Body alignment deals with how everything is located internally. Tai Chi can help you to recognize how your body is aligned so that you can attain the best possible body alignment for whatever activity you are doing, which can include combat and non-combat situations. With the right body alignment, you can treat back pain and other various health conditions, and in your Tai Chi practice, can help you reach new levels of skill.
For example, when a person pushes a mobile but heavy object, there is an alignment through his body and if that alignment all the way through his body is true and correct, he won’t have any problem moving the object. But is that alignment is off, then his body mechanics are also off and he may not be able to move that heavy object.
One can attain an awareness of alignment of their body with diligent practice. This awareness is not merely based on the proper way to stand and sit but rather on a genuine knowledge of the skeletal system, which includes the proper way to align the spine, how to correctly position the midsection, how to properly align the knees with the feet, and how to place the feet that uses the muscles of the legs to bring about good knee health and to protect the ligaments and tendons.
This comprehension of posture and alignment is ideal for one’s health. It can help a person avoid a variety of problems including among others, ailments such as headaches, migraines, weak circulation, knee pain, and neck pain. When you start practicing Tai Chi, you’ll learn to move in several different ways whilst preserving proper alignment and posture at the same time.
One of the most significant health issue people have that they do not report is back pain. While back pain is occasionally caused by a traumatic event or injury, it is oftentimes caused by incorrect posture. Tai Chi helps you learn the proper back alignment by requiring students to undergo a series of forms whilst preserving a very straight back alignment. This can help the Tai Chi student learn how to move in ways that bolster proper alignment.
Body alignment correctly performed can also result in greater bone density which can help the elderly prevent or minimize falls. If you want to attain this very special Tai Chi health benefit, you need to align your upper body weight over your legs and then relax the whole body so that your entire body weight, through gravity, bears down through the structure. Over time, this alone can help bolster thigh bone mass and density and increase muscle strength and mass on the entire leg increasing the balance of your body.
For the other Tai Chi health benefits, back alignment also plays a fundamental role. In their practice, a lot of students come to a dead end because they’re unable to attain proper back alignment and thus won’t be able to receive several of the well-known Tai Chi health benefits. Such a student needs to first understand what he is trying to accomplish in terms of the alignment of his body and then strive to learn proper alignment in his practice. To achieve this, he needs to pay close attention to his alignment as he performs his set of Tai Chi exercises. Only when he has accomplished this can he then move forward in Tai Chi and attain higher levels of skill.