Perhaps it was the Celebrex commercial, featuring nimble people in orange jackets practicing Tai Chi outdoors. Or, the thousands of baby boomers who today are looking for a healthy way to ease on down the road of life.

Maybe it’s because Tai Chi has so very many styles: Chen. Sun. Yang. Wu. Hao. Hu Lei. Zhao Bao. Whoa.

Whatever the reason, the martial art called Tai Chi has become the fastest-growing exercise in America, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association.

“Tai Chi just reached a tipping point,” said author Arthur Rosenfeld. “It is popping up everywhere.

Consider Tai Chi another tool in your fitness work chest. Proceed cautiously and take the time to understand this eclectic exercise. It could help you keep your equilibrium in the face of whatever life serves your way. It may even help you sleep.

At age 71, Patricia Honsberger finds time weekly to stand like a golden rooster, one of the Tai Chi movements that works the abdominal muscles. She heads out — like clockwork — every Tuesday morning to pick up her mother Alice Eidenier for their Tai Chi class. Honsberger thought Tai Chi would help with the arthritis pain suffered by her 94-year-old mother.

“Tai Chi has been the thing for us,” said Honsberger, who recently returned from a Tai Chi cruise to Mexico. “Otherwise, I would have to go on some quiet hikes. It’s hard looking after a mother who is in pain all the time.”

Tai Chi’s exercise involves prolonged movements, requiring muscles to keep working for long periods of time. Breathing enhances these movements and helps to increase the joint’s range of motion. When you least expect it, all of this kicks in for balance and strength — to prevent a fall, for example. That’s why this martial art has traditionally been associated with longevity and maintenance.

Cross-trainer for life
Yang, one of the slowest and least physically challenging styles of Tai Chi, accommodates people with movement problems. It is thought to be best suited to the unflexible American physique. It is also probably the most accessible style in the area. You can find Yang at many fitness outlets.

Practicing Tai Chi — Yang style — helps carry you through the day. Late-afternoon doldrums can be trumped. Early morning joint stiffness, too. Stress-induced insomnia, meanwhile, could evaporate with a five-minute breathing hit of Tai Chi. One instructor called it a cross-trainer for life.

“I figure I have another 30 years, and I want my physical body to keep up with my spirit,” said Penelope J. Klein, 60, who is also a black belt in judo and teaches physical therapy at D’Youville College. “If you think about it, Tai Chi serves many people, including caregivers.”

In our culture, the practice of Tai Chi is oftentimes associated with Jackie Chan and fighting, suggested Rosenfeld. This dilution often occurs when tradition is passed from one culture to another — or when there are small amounts of true practitioners.

The downside of the popularity of Tai Chi is that there is no regulatory body, Rosenfeld said. “It’s no problem to announce you’re a Tai Chi master by putting on some silk pajamas and all of a sudden you’re charging $40 an hour.”

When searching for a Tai Chi instructor, he said, first determine how many years of experience he or she has.

“Ask the teacher to talk about his or her lineage,” suggested Rosenfeld, the Floridabased author whose martial arts training spans more than 27 years. “These things are passed down through families. An unwillingness to discuss the specific tradition should serve as a warning flag.”

Eastern belief has a life force (chi) circulating unhindered through your body. Sickness occurs when that flow becomes disrupted. Rosenfeld believes those who practice Tai Chi are being proactive.

“Think about it. We are not a Mazda. We are mind and body together,” said Rosenfeld, during a telephone interview from his Florida home. “Our crisis in health care resulted from an abandonment in responsibility. The idea that somebody outside of you knows more than you about your body is preposterous. The doctor works for you. You are your health and happiness.”

Tai Chi people
JudyAnne Bonafede is an exercise fanatic and racewalker who moves with maximum efficiency. Her brand of Tai Chi is often best practiced with a sword, an elite straight double-edge weapon. She understands her body, how it works and how it feels when it doesn’t. She also teaches a beginner’s Tai Chi class.

“I’m enjoying exploring my body,” said the 54-year-old. “I notice a definite improvement in health and posture, a relaxed control. There is good energy when you get with Tai Chi people.”

Ken Stuczynski, 38, teaches Tai Chi at Buffalo Veterans Affairs Medical Center. A martial artist who took up Tai Chi in 1999, he said the exercise “forces you to use muscles and not your joints to support your weight. It also teaches you to align the spine gravitationally.”

He distinguishes other styles of Tai Chi that are taught in the area:

• Eight Tigers — Distinctly different because of Japanese influence. Defined by spiritual focus and sliding feet more than stepping. Reiki influence.

• Taoist — Physical-therapy oriented. Focus on body alignment. Postures lean and are not as upright.

• Shuyun — Renamed after the grandmaster in California to differentiate it from the Wu Family style it came from. Known for “Eight-Step Preying Mantis” kung fu that is all elbows.

“Tai Chi is always better when performed in fresh air,” Stuczynski said. “Traditionally the best time to do Tai Chi is just before sunrise and an hour before the last meal of the day. People who are serious about it will practice almost daily or even more than once a day. I do a little bit here and there, but use my classes as my more structured practice.

“The ideal school accepts people with all levels of interest,” Stuczynski added, “for maintenance as well as for learning and progressing. You can get as far into Tai Chi as you want.”

Harmony Tai Chi
Harmony Tai Chi distills the essence of the Chen, Yang and Wu styles. The Chen style, one of China’s oldest, originated as a martial art and is quite dynamic. The Yang style emphasizes slow, expansive movements. The Wu style moves from a smaller stance than the others. Those who study Harmony Tai Chi combine the grace and tranquility of one school with the dynamism and agility of the others.