My “I Hate to Exercise” Exercises

I've posted this before but it was 6 years ago and, since I have achieved such good results from this easy exercise regimen I thought you might want to read about it again. These are the warm up exercises for Tai Chi and I do them faithfully every morning. I have checked with Doctors and Physical Therapy people and they all agree that these exercises are perfect for elders and even those convalescing from injuries or sickness.

These are 18 exercises that are designed to relax and tone all the major joints in the body. It takes me about 12 minutes each morning, and, although they are deceptively simple, these basic exercises have proved to be remarkably beneficial. I found them (complete with illustrations) in a Simon & Schuster book called “Step by Step Tai Chi” by Master Lam Kam Chuen. You may even want to go on and do the whole program but the warm ups do it for me … and I love the colorful descriptions of the different exercises such as “paint the wall”, “circle the moon“, “play the accordion”, etc.

It is now over 15 years that I have been doing this and I can’t imagine starting my day without it. I have severe scoliosis and, although the curvature gets worse each year, I am able to keep it in check with this regimen. On the few occasions that I do miss I can tell it by early afternoon. My back starts to ache and I don’t have my usual energy level...and all of this just because I didn’t devote a few minutes of my precious time to doing what’s good for me!

GOOD LUCK and believe me, if I can do it you can too