Tai Chi:
Kicks you into shape
and cancer out of here
Tai Chi is an
old martial art that is focused manipulating one’s chi through controlled movements or postures. Chi is an energy that
is the core and basic foundation of all Chinese methods of healing. Not like
its Bruce Lee’s predecessors, Tai Chi
is more a peaceful movement art that is muscle toning, yet relaxing. Many have
adopted this technique to relieve stress, build strength, or to assist with
treatments for chronic illnesses or cancer.
Tai Chi is another therapy
that many patients have adopted while undergoing conventional cancer
treatments. Just like in Road House, Tai
chi is used to stimulate muscle function and relax the mind. Though
everyone might not do it as well as Patrick Swayze, everyone will achieve the
desired energy balancing effect. There have been many patients that swear by
the use of Tai Chi, and actually
teach sessions at local hospitals.
It is understood that the chi
and body have to work in harmony for a healthy sense of well-being to be
achieved. For example, a person that is sick or in pain, means the chi is interrupted or unbalanced. To
re-energize the chi and return it to
its normal flow, a series of precise movements must be performed. The movements
and postures of Tai Chi are similar
to dance, in that each movement is followed by counter-movement that perfectly
coincides. These slow, precise movements combined with controlled breathing
from the diaphragm produce the desired effect.
With the time and mastery, Tai
Chi provides an increase in muscle mass and tone, flexibility, improved
posture, and increased stamina. Cardiovascular benefits are another result from
the carefully articulated and focused breathing throughout each movement of the
body. Tai Chi is a perfect exercise
and relaxing agent for just about everyone, and is also becoming a
complementary therapy for cancer treatments. MarthaMcInnis, a breast cancer survivor, learned about using Tai chi as an integrative medicine when she was undergoing
radiation, and hails that Tai chi
made her live better and gather the strength to fight her cancer with full force.
Though it is not a direct cure for certain ailments and cancer, it
helps ease the pain of treatments, relieve stress, and promotes immune system
function. Many doctors agree with Martha, and recommend patients with
aggressive cancer treatment plans to adopt Tai
Chi or any complementary therapy. Patients diagnosed with cancers, like non-hodgkin’s
lymphoma or mesothelioma face difficult road ahead. Since intense amounts of chemotherapy, surgery,
and/or radiation are the main treatment options, a complementary therapy is a
great way to help settle the mind and body. The increased wholeness and
wellness of the whole body is what doctors and patients claim to be the benefit
of using Tai Chi with conventional
cancer treatments.
My
name is Allison Brooks and I am a recent graduate of the University of
Mississippi. I earned my B.S. in Biomedical Anthropology and have continued my
research to work towards a completed ethnography. I mainly focus on the effects
of biomedicalization on different cultures, but I do branch off into other
fields of anthropology.
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