If you're new to Tai Chi practice, or martial arts in general, you've probably found that there's a lot you need to develop about your body - some of which you might not have even been aware of before you began your practice. This article will give you some exercises to work on a couple of areas - one to help you with relaxation and releasing body tension and and a few others to help you develop the leg strength that you need to be successful in the martial arts.

Body Bouncing and Shaking

Body bouncing and shaking is exactly what it sounds like. Stand, let your body relax as much as possible, bend slightly at the knees, and bounce and shake your whole body. It is really very simple, thought you might never have thought to do it before. To make the exercise even more effective, it will help you to begin the movement from the feet.

Body bouncing not only helps you to release excess tension but also helps to clear energy blockages. As you do the exercise, you may notice areas that do not easily release the tension. Focus on these areas and continue to bounce and shake your whole body until these areas are clear of tension.

It will also help if you have a good time while you are doing the exercise. Laugh and enjoy the exercise. Humans are not the only creatures who practice body bouncing and shaking. If you watch your dog or cat, you will see that they also regularly shake their bodies. In fact many animals practice something like body bouncing and shaking in order to get rid of excess tensions. If you go to the zoo, watch the animals and see how many of them you can spot doing this exercise!

Strengthen Your Legs

If you recently began Tai Chi, you will have noticed that the martial art requires a lot more leg strength than what you ordinarily might have. Luckily, there are ways you can build leg strengthening exercises into your daily routines. Here are three simple techniques to help strengthen your legs.

1. Modify Your Tai Chi Set. As you practice your forms, start doing them lower to the ground. In order to hold your body up, you will have to use a lot more leg strength. At the same time, slow down the speed of your set. This will add another level of difficulty to your exercises. If you do your set lower and slower, you should definitely break a sweat by the time you are done! (Although this will strengthen your legs, make sure you keep proper structural alignment throughout. If you don't, you run the risk of injury.)

2. One Slow Squat. This exercise can fit the schedule of even the busiest person. It only takes a minute at most! Do one squat. That's all you have to do. But here's the catch: you have to make it last the whole minute. That means 30 seconds down and 30 seconds back up. It can be harder than it seems. As you start out, you might have to settle for a 40 second squat where you spend 20 seconds going down and another 20 seconds going up. But eventually you can work up to spending a whole minute doing only one really slow squat. The key to this exercise is to make sure to do one every day and that way, over time, your legs will build the strength you need.

3. Just Use Your Legs More. Modern society has thought of many clever ways to get you off your feet. Cars, chairs, and elevators are all very convenient. Unfortunately, they don't help you develop strong legs. Now it's your turn to figure out how to use your legs more. You don't have to bike to work - though that might help - but pay close attention to what you do during each day and look for any times you aren't using your legs when you could be. Never lean over to reach something. Instead do a squat. Stop sitting down to eat, watch TV, work on the computer or whatever. Instead pick a low stance, any one you like, and use that instead for as long as you can.

There are many many other exercises that you can use in addition to these if you have the time, but if you are busy, these simple exercises can greatly increase your relaxation and can help you build an incredible amount of leg strength while only taking up a few extra minutes of your day.