Are you bored with exercising and looking for something different to keep you active?

Try something that's been around since the 15th century, and you just may improve your balance and health and clear the cobwebs from your brain.

Along with yoga, tai chi is one of the fastest growing fitness and health maintenance activities, judging from the throngs of students enrolling in classes in such diverse places as churches, community groups, YMCAs and hospitals, according to fitness experts at the American Institute for Cancer Research.

Tai chi - pronounced tie chee and described as "meditation in motion" - is an ancient Chinese exercise that teaches slow, gentle movements. For people who practice regularly, tai chi appears to improve balance and strength.

It can also burn excess calories leading to overweight and higher risk for cancer.

The federal government's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine says many people who practice tai chi do so to improve one or more aspects of their health and to stay healthy. 

But health experts don't fully know what changes occur in the body during tai chi, whether they influence health, and, if so, how. The center is sponsoring studies to find out more about tai chi's effects, how it works, and diseases and conditions for which it may be most helpful. 

As with any exercise program, people should talk to their doctors first before starting tai chi, according to the center. But some people are sold on tai chi's benefits: "With slow movements as fluid as silk, the gentle Chinese practice of tai chi seems tailor-made for easing sore joints and muscles," an article in Arthritis Today says.

No wonder it's becoming increasingly popular as a basic exercise program and a complement to other healthcare methods.

Poetry in motion 

Tai chi is so gentle that it's hard to believe it is actually a martial art. The names of some of the exercises are poetic: waving hand in the cloud or pushing the mountain.

But like other Asian martial arts, such as judo and karate, tai chi cultivates calm focus of the mind required to breathe correctly while doing the exercises. Along with deep breathing, tai chi includes techniques that calm the mind. Good posture and balance are practiced, resulting in stronger muscles.

According to the Mayo Clinic, research shows tai chi may help you:

•  Reduce anxiety and depression;

•  Improve balance and coordination, reducing the number of falls;

•  Improve sleep quality, such as staying asleep longer at night and feeling more alert during the day;

•  Slow bone loss in women following menopause;

•  Reduce high blood pressure;

•  Improve cardiovascular fitness;

•  Relieve chronic pain;

•  Improve everyday physical functioning.

A bird and a snake

Many different schools and styles of tai chi exist. Most pattern their movements on agility observed in animals. Legend has it that a 15th-century monk, Chang San-Feng, watched a fight between a bird and a snake. He observed how the yielding movements of the snake could overcome the stiff attack movements of the bird.

The bird was allowed to use up its energy in attacking, which the snake dodged. When the bird was exhausted, the snake fought back and won.

You may not be as nimble as animals, but you can still practice tai chi exercises. The Mayo Clinic suggests that to gain the full benefits of tai chi and reduce the small risk of injury, you should learn the correct way to do the postures and movements, preferably through a trained teacher rather than a book or videotape.

Strict attention to your body position and breathing are critical.

Tai chi sampler

Here are examples of two simple tai chi exercises:

•  Leg strengthener. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and knees slightly bent, with arms rounded in front of you as though you were hugging a tree. Keep your back straight and limbs soft while holding this position for as long as you can.

At first, you may stand with your back lightly against a wall to keep your balance until you get the hang of the exercise. Your leg, arm and back muscles are strengthened by performing this exercise for a few minutes each day.

•  Spine warm-up. A second easy tai chi exercise involves standing with your feet approximately 24 inches apart and legs slightly bent.

Turn from the waist and keep your hip bones facing forward and still. Swing your arms loosely from side to side, with your shoulders and head gently following. Do this for several minutes while breathing deeply and slowly.

You'll find tai chi classes at your local county recreation departments, YMCAs, churches, community centers and even through some health maintenance organizations.

You also can find books and videotapes on tai chi in your library and bookstores.