Newsletter #133 - September 2012
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I am starting my tour in the USA for several Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis and Tai Chi for Energy
Instructor Training Workshops. I hope you can join me. If you haven’t already enrolled, please hurry as some workshops have already been fully subscribed.
My thanks go to Linda Arksey who generously donated three replicas of the Olympic torch for the winners of the Tai Chi for Health competition who have carried the torch for Tai Chi for Health. In this newsletter, Ernie Hall, one of the winners, compares an athletes dedication to tai chi instructors dedication to their students. Ernie also shares her story on Tai Chi for Kidz. You can read all the wonderful entries and Linda’s original talk about the Olympic torch during her presentation at the One Week Workshop in Memphis, TN, USA last June.
In the July Newsletter, Sherry Jones talked about how Sheila trained a blind instructor, Nathan Jesse. This month Chris Hattle shares her story of training a blind tai chi student, this certainly proves that Tai Chi for Health is accessible to anyone.
Sheila Rae talks about what happens in a Tai Chi Workshop, summing up the last 10 years of the annual USA
Workshops.
With 2013 being the 15th year of the Sydney One Week Workshop, there will be special features such as the inaugural Talent Night. Ian Etcell, senior instructor at my school, Better Health Tai Chi Chuan, was the first to demonstrate at the January 2012 Workshop, please see his demonstration of the Combined 42 Forms. Take note of the depth and energy of his performance.
If you haven’t registered, please do so as soon as possible to secure your chosen class. Click here to register now.
If you have any questions at all regarding the workshop, please email Anna Bennett at manager@taichiforhealthinstitute.org . Feel free to email me at service@taichiforhealthinstitute and I can assist you in choosing the most appropriate course suited to your needs.
I would like you to view Shelia’s You Tube speech about the One Week Tai Chi Workshop and Tai Chi being accessible to everyone. With accessibility in mind, Lee Lightheart tells us how Tai Chi helped her recover from a stroke 14 years ago.
This month I would like to feature one of our master trainers, Ileina Ferrier who has been modest about her achievement, I was so happy to hear this from Stanley J. Michaels, coordinator of Injury Prevention of Hawaii State Department of Health.
She is an inspiration to us all! If you visit Hawaii, be sure to say Hello to Ileina and join one
of her many classes!I look forward to seeing you at one of the USA workshops and/or at the January Workshop in Sydney.
In this newsletter:
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Ernie Hall informs us local YMCAs, churches and other public and private community organizations offer youth activities, and TC4K is a wonderful addition to any program after school or during seasonal breaks between sessions.
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Ernie Hall also feels instructor’s dedication and enthusiasm for teaching Tai Chi encourages many to try something they have never done before.
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Chris Hattle shares with us the story of Lorraine who is blind. Lorraine was referred to Tai Chi to help her become aware of her posture and was able to improve her balance.
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For Shelia Rae the annual one-week workshop is a perfect place to re-charge ourselves for our important mission of doing and sharing Tai Chi with the world.
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Lee Lightheart, a stroke victim, feels strongly that Tai Chi becomes more of a way of life that brings self-confidence and empowerment.
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This month Caroline invites you to think about practicing Tai Chi in a unique and positive way.
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Upcoming workshops:
Sept 29 - 30, Tai Chi for Energy Instructor Training
South Portland, ME, United States
Oct 06 - 07, Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis
Berkeley Heights, NJ, United States
Oct 13 - 14, Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis
Atlanta, GA, United States
Oct 18 - 19, Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis
Bradenton, FL, United States
Oct 20 - 21, Tai Chi for Energy Instructor Training
Bradenton, FL, United States
Oct 27 - 28, Tai Chi for Energy Instructor Training
Denver, CO, United States
Nov 01 - 02, Tai Chi for Kidz Instructor Training
St. Joseph, MO, United States
Nov 03 - 04, Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis
St. Joseph, MO, United States
Nov 10 - 11, Tai Chi for Energy Instructor Training
Sisters, OR, United States
Jan 07 - 12, One-Week Tai Chi Workshop
Sydney, NSW, Australia
Many other workshops conducted by my authroised master trainers are listed in Workshop Calendar.
Yours in Tai Chi,
Ernie Hall, Senior Trainer, St Joseph, MO, USA
Sometimes when we have been instructing a specific Tai Chi for Health program for several months we lose sight of
opportunities to instruct another set or appeal to a different population group. Feeling very comfortable teaching TCA almost exclusively to adults, most of whom were older women, I was apprehensive about taking on a group of active youngsters. What I discovered was a delightful age group who are very respectful, attentive and quick in learning forms. This challenge helped me improve teaching skills and gain a new perspective toward a better balance with other classes.
opportunities to instruct another set or appeal to a different population group. Feeling very comfortable teaching TCA almost exclusively to adults, most of whom were older women, I was apprehensive about taking on a group of active youngsters. What I discovered was a delightful age group who are very respectful, attentive and quick in learning forms. This challenge helped me improve teaching skills and gain a new perspective toward a better balance with other classes.My neighbourhood church has an after-school program for boys and girls ages 9-11. Each year the children look forward to spring semester when TC4K is offered. We incorporate games and crafts. This year our TC4K theme was Asian Year of the Water Dragon. Children created dragons from paper plates suspended on wooden dowels with colourful streamers and ribbons. They marched around the gym waving the paper dragons as part of the class warm-up and cool-down exercises.
Another instructor is proposing family-oriented tai chi classes at local libraries. A creative way to get parents and sponsors involved would be an initial appeal to children with TC4K. As kids discover the fun in learning forms, adults and siblings will be encouraged to join them during lessons and in practice at home, making it a family activity. A possible theme for the library program might be to incorporate characters or stories from favourite age-appropriate books selected by the class. Another idea is to start a Panda Bear Club with kids earning a Panda sticker for each class attended or new form learned.
Local YMCAs, churches and other public and private community organizations offer youth activities, and TC4K is a wonderful addition to any program after school or during seasonal breaks between sessions. The movements are easy to learn in the recommended 20-minute increments, incorporated into games and other activities. Dr Lam created the unique program for children with the goal to help children improve their coordination, mental strength, balance and posture, and physical health. Practice of new forms enhances regular school learning skills as the children gain self-confidence in readiness for social and life skills.
You can learn to be a TC4K instructor at the upcoming training workshop near Kansas City, Missouri. Note this is the only TC4K workshop this year anywhere in the world by Dr Lam himself.
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Ernie Hall, Senior Trainer, St Joseph, MO, USA
Summer Games have closed until the next Olympiad when another host country in another hemisphere will again welcome athletes from around the world. Encouragement from a parent, teacher or coach may have been the springboard for many of these young people aspiring to rank among the elite in their chosen sport.
welcome athletes from around the world. Encouragement from a parent, teacher or coach may have been the springboard for many of these young people aspiring to rank among the elite in their chosen sport.Similarly, an instructor’s dedication and enthusiasm for teaching tai chi encourages many to try something they’ve never done before. In our town people come together to play tai chi at the shopping mall every Tuesday morning before stores open for the day. Some move through the forms seated while others step gracefully across centre court. Several patients and cancer survivors gather weekly at the hospital cancer centre between treatments, finding group support and strength toward healing through natural movements of TCA and TCD. Another group meets at a church fellowship hall, many having attended regularly for several years. Their enthusiasm is infectious and encourages new students to try tai chi for the first time.
Class participants inspire me as they inspire each other. Tai chi has become more than a chosen sport. It has become a continuous journey toward health and well being for all of us.
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Chris Hattle, Master Trainer, Manawa, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Lorraine is very quietly enthusiastic. She comes to tai chi knowing she will do her absolute best, knowing she will learn in her own unique way. Lorraine is blind with a little bit of tunnel vision. Colour is something she understands through other people’s descriptions. Everything is in shades of grey. Good hearing has also been absent from Lorraine’s life. A cochlear implant offers variable success. Her constant companion, who became a vital part of the team, accompanies Lorraine to tai chi. Lucy, a golden Labrador guide-dog, gentle and glowing with health.
learn in her own unique way. Lorraine is blind with a little bit of tunnel vision. Colour is something she understands through other people’s descriptions. Everything is in shades of grey. Good hearing has also been absent from Lorraine’s life. A cochlear implant offers variable success. Her constant companion, who became a vital part of the team, accompanies Lorraine to tai chi. Lucy, a golden Labrador guide-dog, gentle and glowing with health. Lorraine was referred to tai chi to help her balance. Her posture is upright yet very tense and balance was challenged by frequent tipping backwards partly due to tightened muscle groups in her legs. Planning for tai chi meant we had full discussions so I knew more of how to lead Lorraine and she was clear about what to expect. She really wanted to learn tai chi.
Right from the start Lorraine was encouraged to position herself in the tai chi room where she could best make use of available vision. Her support person would adjust window-blinds to ensure there were no glaring sunrays and lighting adjustments became commonplace. I also repositioned myself in class more frequently to benefit Lorraine and then ensure other participants could view the demonstrations from a good angle.
Then the things I was slow to pick up started to rise to the surface. To ensure Lorraine was hearing me I sometimes went closer to her and realised that for her I had to approach very gradually for her to adjust her positioning as needed for her best advantage. What came naturally to me was not always the maximum benefit for Lorraine. Then one day as winter set in I noticed her challenge level was higher. I realised my clothing had darkened with the change of seasons. Out came the white shoes, and Lorraine was able to relax more as she could work out the steps better.
Step by step Lorraine has picked up the basic concepts of Tai Chi for Arthritis. I backed it up by giving her a few little principles of tai chi she could work with in her home environment. As she continues the focus will be on stepping first, progressing to more focus on hand movements.
Then there is Lucy. She lay quietly, watching, listening, then as we moved into the routine cool down she would flicker her brows, do a warm-up tail-wag, shifting herself around in readiness for her guiding enjoyment.
While I notice Lorraine’s shoulders are a little more relaxed, Lorraine has become very aware that she is better balanced now when they take Lucy for her riverside walks.
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Shelia Rae, Master Trainer, Memphis, TN, USA
Shelia Rae presented this talk in the June 2012 USA Memphis workshop
We come to Dr Lam’s Annual One week workshop to re-charge, to re-unite, to learn more about tai chi. Everyone here has a reason to come and while we might all have different reasons, it is the comradeship and the collective spirit that brings us back.
here has a reason to come and while we might all have different reasons, it is the comradeship and the collective spirit that brings us back. Bob McBrien, TCHC president, calls it “summer camp for adults”; Senior Trainer JoAnne Zeitler, says, “it’s like a family reunion, but with people you like”!
In all seriousness, for me, it’s the most wonderful, rejuvenating experience that I look forward to every year. It’s not only the tai chi, it’s the feeling of all of us being together, supporting each other in our tai chi journey. We revitalize ourselves, strengthen our mind and bodies, and when we leave we take this strength and purpose back to our families, our communities, our countries and out to the world.
World Tai Chi Day promotes one day a year for tai chi people to come together to practice tai chi at the same time to wrap the healing powers of chi around the world. Collectively, through our daily practice and teaching of tai chi, we deliver this healing power worldwide every day. If more and more people were encouraged to practice tai chi daily, then every day would be world tai chi day. It is only through collective energy that changes can occur. You feel the energy when you are here; take it with you, cultivate it and send it out to others.
Some of you here are tai chi teachers. In the words of Henry Adams, that Dr Lam quotes in his TTCE book “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops”. This is a monumental responsibility. So after being certified as an Instructor in a TCA training, I knew I needed to know more about tai chi because Dr Lam mentioned in my training that anyone who teaches must never cease to learn.
I attended my first USA Annual workshop, which, I didn’t know was also Dr Lam’s first annual workshop in USA, in 2003. I learned so much from that experience, and it wasn’t all about tai chi forms. I learned that Dr Lam was genuine, my instructor, Caroline was terrific, but I also learned a lot about myself. I believe that doing tai chi in a safe environment, provided by the support of Dr Lam and all the Instructors, gave me a chance to reflect and peal back the layers of that proverbial onion we call ego. I left that workshop with a feeling of connection to everyone there, including myself.
We do come to the workshop to learn more about tai chi, but we make many other discoveries and also lifelong friends. That first workshop I met my dear friend Sandra Pruzansky. She is from NJ and I from TN, so it would have been unlikely that we would have met if it weren’t for the workshop. In the last ten years we have travelled together, visited each other’s homes, played tai chi together, and have never missed a June workshop. We are both here – our 10th!
It is through coming to the Annual workshops that I have met people from all over the US and other countries. I would have never had the opportunity to such wonderful, like-minded people had I not seen the value in attending my first workshop, although back then I thought all I was going to learn was tai chi!
Yes, this workshop means many things to all of us, but one thing we can’t deny is the feeling we leave with that makes us want to return to learn more, to see our friends, and to learn more about ourselves.
Take this feeling with you; listen to the incoming force, and you will know that we all need this week for our families, our communities, our world and ourselves. It’s just like the flight attendant says ‘ put on your oxygen mask before you help others’, we need to be here to re-charge ourselves for our important mission of doing and sharing tai chi with the world.
I will be here every year; I hope you will be too, and before you know it, we’ll be celebrating 20YRS in USA!
Lee Lightheart, A Stroke victim and Tai Chi for Health practitioner,
I had a massive bilateral brainstem stroke over 22 years ago. After 10 weeks in the hospital, I came home in a wheel chair because of left side hemiparesis, a deep indentation in my neck from a trach, a G-tube in my stomach and not a whole lot of confidence that was once the foundation for almost everything that I did in life.
wheel chair because of left side hemiparesis, a deep indentation in my neck from a trach, a G-tube in my stomach and not a whole lot of confidence that was once the foundation for almost everything that I did in life.In the first year I participated in much of the traditional therapy and managed to get out of the wheel chair and walk with a cane. Over the course of the next 14 years I tried just about every alternative treatment available. I tried acupuncture, biofeedback, muscle stimulation, cranial sacral therapy, Chinese herbal therapy, sports massage, and more. I walked for a while without a cane but soon returned to it after numerous falls that rendered the cane as a security device for me.
I began taking Tai Chi and almost immediately felt an increased sense in my self-confidence and balance. After about a year my balance improved enough that I am able to walk without a cane. The times that I do choose to use a cane, usually on rough and uneven terrain, I choose to from a position of empowerment. The greatest gift that Tai Chi came with was an increased sense of confidence that has taken me way beyond just my physical domain. With my renewed sense of confidence I can take on challenges that require a stretch but I feel are achievable. That may not sound like much, but it’s a big deal on whether you live your life with you head hanging down or held high. I feel strongly that Tai Chi becomes more of a way of life that brings self-confidence and empowerment. I see the gifts from Tai Chi continue to unfold. I have no doubt that the benefits go way beyond what can be clinically studied.
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Caroline Demoise, Master Trainer, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Practice is an opportunity to use repetition as nature designed it. Repetition is a pathway leading us to learn from our mistakes and create excellence. Repetition builds skill and reveals perfection in its most positive aspect. When you delve deeply into something like a tai chi form, you practice the underlying principles as they apply to certain movements. Through repetition you experiment with balance, coordination and alignment as they apply to a particular movement sequence. Each time you do a sequence of movements you bring to bear on that moment your understanding of how to move your body from the feedback of all your previous repetitions. So each repetition is not exactly the same. In essence, you are not repeating the same movement; you are improving that movement by bringing all you have learned in the past to this unique experience. Perfecting your tai chi unfolds by taking a small step with each repetition. Practicing guides you toward excellence.
our mistakes and create excellence. Repetition builds skill and reveals perfection in its most positive aspect. When you delve deeply into something like a tai chi form, you practice the underlying principles as they apply to certain movements. Through repetition you experiment with balance, coordination and alignment as they apply to a particular movement sequence. Each time you do a sequence of movements you bring to bear on that moment your understanding of how to move your body from the feedback of all your previous repetitions. So each repetition is not exactly the same. In essence, you are not repeating the same movement; you are improving that movement by bringing all you have learned in the past to this unique experience. Perfecting your tai chi unfolds by taking a small step with each repetition. Practicing guides you toward excellence.Do you see how the feeling of boredom with practicing is a misrepresentation of the true value of repetition? In our culture people do experience annoyance sometimes with practicing scales for their piano lesson, irritation with endless practice sessions before each sporting game or with repeating a stroke again and again during a tennis lesson. We don’t always appreciate doing five to ten minutes of tai chi walking before the form or doing brush knee twenty-five times to polish coordination and balance while taking a step with effortless weight transference, or feeling how arms follow the turning of your waist as arms brush past your ear and thigh. But these repetitions are priceless in conditioning muscles, developing balance and fine tuning coordination. The process of repetition enables you to commit the nuances of a move to muscle memory, making tai chi easier and more enjoyable.
Tai chi follows the universal cyclical pattern of repetition in sequence reviews. Just as spring follows winter every year and continues on into summer and autumn in an unending cycle, open and close follows commencement and continues on to single whip and wave hands like clouds in the Tai Chi for Arthritis sequence anytime you begin the form. No one gets tired of seeing spring after winter. Everyone delights in fall colors and slowing down after the activity of summer. In the same way you can appreciate the shift from the core movements of TCA into the more lively brush knee, parry-punch sequence. Repeating the form continues the cycle. Practicing tai chi models the natural pattern of repetition in nature.
Make the shift from repetition as boring to repetition as creating excellence. Doing a tai chi sequence again and again doesn’t squash creativity; it deepens our connection to the endless process of change and refinement that leads to a deepening of our awareness and an improvement of our tai chi skills. The path to enlightenment comes through focusing on subtle awareness’s as they appear during mundane practice. It takes a multitude of integrating experiences to discover the truth in life. Enlightenment unfolds and grows though practicing tai chi, yoga, meditation and during silent retreats.
It is up to you to appreciate the process of practice and recognize the ultimate value of repetition in your life and in learning tai chi.
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Stanley J. Michaels - coordinator of Injury Prevention of Hawaii State Department of Health, USA
Last month, Ileina and a select team of her senior tai chi students were filmed as part of a story to be run on KHON-TV (FOX Network). The program segment is called “Elderhood” and is hosted by the network anchor Mr. Kirk Matthews. Mr. Matthews and his crew filmed the segment about Tai Chi for Health and the finished version will run sometime in the later part of September to coincide with our statewide Fall Prevention Awareness Campaign. The segment is, of course, about the advantages and success of the Tai Chi for Health for Fall Prevention for seniors…and the filming included beautiful close ups of all the students and Ileina executing the basic 6 as well as the 41 Mr. Matthews interviewed Ileina and myself as part of the story.
KHON-TV (FOX Network). The program segment is called “Elderhood” and is hosted by the network anchor Mr. Kirk Matthews. Mr. Matthews and his crew filmed the segment about Tai Chi for Health and the finished version will run sometime in the later part of September to coincide with our statewide Fall Prevention Awareness Campaign. The segment is, of course, about the advantages and success of the Tai Chi for Health for Fall Prevention for seniors…and the filming included beautiful close ups of all the students and Ileina executing the basic 6 as well as the 41 Mr. Matthews interviewed Ileina and myself as part of the story. We were honored to have the Center for Disease Control representative visit Ileina’s magnificent program at the Leahi State Care Home and Hospital. This is the program that Ileina taught and certified three of their staff members to teach TCH. The CDC rep was very impressed with the class and was moved that over 55 wheel chair bound residents take “sitting” tai chi twice a week. Their average age is 81 and they range from 68 to 99. Ileina takes the time to visit the classes at least several times a year, and the residents absolutely love her.
Ileina and I will co-present a 90 minute workshop titled “Tai Chi for Fall Prevention: How to Make It Work in Your Environment”, at the HPGS (Hawaii Pacific Gerontological Society) 17th biennial Conference “Transforming Hawaii’s Aging Future…” This is a major national conference with the keynote speaker the dean of Columbia University. I will present a PowerPoint, which identifies the major concerns of fall injuries for our Hawaii seniors, which includes data, fiscal and physical impact, as well as tips for prevention drawn from CDC and our work with seniors (kupuna) in Hawaii. We will cover many aspects of falls and their prevention and we lead directly into the number 1 intervention, Tai Chi for Health. With that statement…I turn the program over to Ileina who will lead our entire audience in a TCH warm-up, instruction, and cool down. We have invited two of Ileina’s best senior student/ instructors to assist us, Mr. Glenn Sakai and Ms. Fran Uchida. The entire conference and the participation of all four of us were funded by my Department of Health program. This presentation is similar to the program we instituted last year, when we toured the state as a partner with AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) and presented it to 8 locations on 4 islands. We expect the reception at this enormous conference to be just as spectacular.
Ileina was nominated for and has received the spectacular Hawaii Community Service Award, the Na Lima Kokua Award – in the Research/Teaching Category. She will receive the award during the gala award luncheon held as part of the HPGS Conference on September 10th. This award will be given at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort Ballroom and is part of the same conference where we are presenting. Dr. Lam, this is a very prestigious award and you can be very proud of Ileina for her achievement in this arena. To be nominated and then selected is truly an outstanding achievement and we are so very proud of her.
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Ileina was nominated for and has received the spectacular Hawaii Community Service Award, the Na Lima Kokua Award – in the Research/Teaching Category. She will receive the award during the gala award luncheon held as part of the HPGS Conference on September 10th. This award will be given at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort Ballroom and is part of the same conference where we are presenting. Dr. Lam, this is a very prestigious award and you can be very proud of Ileina for her achievement in this arena. To be nominated and then selected is truly an outstanding achievement and we are so very proud of her.
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Dr Bob McBrien, Master Trainer, Salisbury, MD, USA
One source for your daily dose of positive humour is to stay alert to the sources of humour in the environment. After all, as practitioners of tai chi for health don't we use mindful awareness during tai chi?
It makes sense to me that we use our awareness of environment beyond our practice session. Here are actual signs storekeepers posted that offer the opportunity to have a laugh. Imagine walking into the following shops:
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A Laundromat: AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES: PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT
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A Thrift Shop: WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING - BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES, ETC. WHY NOT BRING YOUR WIFE ALONG AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN?
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A Health Food Store: CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS
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A Department Store: BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS
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In front of an Ice Cream Shop: SCREAM UNTIL DADDY STOPS THE CAR
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A Repair Shop: WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR - THE BELL DOESN'T WORK)
Do you have a favourite silly sign? Send to me @ 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.
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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