Taiji or Tai Chi is an ancient art or philosophy, dating back thousands of years, and it has grown into a modern form of exercise correctly known as Taijiquan or Tai Chi Chuan.
For a very brief history of taiji and the development of taijiquan please download these three pages from this text file:
Taijiquan is a very powerful exercise that requires little effort yet has profound effects on our health.
Part of the power of Taijiquan is it's ability to help us see beyond ourselves such that we learn how to 'be' and let go of our need to 'try' and that we can get much more accomplished with far less effort.
This seems elusive at first sight and yet with much practice it becomes obvious as the only practical way to achieve.
So, many students become long term students because of this taste of the subtle while others leave the practive early as there is little immediate apparent payback.
Either way one can get physical balance in the regular practice of taijiquan. I have years of practice and i especially found benefit of this exercise in my rehab after two hip surgeries.