I am tired of people thinking that Tai Chi is the miraculous drug that will cure all physical and mental health problems. When a Tai Chi teacher got a heart attack, it sort of drove home the point – a Tai Chi teacher is still a human being.

I didn’t do Tai Chi for its health benefits. I do it because it allows me to balance the paradoxes in life. I train hard at it because the line is so thin balancing the good and bad in life that holding that line takes tremendous effort.

I do understand marketing. I understand that a lot of people swear by the health benefits of Tai Chi. I think there could be some truth in that. But I rarely see real Tai Chi being practiced out there. So i have to surmise that there is a strong placebo effect of practicing Tai Chi. For most people, maybe it’s just the difference between taking some slow action versus sitting on the couch watching TV. For others, just the thought of doing Tai Chi could make them feel good about themselves. I think the placebo effect of Tai Chi is very real, so I wouldn’t discount that.

If we circle back to the health claims of Tai Chi, let’s just be clear. Your health is still dependent on a host of other factors e.g. diet, work, stress, relationship, your perception of life etc. Tai Chi does not make them all go away. What I think Tai Chi does is make all those seemingly unconnected issues rise to the surface, so that you can view them consciously and with a clear mind.

Know why you’re doing Tai Chi. That will determine how you train Tai Chi. If it doesn’t meet your purpose, I would suggest you stop doing it. Just don’t blame Tai Chi (or diet, or stress…) when it does not meet your purpose. You are the one taking action. Inaction is also an action. Blaming rarely helps. Just do something about it.