Maybe like me when I first started it, you find Tai Chi for Arthritis part 1 a little too simple, a little too “easy” and perhaps overlook some of it’s innate value. Having studied other styles and forms when Tai Chi for Arthritis 1 came to me, I kind of discounted it as something I wanted to practice because of it’s simplicity and instead I took it on as something I could easily teach and newbies would easily get.
Years later a not-so-dramatic car accident taught me the true value of TCA1, the simplest tai chi routine I know. I got rear-ended while waiting at a stoplight. The 25 mph impact didn’t feel like much and didn’t leave much visible damage to my car. Like many in accidents, I was deceived into thinking all was well and drove away from the incident on my own. It wasn’t until a few hours later that the effects of the whiplash and concussion started to set in. My neck started to ache and my head felt really heavy so I took the afternoon off for recovery and I laid down to let the floor hold up my head.
Standing up a little while later told me something in addition to my neck was not quite right. Black spots turned into stars and intense nausea upon rising. The concussion symptoms continued to worsen for 2 couple days until I was slightly slurring my speech and not able to mentally fully form sentences. It was then I got immediate help from a CranioSacral Therapist who specializes in brain trauma. It helped quite a bit. But I then realized I was not able to do my normal qigong and tai chi practice.
For the first time ever, the Constant Bear made me sick to my stomach and lightheaded. The intense breathwork I had been doing for many years was obviously off the table as just one breath of it gave me a stabbing headache. I decided that I’d “keep it simple today” and only do Tai Chi for Arthritis 1 and it’s warm ups. I felt better afterwards and had no issues when doing any of it.
I decided the following day to modify my daily practice and leave out the intense breathwork until I felt 100% again (which actually took a little over a month). Practicing only gentle tai chi, I quickly learned that what my experienced tai chi self thought of as gentle was too complex for my newly bruised brain. I simply could not make myself either remember nor to physically do the tai chi sets I’d been doing for years at that point. So I settled on practicing Tai Chi 1 for yet another day.
Tai Chi for Arthritis 1 was the only personal practice I did for at least a week. I did A LOT of repetitions of the neck warm-ups, which always made my whiplashed neck feel better and less heavy. I considered it my whiplash therapy protocol. When I first tried to add in Tai Chi for Arthritis part 2, my bruised brain stopped me with a firm “No.” I simply couldn’t do it. I couldn’t make myself do it, which was a first for me. I’ve been beat up physically in ways that most people wouldn’t believe or understand and to NOT be able to do something with my body because my car got a slight tap from behind really changed how I thought about head injuries and car accidents in general. This was my first and hopefully only car accident ever.
The value of Tai Chi 1 for me during this health challenged portion of my life became obvious and huge. Now I was finding more benefit from TC1 than the very complex ancient sets I had been regularly practicing up to that accident. Talking to other Tai Chi for Arthritis teachers has revealed their similar experiences, be it from back injury, a heart issue and in one case an emotional issue—divorce. The change that took place made it impossible to do the complex “more advanced” tai chi routines, but the simplicity of Tai Chi for Arthritis part 1 actually HELPED each of us heal from what ailed us faster and with greater ease.
Regarding my concussion, I firmly believe that the simple symmetry of the TCA1 routine helped my jostled brain regain it’s balance. After the experience, I now think that it was the asymmetrical complexity of the other forms I had attempted unsuccessfully (including Sun 73) that made them too much for my currently “off-center” brain. The unique and fairly simple bi-lateral symmetry of TCA1 was a successful part of my concussion therapy and rebalancing my brain.
Another reason I really cherish this routine is that it’s short and gives me quick joint pain relief when I don’t have time for a longer session. During my accident recovery, the shorter sessions were exactly what I needed. Sun Style has turned out to an ally as to me and my bones/joints as we age. No other form of tai chi gives me such instantaneous return on my investment: as soon as I start practicing any variety of the Sun Style tai chi, the knee, wrist, hip or ankle discomfort I’m experiencing lessens. It’s not just “in my head” because there’s significant medical data on the web now to back
tai chi as a pain reduction therapy which is more effective than traditional pain management strategies.
You can do better than me, learn faster. Don’t discount the power of simplicity to heal, especially when things have become jumbled and complex. If you don’t know Tai Chi 1, it’s not too late to learn. Check out my online video course here.
The other instructors I talked to agree with my sentiment: I was SOOOOO grateful to already know TCA part 1 when I needed it! Often people wait until they need a therapy before they learn it, which can make learning it more difficult and the therapeutic results less effective. But to ALREADY know how to do the therapy BEFORE the injury occurs makes learning NOW priceless! Once we have a whiplash or concussion it’s much more difficult to learn a new recovery tool.
It was about 2-3 years ago when one of our close tai chi family members suddenly stopped coming to the class she had been attending very regularly. She revealed privately that she was having serious heart issues and was spending more time dealing with doctors and diagnostics. She told me that the stress of just knowing she now had heart issues was almost more overwhelming than the symptoms themselves. She stated it was her continued daily practice of Tai Chi part 1 that helped keep her stress levels down during all this. She said, “I’m so grateful to have learned tai chi before I really needed it. It’s helped me deal with all this more than anything else.” WOW!!! I’ll never forget her gratitude for the lessons and how she had just taught me something I hadn’t realized about tai chi: Knowing BEFORE we need it, is good self-care.
The Tai Chi for Arthritis part 1 videos are the first videos I ever made in my life. I made them because the people I was teaching asked for them. The course will be updated at some point but the videos are still some of the best available (so I’m told) for learning Tai Chi for Arthritis part 1. If you don’t know the routine, it’s there for you to learn. If you do know the routine, it’s good to periodically reveiw some videos to make sure you haven’t smushed over some of the details as often happens with time. Love yourself enough o develop the tools that will serve you into the future.
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