Newsletter #93 - May 2009

In this issue:

-- From me to you, Dr Paul Lam
-- Tai Chi for Arthritis, Past, Present and Future, Paul Lam
-- Tai Chi for Arthritis and the Arthritis Foundation (AF), Patience White
-- Tai Chi for Arthritis, a South Australia Perspective, Rosemary Palmer
-- Planning and Running a Successful Workshop, Jim Starshak
-- Humour, Laughter and Radiant Health, Bob McBrien

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

Hello Everyone,

This month signals a new era for Tai Chi for Arthritis (TCA) with the release of a revised

Tai Chi pose at the Taj Mahal greetings from Dr Paul Lam in India

edition in the form of a twin disc DVD.

TCA was conceived 12 years ago when we ventured out to work with other tai chi and medical colleagues, combining traditional tai chi with western medical knowledge to bring about a safe and effective program. Since then, TCA has reached over a million people worldwide, providing a positive impact on the health and quality of life of many.

Besides the new edition TCA, we also have a new edition TCA Part 2 and a completely new Seated TCA for those who wish to practice tai chi sitting down. Click here to view a video clip of the introduction to the new TCA DVD. Due to popular demand, I have produced an advanced level Yang Style 40 Forms at the same time. All these DVDs are now available.

You would have guessed by now the theme this month is "Tai Chi for Arthritis". We are fortunate to have writers such as Dr Patience White, chief medical officer of Arthritis Foundation USA, who talks about our collaboration and Rosemary Palmer on her experience with Arthritis Foundations in Australia. I have written a brief history of the TCA program, how it has benefited, its outlook and how it can contribute. To take a break from our theme, Jim Starshak, a Senior Trainer, shares with us his success in organising workshops. I’m sure we can all learn from his skills.

My twice yearly workshop tour has just begun. I hope to meet with some of you especially

Dr Paul Lam with Better Health Tai Chi Chuan at the World Tai Chi Day April 2009 Sydney Australia

those coming to Memphis for the one week workshop in June. Do continue to keep in touch with us, enjoy tai chi and enjoy the health benefits.

In this newsletter

While the new and improved edition of the Tai Chi for Arthritis DVDs will be released this month, I take the opportunity to reflect on the birth of the program 12 years ago, its impact so far and its subsequent contribution.
Dr Patience White, chief medical officer of AF, writes about the success of the TCA program in USA, our strong relationship with AF and our recent collaboration in the production of the new and revised TCA DVDs.
Rosemary Palmer in Adelaide has had close association with Arthritis SA and the TCA program. She shares with us her involvement and how the program has spread from Adelaide to rural SA.
Jim Starshak of Kansas City has had tremendous success in planning and organising workshops. Follow some of his ideas and maybe you can have results just like him.

This Month’s Special:

Tai Chi for Arthritis - 12 Lessons with Dr Lam - 4 Hours, 2 Disc DVD
Tai Chi for Arthritis Part 2 - 6 Lessons with Dr Lam - 2 Hours
Seated Tai Chi for Arthritis NEW - 85 mins
Yang Style 40 Forms – 106 mins

To celebrate the launch of the new and improved edition of the Tai Chi for Arthritis DVDs, we are offering for this month only a 10% discount for any or all of the four new titles.

When ordering on-line please quote code "S0509" in the "Comment Section" of the order form.

Upcoming Workshops by Dr Lam:

May 30 – May 31, 2009. Hartford, CT, United States
Tai Chi for Osteoporosis and Fall Prevention Instructor Training

June 13 -14, Memphis, TN, USA

Tai Chi for Beginners Instructors Training

June 15 - 20, Memphis, TN, USA

One Week Tai Chi Workshop

July 11 - July 12, 2009. Hobart, TAS, Australia
Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis

August 1 - August 2, 2009. Sydney, NSW, Australia
Tai Chi for Diabetes Instructor Training

August 1 - August 2, 2009. Sydney, NSW, Australia
Tai Chi for Osteoporosis and Fall Prevention Instructor Training

August 22 - August 23, 2009. Sydney, Australia
Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis

September 3 - September 4, 2009. Sydney, NSW, Australia
Therapeutic Tai Chi Instructor Training

September 19 - September 20, 2009. Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Tai Chi for Diabetes Instructor Training

October 1 - October 2, 2009. Manchester, United Kingdom
Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis

October 3 - October 4, 2009. Manchester, United Kingdom
Tai Chi for Osteoporosis Instructor Training

October 17 - October 18, 2009. Zurich, Switzerland
Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis

Many other workshops conducted by my authorised master trainers are listed in the Workshop Calendar.

Yours in Tai Chi,

Paul Lam, M.D.

http://www.taichiproductions.com

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Tai Chi for Arthritis, Past, Present and Future
Dr Paul Lam, Sydney, NSW, Australia

In 1996, I started with the idea that a modified tai chi program with input from modern medical knowledge would be more effective and safe, especially for people with chronic conditions like arthritis. With a team of medical specialists and tai chi experts the Tai Chi for Arthritis program was created in 1997. Since then 6 published medical studies have confirmed the program to relieve pain, reduce the risk of falls and improve the quality of life. That is why Arthritis Foundations around the world have supported the program.

Over the last 12 years the program has been taught extensively worldwide. We now have 47 Master Trainers, thousands of trained instructors and over a million have benefitted from this program. This month’s theme “Tai Chi for Arthritis” we take time to reflect the past and project the future of the program.

Dr Patience White, chief medical officer of the Arthritis Foundation in USA and her colleagues has written an article about our collaboration to produce the now available new Tai Chi for Arthritis instructional DVD. Rosemary Palmer from South Australia talks about her experience with Australian Arthritis Foundations. These articles are representative of Arthritis Foundations all over the world, how they have embraced and adopted the program to help people with or without arthritis.

TCA has been used for a multitude of health purposes, e.g. Shelia Rae of Tennessee have used it to help drug addicts kick the habit, Jef Morris and Tony Garcia in Miami have used it to help people with multiple sclerosis and smoke cessation. Troyce Thome in California teaches college students. In Australia many health promotion services have used it for falls prevention, the world’s largest falls prevention study actually has 80% of people doing Tai Chi Arthritis. The author of this study will have an article in the June newsletter on Tai Chi for Falls Prevention. Meanwhile over the last few years ACC, Accident Compensation Corporation of NZ, a national government body which provides comprehensive, no-fault personal injury cover for all their citizens and visitors, have found prevention to be more cost effective than cure. For several years now they have offered free tai chi classes to older people for falls prevention. Read about their tai chi program in this link. Their studies have confirmed the program has had a great deal of success. Ann Rose, their falls prevention manager’s article of how TCA is being taught in NZ will appear in next month’s newsletter.

I see the future of the program expanding to even more countries around the world as well as extending to different areas of health. Recently there was a long term study from Taiwan which showed older people, after two years of practising TCA, improved 6 out of 8 quality of life measurements. That is the most effective anti age intervention shown by a study. Another recent study from HK shows Tai Chi for Arthritis improves the balance of people who have suffered from strokes.

I believe TCA and all Tai Chi for Health programs have a significant role in the future of health care in the western world. We are facing a health care crisis with limited government funding and a growing aging population. Most people are not receiving the health care they deserve. I believe, like many of my colleagues, to have the ability to take care of our own health can be a solution to this crisis. TCA, as an effective self management program, has much to contribute to this cause. With this in mind I look forward to TCA becoming a useful mean to better health.

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Tai Chi for Arthritis and the Arthritis Foundation (AF)
Dr Patience White, Chief Medical Officer, AF, Atlanta, GA, USA

The Arthritis Foundation (AF) and Dr. Paul Lam have built a strong and successful

Right to Left - Dr Patience White, Dr Paul Lam and Jeannine Galloway from the Arthritis Foundation

relationship. The AF and Dr. Lam have collaborated on the Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi Program and most recently on the new Tai Chi for Arthritis- in collaboration with the Arthritis Foundation DVD series. The AF and Dr. Lam worked together on the creation of 3 DVDs that exemplified the Tai Chi program and promoted the collaboration between the AF and Dr. Lam working collectively on the design of the interior and exterior of the cover and content of the DVDs. The partnership on the DVD was a great success for two entities to come together on one project for one cause- helping people with arthritis.

Many of the Arthritis Foundation chapters have incorporated the Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi Program (formerly known as Tai Chi from the Arthritis Foundation) with the other programs they offer to the community. The Arthritis Foundation New York Chapter is an example of one of the chapters that has incorporated this program. In 2003 the New York Chapter adopted the Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi Program to be included in the series of programs which are offered to system partners. In the past six years, the Chapter has conducted eight instructor trainings, training127 instructors. These instructors have successfully implemented over 100 Tai Chi classes reaching over 1500 individuals with arthritis. Participants have consistently shown signs of improvement including, reduced pain and stiffness, increased range of motion and reduced feelings of depression.

In recent years, Tai Chi has become one of New York Chapter’s most popular disease management courses. Comments by class participants reflect the beneficial impact the Tai Chi course has on a range of arthritis related conditions. One participant states, “My ability to manage pain, stress and fatigue has greatly improved.” Another participant writes, “The explanation of movements, exercises themselves, and booklet with exercises to do at home were a great help to me! I enjoyed everything about this class.”

Other Arthritis Foundation Chapters share the same experiences as the New York Chapter has had with the program. Chapters view this program as another excellent way for people with arthritis to learn how to manage their symptoms of arthritis, and to stay active.

The Arthritis Foundation in collaboration with Dr. Lam continues to help more people with arthritis throughout the US by increasing the number of people involved with Tai Chi and other programs. The AF looks to an exciting future expanding our collaboration with Dr. Lam and improving the lives of people with arthritis through the AF Tai Chi program.

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Tai Chi for Arthritis, a South Australia Perspective
Rosemary Palmer, Master Trainer, Adelaide, SA, Australia

I met Dr. Paul Lam in 1999 at the first January Tai Chi Workshop in Sydney. The welcome my friend Pauline and I received was incredible and we were made so welcome. The workshop was inspirational and one never to be forgotten. We had travelled from South Australia, the furthest away of any participants that year. It was the first of the annual workshops in Sydney and the forerunner to those in the US, which are now attended by people from all over the world.

The Tai Chi for Arthritis programme was promoted by Arthritis SA and introduced to South Australia by Dr. Lam in 2000, the year of the Dragon. We knew this was an excellent programme but could not have envisaged at that time what a phenomenal success it would be. You may know that the Dragon, in Asia, is a symbol of the life force. And the Year of the Dragon an ideal time for vision, innovation and, to some degree, risk. Dr. Lam took advantage of all three.

This beginning was the first of a long association with the Tai Chi for Arthritis programme, myself and Arthritis SA. Arthritis SA immediately saw the benefits such a programme could offer to people with arthritis, it was safe, relatively easy to learn, and not too long that people got tired. It was enjoyable, encouraged social interaction and most of all, it was effective.

Initially the programme was presented in Adelaide and attended mostly by volunteers of Arthritis SA and Tai Chi practitioners looking for additional forms to teach, especially to older people. After the workshop we realised that this was no ordinary programme. It was well researched and had expert endorsement. “With such a large percentage of the population learning to cope with the pain and limitations arthritis caused to their life-style, Tai Chi for Arthritis was a gentle form of exercise that gave huge benefits to these people” says Jenny Bennett, from Arthritis SA.

Our next step was to take the programme to the rural areas of South Australia, working with the health services of the various regions. Again the programme exceeded our expectations. We now have leaders teaching Tai Chi for Arthritis throughout the state and within our indigenous communities. Our leaders have taught hundreds of people with arthritis, from children to seniors, some in their nineties.

The only difficulty we found with the programme was “quality control”. What happens to the skill level during the two year gap before an update? Although the current DVD was comprehensive as far as the form itself went and the benefits Tai Chi offered to the participant, we needed more. Also it was becoming dated as warm-ups had changed and of course the form itself had evolved. Due to time restraints it was impossible to visit these distant locations on a regular basis to check on skill and presentation. Totally by coincidence the new DVD will solve these difficulties.

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Planning and Running a Successful Workshop
Jim Starshak, Senior Trainer, Kansas City, KS, USA

Wow, you just attended the most wonderful Tai Chi for Health workshop ever! Now, you are so energized, all you can think about is hosting a similar workshop in your own hometown.

Jim Starshak at the very successful Explore the Depth of TCA Workshop Kansas City 2008

Well, you can! All it takes to run a successful workshop is some time, a system for planning, and a lot of work!

Over the years, I have conducted numerous workshops and although they each have different participants and topics, they all require similar planning and coordination. Let me go through my “check lists” of steps I take when planning, coordinating, and running a workshop. Of course, there are many details involved in each step, but I want to just briefly cover these broad areas to help guide you through your own workshop planning steps.
My first check list has my three “umbrella” concepts that cover everything I do from my initial concept until after the workshop concludes (and we’re not really finished when the workshop ends). The key things I do every day during my planning are:

1. Communicate (with Everyone)
2. Be Pro-Active
3. Attention to Details

Next, I want to highlight my main focus in each of seven areas I feel are most important when planning any workshop. In each of these, I again have my three keys for success, and, just like before, there are many details involved in each step. My seven key areas that I consider when doing any workshop include: Planning, Venue, Budgeting, Coordination, Marketing, Conducting the Workshop, and After the Workshop.

Planning
1. Assess Initial Interest
2. List All Questions
3. Check for Competing Events

Venue
1. Location
2. Costs – Yours & Participant’s
3. Space Requirements

Budgeting
1. What to Charge?
2. What to Include?
3. Miscellaneous Costs

Coordination
1. Track ALL your Actions
2. Anticipate Issues & Questions
3. Not Checked = Not Done

Marketing
1. The Brochure
2. Target Audience
3. Use Key Marketers

Conducting the Workshop
1. Check-In is a “First Impression”
2. Pre-Arrange for Helpers
3. Check Layout, Support, and Equipment

After the Workshop
1. Thank Everyone
2. Accurate Final Accounting
3. Share Feedback / Lessons Learned

I would like to say that this is all there is to running a successful workshop, but I have merely listed those top-level tasks. Go through each list and think how each will apply to specifics in your workshop. If you still feel you want to go through all the work to host a workshop—and I do hope you will—then I will be happy to provide more details and ideas in each area to help you through the planning process. In fact, this entire article really fits into just my very last item—Share Feedback / Lessons Learned. I hope it helps you. I know just writing it all down has helped me to focus on planning even better workshops in the future.

Thanks for sticking with me. Now, go and plan your own wonderful tai chi workshop. I know you will do great.

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Humour, laughter and Radiant Health
Dr Bob McBrien, Salisbury, Maryland, USA

There is much wisdom in the saying, “You don’t stop laughing because you are growing old; you grow old because you stopped laughing.” There is mounting evidence that there is good science in that saying. We have the capacity to find the joke, be playful and have fun. Having a good laugh daily is a pleasant way to stay youthful and enjoy life. Following are three anecdotes that serve as antidotes to any negativity that appears in your life today.

Martha walked in to the house and located her husband watching the TV. She said, “George, the car won’t start, the carburettor is flooded”
George answered, “Woman, what do you know about mechanics, that car is in great shape so the carburettor is NOT flooded. Anyway, how would you know?”
Martha answered, “That car won’t start, the carburettor IS flooded and I do know because I just drove it into the swimming pool!”

President Obama was touring an assisted living centre, walking through the halls with his hosts. Passing along he greeted and was greeted by the residents. He passed by one resident sitting in the lobby who did not seem to notice him, and so he paused and got her attention. “Do you know who I am?” he asked.
“No dearie,” she answered, “but don’t worry, just go over to the front desk and they will tell you your name.”

Morris, an 82 year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical. A few evenings later, the doctor saw Morris in a nightclub dancing with a gorgeous young woman.
After the dance ended, the doctor said, “What are you doing here?”
Morris replied, "Doc don’t be surprised, it was you who told me to get a hot mamma and be cheerful.'
“The doctor said, “I didn't say that. I said, 'You've got a heart murmur; be careful.'"

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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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