As the New Year approaches, a growing number of people in the UK are swapping the rigid goal of 10,000 daily steps for an ancient, mindful practice gaining modern traction: Tai Chi walking. This slow, purposeful form of movement is now at the heart of a new digital fitness offering, promising significant benefits for heart health, balance, and sustainable weight management.
The Rise of Mindful Movement
The wellness app Simple, known for aiding weight loss, has launched a dedicated 30-minute Tai Chi walking workout. This initiative taps into the rising popularity of this gentle practice, which involves taking slow, deliberate steps with focused awareness. While it may appear unusual to newcomers, advocates and emerging research suggest it can improve strength, posture, balance, and cognitive function.
Users can obtain a personalised Tai Chi walking plan by completing a brief quiz about their current health and objectives. For a limited time, the app is offering 60% off a subscription with the code ‘REACH60’.
How Tai Chi Walking Benefits Your Heart
According to Simple, the most effective way to burn fat is through ‘Zone 1’ activity—light, low-intensity exercise that maintains a heart rate at 50% to 60% of its maximum. Tai Chi walking fits perfectly into this category, alongside activities like light jogging, swimming, Pilates, and yoga.
Scientific studies lend credence to its cardiovascular advantages. Research published in the American Journal of Medicine found that participants practising Tai Chi exhibited lower levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). This hormone, produced by the heart to regulate blood pressure, is a key indicator of cardiac stress. Elevated BNP levels are a ‘powerful predictor’ of heart failure prognosis, making their reduction through practices like Tai Chi a significant health benefit.
Furthermore, a pilot study indicated that individuals were less stable during Tai Chi walking compared to regular walking. This suggests the practice actively challenges balance, which could help the body develop better neuromuscular control and ultimately reduce the risk of falls.
More Than Just Walking: The Simple App Ecosystem
The Tai Chi walking plan is part of a broader suite of tools within the Simple app designed for holistic health improvement. Features include an intelligent food scanner that uses a phone’s camera to analyse meals and provide nutrition scores, and habit trackers for logging water intake, activity, fasting periods, and weight.
Subscribers also gain access to a personal, AI-driven in-app coach named Avo, who offers guidance, healthy recipes, and tailored workout plans. Adding a layer of motivation is a unique digital companion named Blinky, described by the Simple blog as ‘fluffy, intense, and adorably unhinged’. Users ‘feed’ Blinky by logging their activities; neglecting logs leads to humorous, dramatic feedback from the character, designed to encourage consistency.
The app has garnered positive feedback, holding a 4.3/5 rating from over 34,000 reviews on Trustpilot and a 4.7/5 score on the App Store. One user shared, ‘I have tried lots of apps… Simple has gotten me the best results.’ Another reported losing 4kg in a month through the app’s intermittent fasting guidance, noting it felt sustainable for the long term.
While alternatives like MyFitnessPal for nutrition or Hevy for gym routines exist, Simple’s integration of mindful movement like Tai Chi walking with AI coaching and behavioural nudges presents a distinct approach to winter wellness. With the New Year on the horizon, this blend of ancient practice and modern technology offers a compelling, low-intensity path to achieving health resolutions.
