When it comes to your recovery, you have many different options to take. At Therapeutic Medical Massage, we may combine massage with other therapies for maximum results, especially when it comes to healing and recovery. One of the options we may take is combining your massage with tai chi. Tai chi is a Chinese mind-body practice. By combining the two, you may experience a faster recovery while learning techniques to incorporate into your daily life.
What is Tai Chi?
Tai chi is a Chinese mind-body practice that focuses on movement. It also focuses on the breath and other breathing techniques in a similar way to yoga. However, unlike other forms of exercise, tai chi works to relax the muscles instead of tensing them up. People of all backgrounds can benefit from tai chi as it can be adapted for a variety of lifestyles. Whether you want to use it to reconnect with yourself or because of a specific health requirement, tai chi can be the perfect exercise for you.
What It Helps With
Because we can adapt tai chi exercises to fit your lifestyle or reason for needing it, many different ailments benefit from tai chi.
If you want your muscles to recover faster, tai chi may help. Combining tai chi with other therapies, like massage, may help speed up recovery from injury. This is great for athletes recovering from an injury.
Some stroke patients also benefit from tai chi. As they recover, their movements may not be the same as they were before their stroke. With tai chi, they re-learn basic movements while also increasing their balance.
Additional Tai Chi Benefits
Not only does tai chi help with certain health problems, it may also help in other areas of your life. If you haven’t recently had a fall or an injury, you still may benefit from what tai chi has to offer.
Muscle strength increases through tai chi. The strength you get from tai chi is similar to walking at a brisk, steady pace or doing some resistance training. It can also help if you’re recovering from surgery. Once your doctor approves it, we may perform a lymphatic massage to help improve your body’s circulation after surgery. As your circulation improves, it can also help your muscle strength as you don’t have any build up in your system.
Many people want to see an increase in their flexibility. Tai chi is one of the best ways to help. Because tai chi is based in motion, it works to naturally increase your flexibility. The more flexible you are, the less likely you’ll be injured from something you do, reducing the likelihood of potentially needing surgery. Remember, massage also helps to increase your flexibility. When you combine the two, your muscles become used to it and your flexibility increases.
Using tai chi to recover is a great way to add a complementary therapy to what your doctor prescribes. Just make sure you’re able to do it. Otherwise, you risk further injury. At Therapeutic Medical Massage, Aruna leads some tai chi classes. If you’re interested in learning more about tai chi or how it promotes healing alongside massage, contact Therapeutic Medical Massage now.