Newsletter #131 - July 2012
- Carrying the Torch, Linda Arksey
- Teaching from the Energy of Love, Caroline Demoise
- Tai Chi Recognized by ACSM as an Exercise for Functional Fitness and Fall Prevention, Denise Murray
- Can a Blind Instructor be certified to Teach TCA? Sherry Jones
- Managing Lymphedema through the Use of Qigong and Tai Chi, Marilyn Costanzo
- Humour, Laughter and Radiant Health, Bob McBrien
July is the month of the London Olympics, how appropriate it is to have an ex Olympian speak on the tenth
anniversary of our USA workshop in Memphis a few days ago. Linda Arksey drew a comparison to the Olympics and the Tai Chi for Health vision based on her experience as an ice-skating Olympian and coach representing UK, and a Tai Chi for Health Master Trainer. You can read her talk below and see it on the YouTube link.
The 10th anniversary of the USA Tai Chi workshop was held in the beautiful Whispering Woods conference centre in Memphis. This year we had record attendance in the pre conference Tai Chi for Energy instructor’s training as well as the one-week annual workshops. There were inspirational speakers and great demonstrations, which we will share with you now and in the subsequent months. The workshops ended on a high note with 159 participants demonstrating the Tai Chi for Arthritis forms at the adjacent park. Such a spectacular sight can be seen in this YouTube link.
I am delighted to inform you that all Tai Chi for Health programs are now entitled to gain accreditation points by the American College of Sports Medicine, as well as the Nurses board in most states of USA. The ACSM is a highly respected global body; associations worldwide accept programs endorsed by them. In this newsletter Jim Starshak, chairman of Tai Chi for Health Institute talks about this and other achievements of TCHI, through Denise
Murray at the annual conference of the ACSM.
Caroline Demoise’s morning talk in the workshop was about the tale of a memorable teacher. You can read about this in her article below and watch the YouTube video on this link. One of the workshop participants, a long time instructor and Senior Trainer Sherry Jones reports about the first blind instructor who was certified by Master Trainer Shelia Rae and now running classes successfully. What an achievement! Goes to show how accessible the Tai Chi for Health program is! Not only for participants but teachers alike.
Desoto Appeal was so impressed with Tai Chi for Health and our workshops; it put us on their front-page news. Click here for the article. Please share it with your friends.
More exciting news! My “Introduction to Tai Chi for Beginners DVD YouTube link” just passed a million hits. Click here to view the youtube video. On this note we are making Tai Chi for Beginners instructional DVD this month’s feature …buy this DVD and receive a free Tai Chi for Beginners handbook.
Special thanks go to my wonderful and dedicated colleagues who co ordinated my global workshops in Finland
, Sweden, Switzerland and Memphis. Siirka-liisa, Amanda, Kent, Ellen, Carmen, Anna, Shelia, and MTs who facilitated the Tai Chi for Energy workshop, instructors who taught and assisted in the one week workshop, many people who helped in varying ways to make the workshops a great success, and lastly and most importantly all participants - your effort will bring the benefits and enjoyment of Tai Chi for Health to many others like ripples in the water.
I would also like to share with you feedback from last month’s newsletter:
“What a wonderful article you wrote describing your insight into what our Tai Chi for Health is after your experience seeing Wu Guanzhong's paintings in Hong Kong. I got it! It's such a clear and understandable analogy. Thank you!!!! Just recently I finally sat down and wrote to my first tai chi teacher, a woman in Connecticut, thanking her for offering me such good training. I'm hoping to be able to meet with her and renew our friendship. Your words will help me describe to her how we have remained true to tai chi and still modernized what we are offering.”
“I just read your article in the newsletter. Modernised Tai Chi - yes!!!
I love the insight you gained from looking at the work of the artist Wu Guangzhong. I was not familiar with his work, so looked for some examples online. Click here to see his works of art. A fascinating blend of the best of east and west - exactly what your Tai Chi for Health programs are!”
- As a true Olympian Linda Arksey reminds us it is not the winning that is important, but rather the participation.
- Caroline Demoise talks about the effectiveness of teaching from the energy of love.
- Denise Murray gives us an overview of ACSM and ACSM’s 2011 updated exercise in particular guidelines that identify tai chi as an exercise for functional fitness and fall prevention.
- Through Sherry Jones’ immense patience and dedication, the amazing announcement of the first TCH blind instructor was made possible.
- Marilyn Costanzo is hopeful some lymphedemas can be managed using the qigong and tai chi exercises rom the TCH program to improve their quality of life.
This Month’s Special:
Jul 07 - 08, Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis
Jul 21 - 22, Tai Chi for Energy Instructor Training
Aug 02 - 03, Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis
Aug 25 - 26, Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis
Sep 29 - 30, Tai Chi for Energy Instructor Training
Nov 10 - 11, Tai Chi for Energy Instructor Training
Many other workshops conducted by my authorised master trainers are listed in Workshop Calendar.
Linda Arksey presented this talk in last month’s USA Memphis workshop
Good morning ladies and gentlemen and Dr Lam,
As many of you know this is an important year for the United Kingdom as we have just celebrated our Queens
Diamond Jubilee (60 years on the throne), and in July, London is to host the 30th Olympic games.It is two years ago that I stood before many of you and spoke about my Tai Chi journey. So many of you will know I represented my country at the Olympics. Lots of people have been asking me if I'm excited about the Olympics and the answer to that is, “of course”! I then tell them if you see me standing by the side of an Olympic swimming pool in my ice boots, then I'm at the wrong Olympics because I like my water frozen!
You may also remember that I used my Tai Chi knowledge to help me as an Ice Dancing coach and international judge, to improve fitness, balance and choreography, and would incorporate Tai Chi into my training regime for my athletes.
Being an Olympian I recognise the parallels in symbolism and ideals between The Tai Chi for Health Institute and the Olympics. There are rules that govern Olympic athletes and similarly we have our code of ethics. We have our Tai Chi salute and there is an Olympic salute, which is a variant of the Roman salute. The left arm by your side.
The right arm and hand are stretched and pointing upward, the palm is outward and downward, with the fingers touching. This was supposed to show that the Olympic games were aiming higher than all the other games played around the world. This salute has not been used at the Olympics since 1936 following the outbreak of World War II, for obvious reasons. It is amazing how one little motion can have so many different meanings, both good and bad.
The Olympic rings consist of five intertwined rings and represent the unity of the five inhabited continents (America, Africa, Asia, Australasia, and Europe). The Olympic Movement is international and welcomes all countries of the world to join, just like Tai Chi for Health.
The Olympic torch is a tradition continued from the Ancient Olympic Games, which originated in Olympia Greece in 776 BC. According to Greek mythology Prometheus stole the flame from the Greek god Zeus to give to mortals the gift of fire. The flame itself represents purity, the pursuit of perfection and the struggle for victory. It also represents peace and friendship, which we understand in Tai Chi for Health.
So I can see you are thinking ... where is our Tai Chi for Health torch?
We carry the message of Tai Chi for Health as our Torch with us every day. Our flame is the inner energy of us all, carrying our vision of “Making Tai Chi for Health accessible to everyone for health and wellness”.
The Olympic Motto is not so similar. Citius, Altius, Fortius, a Latin expression meaning "Faster, Higher, Stronger". But perhaps our Tai Chi for Health motto should be “Slower, Higher Stance, Smooth and Continuous”. Can anyone translate this into Latin please?
Many of us spend most of our time teaching Tai Chi throughout the year. This conference is our opportunity to see old friends and meet new ones. We are all like-minded people coming together in celebration of our sport. So this week let’s enjoy our own Tai Chi Olympics.
On a final note and in true Olympic style remember, it is not the winning that is important, it is the taking part.
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Once upon a time there was a teacher who taught from the energy of love. Students fortunate enough to encounter Isn’t this how you would like to learn? I know how much I appreciate this environment and how I cringe inside when being judged, feel repulsed by intimidation and remember to this day my fear of teachers in my past who were mean, critical and unsupportive. As a culture we tend to focus on the negative, yet what produces excellence and grows an organization is cooperation and teamwork. When you teach from the energy of love, students match that energy by focusing on tai chi and doing their very best in that moment. The energy of love is experienced as validation and allows them to grow. The teacher is like a master gardener who knows just how to nourish that seed of tai chi expression in each student. When you decide all your students are good students, they do their best and are good students. In any classroom the teacher sets the energy, the environment for learning. When you give all your students respect, when you feel a smile in your heart for each student, their response is progress. And that is what we want; that is why we are here, to practice, learn, have a personal best and allow that feeling of achievement to nourish us. It is not about perfection or competition; it is always about growing with tai chi and having an enriching experience. It is all about going home with a sense of accomplishment and a desire to come back to your loving tai chi family and learn more. Growing into someone who lives or teaches from the energy of love begins by focusing on what we want to become. Experience the desire to teach from the energy of love. Everything we create in life begins with intention. As students of a soft Chinese martial art, we know that energy follows intention. Notice what changes in your mind as you operate from the intention to teach from love. A student’s misalignment doesn’t trigger a judgmental thought. It only registers as a place we want to clarify later in class. Notice what changes in your heart as you focus on feeling pleased when a student makes progress and honouring the small improvements that lead to long-term growth. You become softer and more approachable. If you want to teach from the energy of love, appreciate every student. Show respect to everyone. Honour the place in each person that wants to grow. Choose your words with thoughtfulness. Be encouraging at every step of the leaning process. Bring heart energy into all situations. Take a deep breath and refocus when your frustration gets triggered or a critical thought crosses your mind. Take every opportunity to express joy with a student’s progress. Thanks to the vision and hard work by Dr Paul Lam and Master Trainer (MT) Jim Starshak, and with the support of TCHI’s highly qualified team of MT’s, TCHI has received recognition by ACSM and is an approved provider of ACSM continuing education credits (CEs).
this person were amazed at how enjoyable it was to learn. They were not uncomfortable practicing challenging movements or attempting to apply tai chi principles. The feeling in the training room was relaxed; no pressure, no performance anxiety, no embarrassment in being different from the student next to them or in front of them. No negative thoughts were perceived. No feeling of being judged could be detected. The focus of learning was on enjoying the process. It was all good. Every student in the room felt calm, free to be themselves in an environment of acceptance, encouragement and compassion.
Denise Murray, TCH instructor, Lake Orion, MI, USA
in the world with over 45,000 members worldwide. From their web page, ACSM’s mission is to promote and integrate scientific research, education and practical applications of sport medicine and exercise science to maintain and enhance physical performance, fitness, health and quality of life.
In 2011 ACSM released updated exercise guidelines for most adults. ACSM recommends 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate intensity exercise each week. Their exercise guidelines for basic fitness recommendations are now categorized by: 1) cardiovascular exercise, 2) resistant or strength training exercise, 3) flexibility exercise, and 4) neuromotor exercise or functional fitness training – a new category addition.
In addition, Tai chi is being recognized for the first time by ACSM as a neuromotor exercise for functional fitness and fall prevention for adults. Tai chi is considered a functional fitness exercise because muscles and muscle movement patterns that are used while practicing it are needed for the activities of daily living.
ACSM identifies the key components required to improve and maintain fitness, health, and quality of life for each of the four exercise categories. ACSM calls these components the FITT Principle guidelines. The acronym FITT stands for:
Following are references for more information on the ACSM guidelines.
http://www.acsm.org/about-acsm/who-we-are
http://www.acsm.org/about-acsm/media-room/news-releases/2011/08/01/acsm-issues-new-recommendations-on-quantity-and-quality-of-exercise
The answer and outcome was outstanding, and I’d like to share the journey with Nathan Jesse, a young man who
lost his sight 11 years ago due to complications from Type I Diabetes.
I felt I could teach a blind person tai chi, but to certify at a workshop with no tai chi experience was going to be a challenge. Shelia Rae, Master Trainer for the workshop, told me she thought it might demand too much of her time away from the other participants, plus she did not have the expertise or experience to provide training for Nathan. But, if I was willing to do individual training at the workshop, we could give it a go.
So I called Cindy to find out about this blind instructor. Turned out he was not teaching anything because everything was too fast paced for him to orient himself. She felt that because tai chi was slow moving, he might have a chance. Nathan is young and had done martial arts when he was sighted. After talking to Cindy, I knew I could help Nathan; whatever the outcome, and both of us were very excited about him coming to the workshop. I did request that they came a day early and let me introduce Nathan to tai chi. They came and we worked all afternoon the day before the workshop. Nathan fell in love with tai chi.
Nathan was with the class for the warm-ups, the lectures and the group sessions. At first, I was beside him giving verbal instructions, then some of his classmates helped him, and finally he could do the warm–ups without assistance. I taught him individually outside the classroom. As he would learn the movements, I would let him do it with the class. It was harder for him when people were around him because he was afraid of hitting them and he was slower in movement. Once he became comfortable to move in the space around him without a cane, those fears lessened.
Teaching the form was the biggest challenge. I found myself pulling from everything I had learned about tai chi to teach him. Because of the no touch rule, there was minimal touching or manipulating. Then I realized that in order to teach him tai chi, I had to do more than describe the movements and give him visualizations. I had to teach him how to feel tai chi. Then, instead of stopping to feel secure where he was before the next move, everything was becoming continuous. I could not wait for Shelia and Cindy to see what he had accomplished. He was a little nervous, but could do the TCA I movements.
Shelia and I had talked to him about either assisting teaching or having an instructor assists him to be his eyes for checking posture and safety: “Listening to your Students”
The workshop was the second weekend in April. May 9th, Nathan called me and excitedly told me had taught 3 tai chi classes. I asked him if he had assistance, and he said the first class Cindy got there late, but she did not have to take over. He said, “ I stood in front of the mirror and asked them to watch me in the mirror like you said.” He said the class went well and everyone loved tai chi. He said the first class came about because the pool was closed and there were 23 people standing around wondering what to do. He said that he took them to an aerobics room and taught them tai chi and they loved it. Nathan had been playing Dr Lam’s DVD every night and practicing. He said, “it sure is tough when you have to do the warm-ups before the next movement.“ I laughed and told him to ask someone to show him how many times to scroll down to get the next movement so he wouldn’t have to do the warm-ups every time.
Nathan and Cindy are planning on coming to Shelia Rae’s Tai Chi for Diabetes workshop in August. Nathan has proved to be a wonderful addition to our tai chi family.
P.S. from Shelia Rae
Marilyn Costanzo, registered nurse and TCH instructor, St Augustine, FL, USA
Cancer is very much a part of our world today. Whether it attacks a friend, a family member or ourselves, the quest
to be “cancer-free” can be wrenching for those of us left with the many side effects after treatment. Following skin cancer, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the US for women. According to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, every hour 30 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. To hear of the challenges a person must face to become “cancer-free” is disturbing enough but what about the many side effects that many incur post-treatment?
Twenty-five to forty per cent of the women after breast cancer treatment may develop a condition called Lymphedema. This is an accumulation of protein rich fluid in part of the body. It is usually due to the removal of lymph nodes during surgery or damage to the lymphatic system during radiation treatment. The lymph system, part of the circulatory system, collects fluid throughout the body via 600 – 700 lymph vessels. This fluid is pumped back to the heart and is either ‘recycled’ or eliminated. When this process is disturbed, usually the first noticeable sign is general swelling or heaviness in a body part. If the area involves the joints it can cause them to become stiff and less mobile. It most often affects the arms or legs but can also affect the face, neck, chest or genitalia. However, lymphedema is not exclusive to women. Anyone, regardless of the type or location of the cancer, can be affected.
As practitioners we have seen the healing effect of tai chi and its’ many benefits. What I propose is to offer a group of women previously treated for breast cancer and are exhibiting signs of lymphedema, an exercise program using qigong and the tai chi form recommended by Dr Lam. This will be a voluntary and subjective study. I shall monitor their progress over several months to a year. I am optimistic that some lymphedemas can be managed in this manner and the quality of life improved.
reflect on the many positive experiences during the workshop I experienced. A major theme of my essays for this newsletter is related to the understanding that when we have a healthy sense of humour and laugh often, the quality of our life improves, our outlook on life is optimistic and we experience radiant health. This sharing of joy within the group, discovering how to laugh at our mistakes, and the genuine caring students received from the workshop staff resulted in a demonstration of the healthy and peaceful environment tai chi has been promising planet earth for a long time.
Here are a few bits of wit to add to your healthy humour library.
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American football finally makes sense. My cousin Phil took his new girlfriend to her first football game. Their seats were right behind the home team's bench. After the game, he asked her how she liked the experience. "Oh, I really liked it," she replied, "especially the tight pants and all the big muscles, but I just couldn't understand why they were killing each other over 25 cents." Confused, Phil asked, "What do you mean?" "Well, at the start they flipped a coin. One team got it, and then for the rest of the game, the entire crowd kept screaming was, 'Get the quarter back! Get the quarter back!' I'm like, Hello-o-o! It's only 25 cents!"
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A burglar breaks into a house. He starts looking for valuables. As he reaches for a jewellery case, he hears, "Jesus is watching you." Startled, the burglar looks for the speaker. Seeing no one, he continues putting jewels in his bag. Once again, he hears, "Jesus is watching you." This time, he sees a parrot. "Who are you?" the burglar asks. " I am Moses," the bird replied. "Who the heck would name a bird Moses?" the burglar laughed. "I don't know," Moses answered," I guess it's the same kind of people that would name their Pit bull Jesus."
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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