Rami's Blog

Like the Yin-Yang, Eastern Martial Arts and Western medicine are two halves of a whole. My mission is to preserve the ancient mind-body tools and pass them on to you.

Meditative Shaking and Pulsing: Part 3, Discovering Yin and Yang Layers in the Shoulders

July 27, 2018

The following is an excerpt from my book Sunset Tai Chi: Simplified Tai Chi for Relaxation and Longevity.

In the previous blog, we began working on the meditative shaking techniques for the fingers, wrists, and elbows. These techniques are all based on the best way to awaken the energetic system and prepare for physical and mental activity. This week, we will tackle the shoulders.

Shoulders

Next, focus on the shoulders. What is the joint above the shoulders? Well we do not have one and that is the reason at this point that we start pumping the feet against the floor. Do this very gently and just find the middle between pulsing and pumping: not too strong a pumping action but not as little as a pulse. By gently pumping up and down against the floor with the legs and the soles of your feet, you will be able to create the desired shaking and isolation of the shoulders. Of course, if you move the shoulders themselves, the movement would be too intense. This gentle bounce moves up through the body and reaches the shoulders, which will move gently up and down. They will just follow the motion from the ground up. To prevent knee problems and to practice the tai chi form, when bouncing and pumping through the legs, make sure that the weight moves through the knees into the floor and not into the knees.

Discovering Yin and Yang Layers in the Shoulders

Here is an example of how to discover the various yin and yang sensations. For the first major sensation, you simply pulse and pump the shoulders. To feel the second and third sensations, you try to tune into a clearer sense of the energy of the shoulders.

The shoulders have three major zones. In each zone, the sensations are different.

First Posture: Position the thoracic spine a little forward as in the turtle back posture. The shoulders move slightly forward. Pulsing the body in this posture creates one strong sensation, stretching the upper back.
Second Posture: Position the shoulders in the neutral middle position, straight up and down.
Third Posture: Thrust the thoracic spine forward, gently bend back and let the shoulders move backward, stretching the chest.

Alternatively, you can isolate one shoulder at a time. Close one side of your ribs and open the other. If you isolate the right shoulder, close the ribs on the right side, open the ribs on the left and allow the arm to hang like a noodle, and bounce on the right leg. This will allow the right shoulder to loosen further. Within each single shoulder focus, you still have the three major areas that change the sensation: back, middle, and forward. Because the shoulders are also connected to your neck, when you pulse or pump the shoulders, if you turn the neck to different directions or hold it in different postures, you will find again that the sensation in the shoulder changes.

Next week we will practice the pulsing through the ankles, knees, hips, spine, neck, and jaw!

Happy stretching, deep breathing, empty your mind, strengthen your energetic system, and evoke your spirit!

Meditative Shaking and Pulsing: Part 2, Fingers, Wrists, & Elbows

July 19, 2018

The following is an excerpt from my book Sunset Tai Chi: Simplified Tai Chi for Relaxation and Longevity.

Last week, we introduced you all to meditative shaking. If you haven't read up on that yet, go back and do so! This week, we will go into detail with the first several exercises. This will be especially helpful for anyone who does not easily feel a mind-body connection, particularly when they first begin doing exercise. The tiny details of stretching each body part in all possible angles are only a guide for you to develop your own body awareness. The ultimate goal is to completely loosen every part of the body deeply during this shaking, while maintaining a relaxed meditative mind.

Fingers

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Start with the gentle movements of pulsing and some pumping through the ligaments in the fingers. Remember to loosen the fingers and gently move the wrists. You want to notice the sensation throughout the joints as part of the journey to develop awareness and sensitivity. How do you do that? You put your mind in the fingers while you are moving the wrists. Pay attention to the various sensations throughout the joints.

For example, if I put my mind in the fingers, the first sensation that calls my attention is the thumb because it is the biggest joint. And then when I put my mind in my thumbs, I can feel that my left thumb is looser than my right thumb. This is a significant part of the exercise. Put your mind in the joint, and concentrate on each sensation. Over time, you will even be able to feel the difference between the smallest joints: the pinkies.

Of course, at the same time, you want to take deep breaths through the nose while your mind is focusing in the joints. Remember, you need to be between awake and asleep and in deep relaxation in order to gain even more from this meditation.

Wrists

Now we move to the next joint, the wrist. To isolate the pulsing or pumping in the wrist, focus on the elbows. If you can integrate more of your skills, put your mind in the lower energy center.

Some joints have more varied movements than others. The wrist has more range of motion than the fingers. When moving the wrist, notice the wide angles and various directions it can move: forward and backward, left to right, up and down, circles, twisting, and rotation. Feel or sense the difference between the right and left wrists, and between forward, backward, and sideways movement.

Elbows

Then we shake the elbows and move the shoulders in order to create the gentle shaking, pulsing, or pumping in them. The elbows only have one major angle of motion, so creating gentle movement through them is simpler than with the fingers and wrists.

That's all for this week! Come back next week for an in-depth guide to shaking the shoulders, and finding the Yin and Yang layers in the shoulders for this exercise.

Happy stretching, deep breathing, empty your mind, strengthen your energetic system, and evoke your spirit!

Meditative Shaking and Pulsing: Part 1, an Introduction

July 13, 2018

The following is an excerpt from my book Sunset Tai Chi: Simplified Tai Chi for Relaxation and Longevity.

Western exercise starts with warming up by increasing the heart rate to saturate the muscles with blood and oxygen. Therefore, we can say that Western warm-ups focus first on the heart and muscles. On the other hand, Eastern exercise starts by charging and igniting the energetic system and then the rest of the body. You can charge the energetic system in more than one way.

One of the ways to jumpstart the energetic system is by creating a gentle movement in the joints or in the ligaments. This skill of isolating the ligaments and creating movements in them is actually part of our natural day-to-day physical behavior. It happens whenever we use our arms and hands. It is helpful to refine this skill and train our ability to isolate this skill in whatever part of the body we choose.

In order to achieve this isolation, we need to first understand the various physical motions, and second, be able to put into actions these motions: pulsing, pumping, and shaking. Each of these words is important because each one affects the body and the energy differently, which creates different sensations and experiences.

Pulsing can be created though gentle up and down movements or gentle in and out motions, and with small side to side movements. It is a great way to loosen up. Pumping is a stronger movement than pulsing, although the actions of up and down, in and out, and side to side are similar. Shaking combines side to side first and then some in and out motion with a gentle up and down. All three have a gentle rotation that can be added to each one while they are happening.

You need to understand that each one is different and over time, you will experience the differences as well. This exercise (meditative shaking) will activate your energetic system, remove some stagnation, and can also serve as a good warm-up. Even if you only have five minutes, doing this meditation will go a long way.

When you shake, you may notice that the fingers are tense. This next piece of information is essential for loosening this tension. Move the joint above the one you want to isolate. For example, if you want to loosen the finger joints, shake the wrist, but put your mind on the fingers. Try to isolate this gentle movement in your joints, rather than moving the muscles or tendons. To loosen the wrist, move the elbow. Remember, your jaw is a joint as well. When practiced correctly, you will begin to feel patches of warmth in your joints and some warmth in your internal organs or lower energy center.

Next week, we will give you the how-to for shaking the upper limb joints: fingers, wrists, elbows, and shoulders!

Happy stretching, deep breathing, empty your mind, strengthen your energetic system, and evoke your spirit!

Tai Chi Reduced Severity of Fibromyalgia Symptoms at 24 Weeks Compared with Aerobic Exercise

July 6, 2018

Hello Mind-Body students! And Happy 4th of July! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your loved ones.

We have a short announcement blog this holiday week. A study that I did with Dr. Wang and her colleagues at Tufts Medical Center has been recognized by three different scientific journals very recently! The study is called "Tai Chi Reduced Severity of Fibromyalgia Symptoms at 24 Weeks Compared with Aerobic Exercise".

In this study, we recruited 226 patients dealing with fibromyalgia, who had both widespread and intense pain symptoms. For the intervention, we led the group in 60-minute sessions of either Yang-style tai chi or aerobic exercise, once or twice a week, for 12 or 24 weeks. After the intervention was complete, we were able to see a dramatic difference between the patients treated with tai chi, versus the patients treated with aerobic exercise. Although both the groups showed improvement, the tai chi group showed significantly more improvement!

The first entity to recognize the study was the Journal of the American Medical Association. They featured our study in the Clinical Trials Update section of their recent issue.

The study was also acknowledged by the Annals of Internal Medicine at the same time.

The third place that the study was featured was the European Society of Integrative Medicine, who notified us that 50 studies had been submitted this year, and ours was in the top 5! This is an especially strong showing considering we we received the "Best Clinical Integrative Medicine award" from them a mere 2 years ago!

Tai chi and mind-body integrative medicine continues to grow and be recognized for it's life-changing (and scientifically proven!) effects! The future is very bright!

Happy stretching, deep breathing, empty your mind, strengthen your energetic system, and evoke your spirit!

Mind-Body Workout #10: Strengthening Your Roots

June 29, 2018

Welcome back mind-body students! We have had a lot of posts about research and special events on the blog lately! These are all great, and I am so happy to share the amazing work we are doing with all of you. However, I also like to have action on my blog too!

So let's dive into a great mind-body workout this week, and get back into the groove of our mind-body routine!

Mind-Body Workout #10: Strengthening Your Roots

Let's begin with some stretching of the key muscles that support stability and balance. Stretching these muscles is not only important for flexibility and avoiding falls, but it is also a key part to releasing our skeleton from being a prisoner of the soft tissue. This improves blood flow, which allows oxygen to reach all of our cells more effectively, and energizes our whole mind-body system!

The first stretch will be the Flamingo Stretch for our hips. Our hips are the core of our body, and they are responsible for directing the strength that we generate from our legs. Having strong roots is not much help if you cannot use your hips correctly! Do the stretch to each side (each leg) for 2-3 minutes, using whatever support you need.

Next we will stretch our lower back out in each of its major directions using the Five Musketeers Stretch. Just like with the hips, the lower back is responsible for directing a lot of the strength of our root system (our legs). If your lower back is tight, you will not be able to properly strengthen your legs! Do this stretch like I show in the video, for about 1-2 minutes at each angle. Use blocks or books and pillows to properly support yourself so that you are doing 80% effort.

For our last stretch, we will be working on the tightest muscles in our body: our hamstrings! This technique is an old favorite I call "Vitamin H." While we do this stretch, we will also be focusing on performing "water breath." This will begin to really engage our mind and breath into the workout. This stretch you can hold for 3-4 minutes, but make sure you are doing 80% effort, just like before!

For our first of three strengthening exercises, we will be moving Up and Down Like the Moon and the Sun. Remember to do the two sets, legs apart and legs together. Up to 15 (in each set!) is beginner level, 15-30 repetitions is intermediate, and 30-50 repetitions is the advanced level of leg strength. Do the amount that you are able to with 80% effort.

From working our quadriceps and other thigh muscles, we are moving down to the calves! This exercise has you go up onto your toes, and then roll back onto your heals. It works your calf muscles as well as massages the bottom of your feet. The feet are so important for generating the strength and force from the ground that everyone needs. Whether you are a martial artists who wants to throw a powerful kick, or just a person who needs to run up and down a flight of stairs, strong and flexible feet are so important. Do this 20-30 times, and be sure to pay attention to your breathing like I mention in the video.

Finally, we are going to practice moving up and down from the floor safely. This may seem like it contradicts what our workout is about. Why would we practice this if the goal is to have strong roots and not to fall over? The answer is pretty simple! Everyone falls over sometime. When you practice this movement, not only are you getting a good workout in for your whole body (especially your legs), but you will also be teaching your body how to react when it loses balance: bend the knees, move down low in a straight down way so your body can "collapse" instead of "fall". Do this 10 times to each side, practicing getting down and up from one side and then the other.

And that's all for this week! I hope you enjoy the workout!

And as always, happy stretching, deep breathing, empty your mind, strengthen your energetic system, and evoke your spirit!

The Zakim Story & Prayer, Part 3

June 22, 2018

THE ZAKIM STORY & PRAYER
&
ZAKIM CENTER INTEGRATIVE THERAPIES FOR CANCER AT DANA FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE

Part 3

2018 HONOREES
May 1st, 2018

(Read part 1 and part 2.)

I often ask myself, “is it coincidence, or destiny, that I am descendants of Zakim/Zakheim?”

I, a Tai Chi/Chi Kung practitioner from Jerusalem, Israel, was one of the first ones to be around when Dana-Farber was beginning to first consider complimentary approaches. And then, two years later, I had the opportunity to introduce mind-body approaches in a very limited way to their patients. Two years after that, I had the privilege of being around for the historical moment when Lenny took over and led the creation of the Zakim center. Before Lenny joined, we tried for a few years but it wasn’t enough; I had class only once a week, which moved from room to room. We had many meeting and lots of discussion, but it looked like it was going nowhere.

But within a few years of Lenny taking the lead, he was able to bring about such amazing progress compared to what was done before. No wonder he was what people call “a mover and shaker!”

Of course, he had help from other individuals such as:

Cynthia Medeiros

Dr. Lee Marshall Nadler

Meredith Beaton/Starr and her husband Billy Starr

Rick Kaitz and Erica Kaitz, both of whom paid for my Tai Chi and Chi Kung class at Dana-Farber before the Zakim center had any money. Erica passed away, unfortunately, from a rare form of Cancer.

Close friends of Joyce and Lenny such as Carol and Dennis Kanin, the Schwartz, and Laura Molta (who does the great video, for free, every year!).

The center has also had help from special, powerful individuals who wanted to help in appreciation of the results they received from mind-body intervention while going through Cancer. Individuals such as Larry Lucchino and others.

(P.S. Sorry if I missed or did not mention other individuals who helped and are a big part of helping lead the Zakim center to where it is today!)

One of the special individuals that keeps leading and promoting the center (and Lenny’s legacy) is Joyce Zakim, Lenny’s wife, who I have known since the day I met Lenny. Joyce is one of the kindest and nicest individuals I have ever met. Always wearing a smile, always positive and cheerful and down to earth. Her constant time and energy, and that of a group of supporters and friends to her and Lenny, are one of the main reasons for the recognition and success of the Zakim center today.

THE MEDICAL DIRECTORS OF THE ZAKIM CENTER

Over the years, there were three individuals/directors whose leadership and direction allowed the Zakim Center to make huge steps forward in operations and recognition. Their personal time, passion, positive thinking, wisdom, and amazing personalities are what led the Zakim Center to where it is today.

DR. PAUL RICHARDSON

The first Zakim director, an unbelievably charismatic individual, is Dr. Paul Richardson. Dr. Richardson put a strong emphasis on research and achieving recognition through scientific research. While Dr. Richardson was the director, we were able to conduct a small visibility study.

In addition to that study, we wrote a paper: “QUALITATIVE STUDY OF CANCER PATIENTS' EXPERIENCES WITH AND REASONS FOR INTENSIVELY PURSUING QIGONG, A CHINESE MEDITATIVE EXERCISE THERAPY,” as well as a Pilot Study of “12 weeks of Qigong as Gentle Mind-body Exercise for Metastatic Breast Cancer.” And finally, we presented a poster at a cancer research conference with the title "Pilot Study in Metastatic Breast Cancer of Diurnal Cortisol Variability, Mood and Muscle Strength Associated with a 12-week Program of Qigong as Mind-Body Exercise.”

Dr. Paul Richardson was offered the position of principle investigator (PI) in a treatment study for Multiple Myeloma, a treatment which then tremendously improved the rate off success with Multiple Myeloma. In the video, Dr. Richardson summarizes novel agents and combinations used for treating multiple myeloma. Key strategies include targeting protein degradation, restoring immune function, and combination therapy.

If Lenny had survived a few more years, perhaps this treatment could have prolonged his life for another 10 years, or maybe even put his cancer into remission; such is the world of Cancer. See Lenny's Story: Cancer and the Quality of Life.

DR. DAVID ROSENTHAL

The second Zakim Center director was Dr. David Rosenthal. Dr. Rosenthal is a great man, whose patience and huge heart will just melt you as you are working with him. He is smart, humble, down to earth and a loving individual to patients, colleagues, and his lovely and kind wife, Judy. Dr. Rosenthal was a great leader and promoter for the Zakim Center and his well established and recognized leadership in the traditional medical world brought the Zakim Center great acknowledgment and recognition.

Both Dr. Rosenthal and his wife, Judy Rosenthal, were instrumental in bringing the “Hope Lodge” to Boston. I met so many individuals and families that saved so much money by staying at the Hope Lodge, which also and allowed them to better receive their treatments in the Boston area.

DR. JENNIFER LIGIBEL

The third and current medical director, and a very important individual to the Zakim Center, is Dr. Jennifer Ligibel, who started in 2014 and is our present Zakim Center director as well as a breast cancer oncologist. Dr. Ligibel is one of the smartest people I have ever met (along with my mother Professor Zichria Zakay/Rones and her research with Cancer, and my father in-law Dr. Irwin Harold Rosenberg, also known as Isaac.) Dr. Ligibel is such a kind, thoughtful, and funny individual, and her dedication and passion is another large reason for the success and recognition of our center. I am proud and honored to work under her at the Zakim Center. Her research is impressive, to say the least, and she is one of the leading scientist and expert in both exercise and diet benefits to Cancer patients and survivors.

After the event, Dr. Ligibel sent a beautiful and touching email to the Zakim Center staff that I would like to share it with you:

“Dear Zakim Team-

I wanted to echo Joyce’s words last night in thanking you all for your hard work—some of you for more than a decade and some for not quite so long—in making the Zakim Center be a place of restoration and healing for our patients.

At the end of the day, what makes the Zakim Center great is all of you—the energy and devotion you bring to work each and every day, whether you work with patients directly, make the center’s appointments and programs flow seamlessly, or build the research base supporting what we do.

I hope you all listened to the words of the patients in the video and saw how much you work has meant to their lives, and saw how inspiring your work was to all of the people at Music Heals the Soul last night. For those of you who could not join us (we missed you!), we will make sure that you have a link to watch the beautiful video that so nicely depicted our new center and highlighted the difference the Zakim Center makes to our patients.

Thank you for all that you do. I look forward to further Lenny’s vision as we work to foster and grow our center.

Jennifer”

Dr. Ligibel’s right hand assistant, Victoria Kennedy, is another great person contributing to the Zakim Center. And I can’t forget Meghan Mcloughlin! Another great and kind individual she is our program coordinator.

THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE HONORED THIS YEAR

Picture of our Zakim Center Team

Cynthia Medeiros has also been at Dana-Farber since before the Zakim Center was created, as well as during the creation. Cynthia is actually one of the pioneers and main reason for the creation of the center. She was, and still is, a friend of the Zakim family. She rides the PMC, the Pan-Mass Challenge, every year on team Lenny to support the Zakim Center and Lenny’s dream.

Dr. David Rosenthal, who I wrote about above, served as the previous Zakim medical director.

Acupuncturist Zhi ping Li, who has been at the Zakim Center since 2002.

Acupuncturist Weidong Lu, who has been with the Zakim Center since its opening in 2000. Dr. Weidong Lu has been involved in very interesting research about acupuncture and cancer.

Here are some of his research publications:

Oncology massages Maria “Bamby” Mathay which you can also see in the short video by Laura Molta.

Massage therapist Theresa Ochenkoski.

And last; Tai Chi, Chi Kung and meditation teacher Ramel Rones (Rami).

Here are some of Ramel Rones’ publications:

Ramel Rones e mail to the Zakim staff:

“Hi,

Thank you to everybody and for Joyce and Jennifer’s kind words; it is an honor to be a part of the Zakim team and Tuesday night will be a night that I will never forget. It is a good reminder that hard work, knowledge, and humility are the key elements of our work; thank you.

In the Tai Chi classics it is said; “when moving move as a great river when standing be as still as a mountain” the Zakim Center and its staff are a true testimonial to those words.

Ramel Rones (Rami)”

THE GIFT/AWARD EACH ONE OF THE HONOREES RECEIVED

Some words from the Zakim family:

“Our dad worked tirelessly to create The Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies which is dedicated to integrating the practice of complementary therapies into traditional cancer treatment. The Center provides complementary therapies and education to patients, families, and staff, and advances knowledge of the effectiveness and outcomes of integrative therapies through peer-reviewed, evidence-based clinical research. You can try the therapies at the event!”

By Lenny’s children: Josh, Shari, and Deena.