Customer Reviews

Tai Chi Exercises for Seniors

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a wonderful video for seniors. It has warm up, flexibility exercises, chi-gung energy exercises, T'ai-chi exercises, T'ai-chi form. There is so much here. And unlike some videos, the teacher speaks clearly, shows everything very clearly and even explains the importance of proper breathing and the principles behind T'ai-chi - how it improves your health. It would be wonderful if every senior used this video. A lot of the exercises are shown from a seated position so you don't even need to stand up. Get this video for a senior you know.

I bought this video for my 82 year old mother-in-law who is quite active despite severe arthritis, but beginning to slow down rather alarmingly.

The short form is broken down into exercises that are easy to follow and quite relaxing, however if you are buying the tape for someone who is hard of hearing, I don't recommend it unless you plan to exercise with them and they are comfortable in admitting that they cannot make out many of the verbal instructions, all of which are quite important to doing the exercises correctly. Though she has top of the line hearing aids, the nature of the sound track makes it difficult to distinquish many of the instructions over the background music and white noise.

Other than that, I highly recommend the tape. Though the exercises appear to be easy to a 45 year old such as myself, they seem to be at just the right level to challenge an elder without wearing him or her out. Though I feel refreshed after completing the exercises, she is tired, but still up for a walk. Another feature that I truly appreciated was the total lack of condescension expressed by the instructor toward those who may have trouble doing some of the exercises as he suggests easier alternatives.

This would be a great present for any senior. The exercises are easy to do, they are presented clearly with lots of helpful health tips and there are a great variety of exercises. This will keep seniors loose, flexible and strong. (I am not a senior but tried the exercises. I think they are great for anyone). It's a shame the way many seniors degenerate so quickly. If they practiced exercises like these, they could stay active throughout their lives. And as I said, it wouldn't hurt for us youngins to stay flexible.

I saw this video in a friend's house. He used to not get out much and this video got him moving and now he does gardening and takes walks, which is unusual for him. He insisted that I take a look at the video. It gives flexibility and warm-up exercises, chi-gung, T'ai-chi movements as exercise and it shows a simple Yang style form from two angles. This is enough for most seniors. It is the perfect introduction to how to keep your body in great shape at any age. Many of the exercises are also shown seated. I think this video could really help a lot of people.

I was looking for a suitable tai chi exercise video for my parents. This is definite not what I was expecting. I can't really rate the content of the video because I couldn't hear the narration. The loud Chinese background music completely obscured the narrated instructions. What I could make out, seemed very rushed and difficult to follow. I already returned the video.

I received this video today. I purchased it based on the glowing reviews I'd read here. Let me say I thought the instruction was fine: very clear, slow, easy to follow (4 stars for that). Unfortunately the video itself I would rate no higher than a good amateur production. The quality and clarity of the video and sound were fine. However it looks like it was shot in a carpet warehouse - two oriental carpets on the floor (which he has to straighten out at times because they curl up) and possibly a large one behind as a backdrop! But even that's OK. The most annoying thing is that on a number of occasions when he is describing a new move/exercise they zoom into his face and you can't see what he is doing with his hands/feet. At other times when he is discussing body alignment they stay focused on his legs and you miss the arm movements.
Overall: instruction is fine, setting could be better, but some of the camera work is really annoying.

As a learning tool for beginners this video fails. The first 20 minutes are spent on the same kind of stretching and warm-ups you did in gym class or can read about for free anywhere. He then does 10 minutes of chigung warms ups, which are simply more slow stretching (and better presented in any book). Next theres a 10 minute demonstration moves from the short form, all seen from the front and not structured for the beginner. When he finally gets around to the form there's one runthru (front only, no replay) of about 6 minutes, and that it - 40 minutes of warmup for one demo. The production values are crummy, looks like the whole thing was shot on a home camcorder with poor focus. Having taught martial arts for years I can tell you that few beginners will get the moves from presentations like this. As a learning video for people of any age this video is poor, but putting "for seniors" in the title to hook novices or their caregivers is cheating. Save your money !

Please note that there was one bad batch of these videos with a low voice volume. This has been corrected and anyone with such a video can e-mail me for a free replacement (bobklein@villagenet.com). My purpose in producing this video was to provide several groups of T'ai-chi related exercises for seniors, including loosening up, warm ups, chi-gung, T'ai-chi movements as exercise and a short, 14 movement T'ai-chi Yang form. I have been teaching T'ai-chi to seniors for 25 years and this video is the result of their suggestions for a video for them. Many of the exercises are shown from a seated position. Sincerely, Bob Klein

This a great all around series of exercises for seniors. My video was great quality and was presented in a way that was simple to understand and follow. Mr. Klein explains each exercise with a "relaxed patience". You can fill your week by doing a few of the exercises each day. I think it's great for non-seniors like me, too, but I got the tape for my mother and she loves it.