Remember how back in January, I said I was going to try a bunch of exercise classes and report back here? And how, after five months, I’ve only written up belly dancing and Pilates? (Still haven’t gotten around to writing up water aerobics, but who better than an otter to tell you about that?)
But then, do you remember how I also encouraged people to send in guest posts about their exercise experiments? Shapeling Ellie remembered that part, and she sent us this awesome post about starting tai chi, which I totally want to do now. Thank you, Ellie!
As an aside, dammit, I really need to move next door to this place, because it has absolutely everything I want to try, but I frequently get hung up on the “getting there is kind of a pain in the ass” factor. (And sadly, it’s really only kind of a pain in the ass, not even a huge one.) I’m still doing Pilates around the corner, some yoga at home, walking all over the place now that it’s spring, and one of these days I’m going to get around to joining Ottermatic for Squeaky Voiced Teen’s water aerobics class on a regular basis. But if a gym like that were around the corner? I’d be taking a class every day. Why the hell does getting to the gym always seem so much more daunting than actually working out?
Ahem, anyway, please enjoy Ellie’s take on tai chi. –Kate
After several people in the great Shapely Prose exercise discussion mentioned tai chi, I was inspired to check out an open house at the local Taoist Tai Chi society. I just finished up my first beginner’s level class, and I could not be more pleased to have tried it!
What it is: Taoist Tai Chi, a version of the “gentle martial art” that focuses on health and body awareness rather than fighting or meditation. The Taoist Tai Chi society is a really cool all-volunteer organization that promotes good works and cultural exchange, and I highly recommend them if you have a branch in your town. Other forms and organizations will be different.
What I needed: Just a comfortable outfit (jeans are fine) and a sturdy pair of shoes (or not – I did most of it barefoot).
How it works: The set is a series of 108 moves (not all unique) that you learn in a beginner’s class, which takes about three months. Then you can move to a continuing-level class, which works on different aspects of the set; you can also repeat the beginner’s class, or just continue doing tai chi at home.
Because of the cumulative nature of learning the set, you learn a few moves to get a sense of how Taoist Tai Chi works. Unless you absolutely can’t stand your first class, I’d recommend you stick it out for three or four more before you decide one way or the other.
My class met for an hour, two evenings a week. We started by doing the set as far as we knew it, and the instructor took questions. After a quick tea and water break, we learned the new moves of the day (usually one or two) and finished by going through the set once more.
Cost: Low. One of the goals of the Taoist Tai Chi Society is to make it available to everyone, so it’s cheap ($30 a month for 1-4 classes/week, less for students) and they will go all the way down to $0 if you can’t afford it.
Workout level: Low to Medium. The main benefits are to flexibility and balance, and mostly will give you a good relaxing stretch. The cardio component is comparable to a long walk – more fit people won’t be strained, but more out of shape people (like me) will get a moderate workout. There isn’t much of a day-after effect – no soreness or stiffness.
Fat friendliness: Very high. There are only a couple moves where a Rack of Doom, or large thighs like mine, get in the way, and a minor adjustment clears that up. We had people of all sizes in our class. Weight loss and calorie burn were never, ever mentioned. Health and body awareness were the main focus. I felt very welcome.
Ellie, thank you!
And if you’re answering questions: how “mystic” was it? The exercises sound very soothing, but if there was a lot of talk about chi and energy flows and meridians and suchlike, that would make it considerably less calming for me.
I did 6 weeks of tai chi some years ago and loved it, but when the class ended, I didn’t go looking for another one. You’ve inspired me to try it again.
I took a tai chi class at school last semester and there are varying styles you can take. Wu I think is the most gentle, no jumping, very little kicking, not too much bending. So that’s also a big part of how much of a workout you’ll be getting and how fat friendly the moves may be.
There is a taoist society not far from me so I will go looking for it.
Kate, I totally feel you on the “that is way to far” thing. It seems odd but I actually go fewer places now that I live in a very urban area than I did when I lived less urban places. If I have to change busses more than once, or drive, FORGET IT. (Unless I KNOW they have a parking lot.)
I did Tai Chi for two years, and miss it all the time. This post has been motivation to start hunting a new class (something I put off until I finished my degree, which, yay, I now have!)
ps: MissPrism, I did Yang style Tai Chi in Britain, and there was very little ‘mystical’ chatter. The instructor did bang on a lot about the incredible health benefits, particularly vis a vis anti-aging, (e.g. anti-limited range of motion), but then one of the other instructors was his 78 year old Dad who was spry as a 10 year old, so fair enough…
Last fall, my boyfriend and I took a 12-week beginning tai chi class together. Just to give you an idea of our backgrounds, he’s got a black belt in kendo (Japanese swordsmanship), and I regularly do yoga and had previously studied tae kwon do (up to 3rd gup — 3 belts from black — before I injured a hand and decided it wasn’t worth risking my piano playing fingers), so we both felt pretty well versed in the world of martial arts.
End story? He loved it. I hated it. Hated. Capitol H. Hated.
It didn’t have anything to do with fat-friendliness, though. It was too much like a dance class for me, and my inner perfectionist just wouldn’t shut up long enough for me to actually get into it. I felt very self conscious and ungraceful, and it just wasn’t for me. I’ll stick to lap swimming.
MissPrism — I didn’t notice too, too much talk of energies and chi and such. Though, I do tend to subscribe to a lot of those beliefs and philosophies, and so it wouldn’t have bothered me much. Whatever was mentioned wasn’t over the top, though — I’m pretty confident of that. I’m guessing this would vary depending on the instructor.
Hey, Ellie, great write-up! I’ve been doing tai chi and chi kung meditation for 12 years and teaching it for close to that long, so I love to hear about people enjoying it. I agree that it’s very easy to adapt tai chi to any body. If you’re having joint pain, knee troubles, or mobility issues, there are also some instructors will show you how to work in a chair (a surprisingly good workout).
I would add that as you progress with tai chi, a good instructor will deepen the challenge level of the movements for you, so you slowly increase your fitness over time and it continues to be a good workout.
MissPrism: I know just what you mean! When I started, I thought that “chi” was a totally hokey concept, and I was only interested in the awesome workout. The practice does tend to open you up to seeing and feeling a lot more, though, so over time it makes much more sense to talk in terms of chi. But as per Kate’s notes on the topic, a good instructor shouldn’t spend too much time talking at all – he or she should be focussed on getting you moving, of course.
Thanks, Ellie! This sounds interesting (and actually affordable), so I will probably see if someone is doing this in PDX (I’d be surprised if they weren’t, actually).
Thanks for the review! I took an 11 week Tai Chi class fall semester here at Oregon State, and I really enjoyed it as well. Though I have to say, echoing what libbyloo said, I was wayyy too much into perfecting the movements as opposed to the mental state we were supposed to be engaging in. I might have also been because I knew we would be tested on the form at the end of the term in lieu of something such as a written final. I enjoyed it overall, but I felt that some aspects of it just weren’t for me.
Meowser, considering that this is the first google result you’ll probably find it as easily as I did but:
http://oregon.usa.taoist.org/index.php
They’re close-in SE and have new beginner classes starting next week. I’m kind of thinking of going… it sounds like fun and I could use some flexibility/balance work before I get back into dance.
Thanks, Lexy! Maybe I’ll go too! That’s actually not very far from me at all.
Thanks so much for the kind words, everyone!
And if you’re answering questions: how “mystic” was it? The exercises sound very soothing, but if there was a lot of talk about chi and energy flows and meridians and suchlike, that would make it considerably less calming for me.
MissPrism, in my class there was no “mystic” component at all — the society did have a Taoist book club and meditation group, but that was totally separate from the tai chi itself. Of course, other forms of tai chi could have more, and our instructor would say that “you can take it as deep as you want to take it.” But the class proper? Nothing.
my inner perfectionist just wouldn’t shut up long enough for me to actually get into it. I felt very self conscious and ungraceful, and it just wasn’t for me.
Libbyloo, I actually had a part in the mental contraindications (which I cut out because I felt like the review was ridiculously long already) about how I am also a perfectionist about things like this, and it was really hard for me to loosen up and just be bad at some of the moves even a few weeks after we’d learned it the first time. And the atmosphere of “everybody works on this for the rest of their lives” only made it worse — what, you mean I’ll never get this down? But in my case I liked the rest of it enough to hang in there, and eventually I mellowed a little. So yeah, it’s definitely not for everyone. Even if I do proselytize to everyone about it. ^_^
If you’re having joint pain, knee troubles, or mobility issues, there are also some instructors will show you how to work in a chair (a surprisingly good workout).
Elizabeth Twist: another part I wrote and cut was about how my local Tai Chi society is really active in the hospital’s physical therapy department and regularly gives tai chi classes to people in wheelchairs. They even went up for a huge conference in Toronto with a local man with cerebral palsy who wanted to attend. So yeah, it’s super adapatable!
I took tai chi a few years back thru employee wellness and enjoyed it very much. Unfortunately is was a short form I can’t remember and isn’t the one I have tapes for. I really do need to get back into doing some form of tai chi, it just isn’t fun doing it all by myself. More fun in a group.
which I cut out because I felt like the review was ridiculously long already
Have you seen my posts? ;)
I feel like this should go on the list of physical activities that I recommend to people who are newbies at body love… I usually say “some activity requiring proprioception, like dance or yoga,” and tai chi seems to fit the bill perfectly. Also, I have nice images of people doing it outside in the park on a lovely spring day.
For those of us who are science-minded, it’s worth noting that factually false “mystic energy” stuff like chi and prana can still be practically useful as visualisation techniques. The body can do a lot of cool stuff, and it’s often easier to get it to work if you visualise a flow pattern. I sing as well, and it’s often useful to think of weird things like projecting your voice from over your head, or supporting your voice from your feet…
Cath, I agree with your comment, but I would also add this (forgive me for sounding cheesy or unscientific): there’s nothing “factually false” about chi. You know how you can tell a corpse from a living person? The difference is that the corpse doesn’t have chi; the living person does. It’s actually not mystical at all – it’s really just a different set of terms for stuff that western models tend to describe (somewhat inadequately, IMO) as electrochemical activity.
I just finished a Tai Chi Chih class (a simplified version of tai chi; only 19 movements to learn). I took the class because my mother has loved Tai Chi Chih, and because I wanted an exercise that I could do in a quick break at work.
It was a surprisingly good workout for my thigh muscles, and verrrry calming. I could actually feel my heart beat slowing and my mind stop racing. In the end, though, it is just too uninteresting for me. That’s always been my trouble with “exercise” – I get bored too easily.
FJ will remember this: when my mom had brain surgery a few years ago, the first thing she wanted to do when she was allowed to get out of bed was teach us Tai Chi moves!
I did Tai Chi religiously for a few years. I even talked my instructor (she had to be about 70) into letting me video tape her so I’d have a back up.
When I was working out in the real world, I would often find a quiet spot (usually in the alley) to go through the moves. I found it helped me relax and get through with the other half of my day. My staff thought I was crazy.
When I started I remember feeling it most in my deltoids (shoulders) and did have a little bit of muscle strain the next day. I also remember feeling it in my butt and thighs. You definitely build up some muscle tone as you are using your body in ways you wouldn’t normally. It’s also wonderful for posture. Totally tolerable.
As for the co-ordination, I think that was the most frustrating thing for participants in the classes I attended. The important thing is to not worry about what you look like in the beginning. Fine tuning the moves comes later after you’ve learned the general guidelines. Keep at it and it will come.
My wife and I started a Taoist Tai Chi Class in Columbia, SC in 2009 and enjoy it very much. We are much more limber and work on the moves at home throughout the week. It is quite easy and less intense than Yoga. Some of the Yoga moves make me want to pass out whereas Tai Chi is more fluid and does not give me the blood pressure headache. Our class is an hour and a half with a tea break. There are three classes offered each week and all are welcome to attend. The continuing class requires that you go through the beginner class but all can watch any class. The people are very nice and the instructors are very good.