John’s Tai-Blog @ Camp Tai ChiTai Chi and anything I can relate to Tai Chi … like life

Chi Kung Walk for Cancer Patients and Just for Feeling Good

A little while ago I promised to post a video about a chi kung walking exercise I like to do.  To me this exercise is like a drug that instantly relaxes me and leaves me feeling really good.  I hope you enjoy it.

Even though my software and hardware are now playing well together, I’m not sure I quite know how to use all the appropriate features.  The quality of this isn’t quite where I’d like it to be, but it’s watchable.  In working with video, just as in tai chi, there’s something to be said for practice… sometimes it takes a while to pull it all together. 

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Please leave a comment and let me know how this works for you.

John

The Cost of Inaction

As I walk down the street I see a variety of people.  Mostly those who take action and those who don’t… just realize I’m talking about action in the important areas of our lives.  Almost all of us take action on some things, while very few of us take almost no action at all.  We get up, we go to work, we wash our clothes, we cook and eat our meals, some of us even exercise our fingers as we punch the buttons on the remote control, but few of us take action in the areas that really matter.

Our pop culture often tells us that we either spend too much of our lives focused on money, or that we should spend most of our lives focused on money.  Yes we need to make money to survive, or even to thrive.  It’s an area that’s very important if we’re to live the lives we say we want.  Let’s just agree for a moment that money’s important, and with that off the table we can move on to something else… equally important.

In case you didn’t see it coming, this is where I talk about how great tai chi is.  Too many people work to the exclusion of nearly everything else, or work and play (indulge) hard without any thought given to the one thing that makes action possible, our bodies.  I’ve never seen anything that works on nearly every part of our bodies and our minds in a way that tai chi does.  It can combat years of self-abuse and inaction in a remarkably short time.

I often hear people say they just don’t have time for something like tai chi.  Yet it seems if we become sick, we manage to find the time.  Once we’re ill tai chi can help us heal.  Just remember, it takes more time to heal than it does to maintain good health.  I don’t always have the time to do an hour of tai chi practice myself, but I can always find 5 minute slots to fit in some practice.  These little practices make a big difference for me, just as they can for you.

What does 5 minutes of tai chi look like?  Well, sometimes it doesn’t even look like tai chi, it looks like chi kung.  If all I have is a small space to work with I’ll stand with my legs bent - to work on leg strength and to relax my center - while I run through a form set without moving my legs.  Other times I’ll do a chi kung style of walking that’s very relaxing and to me feels like a wonderful drug.  This particular walking exercise was developed by a woman in China with terminal cancer who, by the way, lived more than 20 years past her “expiration date”.  Today it’s practiced by other terminal cancer patients who are also, interestingly enough, finding themselves in remission.  Once I get my video equipment and computer working reliably together again, I’ll share this with you.

If you catch yourself saying, “I don’t have time to exercise today”, take a few minutes and do a little tai chi.  It’ll relax you and recharge your batteries.  You’ll feel better and you’ll probably realize you had a little more time than you thought.  You may even feel good enough that you’re motivated to turn off the news and do a little more tai chi.  If you can’t manage that one, stand in front of the TV and do tai chi while watching the news.  At least you’ll be relieving some of that stress you’re experiencing as you watch things that make you uptight.  By the way, how much control to you have over those things that make you uptight?  How would your life change if you just let go of them?  Are the potential rewards worth the risk?

“There are risks and costs to a program of action.  But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.”  John F. Kennedy

Your thoughts?

John

P.S.  I found this pic here:  http://www.todoinstitute.org/library/public/facing_the_demons_of_inaction_morita_therapy_as_a_resource_for_moving_forward.php

New Study, Tai Chi Shown to Help With Diabetes

Yet another study touting the health benefits of tai chi chuan.  This one dealing with Type 2 Diabetes.  The Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine published the results of this study in June 2009.

The study examined the effects of adherence to a 6-month tai chi exercise program on glucose control, diabetic self-care activities, and quality of life among individuals with type 2 diabetes.  Tai chi was considered as an alternative to exercises such as brisk walking because walking, while promoting endurance, does not work the muscle groups in the upper body that tai chi does.  Walking also typically requires good weather and a safe environment, which are not always available to patients.  Tai chi on the other hand can be done inside or in a small area in patients yard when the weather is good.

This study was done as a collaboration between US and Korean universities including, College of Nursing, Chungnam National University, Daegon, Korea;  College of Nursing, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.;  College of Nursing, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea; College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.

The results of the study showed that those who completed the program had greater decline in fasting glucose and HbA1c than those who did not satisfactorily complete the study.  The group which finished the study performed significantly more diabetic self-care activities, and had better quality of life in mental component summary, social functioning, mental health, and vitality as compared to the non-adherent group… In other words, the people who stuck with it felt better.

The study conclusion: For those with type 2 diabetes, tai chi could be an alternative exercise intervention to increase glucose control, diabetic self-care activities, and quality of life.

This study shows once again the width and breath of benefits realized by those of us who practice tai chi.  If you haven’t started yet, what are you waiting for?  It’s much better to stay healthy than it is to wait until after you’ve fallen ill.  Don’t you think?

Your thoughts,

John

P.S. to see the The Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine article click here.

Has Tai Chi Become a Dead Salmon?

There is a lot of tai chi being taught around the world by people with little knowledge of the basics of tai chi as a martial art.  The students of these teachers are still seeing some pretty incredible health benefits.  How is this possible and does that mean that tai chi has fallen prey to the newly discovered “Dead Salmon Syndrome”?

What I’m referring to as the Dead Salmon Syndrome is a positive result, as it was discussed in a news story on LiveScience.com, about a Salmon purchased at a local market that’s now become a celebrity of sorts.  “The Salmon was shown a series of photographs depicting human individuals in social situations with a specified emotional valence [state]. The salmon was asked to determine what emotion the individual in the photo must have been experiencing.”  I’ll go into more detail about the Celebrity Salmon in a moment.

How the Dead Salmon Syndrome relates to the benefits of tai chi is what I’d like to talk about here.  The list of potential and proven health results attributed to tai chi could just as easily be the ever present dialogue of a snake-oil salesman at an 19th Century American Fair Ground.  How is it possible that a slow and relaxed series of choreographed movements could increase blood flow to the extremities, decrease blood pressure, increase physical energy levels, reduce headaches, increase lung functioning, decrease stress and stress related illnesses, stabilize thyroid functioning, decrease the need for a myriad of medications, increase overall health, provide a feeling of overall well being, and on and on?

Is it possible that these fantastic results are nothing more than the Placebo Effect in action?  Yes and no.  For years people have argued that the results garnered from small scientific and pseudo-scientific studies are anomalies, or that the conclusion were influenced by researcher bias.  While this is no doubt true in some cases, the sheer volume of data, along with a host of properly implemented scientific studies proves otherwise.

But wait, wouldn’t the sheer volume of studies dictate that some positive results would found even if tai chi weren’t all that effective?  While that’s true, there is very little data available that states tai chi has little positive effect on our health, quite the contrary.

Medical doctors have long known that a patient’s expectations can have a dramatic effect on the effectiveness of any treatment.  In fact it’s been demonstrated that physicians who tell their patients about the effectiveness of a treatment as it is being prescribed, have a higher cure rate than those who say nothing about the effectiveness of the treatment.  Remember though, that doesn’t mean the treatment is a placebo, or that it’s not effective in and of itself.

According to the LiveScience.com story:

The scientific saga of the salmon is as long and complex as a salmon’s journey from the ocean to a mountain stream to spawn.

It began in 2005 when Bennett picked up a salmon at a local market. An hour later he and colleagues stuck the fish in an fMRI scanner and did a bunch of different scans as part of a project at Dartmouth College to develop MRI protocols. They had previously scanned a pumpkin and a dead bird.  “The salmon was approximately 18 inches long, weighed 3.8 lbs, and was not alive at the time of scanning,” the poster presentation states. “The salmon was shown a series of photographs depicting human individuals in social situations with a specified emotional valence. The salmon was asked to determine what emotion the individual in the photo must have been experiencing.

“By far it was our crowning achievement in terms of ridiculous objects to scan,” Bennett recently wrote, on his blog, of the fish.

Then in 2008, Bennett was working with one of his advisers on a presentation about false positives in MRI data, specifically about misleading results that can come from what’s called a “multiple comparisons problem.” Bennett ran his 2005 fish data through some statistical programs and, sure enough, three false positives showed up in the salmon’s brain.

Scientific study after scientific study has shown that tai chi is highly beneficial for many, many ailments.  Does this mean that tai chi is an effective treatment for this long, long list of ailments?  Yes and no.  If the person practicing tai chi believes they will benefit, without a doubt the likelihood they will benefit increases.  Yet, people who doubt that tai chi will help them have a slightly lower success rate.  What we think about most often does matter, whether we’re taking medication, practicing tai chi, or both.  So keep up your practice and think good thoughts.  It never hurts to hedge your bets.

If this sounds fishy to you, tell me about it.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one.

John

P.S.  You can read the full LiveScience.com story here:  http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/090927-dead-salmon-brain.html

I found this salmon pic here:  http://www.salmonfishingusa.com/

What Will Tai Chi Do For Your Memory?

Tai chi aids our hearts by making them stronger.  It aids the extremities of our bodies by helping us relax at a very deep level, allowing the blood to flow more easily and bringing nourishment.  It helps our brains function better and therefore, it should also help our memories, right?

As we age many of us tend to fixate on our problems.  When we ache, we worry that something is going wrong with our bodies.  Yet did we worry about sore muscles as a teenager?  If not then, why would you think a sore muscle is any more important now?  Did we worry that our minds were slipping when we forgot something as a teenager?  If not then, why would we think our minds are slipping just because we forget our wallets?

I’ve never felt that I was particularly blessed with a good memory and my experience up to now has shown me that those with very good memories, often only think they have good memories.  Despite this I will sometimes swear that a correction I was given by our master is a particular way while my teacher swears otherwise.  The problem is when we check with Master Cui, he may give us another answer entirely, and then we know… that’s the correct answer.

I think memory is a fragile thing.  We should rely on it to the point it serves us.  Then we should remember what feels good while leaving the rest alone as best we can.  If we’re going to rely on something unreliable why not feel good about it?  By the way, don’t expect tai chi to save you. 

Today I’ll leave you with these quotes.

“Memory is the thing you forget with” Alexander Chase

“It’s surprising how much of memory is built around things unnoticed at the time” Barbara Kingsolver

“Memory is deceptive because it is colored by today’s events.” Albert Einstein

“If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.” E. Joseph Cossman

“We consider ourselves as defective in memory, either because we remember less than we desire, or less than we suppose others to remember” Samuel Johnson

“The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time” Friedrich Nietzsche

Your thoughts?

John

Tai Chi and The Frog, A Scary Story

OK, so this isn’t all that scary but it is an interesting similarity between humans and frogs… and it could mean the difference between life and death.  Yes, you heard me right… between life and death, and I’m not kidding.  Are you acting like a frog?  Keep reading and find out.

Ever do the boiling frog experiment in biology class?  That’s the experiment where you put a frog in a pot of water and then put the pot over a low flame.  If you’ve never heard of this one the frog will sit there until it dies, as long as the heat is increased very gradually.

Now we didn’t actually kill the frog, we measured the water temperature until we knew the frog would be uncomfortable, then we hit the pot so the frog would jump out.  If we hadn’t hit the pot the fog would have just continued to sit there, slowing heating up until it cooked to death.

It’s a strange thing but when conditions change very slowly people are just like frogs.  The only thing the frog has to do to stay alive is jump out of the pot, and often the only thing we have to do to live a longer and better quality life is to make one simple change.

Doctors tell us we loose lung capacity as we age.  In other words our lungs effectively get smaller so we have to breathe harder just to get enough oxygen.  This doesn’t sound like a very big deal, but if you exert yourself and, you have very low lung capacity you can wind up in the hospital, or worse.

When your body doesn’t get the oxygen it needs it starts to shut down non-essential bodily functions.  When this first begins you probably don’t notice a thing.  Your body is probably only partly limiting some functions to begin with because it doesn’t need to shut them down all together.

Maybe you’ve notice you become short of breath a little sooner that you used to.  You’ve probably thought, “Well I’m not as active as I used to be so of course I’m a little out of breath.”  There’s some truth to that, but your less active lifestyle is only a part of the story.

You see if you’re breathing incorrectly, your lung capacity is declining so slowly that by the time you notice it, it may be too late… and the change to stop or decrease this loss of lung capacity is such a little change.  All you need to do is breathe like a child again.  See they were right when “they” said it’s good to remain child-like though-out life.

If you’ve ever watched babies breathe you’ve probably noticed they breathe with their stomachs rather than with their chests, as adults do.  Interestingly enough, they’re not the least bit concerned that their stomachs are sticking out as they breathe.  Maybe being self-conscious about our stomachs is one of the reasons we switch to breathing with our chests as we become teenagers.  I’m not sure why we do, but we do.

If you could slowly condition yourself to begin breathing with your stomach you’ll slow down, stop, or even reverse your own gradual loss of lung capacity.  That’s all you really have to do.

In tai chi you’re taught to breathe with your stomach as you move, in fact as you progress you’ll naturally begin to breathe with your stomach rather than with your chest.  I don’t know why but it’s an automatic change.  I believe this is at least one of the reasons medical studies have shown that tai chi practice has a significant impact on lung capacity… as well as, I’m sure, the trend toward bigger bellies.  Yea I did just make that last one up; I couldn’t resist.

Doctors claim we all loose the ability to breathe deeply over the course of our lives.  This means we loose lung capacity in amounts so small they’re probably not even measurable, not to mention noticeable.  Just like the frog we sit there without doing anything unless someone hits our pot.

Well I’m hitting your pot right now.  Make one tiny shift and start breathing more often with your stomach.  Maybe you could find a local tai chi class, a chi gong class, or who knows you could even buy my video, but above all for God’s sake, JUMP!

Your thoughts?

John

P.S.  You’ll find my Tai Chi Exercises Video here:  http://www.camptaichi.com/unique-benefits-of-tai-chi-in-a-surprisingly-simple-5-minute-routine.  Click here and then add it to your cart.  I promise it’ll make you jump.