Newsletter #77 - January 2008

In this issue:

-- From me to you, by Dr Lam

-- Tai chi for working people, by Susan Scheuer

-- This Active Life interviews Senior Trainer, Cynthia Fels

-- Learning tai chi: a child’s perspective from Zoe Arthy

-- Tapping in to your inner child: Reflections on teaching the Tai Chi 4 Kidz program by Cheryl Lee Player

-- Humor, laughter and radiant health, by Dr Bob McBrien

Click on the title above to read the articles, this link to read all previous newsletters and here to subscribe.

Hello everyone,

Perth, on Australia’s western coast, is one of the most isolated cities in the world, yet it is so beautiful that it is worth the long flight to get there. I was there last week to conduct a workshop and found the people to be very friendly and my workshop most enjoyable. Here’s some pictures of the city and its spectacular Maritime Museum.

There are still spaces left for my upcoming Tai Chi @ Work instructors’ training workshop in Sydney, Australia on 8-9 March. This program is especially designed to help people manage stress more effectively. Experienced tai chi practitioners can expect to improve their tai chi by incorporating the three key tai chi principles into the forms from three styles. I’ll also be conducting Tai Chi for Arthritis and Tai Chi for Diabetes instructors training workshops in Sydney from 19-20 April. You can get more information about all these workshops from my website.

Scholarship winners announced
Congratulations to the four winners of scholarships to next June’s US annual workshop. They are: Jessica Myers, Heather Reade, Norma Ferrell and Mark Reinhart. Click here to read Jessica's message about winning the scholarship.

Free “come and try tai chi” session in Melbourne

Arthritis Victoria has invited me to be their guest of honour at a free “come and try tai chi” session in the Great Hall at the National Gallery of Victoria on St Kilda Road in Melbourne, Australian on Sunday, 6 April, from 11am to 1pm. I look forward to meeting some of you there. Please bring a friend to share this unique, relaxing experience. Enquiries and registration: Sandra Barry or phone (03) 8531 8008.

In this newsletter

• Susan was so excited by the possibilities of Tai Chi @ Work that she didn’t let the fact that she no connection into the corporate world deter her from trying it out.

• When the National Education Association of USA wanted to include a tai chi article in their magazine for retired educators, they contacted Senior Trainer, Cynthia Fels. Cynthia tells us about the experience.

• Zoe is 19 years old and has been learning tai chi for 6 years. She gives us her perspective as a child and young adult on learning tai chi.

• Cheryl reflects on her recent experience training instructors to teach the Tai Chi 4 Kidz program by ‘tapping into their inner child’.

• Dr Bob’s dose of humor this month comes in the form of some hilarious headline bloopers.

March’s special offer

During March, when you place an order for our products, you can buy a copy of my book "Teaching Tai Chi Effectively" at a discount of 50% (US$7.25, normal price US$14.50). This offer is limited to one order per person.

To take advantage of this special offer, please write SP0308 in the comments section of your order.

In this book, I share my teaching experience how to attract and retain more students and get more fulfilment from your teaching. The way you teach determines how much your students will learn and enjoy their tai chi. You will be more fulfilled as a teacher and at the same time will improve your own level of tai chi.

Upcoming workshops:

March 8-9, Sydney, Australia
Tai Chi @ Work Instructors training workshop
April 4-5, Melbourne, Australia
Tai Chi 4 Kidz Instructors training workshop
April 19-20th, Sydney, Australia
- Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructors training workshop
- Tai Chi for Arthritis Update and Part II workshop
- Tai Chi for Diabetes Instructors training workshop
- Tai Chi for Diabetes Update and Enhancement workshop
May 16-17, Adelaide, Australia
Tai Chi 4 Kidz Instructors training workshop
May 24-25, Singapore
Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructors training workshop
May 26-27, Singapore
Tai Chi for Osteoporosis Instructors training workshop
May 30-31, Zurich, Switzerland
Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructors training workshop
June 7-8, Bologna, Italy
Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructors training workshop
June 14-15, Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, USA
Pre-conference: Tai Chi @ Work Instructors training workshop
June 16-21, Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, USA
One week Tai Chi Workshop with Ten Courses
August 2-3, Sydney, Australia
Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis workshop
August 21-22, Sydney, Australia
Therapeutic Tai Chi for physiotherapists and occupational therapists
Sept 13-14, Sydney, Australia
- Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructors training workshop
- Tai Chi for Osteoporosis Instructors training workshop

Workshops conducted by myself or my authorised master trainers are listed on the Workshop Calendar page on the website.

Yours in tai chi,

Paul Lam, M.D.

http://www.taichiproductions.com

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Tai chi for working people, by Susan Scheuer

Susan Scheuer graduated as a Master Trainer at the January 2008 Sydney workshop, where she also delivered this paper.

When I saw Dr Lam's new DVD, Tai Chi @ Work, I was excited about the possibilities that this presented and I was keen to try it out.

Susan leading a group at the tai chi workshop in Florida 2007

I knew the program was really designed to be used with a group of people in their workplace, but as I didn't have a connection into the corporate world, I decided instead to offer a free presentation followed by an introductory series of classes at 5:30pm on Mondays. I emailed all my local acquaintances and managed to get information out into the local community (the community college, the hospital, the county offices, etc) and my regular students helped by putting up flyers in local shops.

On the day of the free presentation, I was surprised to find quite a few elderly people in the audience. When asked what benefit they were hoping to gain from tai chi, I re-directed those wanting to improve on their balance to my daytime Tai Chi for Arthritis classes instead, as I knew that would be more suitable for helping them achieve their objective.

Most people who came were wanting to learn tai chi to help them de-stress. Among them were several hospital staff and county employees, who were looking forward to learning how to turn stress into a source of strength. Two women in their 80s (students of mine who had learned Tai Chi for Arthritis and were now enjoying the delights of the Sun Style 73 Forms) were beginning to notice signs of memory loss and wanted to learn the short sequence of movements from Tai Chi @ Work as something they might be able to remember more easily! The aim of another elderly woman was to increase her focus and concentration.

On the day of the first class there was an air of expectancy in the room. Since they had attended the free presentation the week before, they was no need to talk much, and we got started right away learning the three warm-up exercises. Well almost right away! Becoming aware of their posture was something that was obviously new to all except the two who were familiar with tai chi already.

Just the simple act of having them stand erect with their spine stretched like a piece of string was fascinating for me to witness. For the most part they had entered the room and slumped down on a chair before class started, tired after their day at work. The posture I was encouraging them to use was so different to their normal stance and I could sense that they all felt more alive and aware. Many of them had been standing for much of the day, but they had not been standing the tai chi way! I saw the difference and they could feel it – I could tell by the expressions on their faces.

“Does this feel different to the way you normally stand?” I asked. They agreed that it did. I explained how if we stand this way then our spinal alignment is improved and all our organs can function so much better. I encouraged them to remember the idea of the string whenever they could during the day, when standing or sitting – and even when driving. They seemed impressed with the idea that they could help themselves to a better posture so easily.

So we moved on to the first warm-up exercise. The first time they followed me doing only the movement and then we consciously added in breathing and thirdly focused on making the movements smooth, continuous and even. They were doing tai chi already but didn't realise it!

The second warm-up caused some laughter as they struggled to make their hands go in the correct directions for the spine stretch. This was 'old hat' to my two regular tai chi students, but for people who are new to it, it can be frustrating – especially to the co-ordinationally challenged!

I wanted them to feel successful at what they were doing, so I purposely kept the mood light. At this moment it occurred to me that I could break this movement down like we do when we're learning the tai chi form. “Let's try one hand at a time,” I suggested. I had never thought to do that before with this warm-up, but it worked like a dream. Soon they felt comfortable with each hand working separately and then they had no difficulty putting the two together.

I taught the third and last warm-up in stages, too. Feet only first, and then adding in the punches. After a few repetitions of these, I asked everyone to sit down as next I intended to introduce the idea of abdominal breathing. Luckily I caught myself from moving on too quickly, as what followed was a magical moment that I could so easily have missed if I hadn't been listening to my new students.

Listening with my ears, I heard nothing: in fact, you could have heard a pin drop; but “listening” with my eyes and my heart, I saw, felt or was aware of all the tension of the workday just slipping away. Each person's mental chatter had come to a standstill and there was an amazing feeling of calm in the room. All the tension of their day was melting away right before my eyes.

As I looked around at the faces in front of me, I could see that they were noticing it, too. My two tai chi students and I exchanged glances and I knew that they knew that we were all witnessing a truly remarkable sensation. I could tell they were as amazed as I was that we had arrived at such a feeling of calm and contentment so soon in the proceedings. After all, we had only done three warm-ups; we hadn't even started to learn the form!

This powerful moment seemed to unify us as a group. It was at this juncture that these people realized that tai chi had something to offer them, something that could help them to achieve their main objective of learning how to manage their stress. This being recognized, we moved on and they were keen to learn more.

In subsequent weeks we have had fun learning the movements of the form and I am encouraged by watching the students beginning to benefit from starting to apply the tai chi principles in their lives.

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This Active Life interviews Senior Trainer, Cynthia Fels

Cyndy at the right leading a group at the Tai Chi workshop in Monterey 2007

When the National Education Association, one of the largest educational organizations in the United States, wanted to include a tai chi article in the Health and Fitness Section of their national magazine for retired educators, This Active Life, they called Senior Trainer and Tai Chi Instructor, Cynthia Fels. They made a good choice, as Cynthia not only had a 27-year teaching career as a reading and learning styles specialist and worked as a National Educational Consultant, but is also a Senior Trainer and tai chi instructor of Dr Paul Lam's Tai Chi for Health programs. As the article says, when Cynthia retired from teaching and moved to coastal California, "she finally had the chance to marry her two passions: teaching and tai chi". And when she retired, as she is quoted in the article, “I really missed teaching and having students. I found that if I put my learning styles principles to work in my tai chi instruction, it enhanced my students' instruction”.

Cynthia reports it was an intensive, yet interesting two-hour interview, with the end result being a solid article that not only gives readers a background on tai chi and practical resources, but at the same time encourages them to take up the practice. The article, "An Ancient Approach to Good Health", is published in the January 2008 issue of This Active Life, which is a publication of the National Education Association. You can read it online by going to http://www.nea.org/activelife/0801/health.html.

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Learning tai chi: a child’s perspective from Zoe Arthy

Zoe, from Queensland, Australia is 19 years old and gave this speech at the January 2008 Sydney workshop.

My name is Zoe Arthy, and I am from sunny Queensland. Dr Paul Lam asked me to talk to you about my view of tai chi as a child growing up. So what I am going to tell you about is my view, and also what I think some of my friends views are.

I first started tai chi in 2002, when I was 13 years old, at the Sydney workshop. I was scared to daylights, because I was just about to start high school, and this tai chi thing was relatively new to me. I had a rough idea of what it was from mum and dad, as dad had attended the workshop for the first time the previous year.

My mum also encouraged me to come. Those who don’t know my mum, Elva, she is currently an MT (master trainer) under Dr Paul Lam’s Tai chi for health program.

When I first told my friends about where I went during the school holidays, most of them said, ‘What is tai chi?’, however a few of them had heard of tai chi before and some said they had tried it. However, sadly, not many of my friends really do want to try it. I encourage them, but some find it really too slow for them, as most of them are an energetic bunch of people.

Since first starting tai chi, I have found that I have steadily improved my technique. I was surprised when I first started, about how quickly I adapted. I am a dancer by nature, and a tad wild, so I often find it hard to do something slow. For those who know me, I often find it hard to stay in one place for a small amount of time!

Over time, I have learned much more than I thought I ever would, and it has also helped me have a better understanding of how tai chi can really help your health and also help you relax even more.

I would definitely encourage more kids to take up tai chi, and I would love to see it incorporated more into schools all around Australia and in other parts of the world.

I think everyone should do tai chi, because it has lots of health benefits, and it is a great form of gentle exercise.

Cheers,

Zoe

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Tapping in to your inner child: Reflections on teaching the Tai Chi 4 Kidz program by Cheryl Lee Player

Cheryl Lee Player is another new graduate Master Trainer this year and has a 35-year background in performing arts involving, dance, drama, music and art. She has taught our Tai Chi 4 Kidz program to hundreds of children in schools and pre-schools throughout New South Wales. She is accredited by the Australian Sports Commission and is involved in their “Active after school program”.

I was teaching our Tai Chi 4 Kidz Instructors Workshop in Bundaberg, Queensland, a few weeks ago and was inspired by the commitment of the newly certified leaders as they looked deeply into themselves to embrace the skill of reaching and teaching children.

Teaching children requires a different approach and understanding of how children learn, both physically and psychologically.

In my recent Tai Chi 4 Kidz workshop, the participants realised that they had to tap into their ‘inner child’ and found the experience both confronting and challenging, while at the same time, loving every minute of the experience.

A child’s imagination has limitless possibilities, and our program offers the teacher building blocks of tai chi that can be incorporated into a wonderland of creative play.

The new leaders took us to fairy gardens where gnomes and fairies were building gardens, carefully lifting balls of dandelions and balancing them on their palms.

As well as walking like pandas, girls could fly like fairies and boys were invited to soar like eagles. Everyone became immersed in a fantasy world, it was very inspiring, and to the new leaders, very revealing.

It gladdens my heart to see our program being taught throughout the world, and to read the wonderful stories of success our teachers are experiencing.

I applaud our members who are now teaching our Tai Chi 4 Kidz program, and invite other members to attend a workshop to acquire the skills required to touch the hearts of our youth, and to open their hearts and minds to a world beyond their imagination.

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From Jessica Myers

"Thank you to all who made the scholarships possible. This scholarship allows me to study with teachers once again and to rejoin the tai chi family. At Dr. Lam's summer workshops, the classmate you have just gotten to know may rush up to you and say, "Next year's workshop is in my town; stay with me." Another classmate may give you a big hug the last day, saying, "See you next year." as if there is no doubt everyone will return.

At the 2007 workshop, I thought I was comfortable with the financial reality of participating only every three years at the Midwest workshop. Then I found that Lesley Roberts, one of my first master trainers, had not been able to come, and I felt quite sad: I wouldn’t see her until 2010. Near the end of the week, I watched Grover, a classmate in the 24 Forms, buy a Sun 73 DVD. "I'm taking this form next year," he said. I thought, "And I have to wait until 2010."

This scholarship means I do not have to wait until 2010. Thank you a thousand times!"

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Humor, laughter and radiant health, by Dr Bob McBrien

Dr Bob and Paul at the master trainer's workshop in January 2008

You have heard the advice from motivational speakers to surround yourself with positives. Positive surroundings are more than the physical environment. Environment includes positive people, music, food and activities. Place at the top of your list of positives humor. If laughter is to serve as “good medicine” choose healthy humor.

You often can find a good laugh when you read a newspaper. Yes, the comics are there, but we can have a good laugh at the funny headlines that editors write. Here are a few headlines “bloopers”:

• Grandmother of eight makes hole in one

• Milk drinkers are turning to powder

• Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers

• Include Your Children When Baking Cookies

• New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group

• Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide

• Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge

• Two Sisters Reunited after 18 Years in Checkout Counter

• Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says

• Drunk Gets Nine Months in Violin Case

• Georgia Peaches California Grown 89 Cents a pound

And my favorite: Study Finds Sex, Pregnancy Link

If you’ve got any examples of healthy humor or suggestions for topics to the newsletter, I’d be pleased to hear from you. My search for positive humor material can use new sources. You can email me at drbobtaichi@juno.com

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END OF NEWSLETTER
Warning: Dr. Lam does not necessarily endorse the opinion of other authors. Before practicing any program featured in this newsletter, please check with your physician or therapist. The authors and anyone involved in the production of this newsletter will not be held responsible in any way whatsoever for any injury which may arise as a result of following the instructions given in this newsletter.

Ask Dr Lam - you can ask me anything about tai chi here.

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