Ages ago, I bought one of those local daily deals for a gym down the street from my house — 10 group fitness classes for $15! And no gym membership required! It was too good a deal to pass up.
I know it's so cliché this time of year. I'm not one of those people who makes resolutions to get in shape or whatnot. It's completely by coincidence that I just now found time to actually go to these classes. I don't like most forms of exercise, but I like taking classes and dancing and things that don't feel like working out.
So one of the classes this gym offered was Tai Chi. And I had never tried it before, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
And after one class ... I'm not really sure why it counts as exercise. I mean, I understand why yoga and Pilates count (and I actually really like Pilates), but Tai Chi was basically a lot of swaying back and forth and moving your arms in different ways. Sure, I was moving the whole class, but it wasn't sweat-inducing, it wasn't difficult, and other than maybe being relaxing, I don't see how it provides much body benefit. In other words ... it didn't feel enough like exercise? Which goes against everything I already said about exercising.
Have you tried tai chi? Am I missing something?
I joined in on a tai chi class when I studied abroad in Thailand (because when in rome...), and I've gotta tell ya, I'm right with you. At least in yoga you're stretching and strengthening your core. I think it's something about centering yourself or whatever, but I don't get it either.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly how I felt, at least Pilates and yoga require strength and balance!
DeleteI like tai chi, but wouldn't really consider it exercise either. More relaxtion/stretching/blood circulation than calorie burn. Some routines are quite fancy though!
ReplyDelete