Tai Chi wheelchair brings mobility, self-esteem, better health to practitioners

Tampa, Fla. (April 17, 2012) - An innovative 13-postures Tai Chi
designed for wheelchair users is described in the current issue of Technology and Innovation- Proceedings of the National Academy of InventorsR.

The innovation has brought the traditional Chinese martial and
healing arts to people with ambulatory impairment, thanks to the
technology and program developed by Zibin Guo, PhD, of the University of
Tennessee Chattanooga.

"Too often, social and cultural barriers discourage people with
physical disabilities from participating in fitness activities," said
Zibin Guo, PhD, who collaborated with the China Disabled People's
Federation and the 2008 Beijing Paralympics Committee to introduce the
Tai Chi Wheelchair at the 2008 Beijing Olympics/Paralympics Cultural
Festival. "Wheelchair Tai Chi can be practiced seated for those needing
simple, low-impact, upper-body exercise by integrating wheelchair motion
with the gentle, dynamic flowing movements of Tai Chi. It lifts the
spirit and give practitioners a sense of command of space."Read the full article:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-04/uosf-tcw041712.php