Q: Matt, I’m excited to get rolling your new courses on tai chi and warrior walking but I have a quick question if you don’t mind my asking. How is it that these sort of practices can strengthen your body and improve the health of your joints? It seems to me that you can’t get stronger unless you’re lifting weights.

A: Last night I went to the gym to use the sauna. A man entered the locker room when I was getting undressed. He was about my age. And he started talking, “I hate working out but I have to do it.” I didn’t reply but he continued anyway. “When you’re getting old, everything gets pulled down.”

This is not the case with tai chi. It’s not the only thing I do, but regardless I never say, “I hate working out.” I love exercising because everything I do is designed to make my body feel good.

Tai chi helps counter the gravitational droop. You stretch your spine up and down, simultaneously, and this alone begins to strengthen and heal the body.

There is a positive trickle-down effect from the spine that flows into all the joints of the body. Your thinking and creativity improve. When you move in a circular, spiral-like manner instead of a linear, push-pull manner, your joints release the cobwebs and congestion, and you restore youthfulness.

Badass Tai Chi – it does your body and your mind more good than you can compute.

Matt Furey