Tai Chi for Better Balance | SilverSneakers

Tai Chi strengthens the body and focuses the mind. But did you know the research shows that practicing Tai Chi can help you build balance? Studies show that practicing Tai Chi reduces falls up to 45% for older adults. Let's try these Tai Chi inspired movements that'll help you build balance and stability. Starting with the feet about hip distance apart, place your hands a few inches below your belly button. Shoulders are back and down, very relaxed. And your head is back over your shoulders. Inhale and allow your abdominals to fill up. And then as you exhale, relax and feel them float back towards your spine. So slow and easy breathing. And as you relax your arms down next to your sides, think of your feet as having four corners. And we're gonna shift our weight to the front two corners of each foot and then shift back. One of the reasons that Tai Chi works so well, go ahead and shift forward and back a few times, is that it works with the principle of weight shifting. We shift weight in different directions. All right, go ahead and center. Relax your arms down. And then we'll step out a little bit wider. Then hip distance apart. Inhaling the arms up and exhale and just relax the elbows down. And ground, sink towards the ground. Your knees should feel very good. They should stay right over your feet. And I imagine the waves of the ocean kind of lifting as the water comes up. And then it recedes back down. You don't have to sink too much. Just start to feel the strength and power in your legs. Let's do that one more time. And as we inhale, our arms can come up to the sides. Go ahead and lift your palms. And then gather in a bunch of positive energy all the way to you. And then let's press that energy down past the chest and towards the belly. And then we'll release. Good. Now the left hand could come on top, the right hand comes to the bottom like you're holding a ball or embracing the moon. And then let's inhale. Open the arms and embrace the moon with the left hand on the bottom. Your moon can be bigger, it can be smaller. It doesn't have to look exactly like mine. But start to feel the energy between the hands as you breathe. Feel very grounded and rooted to the earth. Slowing down. It's kind of nice to slow down during the day, isn't it? Notice how strong you feel, how grounded you feel. And let's get the right hand to the bottom, left hand on top. We're gonna start to shift weight to the left foot, emptying out the right foot. So take that right toe and bring it in next to the left foot. Let's try that again. So we'll inhale, open the arms, step out. Embrace the moon with the right hand on top. And then empty the left leg. Inhaling and exhaling. You're still standing head above heart, heart above hips. So you feel this nice weight shift. You could lift that empty leg without changing your posture. And let's make a little movement here, a little change to parting the wild horse's mane. We'll step out. So lift that left foot, step out, heel, ball, toe. And then go ahead and spin the moon as we shift our weight forward. Left hand comes right next to the hip and then toss the moon away. We'll think about a couple of things here. You have time to shift your stance if your knees don't feel good. But allow your, instead of your shoulder to lead this movement, allow your torso. Think about twisting from the waist and the hip to make that right arm move. And if you want to complete this form or add the left hand, you can. It's like you're petting a mane of a horse. Breathe easy, shifting weight to the right foot and then to the left. Again, pushing from that part right below your belly button, pushing forward through the center of your core. And then let's step back to center, sweeping the hands up and pressing down. Let's do that again like you're gonna hug a tree, hug a big tree, but place the left hand on the bottom or the right hand on top and embrace the moon or hold the ball. And then we'll step in with the left foot. All right, so kind of at a diagonal, we'll step out, toss the moon. So spin it, toss it. Think about your breathing and focus on the weight shift to begin with. It's better to have a shorter step than a longer one. So we don't want to overreach. Find out where you feel the best with your knees and feel very grounded. And if you'd like, you can add the right arm, petting the wild horse's mane or parting it actually. Do you feel that weight shift? Allow your torso, allow your waist and hip to turn. Good, let's come back to center, inhaling the arms up and exhaling them down. Again, we'll step just a little bit wider for this next movement, wave hands like clouds. Then take your right hand up like you're reading a book in front of you. The left hand is just gonna come to the side. And then let's look to the right and switch. Take that left hand up, right hand down. So wave hands like clouds. Just imagine that your hands are moving through the clouds. Shifting side to side. All of this is coming from your center. Don't worry too much about the hands right now. Just think about shifting weight. Think about your breath. All right, so let's take this left hand. We're gonna turn it into a little hook or a little beak for single whip. And then we'll empty this right foot again. Step out, and then pretend like you're scooping up some leaves. And you're gonna pick them up and throw them away as you shift weight onto your right foot. Find the place where your knees feel good, you feel grounded, you can be more upright, you can be a little lower. Now from here, just stay right here. And we're gonna come back onto the left foot, bring this right hand back and play the harp. Down and up. Shifting back and forth. Good, reach back out, throw those leaves away. And then allow the left hand to sweep down. And we'll switch again as we step closer to center. Left hand waves hands like clouds right here, left hand top, right hand on the bottom. The bottom hand almost feels to me like it's kind of gliding in the clouds. I'm gliding my hand through the clouds. This right hand is gonna form that whip, that beak. And then we'll step in with the left foot. Come out to kind of a bow or a diagonal. Scoop up some confetti. And then let's throw it. It's a celebration, right? Let's try that again. Are you breathing as you're moving, exhaling here? Good, let's shift back and we'll bring this left hand back to play the harp. Down and up. Good, push, shift weight to the left. And then allow this right hand to sweep down. Left hand comes down. We wave hands like clouds as we step in. Switch, this is kind of a spiraling of the arms. And then release the arms down. Stepping the right foot in. And then step to the side and empty the left foot. So this almost feels like water is moving towards one side like a wave. And we're filling up the left leg with water, emptying the right, and then we're shifting the other direction. And filling up the other leg. So do you feel that sway, that move of water, the waves side to side? So from here, we'll move into a balance form. So let's come wide, empty. This right leg's insubstantial, it's emptied. And we'll take this right hand up. And as an option, you can lift the right knee. That's it. So that rooster stands on one leg. Empty, and if you'd like, lift. Stay very grounded, and then lift. Easy movement with the breath. I know, it's challenging, right? Take your time. And then step that left foot back down. Let's gather the chi, inhaling. So all that energy, positivity, we're gonna sink it down into the belly. And then release. And then close. If you want to improve balance stability, try practicing tai chi every day. The slow and gentle movements of a tai chi and qigong practice can add up to a really challenging and energizing workout.