SOHMA Integrative Medicine

We offer the best of Eastern & Western medicine without using drugs or surgery

Sohma Tai Chi

Where can Tai Chi be Practiced?

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Tai Chi is an ancient martial art practiced for thousands of years to help improve inner peace and physical balance. Tai Chi is often called “meditation in motion” as the slow-moving poses and relaxing breathing rhythm helps put your mind into a feeling of calmness. In the medical community, however, it’s now called “medication in motion” because of its numerous researched health benefits.

Some of the physical benefits include:

  • Improves strength
  • Improved Flexibility
  • Improved Mobility
  • Improved Balance
  • Aerobic Conditioning

Though practiced by people of every age and physical fitness, Tai Chi is most often seen being practiced by older adults. One of the greatest benefits of Tai Chi for older adults is improving their balance. Falls are the leading cause of injury among seniors, and by practicing Tai Chi, they can gain a sense of independence and confidence.

Practicing Tai Chi also comes with several benefits to your mental health. When you combine slow movements with calm breathing and get into a state of meditation, your mind begins to relax and release stress. Stress can lead to a variety of mental health issues, some of which include:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Irritability
  • Loss of Focus

Tai Chi has been shown to improve its practitioner’s mood significantly. Improved mood helps your energy levels, can reduce headaches, and help people get a restful night which can lower blood pressure.

With so many benefits, where and how should you practice Tai Chi? 

The short answer is anywhere you feel comfortable, though some people may have some preferences. Here are a couple to choose from when first starting.

Learning Online

With nearly everyone having access to the internet in the palm of their hands, the barrier of entry to learn Tai Chi is as low as ever. Following an online course such as Tai Chi for Beginners by our very own Dr. Hoover has incredibly detailed lessons for you to practice in the comfort of your living room. Learning through courses allows you to choose when to practice, how long to practice, and when to advance to the higher difficulties. 

There are some drawbacks, such as practicing too long. Though not dangerous, moderation is good practice to have when practicing Tai Chi. Other learning limitations via courses are losing the social aspect of practicing with a class and having a teacher help you with poses and movements.

Join a Class

One of the more common ways Tai Chi is practiced nowadays is by joining a Tai Chi class. You may even see a group practicing Tai Chi at your local park on the weekends. As previously stated, joining a class provided a social aspect. This is good learning because other students can help you when the teacher can’t. You can also give each other motivation to improve. A good teacher can also assist you when you are first learning poses. There may be some limits on how far you can stretch or how well you can balance at first, and a teacher can help you modify the stance and poses to suit your needs, even if you’re using a walker or a wheelchair.

If you want to join our free Tai Chi classes, we practice every Sunday from 9:30 to 10:00 am at Heartwell Park in Long Beach, CA. You’ll see us near the duck pond. You’re welcome to join. Just remember to wear comfortable clothes.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA, we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.

Tai Chi for Muscle Flexibility, Balance & Agility

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Interested in the Tai Chi Instructor Certification Course?

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As we age, we tend to lose a bit of our bodies to time. Whether it is due to compound injuries,  poor diet, aging, or static positions like sitting for hours in front of a screen. But, there is always hope to help recover some of what was lost.

Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese martial art that has been shown to improve physical and mental wellness. Today, we will see how Tai Chi can help with putting a pep back in your step as well as what you may need in order to get started. At SOHMA Integrated Medicine in Long Beach CA we care about bringing balance and wellness in the most natural way possible, this is why we offer completely free Tai Chi classes.

What Causes our Bodies to Weaken

There are many reasons why our bodies lose balance, flexibility and agility. Some of the more common reasons are:

  • Aging
  • Injury
  • Lack of Stretching
  • Inactivity
  • Migraines
  • Nerve Damage
  • Arthritis
  • Weight

With a little bit of commitment and as little as one Tai Chi class per week, for a couple of months people have shown improvements in many aspects of their wellbeing.

Injury can cause a multitude of problems, not only does the injury leave scarring , depending on the nature of the injury it is possible that it leads to inactivity of the surrounding joints and muscles. This can lead to both loss in agility and flexibility.

Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about aging. But just because we are getting older does not mean we should not try to keep our bodies feeling as young as possible.

Sometimes we can let temptations win and make poor health decisions. Tai Chi is an excellent way of getting back on track, physical wellbeing takes a lot of mental fortitude in order to make the right choices. Oftentimes meditation is recommended to help with mental health. Tai Chi, often called meditation in motion, pulls double duty in this  case. As not only do you begin to be more active by practicing the martial art, you also help your mental health by taking calm rhythmic deep breaths that put you in a state of meditation. By choosing to actively change yourself, you will also improve your self esteem and confidence in yourself. This in turn will help make better choices about your health.

Due to the slow and low impact nature of Tai Chi as well as it being a weight bearing form of exercise, Tai Chi will engage many of your major muscle groups. This will improve endurance, strength, balance, flexibility and agility.

How to get Started Practicing Tai Chi

Getting started is easy. Do you have comfortable clothing? Do you have comfortable shoes with no heals? If you answered yes to these questions then you are halfway there.

One of the best ways to learn Tai Chi is to join a class. Having a teacher giving your feedback the positions and breathing rhythm is very helpful. While having other classmates to bond with and encourage each other is another big part of the experience. We offer completely free Tai Chi classes for beginners at Heartwell Park in Long Beach CA, usually around the duck pond.

Tai chi is an excellent exercise for anybody of any age or fitness level. If you are not yet convinced to give it a try, we welcome you to watch one of our free classes in order to help you makeup your mind. Feel free to ask the staff at SOHMA about any other information regarding our free Tai Chi classes.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask us about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.

5 Benefits of Tai Chi

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Tai Chi. Many have seen it and may not even realize it. You may have noticed individuals in the park or even groups of people making very deliberate movements.

We have been asked “what’s with the slow Karate?”

It is not Karate, it’s Tai Chi. One of the programs we have been doing for years here at SOHMA Integrative Medicine is organizing Tai Chi classes for our neighbors in Long Beach.

One of the commonly asked questions we get is: Can you tell me what Tai Chi is?

What is Tai Chi and Will It Benefit Me?

Tai chi is an ancient tradition that began in China. It is a gentle form of exercise. One of its many benefits is how it can be performed by those in many states of physical fitness. You might be an Ironman triathlete or an individual coming off injury or even someone beginning their exercise journey.

Tai chi has many styles and because it includes posture, exercise, and stretching it can help you in many different ways.

Let’s get into the benefits of Tai Chi and you can decide if you would like to join us for one of our classes.

Benefit #1: Decreased stress, anxiety, and depression

You will discover how to focus on the current state of your body. It will teach you to understand your body and how to focus your mind. When you do this it is amazing how many other issues seem to reduce in importance.

Benefit #2: Improved flexibility, balance and agility

We have individuals who regularly attend our Tai Chi Class at Heartwell Park who are competitive triathletes, cyclists, and runners. Why would they do this “slow motion” exercise?

They do it for the benefits of their flexibility. Regardless of your sport, when you improve your flexibility and balance it will help you. We have yet to meet an athlete who said “I am too flexible” or “I have too much balance”.

Benefit #3: Improved aerobic capacity

Are there times when you are going up stairs that you have a hard time breathing? Are there times when you are walking that you feel out of breath?

Starting a regular exercise routine can be scary. Tai Chi, especially one like our beginner group, is a safe space to begin. You will get support from those around you who have been where you are if you are just starting.

What you will discover is you begin to see progress. You want to change other things and “suddenly” your health has improved because you took the first step.

Benefit #4: Improved Mood

A positive attitude can really change one’s perspective. Having a great attitude in a bad situation can make it not as bad. Dare we say it can even make a situation fun.

What you will discover in tai chi is that you learn how to breathe, you learn how to control your body, and by process you will discover how you can alter your mood.

Benefit #5: Increased energy and stamina

Walking by a school yard you can see kids have boundless energy. Many adults say “I wish I had their energy!”. It’s true kids have a ton of energy and here is another thing adults can have more energy as well!

What we invite you to do is take up a form of exercise that can provide you with more energy. There are exercise routines that are so aggressive they can reduce your energy. Tai chi is one that can help you build energy and stamina.

Explore The Benefits of Tai Chi at our Free Class

We met on a regular basis at Heartwell park in Long Beach, CA. We often get asked “why is it free?” or “is it really free?”

The answer is yes it is absolutely free. We do this class as a way to give back to the community in Long Beach, CA. We care about the health of our community members.

Check out our meet-up page for information on Long Beach Tai Chi Classes.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask us if we are right for you. Located in Long Beach, CA we help individuals from Long Beach and the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.