Practice to make the body balanced

From Qi Magazine - Issue 90

By Michael Tse

Sometimes we can look at the sky and wonder why it is different every single day? It is like that because it is blancing itself. We are also changing, but the change is to balance with nature, our bodies are part of nature and so they need to be in harmony with it. We cannot tell the sky what weather we want because the weather changes so that the earth can stay balanced. It is all about balance and this is the same reason we get hot, cold, sick, feel good and even feel emotional. This is also the principle of Qigong. We need to practise to make the body balanced. Moving the body in a Qigong way allows it to work things out by itself.

Qi Magazine: Walk this Way

By Julian Wilde
From Qi Magazine - Issue 90
Winter 2009

Among the many aspects of the wonderful Taijiquan of Chen Village that I noticed was the emphasis on vertical alignment. From the youngsters who practised every afternoon, through the teenagers who were training on the edges of the central courtyard most of the day, to the older guys who popped in a few times to go through their routines, everyone was very careful to keep upright, to keep the spine vertical as much as possible. Generally, their posture was superb. Though rooted and steady, the straightness of their posture made their stepping look very light and precise. I could have spent hours watching and making notes!

The vertical alignment of head, hip and heel is quite important in Taiji but there are times in our practice when we inadvertently let the posture slip. When we do, we lose Peng, ground connection, and we distort the body, thereby robbing it of maximum efficiency. One of the most usual times we sacrifice posture is when we step. If our legs aren’t strong enough, if we can’t relax and sink enough, we unconsciously lean the body, forwards, backwards or to the side when we extend the leg. You can check this for yourself with a variation on the Chen walk.

The Chen Walk is an exercise we use as part of the warm-up in all Taiji classes. It’s simple but such a versatile sequence that I feel it deserves a little more attention. Basically it consists of crossing the arms in front of the Dantian, sliding the heel diagonally forward, and then transferring the weight over. While we’re transferring the weight, we turn on the forward heel and then pick up the back foot. Also, as the weight transfers forward we let the arms “swim” open. Simple. But here are three ways to use the same exercise. No doubt you can think of others.

Firstly, working on the afore mentioned vertical alignment: - stand on your left leg, the toes of the right foot resting on the floor. You can keep your arms by your side or behind your back, it doesn’t matter. Sink the body as much as possible and extend the leg, heel first, to the side as if preparing to step. Feel any tension resulting from this movement and get a friend to check your posture to see if you’re leaning slightly. Adjust accordingly, which usually means coming up a bit or taking a slightly shorter step.

Shift the weight to the right leg, turning the toes of the right foot out as you transfer. Before you pick up the left foot, check your posture again. It‘s common to lean forward slightly to get the weight fully over, but this means again that your step was too wide for your ability. Now try and pick the left foot up cleanly. If you have to drag it a bit, your step was too wide for you or you’re not able to sink enough for the movement to be clean. Now try the whole sequence on the other side and see what happens. Often one side is stiffer than the other.

We tried this one in class, being really careful to lift the crown of the head, which automatically tucks the chin in slightly, and trying to lengthen through the whole spine. Everyone was reminded to try to put this into their 19 step form and were surprised how different it felt!

We can use the Chen walk to exercise other aspects of our Taiji. For instance, we can train diagonal energy by making sure we push from one foot to the opposite hand when we do the walk. Transfer the weight by pushing the back foot into the floor, using the energy to push the arms out. This will definitely result in a loss of good posture for some students but it’s still a great exercise! Step as wide as you like but make sure you push from the back heel rather than just sink onto the front foot.

We can also perform the Chen walk trying to keep the head at the same height throughout the exercise. This, as you will find out, definitely works the legs hard! It will also force you to adjust the width of your step. Most people tend to come up a bit when they move on to the forward foot and sink again when they step. Just as an exercise, try and keep your height constant.

And then, of course, you can try the above three exercises all over again, but this time stepping backwards. That’s another class over! Where does the time go?

We all want to learn the exciting forms, the Cannon Fists, the spear and broadsword etc, but if we can’t even step forward or backward without distorting the body and the basic principles of Taiji, it’s better to rein in our enthusiasm and pay attention to basics. Again!

Mentally Fit in the New Year

By CHELCEY ADAMI
Link to original article

People often forget to exercise the most important part of their body, their brain. Valley resident Maria Elena Marcello has been practicing yoga, reiki, tai chi and kung fu for years and also teaches tai chi in the city of Imperial’s recreation department. She said these activities not only provide physical exercise but also mental exercise, helping with one’s cognitive abilities and preventing issues such as Alzheimer’s.
“The No. 1 sicknesses are produced by stress so you have to really try to calm down and calm your mind,” she said.

Marcello enjoys the kung fu for the cardio-aspect but makes sure to balance it out with the more relaxing activities such as yoga.

“It’s gentle movements and believe it or not, it strengthens your body, tones your muscles. You’ll lose weight and you enjoy it because it brings you peace,” she said. “Tai chi is a good beginning for anyone making a resolution to be healthier in the New Year. You have to balance hard exercises with soft exercises.”

She added that activities such as yoga and tai chi can be practiced by people of any age. "If you don’t want to try something like that, just go for a walk," Marcello said. "Just enjoy your surroundings, look at the trees, look at the flowers, just try to relax. You have to be trying to be healthy in all aspects of your life.”

"Even if in office all day, one can take five to 10 minute to relax and mediate," she added. "Just close your eyes and relax your body, try not to focus on anything, your mind, and then continue with your work."

Ken Cohen is a worldwide renowned health educator, Qigong Master, practitioner of indigenous medicine, speaker and author. Qigong are ancient Chinese exercises, breathing techniques and meditations “used to create a full supply and smooth flow of Qi which means ‘life force,’” that serve as a complimentary medicine.

“Stagnation equals disease whether physical, mental or spiritual. We’re meant to be in a state of flow and connection,” Cohen said.

"While it’s not meant to cure every disease, it can be a powerful complimentary medicine to mainstream practices. If someone is in distress due to a relationship, life circumstances or more, then they are more likely to become ill," Cohen added.

“There’s no question that the mind communicates with the body,” he said. “If we can exercise more control over the mind, we can lessen the stresses that cause disease.”
It’s important to remember that while focusing on mental health is key, it doesn’t take the place of the physical exercise. “Some people make the mistake of thinking ‘I’m doing tai chi and don’t need to do more,’” he said. “We want both the external strength but we also want internal, or metabolic, strength.”

When taking personal control of one’s responses to outside influences, such as pollution and its corresponding breathing health issues, Qigong can be particularly beneficial.

“To the extent that you can’t control the external environmental, it becomes more important to control the internal environment,” Cohen said.

Staff Writer Chelcey Adami can be reached at 760-337-3452 or cadami@ivpressonline.com

Tai chi benefits Parkinson’s disease patients

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A newly published study has found that tai chai, an ancient Chinese martial art, may help Parkinson’s disease patients not only regain strength and balance, but also reduce potentially life-threatening falls.

The study, conducted by researchers in Corvallis, Salem, Eugene and Portland, Oregon, is in the current issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

In the study, Parkinson’s patients were divided into three groups. One group participated in a resistance training program with weighted vests and weights, designed by Oregon State University researcher Gianni Maddalozzo. Another, which acted as the control group, did stretching classes. The third group took a modified tai chi class designed by Fuzhong Li, the lead author of the study. Li is with the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene and earned his doctorate in the exercise and sport science program at OSU.

Each group did a 60-minute class twice a week for 24 weeks. The patients in the tai chi group had significantly better balance, had better overall physical functioning and had a much lower incidence of falls. In fact, participants in the tai chi group had 67 percent fewer falls than those in the stretching group. Maddalozzo, a coauthor on the study, said the reduced rate of falling is a significant finding.

“Falls can be detrimental, not only to those with Parkinson’s, but for many people including aging populations, diabetics, people with osteoporosis,” he said. “More than 30 percent of serious falls occur in the home, so what we tend to see is that people develop a serious fear of falling that leads to a more sedentary lifestyle, which is the opposite of what they should be doing.”

Parkinson’s is a disorder of the nervous system that affects motor control and movement. Patients affected by the disease have substantially impaired balance that can lead to serious if not deadly falls. Lead author Li practices tai chi, a martial art marked by slow, focused movements focused on meditation and relaxation. “Clinically, as an effective and safe exercise regimen, tai chi may be used as an add-on to existing physical therapy or rehabilitation programs as part of a balance training protocol or to address some of the key movement disorders in Parkinson’s,” Li said.

Maddalozzo said because tai chi has been shown to help Parkinson’s patients restore balance and regain strength, he believes it could be useful to a wide variety of people. Li agrees, saying that researchers have found positive results with older adults, including reducing falls by 47 to 55 percent.

“Tai chi has also shown to be beneficial in reducing pain in people with fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis, ameliorating sleep disturbances, and helping to decrease blood pressure,” he said. “Overall, accumulating evidence suggests that tai chi may be efficacious as a behavioral medicine approach for the prevention and rehabilitation of chronic diseases and dysfunctional mental and physical conditions commonly associated with advancing age.”

Researchers from the Oregon Medical Group, the PeaceHealth Medical Group–Oregon, Willamette University, BPM Physical Therapy Center, Oregon Health and Science University and Oregon Neurology Associates contributed to this study, which was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

About the OSU College of Public Health and Human Sciences: The College creates connections in teaching, research and community outreach while advancing knowledge, policies and practices that improve population health in communities across Oregon and beyond.

 

http://www.healthcanal.com/mental-health-behavior/26744-Tai-chi-may-help-patients-with-Parkinsons-disease-regain-balance-reduce-falls.html

Classics

The body is the temple of life. Energy is the force of life. Spirit is the governor of life. If one of them goes off balance, all three are damaged. When the spirit takes command, the body naturally follows it, and this arrangement benefits all Three Treasures.  Wen Tzu Classic (First Century BC)

Heaven is clear and calm, earth is stable and tranquil. Humans who reject these virtues perish, while those who adopt them thrive.   Huai Nan Tzu (First Century AD)

The Tao gave birth to the one source, The one gave birth to two things, Then to three things, Then to ten thousand...   Tao Teh Ching (Third Century BC)

The yang transforms and the yin conserves. The yang and the yin manifest as movement and rest; yang moves to its utmost, then rests; yin rests to its utmost, then moves. Therefore, yin rests within yang, and yang moves within yin; the two are inseparably interwoven. It is thus as a single unit that they are one with the Tao.   Chu Hsi (Eleventh Century AD)

Tadasana - Mountain Pose - Yoga Wuji

Notes from B.K.S. Iyengar

Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world and has been practising and teaching yoga for more than 75 years. He has written many books on yoga practice and philosophy. In 2004, Iyengar was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine.

The body extends upwards, with the base as firm as a rock; the mind is steady and attentive. Tadasana teaches balance, centering and evenness and direction of extensions. These principles apply to all the postures. -B.K.S Iyengar

Tadasana is perhaps the most basic yoga pose. All yoga poses are called asana and the word tada translates from Sanskrit to mountain, thus this is the 'mountain posture'. As it is a very simple and restful pose it is usually one of the very first that must be mastered by a new student. It is the base for all the other asanas, particularly the standing ones.

  

Although the pose looks simple, and indeed is the most simple of the asanas, it still takes much practise and concentration to master all the different areas of the body and combine them into a strong yet relaxed posture. Placing the body correctly from the beginning is of utmost importance as this will help the pose to be balanced for its entirety.

The ideal when practising tadasana is that the ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and ears are exactly in a straight, vertical line. At first, this may take a surprising amount of concentration and effort. In order for your body to be lined up this way, its base, that is your feet, must be lined up. Think about the way people stand most of the time, they pretty much always lean one way or the other. Resting most of their weight on one leg, perhaps switching between the two, or standing with one leg placed more forward that the other. Even when sitting ones feet are hardly ever planted flat on the floor.

That is why this pose is so important and teaches many of the fundamental disciplines needed to carry out other standing poses successfully. Balance, alignment, concentration and awareness of the body are all focused on whilst practising tadasana. When one first begins to practise it is very important to take care when doing each of the following steps so that the end result is good. As one becomes more experienced the body will more naturally align its self, and many of the steps will become less conscious.

Once the body is correctly lined up and placed in this position, it is very important to focus on keeping it this way. Make sure that you are not leaning more weight onto one foot and that your arms are still hanging in line. Focus on taking long, deep breathes. Checking your alignment will make you aware of adjusting your body in a sensitive and subtle way. Your left and right and front and back should be exactly in line and parallel, even if one finger is bent and the other is not, this alignment is lost. Become aware of the line that runs between your legs, through the front and back of the body and to the crown of your head. This line should be vertical and once achieved you should take note of the balance and stability your body has in this position.

Try and make the mind still, do not let it wander, instead making it focus on the body, thus making it aware of the equilibrium gained. The position is normally held for about a minute, but at first you may wish to only stay in it for shorter amounts of time, and with practice you may extend it to any length you feel comfortable with. It is an excellent pose to start off with and once mastered will make all other poses more balanced and strong.

Settling into the posture brings repose. It follows precise placement of the limbs, correct extension and balance. There is peace and unity within. The mind fills every particle of the body, bringing harmony. This is Yoga.
 - B.K.S Iyengar