Harnessing Tai Chi's Quiet Strength for Health

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Benefits extend to other areas, as well. A much-publicized study this year from Emory University in Atlanta found that Tai Chi helped elderly practitioners reduce their risk for potentially lethal falls. Irwin's own work at UCLA found that Tai Chi reduced older people's risk for the immune disorder shingles. Another UCLA study, to be published soon in the journal Gerontology, showed that it boosted the function of the sympathetic nervous system, which has long been tied to good cardiovascular health.

According to Irwin, no one has yet done a study on Tai Chi's effect on depression, although two UCLA studies did note significant improvements in mood in non-depressed people who took up the practice.

Sean Vasaitis is a graduate student at the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore and a Tai Chi instructor. He said the martial art isn't "magic" but is, in fact, rooted in balance and physics.

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"Understanding that helps you develop and do what you're doing correctly," he said. Typical classes run about 45 minutes to an hour, he said, but can vary in quality.

Vasaitis offered up a few tips for beginners on finding a good class:

• Consider your goals. Tai Chi can be a way to boost mental and physical fitness, but it can also be an effective method of self-defense, where practitioners use their skills to "throw" opponents.
• Sit in on a few classes. "It can be difficult to distinguish good and bad Tai-Chi," he said, so a little investigation helps. Some classes are very structured and demand certain tests and uniforms, while others are more informal. "Students should find a class that suits their personality best," Vasaitis said.
• Look for "hands-on" training. Instructors should do more than just model the correct movements. "The really specific body structures that give Tai Chi its benefits are hard to get unless someone takes you through it, physically putting you into that proper position," he said.
• Don't be intimidated. Vasaitis said he's seen college athletes have as much trouble -- and success -- in getting Tai Chi moves down as nursing-home residents. "Everyone starts out on the same page," he said, but most will soon learn and enjoy the discipline.

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