The graceful, fluid movements of tai chi tell the story of the practice’s roots — it is a martial art first, but executed so slowly that it allows a meditative focus on connecting each body position.
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That focus may be the key to tai chi’s health benefits, which range from stress and pain relief to better balance, improved sleep and reduced blood pressure. The best thing about tai chi, though, may be how adaptable it is — most people can do it in some form and benefit from the practice.

Tai chi developed in ancient China as a method of self-defense. Modern practice emphasizes meditative focus on breathing and body position, and on the balance of opposing forces in the body (the yin and yang), says Barbara Pajka, an instructor who has been teaching classes in the Cleveland area for 21 years.

“The balance is philosophical balance, it is physical balance, it is balance of activity,” she says. “We balance the activity with the stillness. If there’s an upward movement, there’s a downward movement. If there’s movement, there’s stillness.” Scientific research is finally starting to catch up to what Pajka and millions of others have known about tai chi for a long time: it not only feels good, it’s good for you.

Many small studies of tai chi have found that the practice improves balance and therefore may prevent falls in older adults, reduces blood pressure, relieves pain in arthritic patients and improves immunity and sleep.

The most recent study tested the use of the practice among people with fibromyalgia, a complex chronic-pain syndrome. In a group of 66 patients who either practiced tai chi or were assigned to a control group of wellness education and stretching for 12 weeks, the tai chi group reported improved function, ability to move and sleep, and reduced pain and fatigue. The benefits for the tai chi group persisted after the one-hour, twice weekly sessions were complete.