Newsletter #111 - November 2010

 

 

This Month’s Special:
 
Buy any two DVDs from the "Health" Series and receive another "Health" Series DVD 'FREE'.

Save USD $24.95 or AUD $29.95. Limit to one order per person.

 

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Upcoming workshops: by Dr Paul Lam

One Week Tai Chi Workshop

 

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
http://www.taichiforhealthinstitute.org/

 

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It Takes Time! It’s Hard Work!! It’s Worth It!!! My Tai Chi Journey
Nancy Bohlen (90 years old) Ames, IA, USA

 

Learning about tai chi was on my “someday” list for years. When traveling, I would often see individuals going through their routines and admired the grace and fluid motions. Then it was back to my everyday life and work, but maybe someday…

 

After moving into a phased retirement at 65, I began exercise classes that stressed cardio, stretching and weight training. I even signed up a tai chi class, but having beginning and advanced students together with one instructor made it frustrating, especially those of us who didn’t know a swallow’s tail from a horse’s mane.  However, this experience fortified my resolve to seek a tai chi opportunity in the future.

 

The next few years were consumed with caring for an ailing husband, my retirement at 70,  travel, exercise, gardening, friends, and family. Then at 85 my genes caught up with me. A feeling of faintness in my cardio class sent me to my doctor who found a blocked aortic artery needing a stent and other heart problems – a disappointment for someone who had always done everything “right”. 

 

Then a notice appeared in our Senior Centre newsletter offering a beginning tai chi class. Needless to say, I hastened to sign up and soon learned that it is hard, it does take time, and the rewards are great. Our classes began with instruction in the Tai Chi for Arthritis form. After the first year, I joined the intermediate class and added Yang 24 and a fan forms with extras such as qi gong, Tai Chi Ruler, and beginning cane forms following. Several of us have demonstrated in the annual senior variety show. We are always encouraged to move within our comfort zone and physical ability.  After nearly six years, I am beginning to feel the chi flow as well as improvements in balance and flexibility. I found that gradually, when not worrying so much about it, I was synchronizing my body and foot movement with my breathing. Being in a group is important, I believe. The synchronized movements of all seem to enhance feelings of fluidity and tranquillity which are richly rewarding. And the group recently helped me celebrate my 90th birthday.

 

With the help of our dedicated and patient teacher, I hope to continue my tai chi journey in the years ahead.  If you have been putting off joining until tomorrow, delay no longer.  Sign up!  It’s worth it!!!

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How Tai Chi Changed my Life
Pamela J. Paralikis, Bradenton, FL, USA

 

My Husband Stan and I renewed our vows on August 21, 2010 with Rabbi Lorraine Rudenberg officiating. Four of our friends held up a Prayer Shall (Tallis) to make a canopy (Hupa) for us. This is part of the Traditional Jewish Wedding Ceremony. If I had not started Tai Chi for Arthritis 2 years ago, and attended the Tai Chi for Back Pain class in Bradenton about 6 months later, I never would have been able to stand for this ceremony of 30 minutes, or anything else, since it was tai chi that has minimized my "110 year old spine's" pain (says my Pain MD, who may start a class with her patients, taught by me), allowed me to throw my cane in a closet, and has given me the strength to continue my first love (which is painting), and has allowed me to find a wonderful group of tai chi friends.

 

So now I have three loves that I have energy to do; tai chi, painting, and my religion. I really feel that all three are working together to make me a healthier and happier person. I can't wait for a tai chi for energy program.

 

Dr Lam, thank you so much for your personal comments to me, but you must understand that I do not feel like an "inspiration", just an ordinary student who is learning at 63, things I wish I had learned when I was 36. 

 

Thank you for a wonderful workshop, and a very good time.

 

 

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Tai Chi for Arthritis in Ferntree Gully
Pat Davidson, a volunteer TCA instructor at Knox Community Health Service in Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia

 

July in Melbourne is often cold and wet but for once the weather was with us – cold but not wet. Though we often take a break during school holidays, we try to get in an open air session; followed, of course, by a hot drink at a local café.

 

We are a group of people who have completed the course of tai chi for arthritis at Knox Community Health Service in Ferntree Gully. The Health Service continues to support us by giving us a room to use for an hour a week with occasional input from one of the tai chi for arthritis leaders. Mostly we work alone, helping and encouraging each other. Practice at home often brings up queries or enlightenment that we can bring to the group. Practice becomes more important knowing we face our peers again in a few days.

 

We often arrive early for our group session we can chat with the previous class and encourage them to join us at the end of their course. They will finish soon and we need them as much as they need us.

 

Once a week at 4 o’clock each Thursday we meet and have been doing so for about 7 years now. There have been changes of course, as people move away and others come in, but we have a constant core group of eight and welcome new people when they finish the tai chi for arthritis course and choose to join us. We are extremely grateful to the Knox Community Health Service for their support.

 

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Robert Feeser, TCA instructor, Asheville, CA, USA

 

Three weeks ago I had prostate surgery in San Francisco at Mt Zion Hospital Cancer Center. The surgery was successful and the medical treatment outstanding. My daughter, Hilarey, is a doctor in San Francisco and made the arrangements for me. I returned to Asheville several days ago and have resumed teaching tai chi; it’s great to be back and active.

 

This experience has been interesting, inspirational, humbling and filled with so many blessings. I had the love and support of family, church friends and tai chi friends to sustain and encourage me. So many tai chi friends were communicating with me frequently, sending positive energy and support.

 

Throughout my five week stay in San Francisco where I stayed with Hilarey and her family, I played tai chi and qigong. I felt a sense of inner calmness, saw more vividly the beauty of nature, and felt great calmness. I am so grateful to be a part of our tai chi community and know even more deeply that tai chi is a way of life.

 

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Journey toward Tai Chi for Diabetes
Daniela Ostezan, Lake Orion, MI, USA

 

Returning recently from vacation to my native country of Romania, I could witness first hand the advances in technology and quality of life. The country was in this kind of need after all those years of Communist rule. What I also could see was that wealth brings advances and side effects, like obesity.

 

If we look at obesity, we see a form of addiction. Being addicted to food is a disease that will be managed successfully in our life time. Obesity comes down to the amount of caloric intake which persistently exceeds the caloric output. Excess food (protein, carbohydrate, fat) is converted and store as body fat. As we get older, the excess calories become detrimental fat instead of useful body tissue.  Sometimes psychological factors like frustration, dissatisfaction and stress may be expressed in extra food intake, or decreased physical activity or both. In time, one of the obesity symptoms is diabetes. What can we do?

 

As we start a new era where obesity implies Type 2 diabetes, along with other complications, we are looking for effective ways to manage this new challenge. Tai Chi for Diabetes is one answer.  Diabetes is a common disease. Ancient literature of Egypt, China and India makes references regarding this subject. Although no age group is exempt, most patients are 40 at the onset of the disease. Overweight people are more likely to develop diabetes than the people of normal weight. It has been established that heredity is a factor in the disease.

 

We all know that diabetes can lead to serious health problems.  Starting a class of Tai Chi for Diabetes and making smart food choices could help. Imagine having so many food restrictions and still eating at your favorite restaurant! All it takes is a good look at the menu and few changes for healthier foods.

 

Tai Chi for Diabetes developed by Dr. Paul Lam makes for a good start along with proper diet and effective medical supervision. Tai Chi is a resourceful tool to improve muscular development, general health, and morale. Some of us are fortunate enough to have the chance to take advantage of the old world knowledge (tai chi) mixed with the new world discoveries (advances in the medical field) in order to improve our well being.  As we start our practice of Tai Chi for Diabetes we are enhancing physical force and strength.  How do we use the internal power generated by chi and how do we convert it into being beneficial to diabetes? Using visualization helps. It is up to us as individuals to power and control our own imagination. Visualize steps that you can take to improve your diabetes. Regular tai chi practice can eliminate harmful energy, open qi blockage and release chi stagnation. Promoting a healthy flow of qi we are increasing our chances for well being.

 

Diagnosis of a health issue comes with a feeling of loss, fear and so much unknown. With understanding and proper care, I believe that every one of us can overcome adversity. A great start in order to get educated is finding new recipes, reading food labels, planning meals, maybe being part of a Tai Chi for Diabetes class.

 

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Making Tai Chi Principles Accessible
Caroline Demoise, Master Trainer, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

 

Years ago I read the tai chi classics because I wanted to understand how to do tai chi correctly, but I always came away with the feeling that I was missing something. English translations of tai chi principles often did not make some kernel of truth accessible to me. This challenge is a journey every teacher has to make in learning and teaching tai chi. Can I feel the principles in my body? And when I feel them, how do I explain them to students so they can find it in their bodies?

 

Alignment is a foundation upon which tai chi principles rest. Teachers use cues to assist students in the awareness of good alignment. Feeling that golden cord suspending your head from the ceiling of the room, tilting your pelvis to open up the low back, softening the chest and bringing your chin in as you stand in preparation are all images that help students stand tall in a good alignment and yet maintain relaxation in their bodies. Looking in the mirror to verify if what feels straight is actually straight gives you feedback on good alignment. A mirror or video of yourself helps make alignment principles more accessible to you. 

 

Other techniques that make tai chi principles more accessible to students are repetition, verbal cueing, and monitoring posture through awareness. When you shift from your thinking mind to awareness mode, tai chi principles become more accessible. Examples would be to use your imagination to feel your spine growing or imagine your arms lengthening as they move outward to accompany a kick. This inner focus of mind and intention helps you correct alignment and cultivate “song” in your body. (This concept was discussed in a previous newsletter article on experiencing depth in tai chi.) Improved qi flow is a result of practicing principles. When your body is aligned, qi flows freely nourishing your organs, helping them to function properly and giving you more vitality.

 

If you were wondering why I have that silly rubber duck on my head, it’s because my alignment friend, Ninja Ducky, keeps me aware of the posture needed so that he will not fall off my head. If you look down toward the floor, Ninja loses his balance and drops away. If you lean forward in “Parry and Punch”, Ninja falls. If you lean to the side in beginning to do Brush Knee, plunk is the sound of your alignment failure as Ninja hits the ground. Practicing with Ninja Ducky makes the alignment principle more accessible to your awareness.

 

In a recent workshop, I was observing people practice the short Sun Style that we call Tai Chi for Arthritis with their new friend Ninja. I could see them focusing on alignment. Habitual leaning was being undermined by using Ninja alignment awareness. One student, who tends to stop abruptly at the end of each follow-step, had smoothed out his movements and was more fluid (another good tai chi principle being made accessible by his Ninja Ducky friend).

When you break movements down into small, easy to remember segments and practice them until they are familiar, you make tai chi movement accessible. When you teach the footwork for a movement before doing the movement with arms, you make accurate movement more accessible. When you cue a student on weight shifts during a movement, you make those subtleties more accessible and easily learned.

 

Teachers who are creative and adapt their teaching style to each class will find ways to make tai chi and its principles accessible to those students. Like in push hands, the two person practice of principles, a good teacher follows the energy of each class to discern what will make tai chi accessible to that group. One of the most effective ways to deepen your tai chi skill is to slow down and feel your movements from a place of awareness. When you slow down you can more easily feel tai chi principles in your body. Ninja Ducky can help you slow down and become more aware. 

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Yi bu Yi bu lai (one step at a time) in China
Monika Forstner, Master Trainer, Zhuhai, Guangdong, China

 

As some of you know, I am in China almost one year now. Since my greatest interest besides my family is tai chi it was a great offer from my husband’s company to have him take a position in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. Weather and time permitting I go to a park nearby to play tai chi with the locals almost daily. Mostly I participate, but at times I just observe. I noticed, that people are struggling to follow along the many different forms, which are done one after the other and some are rather lengthy. Out of my own experience I know how difficult it is to learn and follow a whole sequence without knowing the individual steps. Some people are lucky to be taught step by step by teachers, but that does not seem to be the norm.

 

One day a few people out of the group I am usually participating in gestured to me to help them on Yang 24 forms. I did and I did it in the manner we are taught in the TCH program. In small steps, they look at me, follow me and show me approach. It took some time for the people to understand, also due to my lack of the Chinese language, that I will not lead them through the whole sequence at once, but rather break it into small portions. Once they understood the concept they were rather keen on it. They especially liked the “show me” portion; have me look at their progress J

 
Before I knew it I was asked from the group leader to teach his group and some of the senior students in this manner. I decided to teach them the TCA part one and two since that is a new style and sequence for them. They are very eager to learn and I can read of their faces that they like the yi bu yi bu lai (one step at a time) approach. By now I have 3 to 4 morning sessions appointed to me teaching the group.

 

Just recently I got to observe, that one of the senior students is using the stepwise progressive teaching method to work with some of the students. I was very happy to see that happening. I consider myself very lucky, that in addition to going to the park I get taught regularly be a woman Tai Chi practitioner who won the gold medal for the Chen 56 competition in 2008 and just recently in 2010 for the Guangdong Province.

 

Quite funny on my day of arrival in Zhuhai I visited (how could it be otherwise) a shop for martial arts and tai chi supplies. One week later I came back to the store with someone who speaks some English. While looking for a sword the shop owner and my accompanying friend had a conversation, which obviously I could not understand since it was in Chinese. I found out later that they talked about my interest in tai chi. The shop owner asked if I could show her the beginning of the Combined 42 forms.  It is needless to say, but I felt very strange and nervous beings asked to do that in a store environment and by someone which I had learned by then won a Chen competition. The good thing was, that I got out a two hour appointment for the next day to be “checked out” further. After that checking out appointment I had found my teacher J and yes, I walked out of the store with a sword.

 

During my first private lesson I faced what I think the majority of students face, being presented huge portions which I can not comprehend. First I was happy to have found a good tai chi player to learn from but was presented with the challenge to get “eat able” pieces. After some gesturing and having learned on very important sentence, yi bu yi bu lai, I am taught in smaller pieces and my teacher got to understand as well that small steps lead to a quicker result.

 

As a conclusion I like to say, that I highly appreciate the step wise progressive teaching method of the TCH program, which I myself was introduced to not even 4 years ago. I do also know that my tai chi buddies at the park do appreciate it.

 

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

 

Watching the televised coverage of the rescue of the Chilean miners we watched history as it unfolded. I was very interested in the live coverage of the return to surface of the last miner. Did you notice when foreman Luis Urzua was welcomed by the engineers and others how much laughter was occurring? I will be more than curious to learn from upcoming books and interviews how humour helped sustain the men during the many weeks of their ordeal.  What philosophies helped them get through each day?

Here are some interesting outlooks on life being passed around the internet to help you get through your day:

 

 

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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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