I think someone could make a fortune in SF if they opened a place that had both: Tai chi and Chai Tea.
What about a place that served you baklava in a balaclava?
Served by hungry Hungarians.
Tai chi reduces blood pressure better than aerobic exercise
41–50 of 147 posts
Re: Tai chi reduces blood pressure better than aerobic exercise
#42There doesn't really seem to be anything unique to single out tai chi in particular in this study. The benefits pointed out in the article --- that it's meditative, encourages stretching and relaxation, improves balance --- seem to also be associated with things like yoga, or just going through a general stretching and mobility routine. They idea that calming yourself (removing stress or just relaxing) will lower you…
I tried to learn some tai chi long ago and found that it is not possible to perform tai chi correctly if you are thinking about anything, including thinking about performing tai chi correctly. And "not thinking about anything" is exceptionally hard.
I've noticed the exact same effect from playing the guitar.
Re: Tai chi reduces blood pressure better than aerobic exercise
#43There doesn't really seem to be anything unique to single out tai chi in particular in this study. The benefits pointed out in the article --- that it's meditative, encourages stretching and relaxation, improves balance --- seem to also be associated with things like yoga, or just going through a general stretching and mobility routine. They idea that calming yourself (removing stress or just relaxing) will lower you…
Yoga is not really comparable, because it is much more static.
Of course, there is nothing magic about the Tai chi sequences and many other sequences of movements executed in a similar manner should have a similar effect.
A general stretching and mobility routine could be equivalent, but only if it would be similarly complete in exercising the whole body. Presumably the manner of executing Tai chi sequences, i.e. slowly and with appropriate respiration, matters.
The advantage of Tai chi sequences or of other sequences derived from Chinese martial arts or their Okinawan derivatives, i.e. various karate kata, is that in comparison with general stretching and mobility routines they are like reciting a poem compared to reciting a few pages memorized from a dictionary.
Such sequences of movements that have a meaning are both more pleasant to execute and easier to remember in every detail, to avoid skipping some parts.
Re: Tai chi reduces blood pressure better than aerobic exercise
#44Long ago, maybe before the consumer internet, I saw a video claiming to showcase people who studied tai chi as a fighting art instead of just exercise. It was a lot of being able to follow the other person's movements to the point that "Fighting a tai chi master is like wrestling with an empty jacket". There was also a demonstration where a master pushed a student's middle finger back using an open palm. No matter how the student spun around and whipped his hand around, he couldn't get his finger away from the pressure of the palm that was following him around.
No idea how legit it was. I've never seen tai chi presented primarily as self-defense since.
Re: Tai chi reduces blood pressure better than aerobic exercise
#45I'm deeply skeptical.
Sure, your blood pressure is not going to be low while you're doing aerobic exercise.
If you do a lot of aerobic exercise consistently, your heart will get bigger and stronger, with a lower resting rate. That will bring your pressure down. It's not uncommon for endurance athletes to feel unusually lightheaded when standing up because of the low blood pressure and slow heart rate.
Re: Tai chi reduces blood pressure better than aerobic exercise
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pedants* like you. Everyone knows what chai tea is referring to. In the same way they understand what naan bread is.
Doesn’t mean it’s correct!
Except you're wrong, and this type of construction is extremely common. Take "pine tree" for example. There's nothing "incorrect" about calling it chai tea.
Re: Tai chi reduces blood pressure better than aerobic exercise
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pedants* like you. Everyone knows what chai tea is referring to. In the same way they understand what naan bread is.
Doesn’t mean it’s correct!
In this case, I would argue that it does. "Sahara" means "desert", but "Sahara Desert" is still the proper name for that place. "Naan" means "bread", but it's also the name we use for the kind of bread originally made by the people who speak the language where "naan" means "bread". Likewise, "chai tea" is a perfectly fine name for tea made in the style of the people whose word for "tea" is "chai". Languages do this all the time.
Re: Tai chi reduces blood pressure better than aerobic exercise
#48There doesn't really seem to be anything unique to single out tai chi in particular in this study. The benefits pointed out in the article --- that it's meditative, encourages stretching and relaxation, improves balance --- seem to also be associated with things like yoga, or just going through a general stretching and mobility routine. They idea that calming yourself (removing stress or just relaxing) will lower you…
Yoga is not really comparable, because it is much more static. Of course, there is nothing magic about the Tai chi sequences and many other sequences of movements executed in a similar manner should have a similar effect. A general stretching and mobility routine could be equivalent, but only if it would be similarly complete in exercising the whole body. Presumably the manner of executing Tai chi sequences, i.e. slo…
Yoga has many styles. The one I am familiar with, Ashtanga Vinyasa, isn't very static at all.
Re: Tai chi reduces blood pressure better than aerobic exercise
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Purists like me would object to Chai being referred to its redundant form Chai Tea :)
Pedants* like you. Everyone knows what chai tea is referring to. In the same way they understand what naan bread is.
> Everyone
I suspect that if we venture into the streets of an American city and interview random passers-by, fewer than 10% will know that "chai" is a word that already means "tea".
Re: Tai chi reduces blood pressure better than aerobic exercise
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Probably not original. From a 1989 episode of The Simpsons: https://tv.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/c1743b56-f791-49a9-9d22-0bd5...
Pointing out "The Simpsons did it" is also not original. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simpsons_Already_Did_It
I wasn't trying to be original - the Simpsons is the first place I became aware of the joke.