A look into Tai Chi Chuan

I met a person who practiced Tai Chi Chuan in a meeting and short after hearing their experience I took my first lesson, 21 years ago.

I was impressed by the fact that I learned to walk without stress, to become conscious and to enjoy everything around me. I started to slow down my walking, I was less tired and learned how to manage stress.

Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art practiced by all generations. It has therapeutic applications which originate with the Chinese empire, this practice relates to physical and psychological balance.

Tai means action, chi means energy, it is a movement of energy in our body. According to oriental philosophy, disease is produced by a block of energy in our body for various causes and in Tai Chi Chuan there is a work of energy so that it flows freely.

With the practice of Tai Chi Chuan you learn to breathe, to concentrate, to relax, to connect body and mind and to improve coordination. One of the main problems that many people face these days: back and joint pain due to confinement and teleworking at home is that it helps to correct posture. Regular practice of Tai Chi Chuan increases elasticity, flexibility, you can see improvements in strength, balance, coordination and physical endurance.

If you have ever seen people in a park practicing Tai Chi Chuan, you will have seen that they make slow, circular and coordinated movements. This art can be practiced from a therapeutic as well as a martial point of view. Tai Chi Chuan is not only an activity for the elderly, in fact there is no age limit to practice it.

In my daily practice I have learned something so simple, but very useful when I walk, and that is that when you walk you can't lift your foot backwards until the first one is still on the ground, with this you avoid falling and you don't lose your balance. I also put it into practice in my life and it's taking one step at a time.

24 years ago I approached Manos Sin Fronteras, an international organization that promotes self-knowledge, solidarity and service. Manos Sin Fronteras offers a course of Neural Stimulation, which is a self-treatment technique, which acts on some specific nerve terminals of the body and is performed with the hands, and provides a psycho-physical and emotional balance.

In the practice of Tai Chi Chuan, the hands are always in slow and coordinated movements, the gaze and attention to them, you feel a tingling in the hands for all the energy that moves. The flexibility that you get in our hands and throughout our body has also helped me to easily adapt to different circumstances or meet different situations or needs.

A year and a half ago, I had back problems, I started taking Neural Stimulation Technique treatments every day and meditations have helped me a lot to continue my activities. Tai Chi Chuan helped me to correct my posture, improve my flexibility and strengthen my back. During all this time, I have been able to be active in helping with my hands in treatments and sharing this technique so that many people benefit from it.

I thank the founder of Manos Sin Fronteras International, affectionately known as The Jardiniera, who gives us the greatest gift, which is her heart and all her love.