*Now that Christmas has brought additional stress to my already stressful life, I have begun exploring the potential benefits of using the Chinese art of Tai chi chuan to manage these stresses, old and new, and thus far I have learned a few things that I am going to share with you here...in no particular order.
*Tai Chi, at least according to my research to date, seems to have been around basically forever, and has during that time evolved into countless styles...that are generally very similar but still vary in a number of fairly minor but not insignificant ways...that offer such a wide range of possibilities that almost anyone can probably find a style that best serves their needs.
*Tai Chi has been described as being a kind of moving meditation that can benefit both mental and physical health, which it is supposed to do by causing a person's mind to concentrate on performing the various low impact and slow motion moves (or "forms" as they are called, which are not unlike choreographed dance routines) to the point where it (the mind) can no longer concentrate on anything else...including the various troubles that the practitioner may have been worrying about beforehand...which makes it a potentially potent tool for stress management and maybe even for stress reduction, which in turn might also cause a reduction in the negative effects that I am feeling from my various physical maladies...especially my hypertension.
*Tai Chi is also said to aid the practitioner in becoming more confident and therefore competent in various self defense situations, which it is supposed to do by fostering a better understanding of the opposing forces of nature (the hard and the soft, etc.) and of the desirability of avoiding direct confrontations with attacking forces in favor of blending with those forces and then concentrating on turning them into something that is at least less threatening and maybe even more supportive.
Note: At this moment, Tai Chi does seem to offer me enough potential benefits to encourage me to investigate it further, both online and locally, which I will be doing in the near future, especially here in the Houston, Texas area, where I have already noticed the presence of several nearby instructional facilities.
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