Tai Chi is a traditional Chinese health-preserving and fitness technique. Tai Chi has a good promoting effect on the body’s essence, qi and spirit. This article intends to start from the Tai Chi boxing classics, boxing theory and sports characteristics, combined with the theory of sports physiology and sports psychology, to analyze the mechanism of Tai Chi on the body’s essence, qi and spirit, and explain the health-preserving and fitness function of Tai Chi in regulating the body and mind.
- The traditional Tai Chi exercise adheres to the human body’s “essence”
The traditional Tai Chi exercise adheres to the human body’s “essence”, mainly to enrich the “innate essence” and store the “acquired essence”.
According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, “innate essence” is the reproductive and hereditary essence inherited from parents. “Acquired essence” refers to the essence of water and grain generated by the spleen and stomach after birth, and the essence generated in the physiological activities of the internal organs, and the accumulated part after metabolic balance. Both “innate essence” and “acquired essence” are stored in the kidneys, which are called kidney essence.
Kidney essence plays a decisive role in the growth and development of the human body, reproduction, regulating the distribution and excretion of body fluids, and maintaining the balance of body fluid metabolism. According to the theory of Zang-Xiang in traditional Chinese medicine, essence is the basic substance of the human body and the material basis for human survival, so there is a saying that “essence is the foundation of the body”.
Strengthening the kidneys and nourishing essence, regulating the dynamic balance of the body’s internal physiological functions, is one of the main aspects of traditional Tai Chi fitness and health preservation. Tai Chi exercises dominated by the waist are conducive to strengthening the kidneys and nourishing essence, and conserving innate essence.
Tai Chi exercises require the coordination of the upper and lower limbs, and run through the waist, using the waist to drive the limbs and trunk to make the movements connected and smooth. For example, in the “cloud hand” movement, the movement routes of the two hands are mutually upper and lower, and the emptiness and reality of the waist and legs are also consistent. In terms of technique, if there is no twisting of the waist, it is impossible to do the “cloud hand” movements such as lifting, warding, turning, and pressing well. When changing steps sideways, if the waist and hips are not relaxed, it is impossible to make the real leg more stable, the virtual leg more agile, and use the real leg to send the virtual leg.
Tai Chi theory emphasizes the importance of the waist in Tai Chi exercises, such as “pay attention to the waist at all times”, “from the feet to the legs to the waist, it must be complete and coherent”, etc. The key to making the movements follow up and coordinate the whole body lies in the waist.
Therefore, one of the essences of Tai Chi is “active waist”. The waist is the main hub of body movement and the home of the kidneys. The whole body movement form with the waist loose and active as the main body can continuously move the kidneys attached to both sides of the waist, increase the blood flow of the renal artery, improve the normal physiological blood supply function of the renal blood vessels, and then improve the function of the endocrine glands such as the adrenal glands, prostate, and pancreas, which is conducive to the retention of the innate essence.
The innate essence must be nourished by the acquired essence. The acquired essence depends on the transformation and transportation of water and grain essence by diet and the spleen and stomach. The spleen’s physiological function is to digest, absorb, transfer and distribute water, grain and liquid, and provide sufficient nutrients for the transformation of essence, qi, blood and body fluid. The spleen nourishes muscles and controls the limbs, so Chinese medicine believes that the spleen is the “acquired foundation and source of qi and blood” of the human body.
The opening and closing, rising and falling, forward and backward, straight and horizontal movements of Tai Chi are all composed of different arc routes. The circular motion of using roundabout to straighten, the gentle and even speed and the deep and slow breathing method have a slight and gentle massage effect on the spleen and stomach, helping them digest, absorb and circulate. The steps of twisting the step, turning the waist, closing the hips, leading the knees, and stepping in the changing steps can drive the pulse qi of the Taiyin meridian (spleen) and the Yangyin meridian (stomach) to rise, so that the qi of the three burners is unobstructed, promote the transportation of water and grain essence in the middle earth, and provide nutrients for the consolidation of the innate essence. The increase of water and grain essence not only enriches the innate essence, but also promotes the formation of body fluid. During the practice of Tai Chi, a sweet and thin saliva is often produced in the mouth, which has the effect of nourishing the kidneys. According to Chinese medicine books, “kidney fluid is saliva, and saliva is saliva”. The thicker saliva is called saliva. Saliva is made from kidney essence. It is swallowed but not spit out, which has the effect of nourishing the kidney essence.
Therefore, Tai Chi practitioners pay great attention to the way of swallowing saliva when they practice health. Experiments show that practicing Tai Chi can increase the content of lysozyme in saliva and the content of immunoglobulin in saliva. The increase in lysozyme content helps digestion and absorption and increases appetite; the increase in immunoglobulin content is beneficial to eliminate the infection of invading microorganisms and helps to strengthen the immune function. Therefore, when practicing Tai Chi, the saliva produced in the mouth should be swallowed and not spit out to moisturize the whole body.
- The nourishment of human “Qi” by traditional Tai Chi exercise
In addition to nourishing the body, Tai Chi exercise is mainly for nourishing Qi. A boxing proverb says: “External training of muscles, bones and skin, internal training of breath.”
The nourishment of human qi by Tai Chi is mainly the adjustment of acquired qi (external qi) and the absorption of innate qi (internal qi). Qi occupies an extremely important position in the human body, because qi is all over the body, which can be used to stimulate blood and nourish blood. The relationship between qi and blood is that qi is the main, blood is the secondary, qi is the defense, and blood is the camp. A person’s life depends on the camp. If blood is insufficient, it can still survive temporarily, but if qi is insufficient, it will fall into danger.
Therefore, nourishing “qi” is one of the important contents of Tai Chi fitness and health preservation. Abdominal breathing is one of the characteristics of Tai Chi that distinguishes it from other sports. It requires the coordination of movement and breathing, the opening of the movement is inhalation, the closing is exhalation, the rising is inhalation, and the lowering is exhalation; changing posture is inhalation, and fixed posture is exhalation; it emphasizes the soft, uniform, coherent, and flexible movements and the natural coordination of deep, slow, fine, and long breathing.
This kind of exercise method that naturally coordinates movement and breathing is conducive to stretching and relaxing the chest, increasing lung capacity, and taking in more fresh air (acquired air) from nature. After the fresh air enters the lungs, part of it combines with the essence of water and grain to form Zong Qi, which accumulates in the “Qi Sea” in the chest to manage breathing; the other part combines with the essence of water and grain, and then enters the blood vessels through the capillaries around the alveoli, and is converted into Ying Qi to circulate blood. When the Zong Qi is sufficient, the lungs can expel the old and take in the new, and the metabolism will be vigorous; when the Ying Qi is sufficient, the blood can nourish and moisten the physiological organs of the whole body. Fresh air is one of the sources of congenital air (internal air). When the internal air is supplemented by fresh air, it combines with the essence of water and grain to form Yuan Qi, Ying Qi, and Wei Qi. Tai Chi exercises absorb the internal Qi of the human body by adjusting the natural form of the human body and changing the breathing method.
Tai Chi requires that the body shape is to have an empty head and a straight tailbone, and the Qi sinks into the Dantian. These key points are actually to pay attention to the Ren and Du meridians to keep the Qi and blood flowing smoothly. “Empty head and top strength” and “tailbone in the middle” mean that the head is empty and the top is suspended, and the Baihui point is lightly lifted; the tailbone must be in the middle and not biased, and the Baihui point and the Huiyin point are in a straight line, so that the qi of the Ren and Du meridians can flow smoothly, and the Yingqi runs through the Ren and Du meridians to transport blood to nourish the internal organs and limbs. If the Baihui point can be lifted, the body will be in the middle and unbiased, which is conducive to the sinking of qi into the Dantian. “Dantian” is exactly the Guanyuan point usually referred to by traditional Chinese medicine. Its location is exactly the gathering place of innate qi and acquired qi, and it is the hub of meridians, which connects to all tissues and organs in the body. As pointed out in “The Use of Tai Chi”, “Qi can enter Dantian, and Dantian is the general organ of qi, from which it is distributed to the limbs and bones to circulate throughout the body.” Therefore, if qi can enter Dantian, qi can be harmonized, and the smooth movement of Yingqi can be strengthened, and blood can be generated to nourish the limbs and bones. Therefore, Dantian is the most important place for gathering qi and condensing qi in traditional health preservation techniques. Tai Chi’s abdominal breathing can also be said to be Dantian breathing. In Tai Chi, chest and abdominal breathing is divided into two layers. The upper layer is chest breathing above the diaphragm, and the lower layer is abdominal breathing below the diaphragm. When the upper layer of acquired qi (external qi) is exhaled from the nose, the lower layer of innate qi (internal qi) is reversed and descends into the Dantian; when the acquired qi is inhaled from the nose, the innate qi is reversed and forced up from the Dantian, forming a state of contraction and relaxation of the lower abdomen, and maintaining a state of empty chest and solid abdomen.
Due to abdominal breathing, the up and down movement of the diaphragm is significantly increased, which not only changes the volume of the chest and abdominal cavities, increases lung capacity, and enhances the gas exchange capacity in the body, but also massages the internal organs in the chest and abdominal cavities, and makes the negative pressure in the chest cavity change greatly, pushing the internal organs up and down, so that the internal organs composed of involuntary muscles are also exercised and trained.
From the perspective of the physiological mechanism of exercise, when the diaphragm contracts from the beginning of inhalation to the complete relaxation of exhalation, the slow and long deep inhalation makes the diaphragm contraction period occupy most of the respiratory cycle, so that the ATP of the mitochondria in the tissue is decomposed into ADP, generating a lot of energy. Part of this energy is consumed as mechanical energy, and the other part is converted into a special form of energy to become the qi of the meridians and internal organs (internal qi), and circulates throughout the body with the blood vessels. Experiments have shown that long-term use of deep abdominal breathing has a significant effect on eliminating liver blood stasis and improving its function; it also has a good effect on improving blood circulation, dilating the coronary arteries of the heart, and strengthening myocardial nutrition.
- The regulation of human “spirit” by traditional Tai Chi
According to traditional Chinese medical theory, spirit can be divided into broad and narrow senses: the broad sense of spirit refers to the external manifestation of the entire human life activity, such as the spirit, bright eyes, loud speech, and quick response in looking at the spirit, which is called “having spirit” or “getting spirit”; the narrow sense of spirit refers to the mind dominated by the heart, that is, the spirit and thinking activities of the person.
Tai Chi exercise regulates the human “spirit” in two main aspects. One is the psychological self-regulation of the mental will to avoid excessive emotional stimulation, so as to achieve the purpose of health care and physical fitness. Second, physiologically, the central nervous system is regulated through conscious activities to achieve the purpose of strengthening the brain and prolonging the brain.
Psychologically, Tai Chi uses mental activities based on “intention” to drive physical movements to achieve self-control of mental will. The requirement of cleansing the mind before practicing Tai Chi and eliminating distracting thoughts with one thought is to use human will to resist the bad temptations of the external environment and overcome the stimulation of internal emotions, so as to concentrate the mind and “wait for action with stillness”.
During the exercise, willpower must be used to drive away various interferences in the body, and attention must be directed to stillness, movement, and artistic conception. At the same time, the time and space positions of the muscles and joints of the limbs in the completion of the action must be perceived, and the completed action and the original desire must be corrected to ensure the standardization of the body.
This kind of conscious psychological activity in Tai Chi enables individuals to compare, select and process new and old information in perception and memory. On the one hand, it ensures that the new stimulus information is responded to and the advantage phenomenon appears. On the other hand, it inhibits the incoming impulse of the original bad information and changes the bad stimulus of the original focus of attention, thereby improving the psychological tension, anxiety, depression and boredom, and stabilizing the nervous mood.
Therefore, after practicing Tai Chi, people will feel relaxed, the tension disappears, and the body is relaxed. The research results of the research group of the Wushu Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences show that long-term practice of Tai Chi will cause the human brain to enter a synchronized and orderly state dominated by a wave, and the power of a wave will increase several times, so that people can reach a highly tranquil awakening state, with clear demeanor, concentration, and memory recovery and enhancement. These changes are most obvious in the frontal lobe and parietal lobe of the brain. These two parts are exactly where the higher nervous system is in charge of the conscious activity area, and they have an important regulatory effect on other physiological functions of the human body.
Physiologically, Tai Chi emphasizes relaxation, tranquility and naturalness, which is a good self-regulation of physiological reactions caused by bad emotions. Civilized diseases in today’s society are mainly caused by excessive tension in the brain and excessive laziness in the limbs. The tension in life and work, and the high excitement of the corresponding areas of the cerebral cortex, can easily lead to excessive excitement of the sympathetic nerves, increased secretion of adrenaline, and relatively reduced excitability of the parasympathetic nerves, which are not conducive to normal physiological requirements and affect health.
Tai Chi emphasizes the characteristics of relaxed and natural movements, which can bring the human organism into a state of “relaxation response”. This state can create conditions for the central nervous system to automatically adjust the body’s functions, and transmit good information impulses to the high-polar central nervous system, inhibiting the activity of neurons and other neurons that originally emitted excitement, and weakening or terminating their reflex activities.
Tai Chi’s internal and external integration, upper and lower movements, coordination of the whole body, no stagnation, and continuous movement characteristics help to widely spread the excitability of the central nervous system, promote the secretion of insulin transmitters, inhibit the excitability of the thalamic emotional center and the tense activity of the sympathetic vasoconstriction center, stop the continuous electrochemical signals sent by the pituitary gland and the secretion of hormone transmitters such as adrenaline and norepinephrine from the pituitary gland into the blood, thereby promoting blood circulation.
The test and analysis of the electrocardiograms of intellectuals who insist on practicing Tai Chi by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences show that Tai Chi has many and obvious fitness functions. For example, it improves symptoms such as arrhythmia and conduction block, promotes blood supply and stimulates myocardial conduction in a unique way, prevents the occurrence of various heart diseases, and effectively regulates the self-regulatory activities of the human internal organs including the heart.
British scientists once conducted experiments on 126 heart disease patients, asking them to practice Tai Chi or do aerobic fitness exercises. The British Medical Association’s “Postgraduate Medical Journal” published the research report, claiming that both types of exercise can lower blood pressure, but only Tai Chi can significantly reduce blood pressure. The report shows that practicing Tai Chi can help heart patients recover as soon as possible. The functions of essence, qi and spirit in the human body are both independent and interconnected.
Tai Chi pursues the continuous transformation of essence, qi and spirit. It is a complementary process of transforming essence into qi, qi into spirit, spirit into qi, and qi into essence. It is in the continuous transformation of the three that the body’s metabolism is accelerated, the body’s vitality is cultivated, and the body’s ability to resist disease is enhanced.