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tai chi for arthritis and joint issues workshop

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Friday, February 10th, 2023 10 am

Tai Chi: A Gentle Way to Help Your Joints

This meditative martial art -- which features slow, gentle movements and deep breathing -- is a traditional Chinese mind-body practice that traces its roots back thousands of years. In addition to its ancient origins, there's modern-day evidence that it can help you stay healthy, especially when it comes to caring for your joints.

What Is Tai Chi?

It almost looks like a slow-motion dance. When you do tai chi, you do a series of exercises that flow from one to another, with emphasis on proper posture. Tai chi uses big and small movements, often at the same time. A single move might require you to step one way and turn your body another while moving your arms in different directions and softly transitioning between legs.

Tai Chi for Your Joints

While the calming, meditative nature of tai chi has long been well-known, it's only recently that the physical perks -- like moving with more ease -- have gained greater recognition.  It's low-impact, so your knees, ankles, and other joints don't get overly stressed. Many researchers have noted positive benefits within a month or two of practicing, and some people report feeling better than they have in years after trying it for a single hour.

Better Balance

Tai chi can also help your muscle strength and balance. Practitioners improve their ability to balance, and report less pain, fatigue, and stiffness. Other research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, has found that tai chi can be helpful for people who have fibromyalgia, a condition that causes widespread pain (which may include but is not limited to the joints). It's also been shown to aid people with chronic low back pain, as well as those with ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory disease of the spine.

You might also like the meditative aspects of tai chi. "Many people find that it's easier to focus on a specific thought or mantra while they're moving, which is exactly what you do in tai chi.

Register for our Tai Chi workshop scheduled for Friday February 10th, 2023 at 10 am by clicking on the button below.

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