Self-Reported Benefits of T’ai Chi Practice by Older Women

Self-rated health is a powerful and consistent predictor of self-care capability and health outcomes including mobility, morbidity, and mortality. Exercise is important for health and functioning of older adults. Although daily physical activity is advocated for reducing many health risks and maintaining mobility, older women are generally not heeding the message. Exercise interventions for older women should be age appropriate. T’ai chi, an ancient Chinese martial art, involves an integration of the mind and body in slow, circular movements and changes in the center of gravity. Although there is a growing body of literature on the health benefits of t’ai chi exercises, few studies focus on the self-assessment of health benefits of t’ai chi for older women. This within-participants, single-factor study of women aged 72 to 96 years resulted in statistically significant improvement in self-assessed health as well as numerous self-reported benefits after 3 months of t’ai chi exercise participation.