Have you ever asked yourself does tai chi give you energy? Simply put, the practice of tai chi cultivates your qi. Qi (pronounced chee) is the Chinese word for the energy running through our bodies. It is this energy that carries the blood through our veins and brings nourishment to all our organs, including the brain. By cultivating this qi, we bring about a stronger circulation of energy through our systems. This naturally translates into more energy for us to utilize during other activities in life so the answer is yes.
Top medical Institutions, including the Mayo Clinic and Harvard Medical School, have shown that the practice of tai chi helps develop flexibility, balance, and strength. These studies have also shown that it decreases pain and helps alleviate the symptoms of many chronic diseases.
For example, tai chi can relieve the symptoms of arthritis, allowing the affected joints to start loosening up. Chinese medicine has shown that qi blockages in the body cause pain and illness. Practicing tai chi moves your qi and gets rid of blockages. In this way pain levels decrease naturally and the body can use its energy more efficiently.
Other studies have shown that attention and focus are increased by practicing tai chi and some of the world’s top executives are devoted tai chi practitioners for the focus and boost in creativity it brings them. This too contributes to the overall feeling of being energized.
Essentially, one can think of the body as being made up of a series of pumps. Some are large and pump energy to the spine and vital organs, while others are very small and pump energy to smaller areas such as the spaces between the vertebrae and the joints. These pumps work to move all of the fluids through the body, including blood, the fluids in your joints (synovial fluid), and even the fluid between individual cells at the molecular level (interstitial fluid). In a normal modern lifestyle, where stationary work and sedentary habits have become standard, these pumps do not get used as often as they should and they slowly gum up, eventually struggling to do their jobs. This in turn makes us more sluggish in our movements, impacting our energies and even the way our brains function.
The gentle movements of a tai chi form will actuate all of these pumps and keep fluids moving throughout the entire system. The more these pumps are activated, the more efficiently they will pump and the more readily the fluids will all flow through their respective channels, bringing you energy throughout your body. The regular practice of tai chi will ensure greater energy, focus, and calm throughout your day and bring you a longer and healthier life.
