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.

 

Mind-over-Matter: Rule of 80%

Whenever you are exercising for health, it is important to remember my Rule of 80%. Use 80% effort for each technique, no more, no less.

So, if you are doing wall push-ups, don't do them until you can't even raise your arms anymore. That's 100% effort. If you get to that point at, say, 30 push-ups, then you should only be doing 20-25 push-ups during your workout.

What if you are doing stretches? The same Rule of 80% applies. Don't bend over so far while doing Vitamin H that you think your legs might buckle. That's 100%. Get to a point where you feel the stretch, but don't feel any pain, and then support your head, arms, and neck with a chair or some yoga blocks.

In fact, this Rule of 80% even applies to meditations. It's better to cut your meditation off a few minutes early, before you lose your concentration, than to just let it fizzle out on its own. So, if you can sit still and quiet for 25 minutes at most, you should meditate each day for 15-20 minutes.

If, while following the Rule of 80%, you begin to feel like this level of effort is too easy, then congratulations! You've improved your strength, or flexibility, or mental focus, and now your old 80% level is your new 70%. That means you can push a little more and go for the next step.

In terms of weight loss, the Rule of 80% effort is especially important, because it helps us avoid injuries. Many people get into the habit of thinking that if they push themselves very hard during their workout, they will lose those few extra calories that make the difference. But this is dangerous, because pushing yourself like that could result in an injury, such as a torn muscle, or a sprained ankle. If that happens, those few dozen extra calories you burned aren't going to mean much if you are stuck on the couch in a sling for the next three weeks.

Mind-over-Matter isn't all at once. It's slow and steady.

Happy Stretching!

Mind-over-Matter: Connecting the Three Forces

When trying to lose weight, a routine is very, very important. If you aren't keeping close to your dietary and exercise goals, then you won't see much change in your health. It requires dedication and discipline.

Some people help this process along with "cheat days," where they are allowed to eat whatever they want, or skip their exercises for the day, just so their mind can relax and they can enjoy some of life's luxuries once in a while.

This is okay, but there is an even better way of renewing yourself and giving your mind a rest. When I teach my students about Tai Chi and Qi Gong, I inevitably teach them about the three forces: heaven, human, and earth. One of the highest goals of mind-body practice is to connect these three forces, the yin of the earth, the yang of heaven, and the yin-yang mix of the human force. This can be achieved through a commitment to meditation, but it can also be done in little ways by simply going out and enjoying nature.

Take a walk in the woods. Watch the clouds go by. Look up at the stars on a clear night. Reconnect with friends. Do these things so that you can be re-energized by the forces around you. When we are in a routine, or a busy job, or a new lifestyle, we often get swept up by the focus that is required, and we lose our feeling of connectedness.

But that feeling of connection, to the earth, to the heavens, and to other people, is what keeps us feeling excited and alive. So the next time you are feeling exhausted, or you are saying to yourself, what's the point? Why not reconnect with your surroundings?

Happy Stretching!

Mind-over-Matter: Iron on the Wall & Fire Breath

Last time we showed you how to do a meditation with the technique Fire Breath. Today, we are incorporating that breathing technique into a classic exercise of mine: Iron on the Wall. I'll show you the stretching posture from a couple different angles, and you'll be able to see my back and shoulders rise and relax as I breath in and out loudly. Happy stretching!

Mind-over-Matter: How Mindfulness and Calories Interact

When you are hungry, and you see a cheeseburger, what goes through you mind?

"Yum." "I can't wait to eat." "I'm starving!"

But do you ever think about how many grams of carbs and fat, or how many calories, are in that burger? Do you ever slow down and consider what would be best for your health in that moment, or are you stuck on autopilot?

For most Americans, in fact for most people all over the world, eating is not an exercise in mindfulness, it is a habit. We practically do it unconsciously. In the same way that many people have to deal with anxious thoughts, or depressed feelings, even though they don't try to bring them up, we are also in danger of putting food into our body that isn't good for us, even though, deep down, we know better.

But in order to bring that better half of us to the surface when we are tempted by the likes of a burger, we have to practice being mindful by meditating. If you can sit down for a few minutes and practice letting go of those negative and automatic thoughts, you will see a difference in how you handle situations like food. There will be a little space that opens up, and in that space you'll have the chance to ask yourself, "Should I really be eating this?"

From that moment, you have the chance to change your mind. And when you begin changing your mind, you have the chance to change your body as well.

But to make sure you know whether the answer is "yes" or "no" when you are faced with a food choice, you need to do a little research. Use some online food calorie calculators and references so that you can tell whether a food or meal is within your calorie, fat, and carb limits for the day. You'd be surprised what "healthy" choices aren't all that healthy.

Choosing the caesar salad might sound like a healthy choice, and compared to a cheeseburger, it probably is. But with a few searches and calculations, we find that your standard caesar salad has about 160 calories and 10 grams of fat. Not too bad, but stop and think. Could we do better?

How about an Israeli salad (one of my personal favorites). Finely chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, bell peppers, and garlic. Add some mint and olive oil, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. That comes to roughly 138 calories, and 4 grams of fat. When you consider all the vitamins and antioxidants you're getting as well, it's pretty clear which one is the healthier choice. Personally, I think it tastes better too!

A little knowledge of what you eat goes a long way. Be mindful!

Speaking of food. If you haven't already, please check out the new website that Jeff Sirlin and I have launched called Cancer Wellness TV (www.cwellness.com). It has tons of free, research-driven information about nutrition, recipes, cancer-fighting foods, as well as mind-body and support therapies for fighting cancer and living after cancer. It's all free, and we want as many people as possible to be involved. Tell everyone you know, and Happy Stretching!