We live in stressful times; better communications and transport mean that we can be reached 24 hours a day. We really never seem to get a moment to ourselves and we get stressed. Stress can interfere with sleeping patterns and our ability to cope with the things that life throws at us and over time it can even damage our health.

So it's good to know that an ancient Chinese system of exercises called tai chi can help reduce stress and improve your overall sense of wellbeing.

With its slow, soft, continuous and relaxed movements, tai chi is very different from most common exercise programs with their focus on strenuous workouts and working up a sweat.

In spite of that, the gentle, slow, stretching and circling movements exercise more muscles than any other type of exercise - including swimming. When performed correctly your posture improves as the muscles support the bones in their proper alignment.

Tai chi encourages physical relaxation by using slow movements coordinated with controlled deep breathing which enables the body to disperse stress toxins and achieve what is know as the "relaxation response". The relaxation response has been shown to reduce cortisol production, decrease anxiety and improve blood flow to the skin (which is good for keeping wrinkles at bay).

From the mental perspective the relaxation response improves your mood reducing tension, depression and confusion.

At the same time as these physical benefits, tai chi also promotes The mental clarity and calmness invoked by tai chi is easy to understand when you think about the normal state of our minds. We tend to think about what we are doing next, the shopping list and hundreds of other things. As a result our mind gets no rest. And we also tend to focus on the areas of life that concern us - often forgetting to take into account the good things.

Tai chi changes all that. Although each tai chi move is simple and gentle you have to focus on coordinating upper and lower body movements and your breathing while also ensuring smooth and flowing transition from one move to the next. The mind becomes totally absorbed in your practice and you forget about all the little stuff. Effectively, keeping your attention the body and movements and letting go of distracting is a fundamental principle of many relaxation relaxation techniques.

And perhaps the best thing about tai chi is that unlike the more vigorous exercises you actually leave a class feeling relaxed and refreshed with more energy to face the day. Summing up, o Tai Chi is an exercise which emphasizes focus, gentle movement which makes it an ideal exercise for people of all ages and fitness who are looking to reduce their stress levels. And did I mention that it is fun?

What more can an exercise system do for you. Try a couple of exercises today.