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Medicalization of Tai Chi

“One interesting byproduct of the biomedical research and evolution of Tai Chi forms is the development of simplified protocols amenable to short, clinical trials. These protocols make it easier to learn Tai Chi in a safe way and even allow people who are older or whose bodies are reconditioned to experience the essential elements of Tai Chi and participate in clinical trials. The first one to be used in a randomized, controlled trial was developed by Tai Chi Master Tingsen Xu as part of the landmark trial published by researchers at Emory University to evaluate Tai Chi for balance in the elderly. The protocol included 14 moves, done independently and without sequencing. For each move, there was a clear hypothesis of the impact of the movement patterns for the development of valance. Since then, multiple protocols, some with as few as five movements, and most including a suite of warm-up and cool-down exercises, have been evaluated in clinical trials.”

“Perhaps due in part to this research, a trend of using Tai Chi protocols in medical work has evolved. A quick search on the Internet can identify trademarked programs entitled Tai chi for Balance, Tai Chi for Parkinson’s, Tai Chi for Multiple Sclerosis, Tai Chi for Arthritis, and Tai Chi for Depression. While some of these protocols are based on evidence from scientific studies, it is not yet clear that the unique characteristics of these forms are uniquely therapeutic for the specified conditions. No Western studies to date have compared any one Tai Chi form to another and demonstrated whether any specific protocol is better than any other, or better that Tai Chi programs available in the community. This represents an important future area of interest for the Tai Chi research community.”

[There is room for lots of important conversations here. I hope someone has them.]

About the Photo

If you look back at the previous photo you can get the sense that if there were any pulling to be done this is would be the Tai Chi way of doing it. It just turns out that the Tai Chi way of using the body happens to train excellent body mechanics for just about any other activity. Not all Tai Chi is equal of course and not all Tai Chi teachers appreciate the details, so not everyone gets the same results, but that’s the same for everything in life.

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Tai Chi Meets Western Science

“Biomedical research has been especially important in attracting Western middle-aged and older adults into Tai Chi, and drawing the attention of health-care providers, insurance companies, and policy makers.”

“The first Western randomized, controlled trial, published in 1987, evaluated Tai Chi for balance and range of motion in older adults. Today more than 700 peer-reviewed papers have been published, and this number is growing at an exponential rate.”

“This research includes compelling, but in many cases not yet definitive, data that Tai Chi may improve aspects of balance, cardiovascular health, the immune system, sleep, psychological well-being, and other dimensions of health.” “Recent surveys suggest three million Americans practice Tai Chi specifically for health.”

“… an increasing number of students come because their physicians or other health-care providers have referred them. Tai Chi classes seem to fill a need for a form of therapy that touches body, mind, and spirit – what the medical community calls a biopsychosocial approach – for prevention and rehabilitation.”

About the Photo

Also referred to as “Roll Back” it isn’t easy to appreciate from the photos how circular the motion is as the hands travel out and around and now back and down – the hands rotate as well (at the end point in the previous photo actually) so that the right hand that was palm up as it traveled away from the body is now palm down as it moves toward the body; and visa versa with the left hand.

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Philosophical Influence

“Tai Chi’s roots are intertwined with multiple Eastern philosophies and religions, among which Taoism is the most prominent. The oral tradition of Taoism is believed to extend back in Chinese history to 3,000 B.C.E.”

“… it is very clear when reading Lao tau and other Taoist texts that several key principles of Taoism resonate with the practice, philosophy, and spirit of Tai Chi.”

Tai Chi in the West

“While historians have shown that many aspects of Chinese medicine and culture, including Tai chi came to the United States in the 1800s during the building of the railroads, the main entry was in the 1960s.” One of the earliest and most prominent teachers to bring Tai Chi to the West was Cheng Man Ching. A student of Yang Cheng Fu, Cheng Man Ching was the perfect ambassador of Tai Chi for the West. Master Cheng was classically training in painting, poetry, philosophy, Chinese herbal medicine, and martial arts, the so-called five excellences.”

“In 1964 he came to the United States and started Shr Jung Center for cultural arts in New York…”

“In the early 1960s, even in large cities such as New York, Eastern practices were hard to find. There wree some martial arts (karate and judo), but most mind-body Eastern practices, even yoga, were still considered cult-like and in conflict with Judeo-Christian beliefs.”

“As the Chinese historian and scholar Professor Douglas Wile wrote, even to this day, “Tai Chi is China’s cultural ambassador to the world…Touching lives of more westerners, and perhaps more deeply, than books, films, museums or college courses, Tai Chi is often an entree` to Chinese philosophy, medicine, meditation, and even language.”

“Many of Cheng Man Ching’s senior students in Asia, including Benjamin Peng Lo, William Chen, and T.T. Liang, followed him to the United States and continued to study with him and help him teach new students.”

“A reflection of how successful the invasion [of Tai Chi] has been is World Tai Chi Day, organized by Bill Douglas.”

“In China, the opportunity to learn an internal art and work closely with a high-level master was a rare, once-in-a-lifetime event for most people.”

“… comingling also lead to new hybrids, sometime repackaged with new names, such as Tai Chi Yoga and Mindful Tai Chi. Because no single, sanctioned national organization currently is responsible for monitoring the development of Tai Chi training and teacher credentialing and, in the West, there is little political control over teaching practices prohibited in China due to political reasons, it is likely that the West will continue to serve as an important cradle for the development and evolution of Tai Chi.”

About the Photo

Notice the nearly 45° angle, the “line”, and the yin-yang hands. Also notice that my head is tilted back a little too far; it would have been better to raise the eyes more and tilt the head back a tiny bit less.

If you get the impression that I am picky about minute technical details with regard to form, I am. It isn’t necessary to get it that right all the time in every aspect and I don’t require perfection from students. It’s all a process and a matter of priorities and none of us are going to get it absolutely perfect. We just work on it, first to get the basics, then to polish and polish and polish. If polishing isn’t your thing that’s fine. For health purposes as long as you roughly get the line right, the knee rule right and the hip hinge right, none of the rest of it is dangerous and none of the rest of it will matter that much. You will still have just as much fun too!

The Harvard Medical School Guide To Tai Chi – A Book Review8

Transitioning from Form of Seven Stars into Grasp The Bird’s Tail

Philosophical Influence

“Tai Chi’s roots also are intertwined with multiple Eastern philosophies and religions, among which Taoism is the most prominent.”

“… it is very clear when reading Lao Tzu and other Taoist texts that several key principles of Taoism resonate with the practice, philosophy, and spirit of Tai Chi.”

Tai Chi in The West

While historians have shown that many aspects of Chinese medicine and culture, including Tai Chi, came to the United States in the 1800s during the building of the railroads, the main entry was in the 1960s. One of the earliest and most prominent teachers to bring Tai Chi to the West was Cheng Man Ching. A student of Yang Cheng Fu, Cheng Man Ching was the perfect ambassador of Ta ichi for the West. Master Cheng was classically trained in painting, poetry, calligraphy, Chinese herbal medicine, and martial arts, the so-called five excellences.” “In 1964 he came to the United States…’”

“In the early 1960s, even in large cities such as New York, Eastern practices were hard to find. There were some martial arts (karate and judo), but most mind-body Eastern practices, even yoga, were still considered cult-like and in conflict with Judeo-Christian beliefs, and many were kept somewhat underground.”

“As the Chinese historian and scholar Professor Douglas Wile wrote, even to this day, ‘Tai Chi is China’s cultural ambassador to the world… Touching lives of more westerners, and perhaps more deeply, than books, films, museums or college courses, Tai Chi is often and entree` to Chinese philosophy, medicine, meditation, and even language.”

“Many of Cheng Man Ching’s senior students in Asia, including Benjamin Peng Lo, William Chen, and T. T. Liang, followed him to the United States and continued to study with him and help him teach new students.”

“A reflection of how successful the invasion has been is World Tai Chi Day, organized by Bill Douglas.”

“In China, the opportunity to learn an internal martial art and work closely with a high-level master was a rare, once-in-a-lifetime event for most people.”

“This comingling also has led to new hybrids, sometimes repackaged with new names, such as Tai chi Yoga and Mindful Tai Chi. Because no single, sanctioned national organization currently is responsible for monitoring the development of Tai Chi training and teacher credentialing and, in the West, there is little political control over teaching practices prohibited in China due to political reasons, it is likely the West will continue to serve as an important cradle for the development and evolution of Tai Chi.”

About the Photos

In the performance of almost any given Tai Chi Style, there is an “opening” and “closing” of the posture, sometimes more than once for a given Style. Here you can see that as the hands are drawn down, toward the left hip, and the weight shifts back and down there is closing. The right foot then steps out, and when the weight shifts onto that right foot there will be an opening.

Notice too, that as part of the alignment of the waist, neck and head, where ever the hips (or belly button if that helps) are pointing the head is also pointing in that same direction. This true in general and throughout Tai Chi right up until it isn’t true any more:-)

I have mentioned that my Forms are large. One way to think of how large would be too large is to consider that peripheral vision is being trained and, in general, if the hands were to go outside the field of peripheral vision, that would be too far.

The Harvard Medical School Guide To Tai Chi – A Book Review7

Form of the Seven Stars

Healing Arts Influence

“Tai Chi shares a common historical pathway with the development of traditional Chinese medicine, which includes prescriptions of exercise and lifestyle, along with herbs, diet, acupuncture, massage, and other modalities for maintaining health and longevity.”

“Movements in the contemporary Tai Chi forms, such as ‘Snake Creeps Down,’ ‘Crane Cools Its Wings,’ and ‘Step Back to Repulse Monkey,’ reflect and extend this tradition of observing nature, mimicking elements of naturalistic, animal-like movements, and applying them to health and self-defense.”

“To be a successful, enduring, high-level marital artist, practitioners needed to be healthy in body and mind.”

“A line in the a Tai chi classic poem entitled, ‘Thirteen Posture Song’ reads, ‘What is the purpose of this discipline? To lengthen one’s life, extend one’s years, and to give one an ageless springtime.”

“A noteworthy development in Tai Chi’s widespread promotion for health was the development of a 24-posture simplified form, or the Beijing Form. This form was developed in 1956 by the National Physical Culture and Sports Commission of the People’s Republic of China as part of the drive to standardize Tai Chi training for social reform and sport. This form was part of a national fitness program. Today you can go to parks across China and see millions practicing Tai Chi. This practice is clearly part of the country’s health maintenance system, and many Chinese hospitals integrate Tai Chi into rehabilitation.”

About the Photo

Here we transition from Beginning Tai Chi Style into Form of the Seven Stars. This photo isn’t a perfect illustration of the Form of the Seven Stars Style, but it is very close and will work for our purposes.

Here we are introduced to the “Cat Stance” with the weight on one foot which is at a 45° angle, and the other foot angled 45° in the other direction (so that that feet form a 90° angle) with the toe touching the ground but without any weight on that foot. Now you have a “full” (Yin) leg – the one you are standing on, and an “empty” (Yang-because it has the potential for movement) leg. The heels are closer together than is shown here.

Form of the Seven Stars is a famous for static training. It is also the starting point for a Moving Push Hands Drill by the same name. This two-person drill trains a way of stepping (Seven Star Step), deflecting and pushing/striking. The Seven Star Step forward is done by stepping forward 45° (e.g., to the left) onto one foot, then forward 45° to the right onto the other foot, always keeping the knees bent, and the neutral spine. Backward is a reverse movement, pushing off of the front foot backward turning to the 45°, then off of the other foot back 45° in the other directions so the you zig-zag back and forth while moving either forward or backward; pushing as you step forward, deflecting as you step backward. It also teaches timing and distance as well as cardiovascular fitness.

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Martial Arts Influence

“An important landmark in the history of Chinese martial arts is the Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, considered the cradle of Chinese martial arts. Legend has it that the Bodhidarma, who brought Chan (Zen) Buddhism to China in the sixth century, arrived to find the monks at the Shaolin temple in extremely poor health and fitness. He taught them a series of exercises to strengthen their minds and bodies for meditation. These exercises evolved into what are now called Shaolin Boxing, Wushu, or Kung Fu.

A key semi-mythical figure in the history of Tai Chi, often called the father of Tai chi, is Chang San-feng, generally thought to have lived in the thirteenth century C.E. It is widely told that Chang San-feng was a Shaolin monk who decided to leave the monastery to become a Taoist hermit. In the Wudang Mountains, he gave up the harder Kung Fu fighting style he had learned and formulated a new art based on his observations of nature and Taoist principles of softness and yielding. Legend has it that he had an “aha” moment after watching a fight between a snake and a crane. Every time the crane would try to attack the snake’s head, the snake would yield, evade, and hit the crane with its tail. When the crane would try for the snake’s tail, the snake would yield and bite the crane. This process resulted in the emphasis of the basic Tai chi (yin-yang) concepts of evading, yielding, and attacking. Chang developed a martial art based on natural principles that used softness and internal power to overcome brute force.”

“Some historians and scholars believe that many of the distinctive postures and names associated with contemporary Tai Chi may be attributable to Ming dynasty general Ch’i Chi-kuang (1528-87), author of the “Boxing Classic.”

“Another key figure in Tai Chi’s martial development is Yang Lu-ch’an (1799-1872), who learned this art in Chen village.”

“In 1852, Yang Lu-ch’an moved to Beijing to teach what he called “soft boxing” or “cotton boxing.” His high martial skills earned him the title “Yang the Invincible.” In addition, among other teaching activities, he was appointed to teach his art to the Imperial Guards and members of the Qing court.”

“While the majority of practitioners today practice Tai Chi for health, the martial arts aspect is still popular and is central to the art’s evolution. Martial skills are no longer tested in hand-to-hand battles to the death, but they are tested in regulated sports competitions. Some events include full-contact sparring, like boxing and contemporary mixed-martial arts. More commonly, martial skills are tested in two-person events called “Push Hands,” where the goal is to uproot physically an opponent while keeping one’s own feet rooted. Almost as if by magic, the highest-level practitioners appear to exert no effort in push hands. When pushed, they are able to relax, evade, and deflect an opponent’s incoming force, and sometimes send the uprooted opponent flying a great distance.”

Forms and Movements

“Within each style, you will find many choreographed routines. The language used to describe these routines may vary, but they are most commonly called forms or sets. Each form, whether done with bare hands or weapons (for example, sword, staff, or spear), has a certain number of movements or postures.”

About the Photo

Tai Chi Styles are a series of Postures. This is the Posture that goes with “Beginning Tai Chi” Style. So, first notice the alignment, what you can of it from this slightly more than 45° angle. You can see the back leg, spine, neck and head form the all important “line” that I have been harping on here for years.

You can see that the left foot is turned toward the camera (it’s at a 45° angle) and the index finger of the right hand is lined up with the nose and the front knee. All of the weight is on the left foot, none on the back leg which is essentially straight.

Cross Training

I already mentioned the Tai Chi at Rest Style as a Standing Meditation posture that a person could hold indefinitely. It is a very powerful practice having to do with breath awareness, relaxation and mental focus.

Here we encounter another Style with a Posture that can be practiced as a Static Posture. In other words you simply hold this position for a period of time to gain all of the wonderful benefits of being in this particular shape. For one, you learn the Posture and the shape as you internalize it deeply – here the focus is on endurance strength. You also have the opportunity to learn to relax because as you get fatigued, you will naturally look for places where you can relax even more, and then even more, etc. It’s a very very powerful practice. Learning to only contract what has to be contracted to perform a task is a way of efficiency not often appreciated. Leading students in the Form and then stopping in a posture for extended periods of time is a classic time-honored way to teach Tai Chi.

Earlier I mentioned Internal Strength training. Many Internal Strength exercises are Static Postures. Any Style can be practiced as a Static Posture. That is a whole lot of variation and a whole lot of different angles for hitting the same muscles, resulting in a depth of stimulation rarely encountered in ordinary exercise class (think eccentric contractions if you can talk that language). Holding postures for long periods of time imparts a special effect on fascia, ligaments, and tendons that results in all kinds of wonderful benefits – if you don’t over do it. So be careful, very careful.

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If you are into health, read the book.

About the Photo

The weight is now being shifted forward as the arms are being extended – or about to be – all at the same time of course. The force is being generated through the back heel. This is very important. This is your basic shove. Whether moving a grocery cart or whatever other way you need to get “pushy” this is how it’s done Tai Chi style. The whole body is behind the force. All of the sinking, twisting and coiling up is now being reversed as you lift, turn, uncoil and extend to deliver the force.

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Chapter 1

The Ancient Promise of, and Modern Need for, Tai Chi

This quote introduces the Chapter: “You don’t have to have a health issue to do Ta Chi. But if you do, you should find a a way to incorporate Tai Chi into some part of your life,” says Faith, age 54, an attorney who began Tai Chi to manage her back pain. “You can do it anywhere and practice it with no special equipment. Whether it’s 10 minutes a day on your own or 60 minutes in a class a few times a week, you will be better for it. There’s something with these ancient arts. They don’t last for centuries for nothing.”

[Don't miss the point that you can do Tai Chi in regular clothes, anywhere, any time... within reason, because that's a big deal. Unless you have nothing but free time on your hands, in which case convenience won't apply to you.]

Tai Chi Defined

“Tai Chi is a mind-body exercise rooted in multiple Asian traditions, including martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, and philosophy. Tai Chi training integrates slow intentional movements with breathing and cognitive skills (for example mindfulness and imagery). It aims to strengthen, relax, and integrate the physical body and mind, enhance the natural flow of Qi and improve health, personal development, and self-defense.”

“What we refer to as Tai chi throughout this book is a simplified abbreviation of the more formal name Tai Chi Chuan…” “Chuan generally is translated as ‘fist’ or ‘boxing’.”

[Here is the definition that I use: Tai Chi is the ancient Chinese system of exercise and self defense based on the Taoist principles of Yin and Yang. Or something like that...]

[It's worth noting that, as far as I can tell at this point, everything he says about Tai Chi and the benefits of Tai Chi in this book is based solely on one of the components of Tai Chi Chuan: The Hand Form. There are four other components which together make up whats called the Five Pillars of Tai Chi Chuan. Those other components include Weapons, Push Hands (he will mention this I am sure), Internal Strength (a specialized form of Qigong), and Self-Defense Applications. It's the integration and practice of all five components that comprises a complete Tai Chi practice, and bestows the full spectrum of benefits that Tai Chi offers.]

“Most people think of Tai Chi as a form of Qigong because if cultivates, moves, and helps manage Qi.”

[Qigong predates Tai Chi by thousands of years. Doing a Tai Chi Hand Form is doing Qigong; but doing Qigong isn't the same as doing Tai Chi. For practical purposes doing Qigong is simpler, easier, and... eventually boring by comparison. It ends up boiling down to how you spend your time since that is the valuable commodity. Also, be aware that when we get to the Tai Chi exercises that he recommends, they are simply little pieces of the Form repeated over and over. And it's perfectly legitimate to take a movement in the Form and repeat it over and over and call it Qigong, in fact it would be more appropriate.]

“It [Tai Chi] has evolved from a secret, orally transmitted self-defense system in the 1700s to the early 1800s; to a more widely shared fighting art used to train the military; to a publicly shared method for personal development and longevity exercises in the mid-1800s to mid-1900s; to a national exercise sport and performing art the [Chinese] government promotes and showcases to the rest of the world as a national treasure.”

About the Photo

The weight here is shifted over to only one leg. The demands of standing on one leg for “extended” periods of time are many and profound: again the deeper, meaning the more the knee is bent, the more difficult, strength-wise. Deeper also means more stretch being put on things, like in this case, the right hip and ilio-tibial (IT) band.

The arms circled around from the earlier position and as they crossed the plain of the body – or went past the feet – the left foot stepped out and the heel is placed on the floor. Now you have entered the world of Tai Chi Walking. In Tai Chi Walking the forward stepping foot is placed on the ground with no weight on it. Only at the appointed moment – timed to coincide with the what the rest of the body is doing – does the weight get shifted to that front foot. Most people have never walked like this and for most people learning it is a challenge. In many Tai Chi classes extra time is spent simply doing Tai Chi Walking, back and forth across the room. Lastly, you can’t tell from the picture but the timing of the hands reaching all the way out and the foot reaching it’s destination are meant to occur at exactly the same time.

Lastly, the knee on the side of the weighted leg has been bent to a certain angle and remained precisely at that angle every since you first sunk down to that position. It may be hard to notice, but that is pretty close to a 45° angle, but it is way deeper than most people ever go – whether regular Tai Chi practitioners or beginners. 22.5° or roughly half as much knee bend is much more common and when you are learning there are so many other things to think about that getting this low is not usually a good idea.

Also Note: the feet started out pointing straight ahead. For many just getting into that position is a challenge; if so work toward that goal. If starting with the feet pointed straight ahead when you were standing up was not a big deal, sometimes it becomes a difficult thing at this point. That’s ok, angle and hip flexibility take time.

The Harvard Medical School Guide To Tai Chi – A Book Review3

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“My Life in Tai Chi”

“…I am not an advocate researcher. Rather, I seek dispassionately to understand what works, what doesn’t work, what is safe, and if there is promise for a certain population or medical condition, to explore how best to integrate Tai chi with state-of-the-art health care.”

[You can tell this guy's heart is in the right place and he does what he does for the most honorable of reasons. He is a medical doctor though and thinks like one regardless of how much Tai Chi he has done, so this mentality of matching the sickness to the cure seems unavoidable. Indeed, many a Chiropractor has passed through all manner of "Chiropractic" educational institutions without ever getting what is called "The Big Idea".]

“Part of the practice of Tai Chi and other meditative arts requires turning off rational thinking and tapping into other, less understood processes, like intuition and imagination. For example, Tai Chi classics say, “Belief or mind moves internal energy(Qi) and Qi moves the body.”

“Nevertheless, my two jobs, one as a daytime researcher and the other as an evening Tai Chi teacher, involve a dynamic dance between yin and yang, both informing one another and incubating rich thoughts, and they have led to my unique style of teaching and practicing Tai Chi.”

“…Tai Chi addresses a critical need for novel approaches in today’s health care and, most importantly, that the integration of Tai Chi into the medical world can help prevent the progression and personal and economic burden of chronic disease.”

[I couldn't have said it better myself!!]

About the Photo

Here you can see that the eyes are still looking forward, which relative to the head is up: that happens a lot. Also, the arms are circling around and have reached the limit of their excursion backward: note the range of motion involved in the shoulders, the stretch of the front chest muscles, etc.

I still tend to make my Forms large. Larger, and that also means lower, Forms are more difficult, involve a much greater range of motion and just feel really really good. There are reasons for only going so far though, so large is relative. The classics advise us to “First seek to expand, then seek to be compact.” Exploring the many many sizes and shapes of Forms is just one of the many aspects of Tai Chi training that makes a seemingly identical practice totally unique with each session.

Lastly, here the weight is shifted over to only one leg. The demands of standing on one leg for “extended” periods of time are many and profound: again the deeper, meaning the more the knee is bent, the more difficult, strength-wise. Deeper also means more stretch being put on things, like in this case, the right hip and ilio-tibial (IT) band.

Feel free to comment, critique or criticize at will…

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From the Introduction

“East Meets West at Harvard Medical School”

“In July 2009, along with six other Tai Chi and mind-body researchers representing leading US medical schools, I found myself sitting on a panel with five of the most renowned living grand masters of Tai Chi – the equivalents of Dalai Lamas of Tai Chi.” “Thus unprecedented meeting between Tai Chi researchers and masters was part of the First International Tai Chi Symposium on the campus of Vanderbilt University Medical School, a landmark event for the world of Tai Chi.”

“For me, the fact that this evening’s symposium was devoted to exploring the role that Western scientific research might play in informing Tai Chi’s development and integration into Western health care was even more remarkable.”

[It's important to understand all that is going on here. "Western scientific research" is a tool being used to integrate Tai Chi into Western health care. There are reasons and there will be results. It will be interesting to watch the progression from being "outside" of "Western health care" to being "inside".]

“In many ways the symposium was very successful.”

“Yet, … I found myself a little dissatisfied and wanting much more.”

“… I saw clearly how much work still was need to build bridges. Part of my calling, and a central purpose of this book, is to explore this interface between the East and West through Tai Chi.”

“This Eastern holistic and ecological view of the body, mind and health now is becoming increasingly appreciated and adopted within the Western medical community.”

Harvard Looks to the East

“Today, nearly all of the Harvard hospitals have programs that provide some form of integrative medicine.”

“This book seeks to show, in a scientifically balanced and objective manner, the clinical promise for Tai Chi and to provide insights into the underlying physiological processes that explain how Tai Chi improves health. Tai Chi includes a rich mixture of therapeutic components – what I’ve organized as the “Eight Active Ingredients.”

[Through out the book he refers back and forth to the Eight Active Ingredients. They are (1) Awareness (including mindfulness and focused attention), (2) Intention (including belief and expectation), (3) Structural Integration, (4) Active Relaxation, (5) Strengthening and Flexibility, (6) Natural Freer Breathing, (7) Social Support, and (8) Embodied Spirituality (including philosophy and ritual). In the same way that we break down the bodies nerve system into central, peripheral, sympathetic and parasympathetic it is all just a way of trying to take something complicated apart and look at the pieces in order to understand the whole. The point is that we never really do fully understand and that Western science is one useful way to try to understand better.]

“With this knowledge, we have formulated a variety of simplified Tai Chi protocols that have been tested in numerous clinical trials at Harvard Medical School and affiliated hospitals, the essential elements of which I share in this book.”

[Realize that though this is a necessary step, we right off the bat begin to lose something. The "knowledge" that he refers to is what he knows about the Eight Active Ingredients, which he is quick to admit is limited. The fact that he takes his limited knowledge, then "simplifies" things means there is going to be something lost.]

About the Photo

In the previous photo the hands had reached their maximum height, here the hands have come back and are going down. As the hands descend the knees bend and the hips “hinge” in order to avoid allowing the knees to travel forward beyond the toe-foot junction. This is a functional squat with all the necessary components: neutral “straight” spine maintained – notice the chin is held down, hinged hip, and not breaking the knee rule. The practical application is in pulling something down; rather than just using your arms you use your whole body and you move from your center of gravity. This motion may be useful whether you are a nurse or a ninja.

A daily Tai Chi practice eventually trains the body to bend in this way which is safe, functional and conserves energy rather than being dysfunctional, unsafe and tiring. A daily practice of the former makes you strong and healthy; a daily practice of the latter makes you ready for an injury in the short term and for arthritis in the long term.

The Harvard Medical School Guide To Tai Chi – A Book Review1

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Here and for the next 65 posts I will be attempting to do two things. First this is a review, of sorts, of the new book, The Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi, by Peter M. Wayne, PhD with Mark L. Fuerst. I say “of sorts” because I am half way through reading the book and have simply highlighted certain things. My plan is to share here the parts I have highlighted and if I have the inclination and time I will add comments in brackets as I always do.

The photos that accompany these posts are a sequence, in order, from the first section of the Hand Form (right handed). I will likely comment on each photo. A student learning the Form may be able to make use of these photos in learning the beginning and ending of, as well as the transitions between, Styles.

First, about the book. It’s a great book as far as I am concerned looked at from what ever angle you choose. These guys have made a landmark contribution. As you read, for example, try and imagine the pressure to be politically correct in conveying the history, context, and the implications of impact Tai chi could have if adopted by the general public, the scientific community, the health care industry and the public health authorities as a means of restoring and maintaining health in all the appropriate populations. Mindblowing puts it mildly, and I don’t think we have to worry about that happening on a big scale. But I write for you who may be interested in health and fitness, rehabilitation and recovery, and for those who may be interested in saving their companies tens of millions of dollars in direct and indirect costs from the lack of health and fitness of themselves and their employees.

From the Forward, buy Ted Kaptchuk, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Author, The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine

“Western patients now are asking for more prevention and health sustenance.”

“Sorely missing has been a book that bridges the wisdom of Tai Chi with the scientific insights of biomedicine. This exceptional book has finally been written, remarkably within the context of a leading medical school; it provides the needed platform to link East and West.”

“Tai Chi is broken down into component therapeutic parts, while science is used to demonstrate the intersection of mind and body and the importance of the imagination and ritual.”

“In the end, you will have tasted and experienced the vastness of a poem with limitless implications.”

“Chapter 1 is a clear, readable overview of Tai Chi’s history and current developments. The chapter goes beyond the mythic (though it tells us some of the myths) and presents Tai Chi as a constantly evolving practice that necessarily undergoes change as it reaches the Western world and must engage science and medical research.”

“Chapter 2 introduces a particularly unique contribution of this book – the articulation of what Peter has coined the ‘Eight Active Ingredients of Tai Chi’.”

“Chapters 4 through 9 present a very readable, exciting summary of medical and basic science research on Tai chi.”

“For example, Chapter 8, his discussion of clinical and physiological studies of motor imagery research is beautifully linked with the traditional Chinese concept of intention (yi).”

“In Chapters 10 through 14, Peter realigns and brings together all the previous discussion of science and situates them into practical activities of daily life. Tai Chi now informs the social interactions you navigate at work and at home, as well as your creative endeavors, including in the arts and sports.”

Now about the photo

“Beginning Tai Chi Style” isn’t the first Style. “The Ready Style” comes before it, and before that even is “Tai Chi at Rest”. We could talk all day about these first couple of Styles but apparently my photographer didn’t think they were important enough to include in the collection. That’s Ok. Just know that standing in the “At Rest” position is a standing meditation that could last as long you like and in my practice I hold that position, eyes closed, for three breaths. This is a time for getting centered, present, relaxed and prepared for the journey that is about to begin. The longer you practice Tai Chi the more you value this transition from the life before the Form to the experience of being inside the Form.

When you are “ready” you lower the hands and open the eyes into the Ready Style. Now you are ready.

Beginning Tai Chi Style is the beginning of movement (the separation of Yin and Yang). It entails circular arm movements, a hip hinged squat, a shift of weight onto one leg, a step and shift of weight onto the other leg, trunk rotation and pivot, and a sequencing of simultaneous whole body motion that finishes in a push that creates what we call the Yin/Yang hand position.

This photo shows the arms circling up and out. Relaxation is always the prime directive so the practice is to do the motion with as little muscular effort as possible. The timing of the breath and the motion may be matched. The mind is focused on the movement.

In general, my comments will be directed to the student learning the Form. In time things change and in particular many details are taught a certain way as the “right” way; later you learn there can be many right ways and just as many ways that are less right depending on several factors. In other words the rules apply until they don’t.

The worst mistake a new student can make is to try to copy some Master’s movements before gaining a full sensory competence of the basic structure and framework of the Form, as well as a cognitive appreciation for what is going on. If you are new to Tai Chi watching a Master do Tai Chi you really aren’t seeing much of what is going on and you aren’t likely to appreciate very much of what you do see.

All of this isn’t to argue in favor of you getting it perfect or else. What’s important is that doing things wrong enough has consequences. “Tai Chi knee” is a common injury among Tai Chi practitioners who don’t learn the knee rule. This book does a fine job of covering the knee rule.

Doing the Form really well also has consequences in terms of deeper learning, faster progress, much more functionality, and not having to go back and unlearn something later.

Feel free to leave a comment or question.

Mind-Body Therapies Aren’t For Everyone

But it seems that 40 million of us are using them, according to a survey in 2007. And 3 million people in this country are doing either tai chi, qigong or both. Twice as many are doing yoga. All to the tune of $4 Billion annually. I’m sure that’s one reason mainstream medicine is taking notice.

Another thing catching the mainstream medical establishment’s attention is the exponential growth in scientific studies over the past 20 years: over 750 just in the English language. Equally surprising is that over 175 of those studies are randomized controlled trails which signals a rigorous effort to minimize bias.

So you’ll see it more and more. There are already folks who have trademarked “Tai Chi for Depression” and “Tai Chi for Fall Prevention” and another one that I can’t think of right now. This is marketing at work. There is no research available to indicate that these special programs are any more or less effective than traditional tai chi, of course, but they sound impressive.

Another trend is to cherry pick pieces of tai chi and apply it or re-name it and apply it to rehabilitation, the way the rehabilitation community has done with yoga for thirty years.

These efforts will make things interesting… and confusing, especially for the unwary. Case in point: there is a Korean based outfit pushing their brand of Tai ch & Yoga which contains no tai chi and a real yoga person might say no yoga, but it is marketed well.

My teacher often comments that everyone wants to be a teacher, but not everyone has much to teach.

Depending on the benefits that you want a piece of tai chi spliced together with other pieces or with something that is not tai chi may be enough for you. It might not matter.

To get all of what tai chi offers most responsible authorities would recommend a traditional syllabus offered by a teacher with a lineage and some experience – hopefully even some credentials from a reputable organization. Here is one example.