What Is It?
Tai Chi (Tie-Chee) is an ancient Chinese system of slowly flowing movements and shifts of balance that strengthens the legs while conditioning the tendons and ligaments of the ankles, knees, and hips, increasing their range of motion and making them more resilient, less prone to injury. The constant weight shifts train balance and body awareness, leading to confident ease of movement within the form and in everyday life. Tai Chi is a physical exercise that focuses the mind, while conditioning the body. Practicing twenty minutes a day dissipates stress and reduces stress-related debilities, increases stamina, and strengthens the body and will.  
How does it work?
It is believed that Tai Chi increases strength and promotes calm and harmony by improving the flow of internal energy (or qi) throughout the body. It is the calming, meditative aspect of Tai Chi that makes it particularly useful for reducing stress and anxiety. Indeed, people who do Tai Chi regularly say that it improves their sense of well-being. As an aerobic exercise, Tai Chi benefits the entire body, increasing muscle strength and enhancing balance and flexibility.
Health Benefits
Tai Chi can be used as a preventive health measure, as a way to maintain good health, or to help with a specific ailment. While Tai Chi cannot cure disease, it is often recommended as a complementary therapy to conventional treatment. For hundreds of years, groups of Chinese people, many of them elderly, have performed its fluid, graceful movements in parks throughout China as a way of staying vital. Today, many people in the United States, Canada, and Europe have become interested in attaining the health benefits of this ancient art as well.
Some areas Tai Chi can help are;
·  Arthritis. By strengthening the muscles surrounding an arthritic joint and improving flexibility, tai chi increases range of motion without causing pain. Although tai chi cannot treat bone and cartilage damage caused by arthritis, it can lessen the severity and pain of the disease when started early enough.
·  Balance. Research shows that practicing tai chi improves balance in older people and thus reduces the risk of falling--a major cause of death and disability in the elderly.
·  Circulation problems. Tai Chi may enable the heart to pump more blood with each beat, thereby improving circulation.
·  High blood pressure. A recent study done at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions revealed that Tai Chi lowered blood pressure almost as much as moderate-intensity aerobic exercise in older adults who had been sedentary.
·  Multiple sclerosis. Preliminary studies suggest that Tai Chi helps people with MS to increase their physical functioning as well as their mental well-being.
·  Stress. Although the evidence is limited, some studies have shown that Tai Chi is as effective as meditation and walking for reducing the amount of stress hormones in the body.

Western Science recognizes the following benefits of practicing Tai Chi: increased oxygen uptake and utilization (more efficient breathing), reduced blood pressure, slower declines in cardiovascular power, increased bone density, increased strength and range of motion of joints, greater leg strength, knee strength, and flexibility, reduced levels of stress hormones during and after practice, improved immune function, and heightened mood states.
What You Can Expect?
At Griffin’s studios, you will learn Tai Chi in a class setting. Private lessons are available upon request. You do not need special clothing although traditional uniforms are available. Wear something you will be comfortable moving around in and that covers the body adequately. A T-shirt along with cotton sweatpants are the minimum. Tai Chi can be done in shoes, socks or bare feet.
Sessions typically start with some sort of meditation to calm and focus the mind, followed by easy warm-up exercises to get the blood circulating. This helps you relax your mind and body in an effort to center yourself. Deep breathing (from the diaphragm as opposed to the chest) is a key element of Tai Chi. Over time, you will learn to coordinate your breathing with each movement you make.
After the warm-up, your instructor will teach a series of very slow flowing movements that performed together constitute a "form." Forms are a prearranged set of movements that reflect animal movements and have names like "Crane Spreads Its Wings" and "Grasping the Bird's Tail."  We teach the Yang style Tai Chi, the most widely taught style, at Griffin’s Judo and Karate Studios.
Considerations
·  Tai Chi is safe for people of all ages and fitness levels. However, if you are older and sedentary, consult your doctor before starting tai chi.

·  Tell your instructor if you have any health problems that may compromise your ability to do certain movements.

·  Tai Chi should not make you ache. If it does, tell your instructor. You should be able to modify your practice so it is pain free.