Tai chi has improved his health and his golf game, said Jim Emanuel, 58, who owns a financial planning company in Mt. Lebanon.

Jim had open heart surgery at St. Clair hospital six years ago, and still goes there once a week for physical therapy. While recuperating from his surgery, he took a six-week introductory class in tai chi and discovered he liked it.

"It's very enjoyable," Jim Emanuel said. "What I like about it best is that in my business I'm competitive all the time. This [when he's practicing tai chi] is a time when I can just step back and enjoy the moment."

"It's really improved my golf game," he added. "I probably drive 30 yards further off the tee."

Ellen Kerr, 57, of West Deer has been practicing tai chi for two years.

"I'd heard about it and thought it would fit into who I am," Ms. Kerr said. "I'm not into speed. It requires mental ability, and it exercises every joint."

"A byproduct is my aches and pains are pretty much gone," Ms. Kerr added. "I used to have trouble with my neck and knees. Not any more."

Jennifer Burke, 38, of Regent Square, has been practicing tai chi for 10 years.

"I started doing it because there was no physical exercise I could do, my asthma was so bad," she said. "Now my asthma is pretty much gone."

Ms. Burke takes three tai chi classes a week, and practices on her own for about an hour a day.

"It doesn't feel like work," she said. "It's a relaxing, gentle exercise."

Dave Whaley, 72, of Deutschtown, has been practicing tai chi for three years. It helps him with his balance, and keeps his body more flexible, he said.

"I've had some falls," Mr. Whaley said. "I notice I can't change my posture quickly."

Mr. Emanuel, Ms. Kerr, Ms. Burke and Mr. Whaley attend the "all levels" tai chi class offered Thursday evenings at the Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church at 1110 Resaca Place in the Mexican War Streets neighborhood. The class is conducted by David Clippinger, proprietor of Still Mountain Tai Chi and Chi Kung. Dr. Clippinger, who is a Buddhist monk with a Ph.D. in English, has taught the gentle martial art for 11 years.

"It's low impact," Dr. Clippinger said. "There isn't any stress on any of the joints. The breathing exercises bolster the immune system and lower blood pressure. Often my older students find it is life-changing and wish they had begun it earlier in their lives."

Bill White, 38, who manages Rothrock's Kung Fu and Tai Chi academy's main location at 2340 E. Carson St., South Side, teaches tai chi classes at four area retirement homes.

"Tai chi is one of the best things senior citizens can do simply because it's based on natural body motion," Mr. White said. "It uses no impact motion exercises along with breathing. People can do it sitting. We have plenty of people who do it in wheelchairs."

Tai chi has been shown to reduce symptoms in older women who suffer from mild to moderate osteoarthritis, said K.K. Teh, a licensed acupuncturist who teaches tai chi at UPMC's Center for Integrative Medicine in Shadyside.

Another study indicates tai chi can reduce outbreaks of shingles (a rash or blisters caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox) in people over 60, Mr. Teh said.

Tai chi chuan ("grand ultimate fist") is one of the oldest of the martial arts, developed by Buddhist monks in China about 1,000 years ago.

According to legend, tai chi began when Chang San Feng saw a snake hissing at a crane in a tree. When the bird attacked the snake with his beak, the crane was unable to land a solid blow because the snake twisted and dodged and was always out of reach. From this Chang learned the value of yielding in the face of strength. He developed a martial art that utilized the grace and skill of the coiling snake.

Some describe tai chi as kung fu in slow motion. Others say it is more accurately described as a moving meditation. There are five major styles, and more than 100 possible positions. When practiced regularly, tai chi improves balance, flexibility and lung capacity, and relieves stress and anxiety.

"There really isn't a lot of evidence that tai chi is a better exercise than other forms of exercise," said Dr. Barbara Swan, a physiatrist (also called rehabilitation physician) at Allegheny General Hospital. "But my feeling is, if it gets people exercising, it's great!"

• Dr. Clippinger offers beginning, intermediate and advanced courses every day except Friday and Sunday at the Still Mountain studio in Mt. Lebanon. For more information, call: 412-480-9177.

• Rothrock's offers tai chi classes for both adults and children at its South Side and Wexford locations. Call 412-381-6160 or 724-940-0120.

• UPMC's Center for Integrative Medicine in Shadyside offers beginner, intermediate and advanced tai chi classes on Tuesdays. Call 412-623-3023 for more information.