No pain, big gains published in Harvard Medical School Publications

No pain, big gains

Although tai chi is slow and gentle and doesn't leave you breathless, it addresses the key components of fitness — muscle strength, flexibility, balance, and, to a lesser degree, aerobic conditioning. Here's some of the evidence:
Muscle strength. In a 2006 study published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Stanford University researchers reported benefits of tai chi in 39 women and men, average age 66, with below-average fitness and at least one cardiovascular risk factor. After taking 36 tai chi classes in 12 weeks, they showed improvement in both lower-body strength (measured by the number of times they could rise from a chair in 30 seconds) and upper-body strength (measured by their ability to do arm curls).
In a Japanese study using the same strength measures, 113 older adults were assigned to different 12-week exercise programs, including tai chi, brisk walking, and resistance training. People who did tai chi improved more than 30% in lower-body strength and 25% in arm strength — almost as much as those who participated in resistance training, and more than those assigned to brisk walking.
"Although you aren't working with weights or resistance bands, the unsupported arm exercise involved in tai chi strengthens your upper body," says internist Dr. Gloria Yeh, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. "Tai chi strengthens both the lower and upper extremities and also the core muscles of the back and abdomen."

Flexibility. Women in the 2006 Stanford study significantly boosted upper- and lower-body flexibility as well as strength.
Balance. Tai chi improves balance and, according to some studies, reduces falls. Proprioception — the ability to sense the position of one's body in space — declines with age. Tai chi helps train this sense, which is a function of sensory neurons in the inner ear and stretch receptors in the muscles and ligaments. Tai chi also improves muscle strength and flexibility, which makes it easier to recover from a stumble. Fear of falling can make you more likely to fall; some studies have found that tai chi training helps reduce that fear.
Aerobic conditioning. Depending on the speed and size of the movements, tai chi can provide some aerobic benefits. But in the Japanese study, only participants assigned to brisk walking gained much aerobic fitness. If your clinician advises a more intense cardio workout with a higher heart rate than tai chi can offer, you may need something more aerobic as well.

5 Finger Qigong for Relaxation

Several of my students have been requesting this short video, so here it is again:

I found this guided 5 minute video on youtube which is a quick Qigong meditation.. very relaxing.
5 Finger Qigong for Relaxation & Relief from Anxiety 

70% of falls in elderly shown to be incorrect weight shifting

Another great reason to practice Tai Chi!

"TORONTO - Falls among seniors are a major cause of disability and death, but knowing what led to a split-second fall can often be difficult to figure out after a person is found sprawled on the ground.
So researchers used strategically placed video cameras in long-term care facilities to capture spills among residents so they could analyze the mechanics of various falls, with the goal of improving prevention.
"We've known for a long time that falls are the number 1 cause of injury in older adults, including 90 per cent of hip fractures and 60 per cent of head injuries. They're also the number 1 cause of injury-related deaths," said Stephen Robinovitch, a researcher at Simon Fraser University who specializes in injury prevention and mobility biomechanics.
"So there's been a great deal of research focusing on the cause of falls, prevention of falls and fall-related injuries," Robinovitch, who led the study published in this week's issue of the Lancet, said from Burnaby, B.C. "But really up until now, we've had no objective evidence on how and why these events occur."
To get a better sense of what happens when someone takes a tumble, researchers set up video cameras in hallways, public dining halls and lounges in two B.C. long-term care residences. They analyzed recordings of 227 falls involving 130 individuals, separating the falls into three stages: initiation, descent and impact.
"So what we found was that about 20 per cent of falls were due to trips and 10 per cent were due to being bumped or nudged by someone else, or hit by a door closing," he said.
"But the remaining 70 per cent — and the reason why we think falls are so common in this population of frailer individuals in long-term care — they basically occurred during a failed attempt at performing daily activities like walking, sitting down and even just standing quietly.
"And they were most often due to what we call incorrect weight shifting," he said, explaining that the person leaned too far past their centre of gravity, losing their base of support between the feet and the ground.

Read  the rest on Global News: Global News | Videotaping shows most falls among elderly due to incorrect weight-shifting: study