Tai Chi helps reduce blood pressure

REDUCE BLOOD PRESSURE WITH TAI CHI
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By Suzanne C. Weltman

This gentle workout-a modern-day form of an ancient Chinese martial art-reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and improves cardiovascular fitness.
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When Marilyn McCord’s blood pressure edged toward an unhealthy high, she knew she needed to take action. With the support of her physician, she decided to try Tai Chi instead of drugs to lower her numbers.

Modern Tai Chi (pronounced tie-chee) is a mind-body exercise based on an ancient Chinese form of self-defense. It combines slow, graceful physical movements with focused breathing and inner concentration. It is a gentle, self-paced exercise in which each movement or posture flows effortlessly into the next. Studies have shown that Tai Chi quiets the mind and reduces stress, resulting in a more relaxed state of well-being. One study showed that Tai Chi was nearly as effective at lowering blood pressure as moderate aerobic exercise.

The philosophy of Tai Chi centers on aligning what is called “Chi,” or the energetic life force that flows through your body. A typical hour-long Tai Chi session begins with exercises that are designed to awaken the Chi within the body, followed by a special sequence of movements or postures. Depending on the Tai Chi form—short or long—there may be as few as 13 movements or more than 100. The movement sequences have poetic names, such as “White Crane Spreads Its Wings” and “Waving Hands in Clouds.”

Tai Chi—sometimes referred to as meditation in motion—focuses on deep breathing and gentle movements that work all the muscles in the body, says Beth Rose, a Philadelphia-area instructor. “Tai Chi helps you feel calmer,” she says. “You reach a state of relaxed awareness, and it becomes a tool for dealing with stress. I’ve had students tell me it’s easier for them to go up the stairs now. They also breathe better because their circulation has improved and they get more oxygen into their system. To me, there’s no question that Tai Chi helps heart health.”

Marilyn agrees with Rose that the exercise provides health benefits. Marilyn, 66, of Durango, Colorado, watched her blood pressure gradually drop from 150/90 mmHg to 135/82 after regularly practicing Tai Chi for several months. “Every time I do Tai Chi, I feel so much better,” she says.

She says that the deep breathing she learned has an immediate effect on her stress and blood pressure levels. “When I begin to feel stressed, I can practice Tai Chi’s open-close breathing, and it lowers my blood pressure almost immediately.”
Continued on Page 2: The Science of Tai Chi

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REDUCE BLOOD PRESSURE WITH TAI CHI
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THE SCIENCE OF TAI CHI
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• Lower Blood Pressure with Music
• Reduce Your Blood Pressure
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Researchers at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine suggest that further study will clarify what happens in the body during Tai Chi and will reveal exactly how the practice influences health.

A pilot study conducted several years ago by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine showed that practicing Tai Chi lowered blood pressure nearly as much as moderate-intensity aerobics, such as brisk walking. In that study, systolic blood pressure (the higher number) was reduced by about 7 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) after six weeks of Tai Chi exercise.

In another study, published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, low-risk coronary artery bypass patients who completed a year-long Tai Chi program after conventional rehabilitation showed improved results in their cardiorespiratory system. At Harvard’s Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, scientists are studying the health effects of Tai Chi when added to a traditional therapy program for patients with chronic heart failure.

So where do you begin? It’s best to find a trained Tai Chi instructor and learn the basic moves in a class. Sandra Pruzansky, a Tai Chi instructor certified by the Arthritis Foundation, says most classes will let people observe one session.

“It is important that the teacher discusses how to move safely and take care of body parts like your knees,” Pruzansky says. “Be sure to ask yourself if you feel you can learn from the teacher.” Pruzansky finishes each of her classes by asking students “to give back some Chi energy and send it out to anyone who may need it.” It leaves them “fully relaxed and energized,” she says.
Basic Tai Chi Principles
1. Balance: For a strong foundation, it is important that you feel a solid connection with the ground.
2. Structure: Realigning and keeping your body upright involves letting go of old posture habits.
3. Tension Release: Where do you hold tension in your body? Tai Chi helps you identify and let go of tension.
4. Breathing: Uniform breathing, especially long, slow exhalations, helps release tension and increase concentration.
5. Energy Development: Practicing Tai Chi makes many people feel more energetic and rejuvenated
Talk with your doctor before starting any new exercise regimen.
How to Begin
• Ask Tai Chi instructors about their training, credentials, and experience with cardiovascular fitness and rehabilitation to determine if they’re right for you.
• Visit a Tai Chi class in action before signing up. To find a Tai Chi instructor in your area, visit the Web site of the American Tai Chi Association, www.americantaichi.org.
• Take it easy while you learn: Don’t push or overexert yourself. Tai Chi is a gradual process that takes time to learn.