Bluestone takes Tai Chi classes twice weekly, and he says they enhance the effect of his medical treatment. "Tai Chi has been of great benefit to me," he says. He is not alone. Tai Chi classes have sprung up for seniors throughout the United States in recent years. Studies show that Tai Chi can improve posture and balance, prevent falls, and lower blood pressure.

The National Institute on Aging recommends that Tai Chi, which is "low tech" and "inexpensive, " be considered along with other techniques for preventing disability in later life. According to Bluestone's neurologist, Dr. Edward Wolpow, of the Harvard Medical School, Tai Chi is of special benefit to older people because "it makes them more aware of how they move." It may also encourage them to continue exercising because it makes them feel they are part of a special group. "Tai Chi seems exotic; it has a Chinese flair."

Breathing, movement and body awareness
Tai Chi was developed as a form of self-defense for Chinese monks, according to Dr. John Cheng, a family physician in California. It combined the movements of the snake and white crane in a fighting system based on the Taoist concept of Yin and Yang -- that is, the belief that good health results from the balance of positive and negative "life force" or "chi. " Taoist theory maintains that an imbalance or obstruction of "chi" is responsible for health problems. Tai Chi is designed to stimulate and balance the life force in the body, Cheng wrote in the June 1999 issue of The Physician and Sportsmedicine.

According to J. Wilson, Bluestone's instructor in Brookline, Mass., Tai Chi seeks to maintain "a balanced, unblocked energy flow" through exercises in proper breathing and movement.

In a recent class, Bluestone and two women in their 80s practiced slow, relaxed, continuous movements -- bending the knees, raising one arm to shoulder height and then the other. Next, they raised their arms overhead and rounded them, as if to encompass a large, invisible ball. These flowing movements are connected into choreographed patterns called "forms, " Wilson said. The forms are "energetically balanced" so that you work all your joints and move energy throughout your body. Hundreds of forms are practiced throughout the world.

More strength, fewer falls
Western research is beginning to corroborate the health benefits of Tai Chi. A study of 22 subjects with balance problems found that, regardless of age, participating in weekly Tai Chi classes for two months led to significant improvement on several tests used to measure balance. The study, of people aged 20 to more than 75, was published in the November 1999 issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery.

A study at Emory University in Atlanta, found that for Tai Chi participants aged 70 and over, the rate of falls was cut almost in half. In the study, published in the May 1996 Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 200 subjects were divided into three groups. One participated in Tai Chi; another received balance training using a computer-operated balance platform; and the third group maintained regular exercise habits and took part in weekly meetings on a variety of topics.

The most notable change was the reduced rate of falling for the Tai Chi group. The Tai Chi participants also took more deliberate steps and decreased their walking speed slightly, and their fear of falling was reduced. Increased strength, concentration and body awareness are among reasons suggested by Western researchers for the improvements.

A study at Johns Hopkins University suggests that Tai Chi may be just as effective as more conventional exercise in helping lower blood pressure. After 12 weeks, Tai Chi participants aged 60 to 80 who had been sedentary and obese lowered their systolic blood pressure almost as much as a comparable group that engaged in brisk walking and low-impact aerobics. Both groups exercised four times a week for 30 minutes each time, the researchers reported at a 1998 conference of the American Heart Association.

Classes for health
In her classes at Brookline Tai Chi, Wilson teaches the Wu method, which involves small motions and is known for its emphasis on alignment and health. Other centers may offer the Yang method, based on larger movements, or styles as Chen, Wu-Hao or Sun.

Cheng advises that to prevent injury, seniors should make sure that their Tai Chi classes are closely supervised and that the style being taught is oriented toward health rather than fighting skills.