Yang Chengfu was the master of Tai Chi Chuan who brought
tai chi to the masses in China. He was also responsible for
the popularity of Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan.
I don't think Yang Chengfu was heavy in his younger days.
It's said that as he became successful and better known his
new life brought with it plenty of food and drink, and he
put on quite a bit of weight. I've never heard that his
weight caused him any problems when doing tai chi. He was
always considered a great master.
I've seen heavy people show up for classes and I've seen
them improve the same as anyone else. A heavy friend of
mine recently told me he doesn't like going to the gym
because he doesn't want to stand out. He would much rather
be able to exercise at home. He tells me this is common
among heavy people and I believe him.
The biggest problem I've seen new students have is a lack
of leg strength, and it's the same for everyone. It takes
time to build leg strength and there are specific exercises
for this purpose. Like everything else, the more often you
do these exercises the quicker you build leg strength,
whether you're heavy or not.
Heavy people seem to have a harder time with stamina, and
seem to overcome it fairly quickly if they come to class a
couple of times each week.
On the other hand its seems that heavy people also have an
advantage, and this is that they are often stronger than
skinny people so they can advance more quickly in areas
such as long pole work. Using a 3 meter long pole is a good
way to build the types of muscles needed for good tai chi
as well as the waist/hip movement that's so important as
you advance.
So if heavy people don't like going to classes, how can
they help themselves? Most exercise tapes are geared toward
thinner people and are more difficult for heavier people to
adapt.
My goal is to reach people who don't otherwise have access
to tai chi classes and, those who don't like being in a
classroom situation. Tai chi is easily modified for
practice in a hotel room or even your kitchen. It provides
people with an alternative and has more health benefits
than anything else I know.
According to a Non-obesity Specific Health Study sited on
ObesityDiscussion.com, "Heavy people sit on average two and
a half hours more per day than thin people". This makes tai
chi an excellent and very simple exercise for heavy folks.
It can be done by simply standing while doing the arm
movements for 5 minutes at a time. As people progress they
can also do it standing with their legs bent to increase
the workout, as well as incorporating the leg movements.
So if you're a heavy person, don't let your weight hold you
back. Tai chi exercises can provide enormous benefits for
your heart, blood pressure, immune system, balance, etc.
The main thing is to move a little bit more, a little more
often so your body becomes conditioned to the changes and
you begin to notice the difference.
Once you get started you may find it hard to stop. To me
tai chi is like a drug that makes me feel really good, and
if I don't do it for a while I can feel the difference.
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posted by John Crewdson - http://www.beginningtaichi.net
Experience Free Bursts of Tai Chi(TM) click here -
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