UAMS Oaklawn Center on Aging to Offer Tai Chi Classes Starting Sept. 19

By Ben Boulden

The ancient Chinese exercise/art of tai chi is proven to relieve stress, strengthen muscles and improve balance. Sun 73 competition form will be held 9-10 a.m. and beginning Tai Chi will be held 10-11 a.m.

Senior Tai Chi Trainer Jerry Matlock will teach Dr. Paul Lam’s Tai Chi for Arthritis program. Dr. Lam’s Tai Chi program is easy-to-learn, enjoyable and evidence based to improve health. For more information or to enroll in the free program, call the UAMS Oaklawn Center on Aging at 501-623-0020.

Matlock began studying and practicing Yang 24 form in 1994. He studied William C.C. Chen’s Yang 60 movement form at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, then began studying Dr. Lam’s Sun style tai chi program in 2009. A retired science teacher, Matlock continues to teach tai chi on a regular basis in Hot Springs and the surrounding area.

While exercise and being active is essential for good health, it is even more important for people with arthritis. Pain and stiffness of the joints tend to discourage and even limit people from exercising. However, without exercise, joints become stiffer and muscles weaker, which will lead to further pain and stiffness. Exercise keeps bones, muscles and joints healthy, thus improving flexibility and muscular strength. Exercise improves the circulation of blood and body fluids through muscles, tendons and joints. Better circulation will aid the healing process.

Not all exercises are suitable for people with arthritis. An effective exercise program should have low risk of injury while increasing flexibility, strengthening muscles and improving cardiorespiratory fitness. Tai Chi for Arthritis can accomplish this and more.

Senior Trainer for Tai Chi for Arthritis Jerry Matlock

The Oaklawn Center on Aging is a program of the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, and is funded by the Oaklawn Foundation.

UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a northwest Arkansas regional campus; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 2,870 students, 799 medical residents and six dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS and its regional campuses throughout the state, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.