Saturday, November 25, 2006

Tai Chi, Concentration and… What was the question again?

You are trying to focus on your Tai Chi training and all of a sudden, BAM - You are mentally scanning the isles of your favorite grocery store or fixing your car, or twenty; of a million other thoughts bouncing through you mind. This week our attention was drawn inward, to the mind. That elusive part of our selves which seems to have a “mind of its own”.

Mental flexibility, concentration, focus, attention; All are ways to describe the practice of exercising our cerebellum. In class, we found some fun ways to determine what level of concentration you have and ways to improve it through your Tai Chi and Qigong practice.

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
During our Qigong warm-ups we posed several challenges including our “Alphabet Meditation” (see below) to add a layer of complexity to the warm ups. When the warm ups moved down the body, many students found it difficult to maintain their focus. This adds more proof to the observation that we have a disjointed connection to our bodies from the Dan Tien (belly button area) down. When a student first begins their Tai Chi training with us, we notice that they are very challenged to connect upper and lower body movements. As they progress in training, the connection begins to establish itself and they become calmer and much more stable. This is what people hear about as “grounding” or becoming “centered”.

Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble
One of our students brought a wonderful device in this week that helped each of us better understand the level of concentration needed to perform Tai Chi properly.
BUBBLE WRAP!! ;-) Not just any bubble wrap mind you, but the small bubble kind. Each of us tested our concentration and soft Tai Chi step as we walked our way across those treacherous tattle tales! One lapse in concentration, placing too much emphasis on one of the three points and POP! You were ratted out. We tried the bubble walk with each of our classes and found that it was a wonderful tool for helping students understand the amount of attention needed for proper Tai Chi walking. We found that size had very little to do with it as some of our smaller students popped bubbles and some of our larger students did not.

I would encourage each of you to try it on your own and see how you do. When done properly, Tai Chi Walking is one of the best tools I know of you help develop you strength, sense of balance and a basic understanding of what each step in Tai Chi should feel like.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

An Overview of Qigong and Tai Chi

The origins of Tai Chi date back some 3000 years to a form of exercise called Qigong (translation “energy work”). Developed to help relieve the aches and pains associated with working in the field all day, Qigong became very popular. Over the last three centuries, Qigong exercises have evolved, and become an integral part of the Traditional Chinese Medical System’s preventative maintenance programs throughout China. As western scientists explore these ancient training modalities, research is showing extremely positive results in treating many of the illness and disease we experience in our high stress, demanding world.

Tai Chi, while a martial art at its core nature, takes the healing principals of Qigong and applies them to each technique in a sequenced set of movements called forms. There are five main styles (“houses”) of Tai Chi (Chen, Yang, Wu, Hao and Sun) with some choosing to focus on healing and others on the more martial aspects of the art. When practicing Tai Chi for health, the martial roots of the movements are present but softened to allow the healing properties to be more fully expressed.

Each style of Tai Chi is based on the same collection of principals, which bring focus to precise movement, intense concentration and spiritual awareness. Here is a brief description of these principals for your consideration:

·Grounding Energy – Solid connection with the ground through all movement
·Smiling Energy – Opening the heart center and allowing the form to be enough
·Minding the Breath – Full, expressive breath with focus on relaxation
·Needle in the Cotton – Fully managed posture for core strengthening
·Commanding from Dan Tien (our physical center, just below the naval) – Beginning and
ending all movements from the center / core.
·Sinking Energy – Relaxing / releasing the muscles not necessary for movement
·Silk Reeling – Allowing the Dan Tien to establish a relationship with the extremities
·Present Moment – Mental awareness of the NOW. No future, no past
·Listening – Drawing mental attention internally, allowing for complete focus on principal development through intense concentration
·Connection – Total body connectivity, nothing moves independently, core stabilization
·Separation – Allowing for Yin / Yang Separation within the body for strength development, muscle isolation and development
·Absorption / Expansion – Mentally drawing energy inward and outward based on the flow of the movement

Tai Chi is a complex art which takes years to develop but can begin to provide benefits within just a few training sessions. It is a different, yet very effective way to train the body for strength, coordination, balance, muscle control and postural alignment. Mentally, Tai Chi is excellent for developing high levels of concentration, calm and clarity. Spiritually, Tai Chi can open the heart channel and release a peaceful, loving expression of self through gentle movement and internal growth.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Posture, Core Strength and Tai Chi

Needle in the Cotton.

This term is often used to describe the principal in Tai Chi which draws attention to spinal / core strength. There are several muscles groups that comprise what we consider the “Core Muscles”. Here is a picture showing the core groups in cross section.

Core MusclesNotice the six large muscles positioned vertically around the spine? These deep stabilizers are very important to overall back health and are typically very hard to reach with a regular exercise routine. Mainly because some of these muscles respond early to light loads and the others respond later, if the load becomes excessive or the spine is placed in danger through twisting or off angle alignment. Tai Chi is one of the most effective exercise routines I have found to activate these deep core muscles groups because we focus so much on strong posture, within a steady, load bearing environment. Each load bearing movement in the form changes postural angles, challenges flexibility and strength while working to keep the spine in strong posture.

There are four natural curves to the spine, shown below. In proper Tai Chi posture, each curve should have a natural position and not be forced to straighten or curve excessively. By moving very slowly and in many different directions, Tai Chi serves to stimulate spinal health through increased circulation, flexibility and stability.
Spinal Cord

There are many intricate muscles surrounding the spine. As we get older these muscles may get less work and become weakened leading to muscles spasms, chronic back pain, Dowager’s Hump and nerve impingements (pinched nerve) to name a few. Many if not all of these dis-eases are preventable through strengthening and consistent attention to proper posture.

Intricate Spinal Muscles
Tai Chi helps to bring awareness to our posture and gives us tools to develop proper alignment. We become aware of our bad habits and can work to change them in our daily environment. Because Tai Chi is a gentle form of exercise the key to gaining optimum benefit is a consistent routine of practice.

This week in class:
We explored how to recognize which core muscles were active during a movement and tried to isolate the deep stabilizers during our Qigong warm-ups and Tai Chi form practice. We introduced a few Qigong exercises that are designed to specifically stretch and strengthen the spine in a healthy way. We also paid close attention to our foot work because proper posture starts at the feet and moves up the spine. Without a stable platform from the pelvis to the ground, the spine cannot be stable and in proper alignment. Think of a Big Top Tent with the center pole as representing the spine and the guy wires holding up the tent as representing the external or wall muscles shown on the first picture above. If the center pole is strong, the guy wires are only there in a supporting role however if the center pole is weak then the guy wires are put under excessive load. Now put the center pole (spine) under a strain and you have the makings of a spinal injury such as a slipped disk or worse.

Bottom Line:
Core strength is critical to spinal health and Tai Chi is one of the best ways to develop it safely at any age.

Friday, November 3, 2006

Using Tai Chi to Increase Range of Motion (ROM) and Flexibility

There are many ways to use the Tai Chi forms for personal benefit. Each of the founding principals provides a slightly different focus. This week we explored how Tai Chi and Qigong can help to increase range of motion and overall flexibility.

The amazing human body:
When we put a demand on the body such as running or weight training, it will respond with tools we can use to become more efficient; Increased strength and endurance are just of couple of examples. Mental exercises can also be used to stimulate concentration, memory and stillness. The formula is easy, the more you practice, the better your body gets at doing the task. Conversely, when we give our bodies an aggressive time table for results, such as heavy lifting, our body responds aggressively, usually resulting in chronic injuries such as tendonitis, ligament and cartilage damage even osteoarthritis just to name a few.

Tai Chi, because of its gentle nature, places a loving demand on the body that we can repeat daily or even more frequently. (For example, I teach an average of 4 or 5 classes per day) This consistent yet gentle demand will cause our bodies to respond in a more healthful way. The response is slower than in aggressive training but nonetheless effective. You gain strength, balance, coordination, concentration, flexibility and range of motion without the injuries associated with our “typical gym training routines”.

Working with our students this week we asked them to widen their stance a bit, move a little slower, keep their trailing foot down a bit longer, all in an effort to open joints and gently stretch the ligaments and tendons. When doing this type of work posture becomes even more important. I caught several belly buttons “cheating” this week trying to avoid the gentle stretch being requested. Keeping the hips square, posture tall and knees soft are all important factors in effective stretching with Tai Chi. The more properly aligned you are, the more effective the stretch.

Using Visualization to increase Range of Motion:
Try this… Stand feet hip width apart and parallel with soft knees and your hands out by your hips, center of palms facing forward. Imagine that your body is an empty vessel. Visualize that you are filling that vessel with air so that your arms, all the way through to your fingers, are now pleasantly full, not tight. Your shoulder, elbow, wrist and finger joints should be fully extended without being locked. Take a deep breath and slowly exhale while moving the hands (at full extension) to shoulder height. When you reach shoulder height, soften your elbows and exhale as your hands gently move down the front of your body.

CAUTION: If you move your hands above your head you can create tension in the neck area.

Practicing this Rising Sun Qigong exercise can help you to gain a feel for how to play the Tai Chi forms for flexibility. You should feel a gentle “demand” being placed on the fingers, wrists, elbows and even the shoulders (if you are tight enough) when doing this exercise.

The visualization of filling your “empty vessel” body with air is a wonderful way to fully express your Tai Chi forms without creating tension in the process. Keeping everything relaxed while moving through the form is important, it increases circulation and allows for a more complete stretch. As always, smile from the heart to help your body relax into the movements.