Has anyone else tried this. I have just started and I do feel better after 30 minutes even though it feels I am not doing much.
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Good for you! I know it’s supposed to help kick in the parasympathetic system to reduce stress and increase the fine motor control that we lose with age.
Thanks Surfman. I will carry on with it. It is easy for me to do as some exercise classes are a bit too much.
Hi Ember 
I think anything that keeps our bodies active is a very good thing and that includes gentle stretching excercise like Tai Chi.
I was just about to start taking part in a new class last March, you can guess what happened to that 
Maybe one day I will get to join again…
I struggled with it before I got my new knees. It was all standing so ended up being too painful. I might go back to it though.
My wife would do it it and swear by it
My wife has found it very good after her hip replacement. We have also found new friends from this activity. It can be as strenuous or gentle as suits your situation. It is not just physical but also mentally stimulating.
I used to do Tai Chi, and I’ve been mulling over when it was after reading this thread. I’ve finally narrowed it down to about 12 yrs ago. (:surprised:)
I enjoyed it, but yet I didn’t enjoy it. I think it was because it was all too slow for me, too gentle perhaps. Anyway, it was at the local church, as they tended to be then, and sadly the lady who ran the group had to call it a day through ill health. So that was the end of that. I think I did it for about 3 mths.
Not sure I would want to do it again - but I do enjoy watching the three pandas in whatever advert it is, doing it 
Hi
Immensely succesful in Asia.
Nothing wrong with it at all.
If you cannot stretch you cannot do the more energetic forms of exercise.
My Tai Chi lady is a silver haired , slim 81 year old and immensely fanciable.
I’m with Pesta on this - I love the idea but like Yoga, its a bit slow for me. Not that I’m a frantic exerciser by any means, but I like to feel as if I’m burning up energy. Having said that, I am intrigued by you saying (Ember, that is) that you feel better despite not thinking you are doing much. So I might give it another go
Hi
If you cannot stretch you cannot exercise.
Speed is everything.
I used to go to elementary Tai Chi every week before the lockdown and l loved it.
I did the Crane and other moves l can’t think of the names of.
When l went shopping after the class, l found myself holding onto the trolley whilst standing on one leg with my other leg resting on my knee! I only did it if the aisle was empty!
I also did some Tai Chi in the mornings down by my chicken coops. Especially, the moves where you make a sort of a square with your hands and look through it.
I did some stretching this morning and a few yoga poses. It did make a difference, I admit. This lockdown has really made me a bit stiffer than I would like.
I disagree with Swim’s comment about if you can’t stretch, you can’t exercise, because there are still lots of things we can do, Pixie. Nothing to do with speed whatsoever, either.
In fact yoga is not done speedily at all.
It depends on what people think stretching is too, daft as that sounds. 
It doesn’t have to be all the weird and wonderful positions you see some people attempting at all, even getting a tin of beans out the cupboard, or putting your shoes/socks on, or combing your hair involves gentle stretches!
You could also do some Yoga breathing exercises, too.
I believe there are about 8 types of breathing exercise we can practice.
There are more exercises we can easily do just by sitting down and raising the hands and arms to shoulder hight, or sitting down and doing head and neck exercises - again, lots to choose from.
So perhaps you can see why I don’t agree with Swim’s comment about can’t stretch - can’t exercise!
It is just a matter of knowing how.
Yes, Mups…I’m still stretching, but now I have the allotment, its quite physical work so I feel like I’m really exercising now, so that’s good. Plus I power walk there and back…oh I’ll be like an eel come the Summer!
That sounds plenty of exercise to me, Pixie.
Well done. You’ll also get a lovely tan this summer down on that allotment. 
I know what you mean about enjoying it but not enjoying it. In my case it was back in 1991. We were going through an adventurous phase with friends and I was also doing kick boxing classes at the time (!). The tai chi was annoying because the instructor would go around “correcting” us. So we had to wait for “corrections” when in a pose. I found that very controlling but then I felt the same way in Le Roc classes.
I might give it another go using you tube and maybe it will be more fun. But at the time it wasn’t as much fun as I thought it would be.
Oh I did kick boxing for a while too…I loved it! That correcting while in a pose sounds SO infuriating!
Ahhh kick boxing - the gift that keeps on giving you muscles in places you didn’t realise muscles existed!
I was a lightweight especially doing the exercise where you stand back to back and then lift someone onto your back while doing squats! But one of my best mates carried on for years, even went skiing with the kick boxing crowd. They were a nice bunch. Some a bit obsessed with the whole philosophy. But a nice crowd. Also very fit!
I’m going to try doing tai chi. It would be really cool to do it in the garden and impress the nosy neighbours. I think my original inspiration was watching Patrick Swayze in Road House! :-D:-D I was the one dragging my friends to all these classes then packing it in myself after a few half hearted tries.
Oh I didn’t try that one! I had to do some weird thing whereby I lay on the ground and someone chucked a medicine ball at me and I had to catch it on the way up. Kind of like extreme sit ups! I had a fab stomach but its gone a bit soft since then, heh!