movement, mental stillness and deep breathing, is one of the quickest and most effective ways to benefit on all levels!

Tai Chi for Busy People™ can help you slow down, yet work more effectively.   The great paradigm - increase productivity by reducing speed. By coming from a solid, more grounded and healthier place.

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Research confirms what so many of us have felt - regular practice of tai chi feels GREAT!

The best ideas come from a focused mind

Just five minutes of tai chi before interacting with your children. Imagine the benefits...

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