The Harvard medical school guide to tai chi : 12 weeks to a healthy body, strong heart, and sharp mind

The Harvard medical school guide to tai chi 12 weeks to a healthy body, strong heart, and sharp mind

Peter M. Wayne

Book - 2013

Conventional medical science on the Chinese art of Tai Chi now shows what Tai Chi masters have known for centuries: regular practice leads to more vigor and flexibility, better balance and mobility, and a sense of well-being. Cutting-edge research from Harvard Medical School also supports the long-standing claims that Tai Chi also has a beneficial impact on the health of the heart, bones, nerves and muscles, immune system, and the mind. This research provides fascinating insight into the underlying physiological mechanisms that explain how Tai Chi actually works.

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Subjects
Tai chi > Therapeutic use.
Health.
Published
Boston : Shambhala 2013.
Language
English
Main Author
Peter M. Wayne (-)
Other Authors
Mark Fuerst (-)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
xiii, 336 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781590309421
  • Foreword
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction: East Meets West at Harvard Medical School
  • Part 1. Tai Chi and Its Essential Elements
  • 1. The Ancient Promise of, and Modern Need for, Tai Chi
  • 2. The Eight Active Ingredients of Tai Chi
  • 3. Put the Principles into Practice: A Simplified Tai Chi Program
  • Part 2. Proof of the Promise: Tai Chi through the Lens of Modern Science
  • 4. Improve Your Balance and Bones
  • 5. Ease Your Aches and Pains
  • 6. Strengthen Your Heart
  • 7. Deepen and Enrich Your Breathing
  • 8. Sharpen Your Mind
  • 9. Enhance Psychological Well-Being and Sleep Quality
  • Part 3. Integrating Tai Chi into Everyday Life
  • 10. Tai Chi for Two
  • 11. Cross-Train with Tai Chi
  • 12. On-the-Job Tai Chi
  • 13. Enhance Your Creativity with Tai Chi
  • 14. Lifelong Learning with Tai Chi
  • Afterword: Tai Chi and Twenty-First-Century Medicine
  • Notes
  • Index
Review by Booklist Review

Tai chi can be described as meditation in motion. Blending low to moderate aerobic activity with meditation, tai chi offers health benefits with only a minimal risk of injury. Rewards of tai chi may include greater flexibility and range of motion, increased coordination, better breathing, and more efficient posture. It is a useful exercise in preventing falls. It also improves balance and movement in people with Parkinson's disease. As scientific research on this training regimen moves forward, tai chi might prove valuable in other ways, such as managing chronic pain and enhancing mood. Authors Wayne (a Harvard Medical School researcher and tai chi practitioner-teacher) and Fuerst (a medical writer) distill the essence of tai chi into eight active ingredients: awareness, intention, structural integration, active relaxation, strengthening and flexibility, natural breathing, social support, and embodied spirituality. They also present a practical, simplified 12-week tai chi training program that requires 45-60 minutes per day. Photographs illustrating poses and exercises are included. Tai chi is an intriguing form of mind-body exercise that can readily be integrated into routine daily activities.--Miksanek, Tony Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

Wayne (medicine, Harvard Medical Sch.; director of research, Osher Ctr. for Integrative Medicine) is a longtime practitioner of Tai Chi, a "mind-body exercise rooted in multiple Asian traditions." Here, with health writer Mark L. Fuerst (Golf Injury Handbook), he delves into scientific research to illustrate and demystify how the application of Tai Chi protocols can improve a person's overall health. While this work has an extensive, up-to-date bibliographic reference section, it does not read like a textbook, and it will easily captivate readers. Wayne uses his vast experience to develop a simple yet holistic 12-week Tai Chi program. The text is accompanied by photographs, but, as with any written exercise manual, it is hard for people to learn exact movements and choreography from simple pictures; this work would benefit from a video component. Tai Chi can be a part of everyday life and most likely should be. VERDICT A must for all health and exercise collections.-John N. Jax, Univ. of Wisconsin Lib., La Crosse (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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