Tai Chi and Injury Prevention

Empower YOU with Tai Chi for Injury Prevention
One of our regular mindsets is to do an activity with the same vigor that we have always done it. The question is, do you have the same strength, flexibility, or skill as the last time that you did that activity?
Gardening, shovelling, small jobs, and repairs, and moving boxes and furniture are the usual suspects. For each season or activity, we assume we have the same skill or strength as the last time we did the task, but do we? How often have you been lifting boxes repeatedly and carrying them into different positions? How much time have you spent kneeling and pulling at objects for hours in a row? How many times have you reached into odd postures to paint, scrape, or hammer to repair something? How often have you wondered how that shoulder, back or knee has pain when you haven’t done anything? You forgot about the over-extension of activity or the simplicity of a movement that used a poor movement pattern to provide you with the means of completing a task.
As time passes each year, our level of activity changes, as does our flexibility and our strength. In order to support our well-being and support our body we need to train to move for the best possible range of motion and endurance with decreasing muscle mass in mind. This is where Tai Chi comes in.
Tai Chi is the study of movement to maximize strength and flexibility. To move easily and wisely with the least amount of strain and injury. How do we do that? Spiral action, support postural positions, support of the body through the feet, position of the hands.
Many people comment how beautiful it is to see people in the park doing Tai Chi together. What they don’t realize is that the muscle memory and the strength that is built during the daily practice of the Tai Chi movement patterns. These patterns provide the body with the tools needed to do daily chores and activities with ease and flow.
Injury Prevention begins with breathing. Deep breathing provides support to the muscles for oxygen and circulation to support the muscles and activity. Commencement is one of the first movements we learn and practice daily with Tai Chi. To learn more, check out our video series: Tai Chi Wellness and discover how “Commencement” can help you to prevent injury for your body doing regular or seasonal activities. Click here for the breathing video that uses the commencement movement.

Michelle Greenwell is a movement specialist and Tai Chi instructor for Tai Chi Cape Breton. Working with Doug and Yvonne Waines, also Tai Chi instructors for Wine Country Tai Chi in West Kelowna, BC, to create the Tai Chi Wellness series, they have supported your well-being with free resources to learn the superpower of Tai Chi. What are you waiting for? Take a look and change your daily self-care habits. Tell a friend and create an accountability buddy that helps you share more than a conversation over a cup of coffee or tea. Together you can help each other be empowered by movement for wellness.

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