Tai Chi and Better Mental Health During the Pandemic – William D King Establishes the Connection
Have you been extra stressed lately? If yes, you aren’t the only one. People globally have been feeling ample stress and anxiety because of the pandemic phase that we are still going through. And if you want to reduce your stress, you can opt-in for Tai Chi. Initially, it got established as a self-defense practice. However, overtime it evolved as a graceful exercise form which helps to address multiple health condition and reduce stress. Typically, looked upon as meditation in motion, this practice helps to promote peace through flowing and gentle movements.
Tai Chi is also an ancient Chinese traditional practice and is looked upon as an exercise form. Here you get to practice a movement series that’s performed in a focused and slow manner along with deep breathing. It is best defined as a self-paced and non-competitive system of light physical stretching movements. The postures here seamlessly flow into another and keeps your body in continuous motion.
The advantages of Tai Chi in mental health – Insights by William D King
Table of Contents
Slow pace
Tai Chi involves slow paced movements. And when you do that you are compelled to take a break from the chaos around. As you move slowly, your body starts to relax, ease tension, free the stiffness it has and learn ways to relaxation. When the body unwinds, the mind does the same.
Also, a serene ambiance can surround the mind and body, enabling us to move away from the madness around. By practicing Tai Chi, we can press our inner reset button. And it gives us the much-required time out so that the mental health can heal better.
Intention and focus
In Tai Chi you learn to move with intention and focus. There is no “thrown away” movement. Instead, the movement are deliberate and gets felt externally and internally. It is the real power of this practice and is known as a mind-body exercise that results in mental and physical harmony.
Managed and controlled movements
Usually, the Tai Chi movements are measured, coordinated and controlled. It makes a person self-disciplined. It is necessary to be stay aware of your body and know where and why it’s moving. Hence, it makes a person feel organized and also results in an inner calm. It also brings mental stability. Today, majority of us are suffering from anxiety, worry and stress which is negatively affecting our mental health. Tai Chi can enable us to feel more positive and also go on gracefully with our life with a better response to stress.
Relaxation and breathing
The association between breathing, body and mind is what enables Tai Chi to be an efficient way to relax that is essential for a balanced mental health. Slower and deeper breathing helps to expand the chest and lungs and can maximize oxygen exchange, which can stimulate our lymphatic system, lower blood pressure, slow down heart rate and calms our adrenal glands.
William D King says that Tai Chi makes us conscious of our breath, respiration rate and its rhythm. It enables us to exhale negative thoughts and inhale positive thoughts that enhances the mood during such testing times.
