Newsletter #114 - February 2011

In this issue:

- From me to you, Paul Lam

- 25 Years of Better Health Tai Chi Chuan, Sybil Wong

- Listening to becoming a Better Teacher, Ernie Hall

- Teaching Tai Chi to Individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia, Denise Murray

- Grace under Pressure, Caroline Demoise

- Featured Profile – Pam Kircher, Caroline Demoise

- 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,

Although Australia “abounds in nature’s gifts of beauty rich and rare”, we have some of the worst natural disasters, like bush fires and floods! Last month, many parts of our country experienced one of the worst floods in decades. Many lives and homes were lost and this will take a long time to heal and restore. Please give generously your help and positive energy to those who are less fortunate.

Instructors at the January one week tai chi workshop, Sydney 2011.

The January Sydney workshop was a resounding success. In this newsletter, you will read about highlights of the workshop with more to come in later issues. The theme this month is 'tai chi and the community'. Tai chi revitalises and energises us through interacting and working with the community. Humans as social beings gain energy from working with people and contributing to the society. Have you experienced times when you don’t feel so bright, yet when you start talking to people or attending a tai chi class, you feel energised?

At the January workshop, there were three morning talks on tai chi and the community. The first was from Sybil Wong talking about 25 years of our tai chi school, Better Health Tai Chi Chuan. You can read her speech below and see her in action on YouTube.

Secondly, Pat Webber talked about 13 years of tai chi workshops in Sydney and USA, I will include her talk in next months newsletter. The third talk was from Jennifer Chung, a Master Trainer from Singapore. It was about her and her colleagues’ idea of gathering a group of 400 to have a tai chi lesson with me. This number exploded

Dr Paul Lam at the award ceremony presenting the award of Excellence to Niccola Follett.

exponentially when word got around and 2000 people turned up on the day!

As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, another highlight was the presentation of the Excellence of Community Partnership Award, to the former Greater Southern Area Health Service, by the Tai Chi for Health Institute. You can see a video of the award ceremony and the representatives of the Health Service explaining the role they played to win this prestigious award.

In this newsletter:

Sybil Wong reflects on her long association with BHTCC in the year of its 25th anniversary, citing its achievements and vision.
Ernie Hall continues to learn from her students, by listening she aspires to become a better teacher.
Denise Murray tries to address the basics of what a person should know before working with individuals living with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementia.
This month Caroline talks about “grace under pressure”, a life skill that practicing tai chi cultivates in the aware student.

This Month’s Special:

Receive 25% OFF any DVD purchase from the "Beginners Series".

Limit to one order per person.

When ordering please quote special code "SP0211BS" in the comment section.

Please Note: Your 25% discount will be applied at time of processing.

Upcoming workshops: by Dr Paul Lam

Mar 05 - March 06, Fullerton, SA, Australia

Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructor Training

April 16 - April 17, Florence, Italy

Tai Chi for Diabetes Instructor Training

May 14 - May 15, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Tai Chi for Diabetes Instructor Training

May 14 - May 15, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructor Training

May 14 - May 15, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Tai Chi for Osteoporosis Instructor Training

May 14 - May 15, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Tai Chi for Arthritis Part II and Update

May 29- May 30, Singapore

Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis

June 4 - June 5, Singapore

Tai Chi for Energy Instructor Training

Jun 11 - June 12, Terre Haute, IN, United States

Tai Chi for Fall Prevention & Seated Tai Chi for Arthritis

Jun 13 - June 18, Terre Haute, IN, United States

One Week Tai Chi Workshop

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

Yours in Tai Chi,

Paul Lam, MD
/taichiforhealthinstitute.org/

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25 Years of Better Health Tai Chi Chuan
Sybil Wong, BHTCC instructor, Kogarah, NSW, Australia

For those of you who do not know me, I am an instructor of BHTCC and I have been with the school for more than

Sybil Wong speaking about BHTCC's 25 year anniversary.

20 years. We have just celebrated 25 years of BHTCC and I am here to reflect on those years and its achievements.

Better Health Tai Chi Chuan is a non profit organisation. It was founded in 1984 by Dr. Paul Lam and his friend Scottie Potter for the purpose of teaching and promoting tai chi. The school has established an excellent reputation both in Australia and overseas for the high standard of teaching and its efforts to promote tai chi for health.

We started in a hall in Peakhurst with a small number of students and have grown to a much larger school today. All BHTCC instructors are volunteers; we have more than 20 instructors at the moment. We pride ourselves on the friendly environment where we share our knowledge and help each other to develop and have a culture where we are encouraged to share our knowledge with each other in a supportive and non threatening environment.

Paul had and continues to have a vision to spread tai chi to as many people as possible. He is convinced that tai chi can be of great benefit in keeping people healthy and that it is especially useful for people with chronic illnesses.

There is an increase of chronic illness in the western world and this increase is continuing. Governments will find it increasingly expensive and difficult to look after these people. One solution is to keep people healthier for as long as possible and for people with chronic illnesses to find ways of helping themselves. Tai Chi as an ideal exercise for everybody, including people with chronic health problems, is an important health tool for the future.

With this in mind, Paul did two things. Firstly, he developed the Tai Chi for Health programmes which has reached and benefited millions of people world wide. BHTCC supports his Tai Chi for Health programs and some of our instructors are master trainers in these programme. Our school and instructors also takes part in tai chi medical research which provides us with evidence that tai chi is beneficial to health.

Never sitting still for more than a second, Paul came up with his second strategy where he wanted to run workshops where tai chi practitioners can come together to learn and to explore tai chi, to share their knowledge and to make friends. In 13 years, many people have participated in these workshops. Some have come to learn for themselves, while others come with the aim to learn so they can teach when they return home. These workshops have also helped tai chi to reach many people. BHTCC is proud to be part of these workshops.

BHTCC also reaches out to the local community. We take part in many demonstrations to try to introduce people to tai chi and I must say that we have had many fun times. Most notably when Pat and friends, in a TCA demonstration were introduced as a group called “Dr Paul Lam and the Arthritics”.

We have had demonstrations in parks, medical conferences, schools, even in Flemington Markets amongst people trying to buy their fruit and vegetables on a Saturday morning, with the hope of showing the community the benefits and fun of tai chi.

In 25 years what has it achieved? How has BHTCC developed?

• it is a fantastic tai chi school with a health focus

• a place where all are welcome to come to learn and practice tai chi
• a place where the tai chi spirit is strong
• a family where we help and nurture each other so that we can all grow
• it is a local school with an international focus
• for the students and instructors of BHTCC it is simply our tai chi family

In addition:

• it is 25 years old and still going strong
• it is looking forward to the next 25 years and beyond

Above all:

• it is the product of one man’s dream and one man’s vision
• BHTCC is proud and privileged be able to share in Paul’s dream and in his vision

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Listening to Becoming a Better Teacher
Ernie Hall, Senior Trainer, St Joseph, MO, USA

Ernie Hall teaching tai chi for an arthritis class.

I have learned to be a better instructor by listening to the students. It’s all part of the communication process, similar to playing ping-pong, badminton or tennis. Once the lesson or message is served, the teacher must listen for the return. Students have taught me to be ready for the unexpected as much as the expected. Depending upon what I “hear”, a teaching strategy might need to be changed. Especially in Tai Chi for Health classes that continue long after the complete series of lessons is learned, students come and go. It has been said that the effective instructor teaches to the stage of learning that’s in front of them at the moment. Depending upon how much they have practiced outside the classroom or how long they’ve been away, students may return at a different stage.

Over the past three years of teaching tai chi to diversified groups and individuals, I’ve learned by listening -- being aware of what students may not be saying as well as what they are telling me. Smiles, frowns, looks of concern as well as body language expressing attention or distraction usually tell me how things are going. Oftentimes, and especially if I’m instructing back-on, it’s been necessary to turn and look or simply just ask them, “How’s it going?” Then, of course the most important part is the listening part I must do. The flexible teacher who listens can decide “on the spot” to review, revise or progress with something new. The tai chi principle of awareness applies to teacher and to student.

By listening, I’ve discovered that each class has its own personality. Different groups respond in different ways to some of the various techniques I’ve tried. For example, early on in my teaching experience I invited students to write a brief entry in a journal left by the class sign-in sheet. Many were eager to share how tai chi had impacted their lives in a positive way. Most welcomed the opportunity to give a brief written evaluation of their class experience. Ongoing classes of mixed students who have been meeting for several months or longer often enjoy the variety of seated and standing TCA within the same class period.

After leading one or two sets, I’ve suggested that the students, in one group voice, announce each form as they move through the set, and have encouraged volunteers to lead the warm-up exercises or entire sets. Other ideas tried with intermediate to advanced students include practicing tai chi in a circle configuration, facing different walls as a group with subsequent sets or practicing the first six TCA movements as partners in mirror image of each other. The latter exercise is a nice homework assignment and challenge for advanced students in home practice with a friend. How do I know which methods to continue or abort? The students will tell me what works for them – if I am truly listening.

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Teaching Tai Chi to Individuals Living with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia
Denise Murray, TCA Instructor, Lake Orion, MI, USA

To effectively serve and teach any special population living with a chronic illness it is important to understand the

Denise teaching tai chi to people with alzheimers disease.

disease process. Learning about a disease process helps us to adapt tai chi to be an effective and enjoyable learning experience for the participant, and to avoid injury. This is true when teaching tai chi to individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one on the most recognized forms of dementia which accounts for over half of the diagnosed dementia cases. AD is a degenerative brain disease which changes the chemistry of the brain, interfering with learning, memory and the thought process. Symptoms of AD include confusion, disturbance in short-term memory, changes in personality, mood swings and language difficulties. Age is a risk factor in AD; however, AD is not a natural part of the aging process – a person can show AD symptoms by the early 50s. Currently there is no cure for AD, however early diagnosis with proper medical care and a healthy life style may slow the progress of the disease.

AD is a disease that affects the mind-body connection which interrupts how the body communicates internally, with its surrounding environment, and in processing verbal communication. As students of Tai Chi we know how frustrating and humbling it can be to learn a new tai chi form; just imagine how difficult it can be for someone living with the fog of AD. Even for a healthy brain it often becomes difficult to incorporate a small movement into a larger movement, into tai chi flow which gives us the feeling of floating through time and space.

Individuals living with AD also struggle with bilateral movement. Bilateral movement is movement that engages both the right and left hemispheres of the brain and body. (The right side of the brain controls movement on the left side of the body and left side of the brain controls the right side of the body). For example, in Dr. Lam’s punch kick warm-up movement (performed seated), a person living with AD is only able to either punch or kick. Also if one side of the body is engaged in movement, they struggle to execute a movement with the other side (hemisphere) – they are unable to punch with the right side while kicking left. Teaching tai chi to individuals living with AD becomes more Qigong in nature – focusing on a single small movement, and practicing it with repetition.

Working with individuals living with AD can be very rewarding; however it can be challenging. Avoid high expectations because there is no cure for the disease at this time. There will be classes and participants’ behaviour that will test your confidence in your ability to work with individuals with AD. Disruptive behaviour can be a sign that the activity is overwhelming for them, or they may just be having a bad day. Don’t give up – we all have bad days. The good classes are what will keep you coming back. They will inspire you, as you observe their human spirit fighting through the fog of dementia to follow your movement.

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Grace Under Pressure
Caroline Demoise, Master Trainer, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

One of the wonderful benefits of long term tai chi practice is learning how to exhibit grace under pressure. This is a

Caroline Demoise visiting Shantou during the tai chi china tour in April, 2010

useful skill in all aspects of life. My experience at a recent workshop reminded me that practicing tai chi principles beyond the form enhances every aspect of life. Twenty five years ago my first teacher described tai chi as learning “grace under pressure”. That concept fascinated me and it’s been my intention to allow tai chi to mentor me in that direction. But first let’s get a clearer picture of what she meant by that expression “grace under pressure”.

Tai chi principles involve going with the flow, being aware of your environment and transitioning smoothly from one movement (or situation) to another. Whatever experience life brings our way; we listen to the incoming force, yield, flow with it and redirect if possible to achieve the best outcome possible in every situation we experience. This is the tai chi way of responding to energy whether you practice with a partner or with life and leads to cultivating grace under pressure. When we remain aware and responsive to a changing environment, this tai chi skill is translatable to any life experience. Tai chi practice develops fluidity in physical movements through repetition. When the mind is peaceful and aware of every situation, we can harmonize with life. When our intention involves developing the ability to flow with life and remain in jing mind regardless of what happens, the ability to flow mentally with any situation is being consciously trained. Advanced tai chi skill involves a transformation from reactivity to grace under pressure.

Grace under pressure is the best response when you have an altitude headache at a workshop and are short of breath during tai chi movement. That was my experience in Teller County, Colorado, not too far from Pike Peak. Grace under pressure was essential when an elderly woman tripped and fell, face first, between two parked cars. I witnessed this shocking event through a picture window during an instructor training workshop as I was leading the class through the TCA form and quickly needed to mobilize the emergency response as no one outside had seen her go down. As it turned out, the experience provided an effective lead in to the discussion on precautions, safe teaching and handling emergencies as a tai chi teacher. I will never forget the time, years ago in England, when Dr. Lam handed me a lapel mike and casually informed me that I needed to stand on a table when I taught TCA movements so they could see my feet. If he had told me earlier it may have been a different story, but having no time to think or worry, I was able to adapt to the situation and just do it. When we are challenged with a situation that calls for grace under pressure, it is an opportunity to see how far we have come in developing this deeper tai chi conditioned response.

My most recent demonstration of the value of grace under pressure was during a workshop when unexpectedly notified that a local TV crew would be arriving momentarily to do an interview with me and film a segment of the training. The element of surprise could evoke anxiety or uproot a peaceful mind unless your mind plays push hands and meets the situation by yielding to the incoming force and following the energy. I felt myself instinctively focusing on maintaining the jing quality of tai chi mind and being in the moment. This strategy worked. Words just flowed out of my mouth in answer to the reporter’s questions. Life is so much easier when the mind retains its serenity. If only I could embody that mental attitude in every situation I encounter in life.

All the mindfulness practices, like tai chi, influence the brain circuitry and over time we can shape our mind and behaviour. The neuroplasticity of the brain allows us to chart a path of change by creating an intention to harmonize with life. When we focus on that outcome and are aware of all the opportunities we have to choose our responses in life, slowly over time we change the way our brain functions. These small changes make an important difference in the quality of our life. Grace under pressure is a gift that the mindful practice of tai chi principles gives the practitioner.

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Featured Profile - Pam Kircher, MD, Master Trainer, Pagosa, Springs, CO, USA

By Caroline Demoise, Master Trainer, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

Dr. Pamela Kircher, a strong advocate of integrative medicine, has actively promoted Dr. Paul Lam’s Tai Chi for

Dr Pam Kircher practising tai chi amongst the snow at the Colorado snowy mountains.

Health Programs since 2001. Dr. Kircher encourages western medicine physicians to incorporate effective strategies that promote wellness and rehabilitation. As the Medical Director of Wellness and Integrative Medicine at Mercy Medical Centre in Durango, Co, she encouraged the Wellness Team to embrace the Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructor program and became a tai chi teacher herself in the communities of Durango and Pagosa Springs.

Pam is focusing on creating tai chi for health opportunities for every person who lives in Colorado. Her strategy involves giving a CME presentation (Continuing Medical Education) at the local hospital when she travels to an area that is new to Tai Chi for Health programs. By doing this, local physicians know what is being initiated in the community and why it is safe for their patients. Physicians feel more confident referring their patients to community tai chi classes. Pam has facilitated over 70 workshops in Tai Chi for Arthritis, Tai Chi for Diabetes and Sun Style 73 since becoming an MT.

In her relationship with western medicine, during the eight years that Dr. Kircher practiced family medicine in Houston, she served as Chair of the Family Medicine Department at Memorial Southwest and brought acupuncture into the hospital setting. Because of her interest in Near Death Experiences and grief counselling, she became a Hospice doctor at the Hospice at the Texas Medical Center where she served from 1990-1994. She is an expert in end-of-life issues and Near Death Experiences and is a national speaker on NDEs.

She authored a book on Near Death Experiences called “Love is the Link”. In Durango, she was a Family Practice physician with a strong interest in Complementary Medicine from 1994-1997. She created the TLC program (Touch, Love and Compassion) that offers complementary care services to patients. These services include Therapeutic Touch, music therapy and gentle massage to reduce stress and assist with pain management. These modalities are included in the Pre-operative session along with a tape to help patients prepare for surgery and to heal quickly after surgery.

Aromatherapy and stress reduction products are sold in the gift shop. In fact, the TLC program was adopted as the flagship program when Mercy built a new hospital in 2006. Currently, over 50% of patients avail themselves of this free service and patient satisfaction has skyrocketed since the advent of the program.

When I met Dr. Kircher, at the hospital in Durango, she was interested in experiencing the health benefits of tai chi because she had constant pain in both knees from osteoarthritis. Bilateral knee surgery to repair medial menisci left her with stiffness and pain in the morning. Clinical research studies done on tai chi gave her hope for greater symptom management. I brought Dr. Lam to the hospital to teach a Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructor training in 2001 because I wanted to initiate a hospital based and supported tai chi program for the staff and community.

To Pam’s delight, when she took the training and made tai chi a regular addition to her life, she experienced relief from her knee pain, an increase in range of motion in her neck and reduced stiffness in her upper body as well as an incredible tool for stress management. Learning tai chi gave her the gift of being more in tune with her body. The process of facilitating instructor workshops helped integrate her mind, body and spirit. What surprised her most was how deeply tai chi spoke to her. Pam is at heart a spiritual person and the slow movements of Sun style connected her more deeply to the peace at the core of her being. Practicing tai chi has been an anchor to that mindfulness and awareness of purpose in life. This connection with heart and her experience with tai chi’s wonderful health benefits prompted her to begin promoting tai chi to physicians around the country in CME programs.

To date Pam has given over 40 talks on the health benefits of tai chi to hospitals, people with chronic illnesses (such as MS) and Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation conferences and Integrative Medicine conferences. As a physician advocate for tai chi, Dr. Kircher is in a unique position to advocate for a non traditional rehabilitation strategy like tai chi and convincingly present the case for adopting tai chi in hospitals and wellness centres.

Colorado and the south western states have a large Native American population with a high incidence of Diabetes. Pam did her first instructor training in TCD with the Southern Utes in Dulce.

From there she was invited to do workshops in New Mexico with various pueblos. Pam travelled to Alaska to teach tribes there, including those above the Arctic Circle. They are scattered into small groups, so tai chi is an ideal exercise for diabetes prevention since it can be done alone and doesn’t require space or equipment. Most recently, Pam taught people from the Tohono O’odham Nation in Arizona who had already developed a strong diabetes prevention initiative and wanted to add tai chi, making them a very receptive group for the tai chi training.

As an MT, Pam values opportunities to continue her growth in tai chi. After certifying for TCA in 2001, she became certified to teach Tai Chi for Diabetes Workshops in 2005. When her schedule permits, she assists Dr. Lam with Depth of TCA workshops. Pam participated in the first International Conference for the Scientific Study of Tai Chi for Health in Seoul, South Korea in 2006. She was a Keynote Speaker, giving a talk on “The Practicalities of Tai Chi” and taught a Tai Chi for Diabetes Instructor workshop in Seoul. In 2011 Pam will be taking an intensive workshop with Dr. Lam on Depth of Sun 73.

Dr. Kircher became a Master Trainer for Dr. Lam’s Tai Chi for Health Programs in 2002. In fact, she organized the venue for that training at her ranch in Pagosa Springs, complete with catered meals. It was a magical retreat in the solitude of rural Colorado with views of mountains and a stream. The conversation flowed from training to planning for the future of tai chi’s USA organization into having fun being with others who had a passion for tai chi. I became a Master Trainer that year along with Pam and we conducted our first Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructor Workshop together in Houston in December. What I remember about Pam in that co-teaching experience was her compassion for students, her ability to speak clearly and effectively and her enjoyment of teaching. Teaching skill and medical knowledge are a remarkable combination.

In addition to being a Master Trainer, conducting workshops and teaching at Dr. Lam’s annual weeklong tai chi event in the United States each June, Pam was a founding charter member of the non-profit organization a group of USA MT’s started called Tai Chi for Arthritis Association. The name was later changed to TCHC, Tai Chi for Health Community. Pam served as president from 2002-2006. During that time by-laws were written, non-profit status was obtained and a website was constructed with the help of Pam’s daughter. One of TCHC’s greatest contributions to the new instructor community is the Scholarship Program that awards 5-10 scholarships to the annual workshop.

Although Pam has retired from being a practicing physician, she is actively involved in her teaching role through local classes and regional instructor training workshops. Pam and her husband Mark, a retired Orthopedic Surgeon, now live full time on their ranch in Pagosa Springs. Their ranching lifestyle includes raising cattle, mending fences and involvement in community activities, along with enjoying the beauty of rural Colorado. To contact Pam or learn more about her activities, visit her website.

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Humour, Laughter and Radiant Health
Dr Bob McBrien, Master Trainer, Salisbury, MD, USA

A key theme in my humor and laughter essays is the importance of using our capacity to discover humor in our

Drs Bob and Paul at a Tai Chi for Health workshop

lives. Think of humor as a daily vitamin with a minimum daily requirement in order to stay healthy. Finding humor and having a good laugh builds our resilience and helps us get through the downturns life sends our way. Here are quotes about the meaning of life that may bring on a smile or a laugh.

• Life is like a game of poker: If you don't put any money in the pot, there won't be any to take out
• After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say "I WANT TO SEE THE MANAGER."
• Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television.
• Hard work has a future payoff. Laziness pays off NOW!!!
• Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.
• Money will not buy happiness, but it will let you be unhappy in nice places.
• Life is like an onion; you peel off one layer at a time and sometimes you weep.
• Life is like a cobweb, not an organization chart.
• Life is like a taxi. The meter just keeps a-ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still.
• Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.

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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.

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