Ask Dr. Tai Chi
T’ai Chi and Jogging
Hi David-Dorian,
I have recently purchased your beginner Tai Chi video and have started to learn and practice the forms. It is an excellent video and a great way to learn.
However, I also enoy jogging and I wanted to ask is it better to job BEFORE or AFTER my Tai Chi practice.
Thanks for your time
Matt
Dear Matt,
Thanks for a great question. I’m happy to hear that you’re enjoying learning T’ai Chi! To answer your question, I’d ask two of my own first: First of all, are you doing your T’ai chi and jogging back to back? And second, which workout is more intense for you? For example, when I do my T’ai Chi training with my coach, it’s very intense and lasts an hour and a half to two hours. I’m doing a lot of leg work. On those days I do less cardio than on my other training days.
So if your running is your more intense workout, do your T’ai Chi practice first. You can even think of it as a warm-up, awakening the muscles and nerves in your hips and legs before your run. Of course, it’s perfectly ok to alternate this pattern, and have some days when T’ai Chi is your more intense workout, and on these days, do a light jog first.
I hope this answers your question. Let me hear from you again if you have any others, and in the meantime, be well!
Weights or T’ai Chi?
Dear DrTaiChi:
Hi! I practiced Tai Chi Chuan for seven years before I had my daughter, and I loved it. I realize I still do, but I’d like to know how Tai Chi can bring the same results as weight training (body-shaping) and can I get to this stage at home without taking classes? (My daughter’s now 15 and my husband is really into aerobics and weight training for body shaping – Body for Life) I’d love to get visible results from Tai Chi even though I plan to start again for my own sake, and spirituality is more important to me than anything else. I truly believe we are reflections of God’s perfection and can mirror that in mortal life through the “right” thought. (I’m interested in your new book)
G. K.
Dear G.K, Wow – what a great question! Or rather — 2 questions, really. Let me answer them in order:
- Can Tai Chi bring the same results as weight training?
- Can I get to this stage at home without taking classes?
To answer your first question — can T’ai Chi bring the same results as weight training? – the answer is “no.” It’s an apples and oranges kind of comparison; because resistance weight training places a different kind of demand on your muscles than does T’ai Chi Ch’uan, and therefore you get different results. For that matter, T’ai Chi typically uses different muscles altogether than does weight training.
Your large “prime mover” muscles (like your pecs, quads and lats) are responsible for large, simple and basic motion – what we call “gross motor” movement. These are the muscles typically targeted by weight training. These muscles respond by plumping up like a ball-park sausage (larger cross-sectional area of a muscle fiber, the stronger it can contract.) Moreover, when plumped up muscles butt up against each other, it gives your body that defined and toned appearance.
But your body also has a whole network of smaller “synergist” muscles that surround and support the prime movers. These are the muscles that give us our small, complex and intricate motion – what we call “fine motor” movement. These are the muscle that you use in T’ai Chi Ch’uan. T’ai Chi practice gives you gracefulness, coordination and flow.
But there is good news here. One of the things you do get from T’ai Chi practice – maybe even more than you get from weight training – is a great cardio workout. Studies at Johns Hopkins University showed that the cardiovascular effects of T’ai Chi practice were equal to that of running or aerobics classes, and superior to weight training. You also burn a lot of calories when you practice T’ai Chi Ch’uan, and that can help with weight loss (if that happens to be a goal). Overall, then, T’ai Chi practice may help you with your body shaping objectives, and give a healthier heart, too!
The thing is, you can only get the positive physical effects of T’ai Chi Ch’uan when you start to practice in a more advanced manner. This leads me to the answer to your second question. Specifically, you have to practice your forms continuously for a minimum of 25 minutes without stopping to get the physical health effects we’re talking about. This usually means learning the Long Form, although you can practice shorter routines and just keep repeating them until you’ve practiced for half an hour. Moreover, you must be utilizing your body “in the T’ai Chi way” – in other words, according to the Principles. It’s amazing how you can perform basically the same movements and get totally different results based entirely on whether you’ve paid attention to the Principles or not. So how do you know whether you’re practicing correctly? You must have a good teacher. If you are learning T’ai Chi from a book or video, then you must read (or watch) the details of the instruction carefully. Better yet, however, is to work with a teacher who can check your form and lead you into more powerful results – physically as well as Spiritually.
Which (finally) leads me to a third question – the one I just made up for you. Can one pursue the physical (body shaping) side of T’ai Chi and still get the same Spiritual benefits? And my answer is: well… you’ll have to read Part Two of this answer in the next post! In the meantime, may you be well and balanced this Holiday Season. Best wishes to you!
October 29, 2006
Pieces of Eight — The Hidden Treasure of Qigong
Hello David-Dorian…just attended your mind/body seminar and thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially the Tai Chi. I am writing to see if you can please send me the names of the 8 Pieces of Brocade that you taught us. I remember only some of them and was wondering if you could send me the names of each or where I can get a CD with them. Anyway, the weekend was uplifting. Keep up the great work and continue to strive forth in your life journey of peace, wellness and joy because it truly does make a difference. Even if it is one life at a time because that is all it takes. Remember, it only takes a spark to start a flame and you are well on the way. Keep going. Hope to keep in touch with you because I too enjoy Tai Chi.
M.L. – Atlantic City
I love this email for two reasons. First, I really enjoy sharing the 8 Pieces of Brocade. Did you know that another translation of this routine is “The 8 Treasures?” Imagine eight little exercise sequences combining breathing and simple movements. They’re really short and cute, and you just repeat each one several times (let’s say 10 times just for kicks). Easy. But get this: the payoff of practicing these eight simple exercises is freedom from disease and a long, long life. Wow – now that’s a treasure! The other thing I truly like about this email is the enthusiasm and hope. What a great line: “it only takes a spark to start a flame.” The thing about dwelling in this kind of possibility is that you have to back it up with action in order for it to mean anything. That’s what T’ai Chi is all about – it is the discipline that teaches us how to take our thoughts into powerful action. So M.L., here are the names of the Eight Pieces of Brocade. And by the way, the whole routine is included on the new T’ai Chi Beginners’ Practice DVD. If you really want to find out more about T’ai Chi and Qigong, you should get yourself a copy of this DVD today! (Click here to go to the store)
- Holding Up Heaven Like a Pillar
- Drawing the Bow to Shoot the Vulture
- Penetrating Heaven and Earth
- Turning the Head to Look Behind
- Punching With 2 Fists and Looking Angrily
- Bouncing 7 Times to Drive Away All Illness
- Wagging the Tail and Shaking the Head
- Brushing the Earth, Touching the Sky
