WHSNewLife
Using Tai Chi to Help Manage Your Body After Gastric Bypass
Apr 14, 2016
Gastric bypass is a tool to aid the patient in learning to manage his or her body – the food we put into it and the physical demands we make of it – all oriented toward the goal of successfully managing our weight, and our health and happiness. I believe my success with weight loss and ongoing weight management is directly tied to the concept of learning to become the manager of myself – of putting my body in the exact positions it needs to gain the nutrition it demands to run my body and brain.
One resource that I have found very useful and would highly recommend is the study of tai chi. Often described as meditation in motion, tai chi is an ancient Chinese tradition that today is practiced as a non-competitive, self-paced system of gentle physical exercise and stretching. Tai chi utilizes gentle, flowing movements performed in a slow, focused way, accompanied by deep breathing. Each posture flows into the next without pause, ensuring that your body is in constant motion.
Tai chi is low impact and puts minimal stress on muscles and joints, making it generally safe for all ages and fitness levels. It is an ideal form of exercise for those who haven’t ever exercised or who, because of their weight and physical condition, are unable to undertake other forms of exercise.
Benefits of tai chi include:
- Increased flexibility, balance and agility
- Increased muscle strength and definition
- Increased energy and stamina
And there’s also evidence to support it may:
- Enhance sleep quality
- Lower cholesterol and blood pressure
- Enhance the immune system
So, How Can Tai Chi Help You Manage Your Journey to Fitness?
In addition to the pure physical benefits derived from the movement of tai chi, I’ve found that the discipline of learning to put my body into exact and specific positions of tai chi has provided me with a skill set that I easily translate to managing my diet and nutritional needs:
- The principles of tai chi can be applied to help me plan what to put into my body and when I eat
- The discipline of practicing tai chi helps me maintain discipline in not only what I eat but how, where, and when I exercise
- The balance tai chi provides helps me balance my life-style activities to make sure I’m paying the proper attention to maintaining my healthy weight through diet and exercise
I think the lesson is this: When you learn to master one aspect of yourself, such as placing yourself in tai chi positions, you learn a lot about managing other aspects of your life as well – all to your greater good.
