What do Tai Chi and Nature have in Common?

More than you think

Both of them:

• Lower blood pressure – studies on walking in nature and doing tai chi both show significant lowering of blood pressure.

• Help us to let go of negative thoughts and fears- we are surrounded by so much bad news, aggressive voices, pollution, noise, and technology that moments of peace in nature or doing Tai Chi are important to change the feelings in our body.

• Help us let go of stress – as we let go of negative thoughts and visualize or look at the peacefulness around us our body becomes more relaxed.  Our shoulders drop down, our breathing slows down and becomes deeper, our digestion improves, our heart rate becomes more stable.

• Help us escape noise.  Noise contributes to hypertension. Forests are quiet places.  So is the imaginary forest in your mind as you are a  Tai Chi bird catching a worm.

• Increase creativity. True creativity comes from calming down, knowing yourself, getting in touch with your thoughts, and letting go of obligations and demands.  Weather through walking in nature of visualizing an energy ball, you will come up with new creative ideas.

The Differences are:

• The visualization of Tai Chi can be done anywhere at any time.  It is not always easy to get to the forest .
• You can do Tai Chi in any weather.   Walking in nature may be fun in the rain.  But if it is very cold it may be hard to relax.

My suggestion:  do BOTH

When you have the opportunity to be in nature make the most of it.  Enjoy the smells, the feel of the breeze, the quiet underfoot, the beauty of the colors of the leaves and sky.

But also commit to doing 10-15 minutes of Tai Chi everyday:

• 5 min in the morning the wake up your energy so you are better able to face the challenges of the day.
• 5 min in the middle of the day when you need a break to move your energy, oxygenate your mind, relax your shoulders and back from holding one position too long.  Improve your focus.
• 5 min before dinner to shake out the stresses and worries of the day, reconnect to the earth for stability and centeredness so you can have a relaxing evening and sleep well.

For more information on the beneficial effects of  NATURE
and TAI CHI please check:

THE NATURE FIX:  WHY NATURE MAKES US HAPPIER, HEALTHIER AND MORE CREATIVE    by Florence Williams

and this article from Harvard Medical School

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF TAI CHI 

It is worth getting involved!