Tai Chi for Pain Relief!

By Guest Writer Sarkice Nedder

Stop the Pain! Stop the NSAIDs and the Painkillers! Practice Tai Chi for pain relief.

Tired of the constant pain in your body?

Do you wake up with your back aching, knee pain, muscle and joint pain? Do you constantly rely on painkillers or ibuprofen and other NSAIDs for relief? Are you worried about the effect it has on your kidney and liver but you just cannot get through the day without somehow minimizing the pain? This is the story of so many of us; the young, the old, the active and the inactive of us. So what can we do? There is an answer that works for many of us but it takes some initial effort on our part.

For centuries Tai Chi has been promoted as a means for longevity and health.

What most seem to ignore about Tai Chi is that it creates a natural elixir to relieve pain. Sure exercise helps relieve pain,- but that is not really all that Tai Chi is. It is different and maybe I can explain some simple differences.

It’s called internal energy “chi”. The purposeful use of moving energy throughout the body in a painstakingly slow manner has miraculous effects. Maybe the word is not miraculous but what would you call it? If I wake up after a night of pain and can barely walk, with every step actuating the agony throughout my muscles and joints and then I do something very slowly called Tai Chi and thereafter, I have no pain and feel able to live the day without those NSAIDs and pain killers what would you call it?

Now do not be fooled! Most people and many teachers of Tai Chi have no concept of what use of energy in Tai Chi means and or how it should be used. When one has learned the basic movements of Tai Chi most teachers then help the student learn to recognize the chi in their bodies and to even feel it. Unfortunately, for most Tai Chi practitioners that is as far as they get. As a practicing martial artist and teacher for 50 years I candidly can tell you that although performing Tai Chi in such a manner may have some minor positive health improvement effect it is pure nonsense. Let me be clear. Such a way to practice Tai Chi has little health benefit.

If you want to change your life forever and overcome much of your daily pain you may want to try to learn how to do a basic Tai Chi form and learn how not only to feel the chi but to move it throughout your body in a manner that reduces pain while restoring muscles and ligaments and improving joint flexibility.

There are many more sophisticated and advanced uses of energy in Tai Chi but you need not worry about those as all you need to do is to get to the point of moving energy in a purposeful manner such that it relieves the pain.

So here are the steps you can take to begin your journey to a less painful life:

1) Find a knowledgeable Tai Chi instructor and learn at least part one of the basic form. Learn the body movements very precisely. If you can learn the entire form even better. Properly taught with lessons twice a week it normally takes about six months to learn the entire basic form.

2) Learn to feel the energy in your body.

3) Learn how to move the energy throughout your body in a manner that helps eliminate the pain. Learn techniques like extending, condensing and washing chi. A competent Tai Chi teacher should be able to explain how the energy should flow within each movement.

4) Then daily practice the form very, very slowly while moving the chi in a purposeful manner.

If your dedicated it will take about a year to perfect the beginning use of the chi. I told you it would not be easy! But once learned it is simple and requires only dedication and consistency.

Please note there are many styles of Tai Chi. I prefer the Wu style and the 108 moves of its long form. I prefer it because its emphasis is on energy development and small movement.

So save your kidneys and liver. Get off those painkillers and NSAIDs.
Live longer and happier pain-free.