Exercise isn't always fast and furious

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Exercise isn't always fast and furious

Tai chi a popular drop-in activity at Southgate mall

Zdeb, The Edmonton Journal

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/bodyandhealth/story.html?

id=29227d87-3c31-4aae-a8dc-89592b26a10d

First she raises her hands to part the mane of a wild horse. Soon

she's playing the lute, then grasping the peacock's tail, first on

the left, then on the right. She pats the horse on high, before

striking an opponent's ears with both fists. And she's working up a

sweat doing it.

If this reads like no exercise program you've ever done or heard of,

welcome to tai chi.

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Tommy Kan, front middle, and other participants in a tai chi class at

Southgate Centre on Thursday morning

Larry Wong, The Journal

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Font:****Tai chi is a Chinese martial art and system of calisthenics

consisting of sequences of very slow, controlled movements with such

exotic descriptions as White crane spreads its wings, Wave hands like

clouds, Needle at the sea bottom, and Part the wild horse mane.

Nakashima is one of a group of 25 to 40 people who come to as many

weekday morning Yang style tai chi sessions at Southgate Centre

shopping mall as they can. Led by Hua Hsu, who has been doing tai chi

for five years, they move to the soothing sounds of a nearby water

fountain and Chinese music coming from a boom box.

The sense of peace and serenity one gets from watching their fluid,

non-stop, movements is accentuated whenever the members of the mall's

walking club briskly pass by.

If your view of exercise is that it has to be fast and furious, you

probably think tai chi is too slow to be of any benefit.

But it makes Devi Mutyala's arthritis feel better, takes away the

stiffness in Broballa's once broken leg, relieves Savitri

Sherman's achy shoulders, and helps Sandy Nakashima deal with the

return of her cancer.

" I'm undergoing my second round of chemo, and I need to do something

that I can do, " Nakashima says. " I can't do aerobics, but tai chi,

while it's easy, uses all the muscles and energizes the body from

within.

" I have a lot of side-effects from the drugs I'm taking. One of them

is peripheral neuropathy, tingling in the fingers and the toes. My

toes are always cold, always freezing. Tai chi warms up and wakes up

your body. Plus there's the spiritual aspect.

" If I'm feeling good, I go to tai chi and feel even better, "

Nakashima says.

Queca Zegarra, who has been doing tai chi since last June, finds it

stimulates the body while calming the mind. It's also good for

flexibility and balance.

" I don't miss a day. I've become addicted to this, " Zegarra says.

Some members of the group, like Hsu, also walk before or after the

tai chi class, but not Buzinsky.

" My husband brought me here to walk and I walked two days and it was

so boring, " she says. " I saw this and I heard the music, and because

I hate exercising, I thought, hey, this is wonderful.

" It's so beautiful, it's like ballet, " Buzinsky adds.

" I feel more energetic. I have a bit of arthritis and tai chi seems

to make me more limber. "

But there's more to tai chi than just the way it gets the body

moving, says Ranee Saram. There's the social aspect, and the

friendships people make.

" It's like an international community here, " Saram says.

Sharon Ho, a registered nurse, who has been doing tai chi for two

years, says the only thing wrong with it is that more people need to

know about the Southgate group. " It's such a benefit for stability,

for the joints. It would help people with dementia, " she says.

Anyone can follow along with the movements, not like some other

exercises classes where you need to understand English.

" Plus it's free and drop in, " Ho says. What's not to like?