Here is the first official installment in my new "Hey, Rami!" vlog, where I answer your questions in a short video. This week, a stretch that may help alleviate Eustachian tube dysfunction, migraines, and other head and neck soft tissue problems.
The gardens had a much louder echo than we expected! I promise our next video will be easier to hear! Here is the video transcript:
"That is a great question, Matthew. You're talking about issues between the ear and the neck. But in Chinese medicine, Qi Gong and Tai Chi, we treat any issues from here up with an array of different stretches, breathing techniques, and meditations. So, I will just show a quick one for people that have any issues form here [the sternum] up, especially with the soft tissues elements, or soft tissue that is compressing against any nerves, or blood-flow elements. So, any of those soft tissue problems can be first addressed with what I call the 'Emergency Posture' for the neck and migraines.
"The emergency posture is very simple: you sit on a chair and you lean your head on a table, with your elbows folded this way. You distance the chair as much as you can from the table, and over time you try to create more distance between the chair and the table, and more distance between your forehead and your pubic bone.
"I'll show it right now. Try it at home. Hold it for 2-3 minutes, and really allow the whole weight of your trunk to drop into your forearms. You ready to do it? Let's do it!
[Example]
"So the stretch is the physical method, or one of the many stretches, that helps with any problems from the sternum up. But there is also mental exercise, or meditation, tapping into the power of the mind to dissolve and melt any impurities, or stagnation, or tension from the top of the head to the sternum. That is done through the face meditation which you have some availability to read a little bit about [here] or you can find it in my Sunset Tai Chi book."
That's it for this week's vlog, but please, leave any question you want me to vlog about in the comments! I'm happy to answer as many as I can. And if you want to get my vlog updates through email, you can sign up with your email address on the right.