Introduction to Simplified Tai Chi
Tai Chi Demonstrations

Tai Chi is the most well known and popular moving form of Qigong. For more information on Qigong, see Qigong for Health.

Introduction to Simplified Tai Chi

Some form of Tai Chi practice should be a part of everyone's exercise program regardless of age, and it is becoming extremely popular with active adults and seniors who want to stay healthy. Tai Chi is a moving form of Qigong that can be done as a martial art or for health. Today, most people practice Tai Chi for health maintenance and improvement or for mitigating the effects of chronic conditions such as arthritis. Traditional forms of Tai Chi can take years to learn. In order to make the health benefits of Tai Chi more readily accessible to the population, shortened and simplified versions of it are being created. To this end, a National Expert Meeting on Qigong and Tai Chi was held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on November 14-16, 2005. The National Blueprint Office at the University of Illinois, in conjunction with the National Council on Aging (NCOA), received funding from the Archstone Foundation to explore the opportunities, issues, and challenges of integrating Qigong and Tai Chi into the Aging Network. Experts came from three areas: 1) Physical activity and the Aging Network; 2) Qigong/Tai Chi research; and 3) Qigong/Tai Chi practice to provide insight into the challenges of translating existing research models into effective community-based programs for the health benefits of older adults. The meeting was a milestone in the long-term vision to make Qigong and Tai Chi as popular among older Americans as Yoga has become in community fitness centers and exercise programs today. Click here to watch a short video overview of the meeting.

The full proceedings of this meeting are available in the Consensus Report which includes a description, the process, participants, sponsors, and documents. In addition, an article in The Journal on Active Aging, Volume 5, Issue 5 (September/October 2006) entitled Qi Gong and Tai Chi: promoting practices that promote healthy aging provides an overview of the recommendations and outcomes of the National Expert Meeting. Also see the Qi Gong and Tai Chi Project Update: Spring 2007.

Easy to learn and practice versions of Tai Chi are being created to meet the recommendations of the National Expert Meeting. These forms of Tai Chi can be done sitting, standing, or walking, and movements may be done individually or in combinations. For an example approach to simplified Tai Chi visit the Tai Chi Easy website.

Tai Chi Demonstrations
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Click on the image or the name of the form to see a short demonstration.

Note: Videos may take a few moments to load.

Click here to see an example of Sitting Tai Chi by Roger Jahnke, Doctor of Oriental Medicine (OMD) and founder of the Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi. The movement shown is called "Gathering Heaven and Earth".	Click here to see an example of Standing Tai Chi by Roger Jahnke, OMD. Three movements are shown in succession: "Harmonizing Yin and Yang", "Brush knee, send Qi", and "Cutting the Path to Clarity"	Click here to see an example of Walking Tai Chi by Roger Jahnke, OMD. "Wave Hands in Clouds", "Dragon Tiger Mouth", "Placing the Sun and Moon", and "Gathering from Yin and Yang" are shown together in one continuous movement.

Tai Chi Research
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The popular press, Time magazine for example, has called it "The Perfect Exercise". T'ai Chi Magazine, for Tai Chi practiced as a martial art, discusses the myriad health benefits of Tai Chi in its August 2006 issue. Newsweek's September 27, 2004 issue reports on the increasing use of Qigong in hospitals and cancer centers across the country. Lorenzo Cohen, head of integrative medicine at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, predicts that mind-body techniques will soon become as much a part of standard cancer care as chemotherapy or radiation. An MSN article Stay Young with Tai Chi explains how doing Tai Chi "offers cardiovascular benefits similar to brisk walking or low impact aerobics, but it's much easier on the body", lowers blood pressure, reduces stress, and improves balance.

There have been some excellent publications on the health benefits of Tai Chi in the medical/research press as well, such as in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Some of the well researched benefits of Tai Chi include increased postural control and balance, flexibility, strength, confidence in mobility and coordination, sensitivity and awareness, quality of sleep, and reduction in stress.Yang Yang at University of Illinois Kinesiology Department has published a very compelling book on the medical benefits of Tai Chi. Tai Chi has been shown to increase balance control with resulting self-confidence and reduction in falls, especially among the elderly. Studies show it is effective for arthritis and pain, osteoporosis, strength and flexibility. Cardiovascular functioning is also improved. Research has found Tai Chi to be equivalent to moderate aerobic exercise. Tai Chi reduces cholesterol and blood pressure, and increases the capacity of the immune system. The American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation reported a study showing that Tai Chi is safe for rheumatoid arthritis patients.

There is a wealth of research on the benefits of Tai Chi and Qigong:

Selected Research on the benefits of Tai Chi - A Martial Arts and moving form of Qigong (PDF 78KB) From: Taijiquan - The Art of Nurturing, The Science of Power. Yang Yang. Zhenwu Publications. Champaign, Illinois. 2005. Contact: zhenwu@chentaiji.com.

More Tai Chi Research References.

Qigong Institute: Scientific Papers, Abstracts, and Reviews

Qigong and Energy Medicine Database

Qigong Institute: Qigong Dissertations

World Tai Chi and Qigong Day website - http://worldtaichiday.org/.

The Different Forms of Tai Chi
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There are two main types of Tai Chi (also spelled "T'ai Chi" or "Taiji" and also referred to as "Tai Chi Chuan" or "Taijiquan"). The first type is traditional, or lineage Tai Chi, such as Chen style, Yang style, and Wu style. Traditional Tai Chi is learned from masters and is handed down as an oral tradition from generation to generation. Qigong also has some lineage forms, such as Wild Goose. Generally, a Tai Chi form done for martial arts and not health has the "Chuan" on the end of it. Otherwise, it's often just called Tai Chi (or the newer taiji -- see an overview of Chinese character translation ), although the terms are often interchangeable. Note that Tai Chi magazine is called "T'ai Chi" magazine. Then in much smaller print below that, it's "The International Magazine of T'ai Chi Ch'uan". "Tai Chi" is the "marketing" term that you see in the popular press.There is also the second type, the newer non-lineage Tai Chi forms such as Beijing 24 Form, Tai Chi Chih, Tai Chi for Arthritis, and Tai Chi Easy. These shorter forms are based on the traditional forms, but are easier to learn, especially for older adults.

The term "form" can be a little confusing: It can refer to both individual movements (e.g. hand movements, a foot movement, a combined hand and foot movement, or several combined hand/foot movements) as well as a complete set of movements (e.g. Chen style 48 Form). People get excited by the popular media and want to do "Tai Chi". It looks cool and old people do it, so it must be good for you. They have no idea of what they are getting into when they sign up for their first Tai Chi class and don't know the difference between lineage and non-lineage forms. This distinction usually doesn't matter until the person has been practicing a while and wants to understand the practice at a deeper level. Regardless of whether a form is lineage or non-lineage, it is constructed from a number of individual movements and conforms to the fundamentals of Tai Chi, such as ground connection and knee alignment. Furthermore, the strength, flexibility, confidence, stress reduction, etc. benefits (i.e. the published benefits of Tai Chi) are the same. The main difference is the amount of time it takes to learn the form and how the form is taught. It can take years to learn a traditional form as opposed to one session, a few weeks, or just a few months to learn enough Tai Chi to be beneficial from a health standpoint. This is especially noteworthy for seniors. The benefits of Tai Chi are more readily available with the easier forms because people can learn them faster and are less willing to give up in the face of a long-term commitment to learning a full form. So for many people, doing a simpler form is the right answer for their health. For others, starting with the easier forms and moving to the lineage forms when comfortable is the best solution. Still others will immediately fall in love with doing the longer lineage forms. Note too, that some "easier" forms such as the new Beijing 24 Form are getting to be as long as some of the shorter traditional forms. Regardless of which type of Tai Chi you practice and enjoy, the health benefits are enormous and well documented.

The Beijing 24 Form (watch The 24 Forms video) is the non-lineage version of Tai Chi that has be standardized by the Chinese government to be taught in schools. For more information on Tai Chi see the video shorts Tai Chi for Beginners and T'ai Chi Daily Practice DVD Trailer or visit World Tai Chi and Qigong Day. People who have trouble getting enough cardiovascular exercise because of injuries, e.g. they can't run or jog anymore, may find Cardio Tai Chi useful. Also, click here to see samples of many different types of Tai Chi or watch a truly amazing demonstration of tai chi by thousands of people.

Differences Between Tai Chi and Qigong
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Qigong literally means "gonging" or cultivating your vital energy ("qi") over time. As a practice it consists of a combination of movement, self-massage, meditation, and breathing. Tai Chi is the most well-known and popular moving form of Qigong. It is essentially meditation in motion, as are all moving forms of Qigong. Qigong practice per se, principally wuji sitting and standing meditation, provides the energetic foundation of Tai Chi. Tai Chi, Qigong and Yoga all work with the breath, intention, and focus. Tai Chi, most forms of Qigong, and some types of Yoga add movement, which creates additional health benefits.

The main differences between Tai Chi and Qigong involve how the form is practiced, how the energy is manipulated, the body posture, and whether the practice is done alone.

• Traditional Tai Chi consists of learning and then practicing a specific form. Each form is a set of postures and movements that can take up to forty minutes or more to do once, and a form can take a year or more to learn and then years, or a lifetime, to perfect. By contrast, the majority of Qigong forms (some types of Qigong like Wild Goose also have forms, just like Tai Chi) can be learned quickly because they involve repeating a single movement or small number of movements.  Taking individual movements or postures from a Tai Chi form and practicing them by themselves is basically turning each of them into a Qigong form (often referred to as "Tai Chi Qigong").


• Because of Tai Chi's martial arts heritage, Tai Chi movements involve either expressing force (i.e. internal power/energy) or directing force. These types of manipulation of the body's energy are in addition to all of the energy balancing and strengthening practices that Tai Chi has in common with Qigong. Tai Chi also has some additional postural rules which enforce the body's structural integrity and alignment. For example, effort is taken during Tai Chi practice to ensure that the knees stay aligned with the feet and they do not extend beyond the toes. In general, these recommendations need to be kept in mind while doing Qigong because injury can result otherwise, but strict adherence to them during Qigong practice is not required. In other words, Qigong forms can be more free-flowing than Tai Chi from a postural standpoint.


• Another difference between Tai Chi, especially when practiced as a martial art, and Qigong is in partner practices such as push-hands. This training involves two people working together, physically touching and feeling each other's energy. During a Medical Qigong therapy session is usually where touching may occur with Qigong practice. Most Qigong practice that involves touching is through self-massage, and reflexology is an example.


• Tai Chi is more cognitively demanding than Qigong because Tai Chi is an exercise in tracking complexity: movement is complex. With Tai Chi you have to remember and practice a long form. This puts additional requirements on the brain that helps with anti-aging. So, Tai Chi makes you more cognitively whole and functional, and it helps more with avoiding cognitive dysfunction. 


• With most forms of Qigong, the moves are done over and over. With Tai Chi you may do a move a few times and then move on, although you may repeat short sequences of moves several times in a form. Doing each individual movement in a Tai Chi form many times (i.e. taking an individual Tai Chi movement from a longer form and performing just that movement by itself many times) is referred to as "Tai Chi Qigong". In other words, Tai Chi gestures (also called individual "forms" or postures or moves or movements within a longer Tai Chi form) done in a Qigong way is Tai Chi Qigong.


• Tai Chi is an exercise with origins in the martial arts, while Qigong is a health practice with origins in Chinese culture and philosophy including martial arts.


• Tai Chi is not as easy to learn or practice as Qigong. Thus, Qigong's health benefits are more readily accessible.


• Tai Chi has spiral energy. Qigong forms may not.


• Tai Chi has many details that are not present in a lot of Qigong.


• Tai Chi has broader exposure and is more well known than Qigong.


• Tai Chi does not involve self-massage.


• Tai Chi requires that you practice a particular form a particular way. Most Qigong is more free-flowing. However, some people enjoy practicing Tai Chi in a more free- flowing way. This involves taking Tai Chi moves and doing them while moving about in a spontaneous, free-flowing manner. Free flowing Qigong and Tai Chi where there is no form is called spontaneous Qigong.


• Breathing is incorporated into Qigong and Tai Chi in different ways. Beginning Qigong students are taught breathing, usually abdominal (belly extends on inhale and contracts on exhale), which we all knew when we were babies. In Qigong, you do slow, rhythmic breathing, often coordinated with movement, right from the first class. On the other hand, Tai Chi teachers do not teach breathing or tell students how to breathe. Rather, they tell students to "breathe naturally." What this really means is to breathe in one of two main ways: 1) abdominal breathing (sometimes called "Taoist breathing") and/or 2) reverse-abdominal breathing (where air is inhaled to the chest first instead of the abdomen). You discover "how to breathe" (i.e. you end up coordinating one of the two main types of breathing with your Tai Chi movements) while you do the forms as the years go by. Also, different Tai Chi masters might emphasize one type of breathing or a combination. For example, here is some perspective on this from Taijiquan - The Art of Nurturing, The Science of Power, by Yang Yang (p. 94):
  

  Reverse breathing is the method of breathing for Taijiquan practice, but paradoxically the instruction in both meditation and form practice is to forget about the breathing. The focus in wuji meditation is to enter quiet. Some schools do use breathing as a tool to enter quiet, but thinking about breathing is not entering true quiescence. In Taij form movement, the focus is on xin yi (mind/intention), and it is definitely wrong to think about qi or breathing.... The resolution of this paradox is that the breathing pattern must become so natural that you need not consider it. It is okay to practice the reverse breathing when beginning a meditation or the form, or when performing single movement qigong exercises. Actually, you can practice anytime -- driving in your car, sitting at your desk at work -- whenever you think about it. Over time, the reverse breathing pattern will internalize and become so natural that you can forget about it and move on.

World Tai Chi and Qigong Day
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Celebrate Tai Chi and Qigong by participating in a global event of cooperation, health, and healing on the last Saturday in April. For more information, go to www.worldtaichiday.org

WORLD TAI CHI AND QIGONG DAY - THE LAST SATURDAY IN APRIL (EVERY YEAR)

WORLD T'AI CHI & QIGONG DAY was started in the late 1990's by Bill Douglas, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to T'ai Chi & Qigong, as a way to introduce people to the profound healing and health maintenance benefits of Tai Chi (a moving form of Qigong) and Qigong.  The event has grown into a worldwide phenomena, practiced in over sixty countries.  It starts at 10 AM in the earliest time zone the last Saturday every April, and flows as a gentle wave across the entire planet. People feeling the incredible stress management benefits of these ancient tools realize what they offer humanity, and have begun to come together to share that awareness with society at large . . . and at a time when the world needs it the most.

World Tai Chi and Qigong Day Online Media Resources

World Tai Chi and Qigong Day web site – www.worldtaichiday.org

More information on WTCQD, including example proclamations by various levels of government, can be found on www.worldtaichiday.org

This site also has a "5-minute-Power-Point-Presentation" on the History of World T'ai Chi & Qigong Day.  This presentation has caused a flurry of interest from media.  Look on the home page of www.worldtaichiday.org and click on the "View a Power Point Presentation on the History of World T'ai Chi & Qigong Day" or at: http://worldtaichiday.org/HistoryofWTCQDPowerPoint.html

Open letter to World Tai Chi and Qigong Day Supporters and Participants from the Founder:

Dear World Tai Chi & Qigong Day Supporters & Participants,

This global wave of goodwill provides a vision of hope and healing to a world hungry for such visions. Each year to view the photos of people from different cultures, religions, and every corner of the earth . . . breathing together . . . in this global Tai Chi & Qigong movement . . . is profound. When you look thru the photographs and videos you see that "look" on people's faces, a look that conveys a feeling that all of us who've experienced the well-being that Qi, or life energy, expands through our mind and body when we make the space to breathe . . . and to let, calm, and wellness expand thru us. When you see that look in all these diverse faces, from so many different lands, you can't help but deeply realize that we are indeed "one world . . . and, . . . one breath." We are all connected by the field of life energy that physicists are now discovering permeates all existence. By immersing ourselves in the field of life energy again and again, we become more and more grounded in the absolute reality that . . . we are all connected . . . all part of the web of life. And, by cultivating and growing the realization personally and globally, we may help in a subtle quiet way to usher in a more elegant future that nurtures us all in ways we cannot yet even imagine.

In this day and age, with the emerging medical research that has emerged regarding Tai Chi / Qigong's ability to boost immune system, lower high blood pressure, treat ADD and ADHD, etc. etc. etc. . . . TAI CHI / QIGONG SHOULD BE PART OF EVERY SCHOOL'S EDUCATION PROGRAMS. Every child should be graduating high school a Tai Chi, Qigong, Yoga, and Transcendental Meditation master. Why not?

How much crime, health cost, spousal and child abuse would simply vanish if our societies were filled with mind/body science masters.

With a one hour per day Physical Education class for students, teaching them these powerful mind/body tools . . . they could be masters by graduation. This is achievable !!

Every corporation should teach Tai Chi & Qigong through their Wellness Programs. Every hospital should have many Tai Chi & Qigong programs.

We hold a vision, not of just growing our classes because of ego, or money . . . but a vision of lifting our entire planet's health and consciousness thru sharing these profound mind/body tools evolved over mellenia of Eastern, and now global research.

World Tai Chi & Qigong Day . . . is more than a celebration . . . it is a catalyst to a new way of functioning for our communities and the whole of humanity.

The Qigong Institute and Northwest YMCA receiving a proclamation of "World Tai Chi and Qigong Day" in Cupertino, CA. from the Mayor of Cupertino.