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by RyanPorter 5211 days ago
I signed up so that I could post that I strongly agree. I'm the CTO at a startup that depends way too heavily on me, and I use Tai Chi to stay sane. Tai Chi is about a lot of things but the part that keeps me sane is the meditative aspect of running my body through a "program" of movements, which requires a specific amount of attention. If your mind wanders during a Tai Chi form then you'll screw it up. And if you focus too MUCH then you'll also screw it up. So Tai Chi becomes a tool for practicing the mental state known as "flow".

Aside from it being a form of moving meditation for the mind, it helps the body, especially for a tech nerd. I began studying Tai Chi, I came near burnout partly because my body was always in a similar posture all week. I developed RSI in my neck and my shoulder from constantly tensing muscles to use a mouse or trackpad. If I worked through a weekend, or two in a row, then I might spend 20 or 30 days in a row with my shoulder tight. Tai Chi is not intense exercise, but it moves all of your muscles through their full range of motion. Simply having that "program" that I can run with my body eliminated my RSI. Even though I still have to spend way too much time at the keyboard.

1 comments

Nice timing with this post. Yesterday my thumb was twitching uncontrollably for half the day due to what looks like RSI and I was wondering what my options were. Thanks for the tip!