I teach a lot of Tai chi to elderly people, and the most common reason people come to tai chi is to improve their balance.
As people get older, falling over becomes more of an issue and the consequences of falling also increase.
A lot of elderly people also have osteoporosis, or decreased bone density, and so the chances of broken bones and being hospitalised also increases.
30% of people over 65 will fall once a year and for those over 80 this rises to 50%. Over the next 17 years there will be 16 million people aged over 65 in the UK. (Royal College of Nursing)
So we can see that preventing falls and the accompanying strain on peoples lives and the NHS is a great idea.
In 2014 Harvard Medical School published a study that found 12 weeks of tai chi improved peoples balance, strength and stability. You can read about it here.
This is nothing new to me. I have seen Tai chi improve peoples balance countless times over the last 10 years.
It does take time, and practice, but the rewards are well worth the effort.
I teach tai chi at age concern in Hassocks and also now at the 60 plus club at Seaford.
Hi Jeremy
Hope all is well with you.
I was in your Intermediate class at Age Concern Hassocks, 2pm, Mondays, last year. Guess I fell off your email list (or gave you wrong email address?) and due to lockdowns, etc. hadn’t contacted you since.
According to my diary, I last attended on Mon 9 February 2020, which started the next session of 4 classes, for which I paid £20, and did not return, unfortunately. Over last year or so, arthritis seems more restricting and I cannot rely on walking down to Age Concern and back after class. (I do have a zoom exercise class).
Added to this, have to move urgently due to owner selling my rented bungalow.
Sorry to ask : Would you be able to refund me the unused 3 weeks from 16 Feb2020?
Meanwhile, much appreciation for your teaching – try to do what I can remember!
Best wishes
Felicity