Why we should all be doing tai chi – and how to get started

“Tai chi gives you the benefits I think everybody is looking for in the world today – to slow down, be more mindful and improve your physical health,” says Pat Porter.

Pat, 55, has been practising tai chi for decades and says not only has it helped her manage the pain of several chronic conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, it’s also improved her wellbeing.

Even if you don’t know exactly what tai chi is, you’ve probably seen people in the park doing it, moving through a series of gentle, flowing postures. And tai chi is currently trending on social media – our timelines are packed with posts about using tai chi to lose weight or how tai chi walking can get you fitter, faster.

Although this sounds like typical influencer content, tai chi is a well-researched and expert-recommended form of exercise. So, how could this mind-body activity help you?

Unblocking your life force with tai chi

“Tai chi is a type of martial art or self-defence that came from Ancient China,” says Danyal Sattar, an instructor at the London School of T’ai Chi Chuan. “It consists of a series of moves that you string together in a smooth, continuous sequence.

“As a martial art, it’s a way of dealing with violence without becoming violent yourself. But most people in the West practice it as a form of exercise.”

Tai chi is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which believes sickness or illness comes from an energy blockage somewhere in your body. You may have heard the term qi, which means a type of energy or life force – unblocking qi through the movements of tai chi helps keep you in good health.

Danyal says, “You might already be doing this naturally. For example, rolling your shoulders back if you’ve been tapping away on a keyboard and your neck and shoulders have got really stiff.”

Tai chi is also known as ‘moving meditation’ thanks to the combination of deep breathing and focusing on the slow, graceful movements.

“When you completely concentrate on something, it relaxes the mind,” says Danyal. “Instead of listening to all the background chatter going through your mind, that type of focus distracts your thoughts and allows you to relax.”

6 health benefits of tai chi

Tai chi is often associated with older people, but anyone of any age will benefit from regular practice.

Danyal says, “Many tai chi moves start in a standing position, then you bend your knees and sink a little lower. This works your leg muscles, which helps to push blood around your circulatory system. And because you move all your joints throughout the moves, it’s almost like giving yourself an internal massage.

There are now hundreds of studies that prove the positive impact of doing tai chi, but these are some of the most well-researched health benefits.

Heart and cardiovascular fitness

You may think pounding the pavements is the only way to improve your heart health, but several studies show tai chi is actually better than aerobic exercise at reducing your blood pressure.

Research has also found the practice can improve aerobic fitness, particularly how efficiently the body uses oxygen during exercise and how well the heart pumps blood around the body in older adults.

Balance and preventing falls

There is an increasing amount of evidence to show regularly practising tai chi can help prevent falls in older adults, and improves balance problems in people with Parkinson’s disease.

“When you watch people doing tai chi, you can see them balancing all their weight on one leg, before moving smoothly into the next step – they’re not ‘falling’ into it,” says Danyal. “This works on your balance and core stability, strengthens your muscles, and helps you learn about proprioception, which all help to reduce falls.”

Lung health and respiratory conditions

Deep breathing in tai chi may help you learn to breathe more efficiently and can improve your lung function – and the size of your lungs – over time.

Danyal says, “Poor posture means you’re hunched over, so your lungs aren’t able to breathe as well. But when you straighten up and pull your shoulders back, suddenly you’ve opened up your chest and you’re able to breathe a little better.”

Tai chi may be especially helpful for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an incurable lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. Studies have found it may work as well as conventional treatments for COPD and can improve quality of life for people living with the condition.

Mental health and brain function

Practising tai chi has two major impacts on the brain; improving your mental health and boosting the way your brain works. One meta-analysis of 40 existing studies, involving nearly 40,000 people, concluded tai chi can reduce stress, anxiety, depression and low mood, and increase your self-esteem.

Separate analyses have found it can improve cognitive function – thinking skills like focus, memory and mental flexibility – in healthy adults. But tai chi can also help improve thinking and problem-solving skills in people diagnosed with dementia.

Improving pain and mobility

Pat started tai chi as a way to manage rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and fibromyalgia, and there’s evidence to show it can help both these conditions. Studies found people with RA who practised tai chi had stronger muscles and a greater range of motion in their lower legs.

Clinical trials have also discovered tai chi can reduce pain and improve mobility in people with fibromyalgia. “I was really surprised – within two or three sessions I was feeling more flexible,” Pat says. “Today, I have much more movement in my neck and knees, and greater mobility than I remember having in years.”

Weight loss, immunity and wellbeing

Tai chi won’t burn as many calories as a HIIT session – sadly, those AI-generated Instagram ads promising a ripped physique are fake – but practising tai chi can slightly reduce your waist size and body mass index. However, researchers say this may be due to other factors like reducing your stress levels or improving sleep.

There’s also some evidence to show tai chi can help strengthen your immune system and lower levels of inflammation in your body. But, again, this may not be a specific result of doing tai chi and may be due to lowering cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and regulating the nervous system.

However, there is an overwhelming amount of research to show that regularly practising tai chi is ‘good’ for you – it can improve your physical health, psychological wellbeing and overall quality of life.

“Tai chi helps me feel fresher, stronger and more capable. It also gives me more energy to work on my business,” says Pat, who’s launching a new product to help ease anxiety.

“I know I'm taking care of my physical health and my mental wellbeing with tai chi. I hope it keeps me going into my 70s, 80s and 90s.”

Getting started with tai chi

Like yoga, there are many different forms of tai chi – try several classes to find a style and a school or instructor you like. But unlike yoga, the postures are more fluid, which makes them more difficult to describe. Danyal says the best way to get started is to sign up for a beginners’ class or find a free online lesson.

“One of the first things you learn is something called preparation,” he says. “Stand with your heels together and your toes turned out to 45 degrees. Then take a moment to connect with your body.

“Feel your feet relaxed on the ground, extend the top of your head up to the sky and let your spine relax all the way down. You should get a sense of being suspended between the heavens and the earth.”

From here, you will learn various different moves – with descriptive names like ‘grasping the sparrow’s tail’, ‘white crane spreads its wings’ or ‘black dragon coils around a pillar’ – and slowly build up to moving through a whole sequence. Some instructors may spend a week focusing on one move, so you really understand it.

Danyal recommends practising 2 or 3 rounds of tai chi every day, which is about 15-20 minutes of exercise. “But if you can do an hour a day, that’s better. Like any exercise, the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it,” he says.

If you’re already doing strength training sessions or intense cardio classes, tai chi could be the perfect counterbalance to your fitness regime. And if you’re just getting back into exercise, tai chi is a great way to reboot your activity levels. This gentle exercise may be the most powerful way to stay fit and well – for life.

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