In the 13th century A.D a Taoist
monk named Chang Sang Feng invented what is now
known to be Tai Chi. This soft
martial art came to be associated with different
Chinese families, whose family names now
designate different forms and types of Tai Chi. The Yang style is the most commonly
practiced form of Tai Chi used today.
Tai Chi is not only known to be a physical activity but by the Chinese people it is also considered to have psychological benefits. It’s a form of meditation , and meant to help you understand yourself there- for enabling one to deal with others more easily.
Tai Chi has health benefits as well. It may help you deal with tension and stress. It emphasizes force, and is characterized by soft, slow and flowing movements. Tai Chi is supposed to stop you from being easily confused or distracted , or “weak minded.” Tai Chi is said to help one be “centered.”
According to Chinese philosophy, one becomes ill if the flow of Chi through the body gets blocked off. “Chi” means literally breath, or something close to that.
The attitude in which this form of meditation wishes to cultivate is to understand change as a natural life process. The Tai Chi form is to enable yourself to bring the principles of Yin and Yang into their natural harmony.
The essence of Tai Chi is not to be talented in self-defense, or to learn a set of movements but to allow one the opportunity to become aware of the natural laws which govern change.