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.

 

Never Too Late: Keep Your Golden Years From Being Rusty (Part 2)

I hope you enjoyed last week's introduction to our series about mind-body health for people who are in their 70s, 80s, 90s, or simply have mobility or flexibility issues. This week, we present another exercise to add to the routine as you are practicing it.

There are a lot of ways you can do this stretch! Choose the specific posture that works for you.

Outer Hip Stretch

Picture 1: Click to enlarge!

The outer hip stretch is very important for increasing the range of motion in the hips and legs. This improves your ability to walk, and is especially important in preventing falls and lower back problems.

The most advanced way to do this stretch is to simply put one leg on top of the other, grasping the top leg at the ankle with one's opposite arm. It is important to hold the ankle and not the top of the foot, or you might risk hurting the joint. (See: Picture 1).

If your leg is not able to lift this high (over the top of your other knee), then you need to modify the stretch by using any object, to make it easier for you until you are more flexible. For example, you can use a walker to support the leg, so that it is almost up over the knee, but doesn't require the person to strain themselves while completing the stretch. (See below: Pictures 2 & 3).

Picture 2: Side view. Click to enlarge!

Picture 3: Front view. Click to enlarge!

For individuals that can put one leg on top of the other, but who have trouble with their knee pointing up, we can practice bringing the knee down over time. To do this, you can use a pillow or other object for support (and remember the principle of 80% effort from last time!). 

In this case, less really is more. By letting the leg rest on the pillow, the muscles relax, and you can achieve better stretching results. (See below: Picture 4).

Picture 4: Click to enlarge!

If you want to watch me describe this exercise (for people of any age), you can watch this video.

That's it for this week! Come back next week for even more exercises to do for people in their 70s, 80s, 90s, and maybe even 100s!

Happy Stretching!

Never Too Late: Keep Your Golden Years from Being Rusty (Part 1)

A special thank you to my student Dora, 94 years old!

Our next mind-body series is a routine designed for people who are 80 years old and older. Encourage your parents and grandparents to practice this routine with you, if they are able to still do it. If you are someone 80 years old or older reading this series, then great! Convince one of your children or grandchildren to help you along with the exercises and practice with you. 

Exercising and staying healthy together will make you both closer, and will also help you master this smaller range of my mind-body prescriptions and techniques. By keeping to a simple mind-body routine every day, both the your physical and mental quality of life, and the quality of life of the people practicing with you, will improve tremendously.

Here are images and links to the first two exercises:

Click to enlarge!

Calf Stretch and Arm Strengthening

Start with stretching the calf by leaning forward. You can use a walker like in the photo, or a high counter-top, or a couch. Whatever is available and sturdy. Keep the heels firmly on the ground. Hold the stretch for 30 to 60 seconds. While holding the stretch, breathe deep and focus your mind on the breath. Not only will you stretch your calf and hamstrings muscles, but you (or your student) will also strength their arms while holding the posture.

Throughout all of the exercises, make sure that any support you and your student are using is stable and won't move at all.

Calf, Hamstring, and Lower Back Stretch

By leaning forward (see below: Picture 1), and adjusting the height under the balls of your feet with something like a book, step, or other tool (see below: Picture 2), you can achieve a nice stretch in a few groups of muscles. First, your calves will get a nice stretch. Second, your hamstrings will stretch, these are usually the tightest muscles in the body. And third, the lower back will stretch, sometimes even going up to your middle back, neck, shoulders, and arms (see below: Picture 3).

Hold the stretch between 30 to 60 seconds. Breathe deep while holding the stretch and focus your mind on the breath. Work on relaxing your shoulders and your face as well.

Picture 1: Click to enlarge!

Picture 2: Click to enlarge!

Picture 3: Click to enlarge!

As you can see, from the pictures, you can do these exercises at any age. Dora was 94 at the time we shot these photos! By practicing this routine 10 to 20 minutes every day, you will see great results in your quality of life. I recommend that you use it to help someone important to you who is older, like a parent or grandparent. My modified mind-body techniques utilize any available prop or tool to achieve the "Principle of 80% Effort" in your personal physical ability. 

Within 2 to 3 weeks you will experience improved range of motion, strength, and flexibility, which helps in preventing falls, or falling more safely when one does fall. You will also experience increases in muscle mass and bone density from the resistance techniques (coming soon!). This can also help with chronic pain and joint issues, such as arthritis. 

As always, the deep breathing and emptying of your mind will improve your energy and help you sleep better, concentrate better, and perhaps even prevent dementia. Make this part of your life the "Golden Years" and not the "Rusty Years."

Don’t forget to take every precaution for keeping the individual safe from falling. Better safe than sorry! 

That's all for this week! We have plenty more great exercise guides for 80+ year olds coming up. If you know someone who is elderly that is committed to living healthy, or should commit to living healthy, please share!

Happy Stretching!

Achieving Physical and Mental Balance: The Complete Series

Hello mind-body students! This week we are going to organize all of the exercises you've seen from the last seven posts into one easy-to-reference workout post. Next week we will be moving on to new material. Until then, here is my mind-body prescription for Achieving Physical and Mental Balance.

Complete Mind-Body Prescription for Achieving Physical and Mental Balance

Part 1: Flexibility

  1. Hamstrings - Do the "Vitamin-H" stretch 3 times during the day, for 3 minutes each time.
  2. Calves - Loosen your calf muscles with these stretches or these stretches. Twice a day, 3 minutes each.
  3. Quads - Continue to relax the leg muscles with this stretch, or the heron stretch, if you know it. Twice a day for 2-3 minutes.
  4. Hip Extension - Finally, use this new stretch video to learn the "flamingo" stretch for the hips. This stretch should be done twice a day for 2 minutes on each leg.
  5. Outer Hip Stretch - People always forget this one! Do this stretch (either on a chair or on the floor) 2 times per day, for 3 minutes on each side.
  6. Chair Twists - A great movement for releasing tension in your back and taking pressure off your organs. This one should be done 2 times a day for 2 minutes to each side.
  7. The Rainbow Stretch - Try to keep your arm unbent while you do this one. 2 times a day, 2 minutes for each arm.
  8. The 5 Musketeers - This is our new exercise for the week. You may have seen three musketeers in a previous video, but this new one has more information and a better angle to see the correct form. Go through all the positions 2 times a day, for 2 minutes in each. That's a total of 10 minutes, 2 times a day.

Part 2: Strength

  1. Up and Down - The key to this exercise, which helps to build bone density better than just about any other exercise, is to remember that there are two sets that you need to do. First with your legs apart, and then with your legs together. Build up to 30 repetitions of each kind, 3 to 4 times per week.
  2. Sit Ups - Begin with this exercise on a chair if you need to, and then work down to the floor version of the sit ups over time. Build up to 30 repetitions, once every other day.
  3. This new technique will help strengthen your calves, the muscles that sit at the back of your knees and stretch all the way to the bottom of your feet. This muscle pair is incredible important for stability while walking, climbing stairs, going uphill, and more. It's time to lift those heels off the ground! Build up to 30 repetitions every other day.
  4. Wall Push-ups - you should all know this one by now. Remember that there are two sets, one with elbows in, and one with elbows out. Build up to 30 of each type every other day.

Part 3: Experiencing your Mass/Weight

  1. Stand on One Leg - The easiest way to simulate being off-balance is by standing on one leg. We all have a different level of balance when we start off, so you may be able to do this easily, or you may need a lot of support to keep yourself up. Start wherever is safest for you, and work your way to the free-standing version of the exercise. Do this for 1 minute on each leg, twice a day. (See the video below).
  2. Duck Walk - This funny-looking exercise is about controlling your center of gravity and your balance as you get lower to the ground. It also builds leg strength while you do it. Do 50 steps twice a day, and try to move lower over time.
  3. Tai Chi Walk - This exercise might remind you of the duck walk, but it has a very different "feel" when you do it. Where the duck walk uses small leg movements and strains a lot of your quad muscles, Tai Chi walking (also called "The 50 Steps") requires big, exaggerated movements that activate more stabilizer muscles. Both are necessary for great balance. Move lower and perform the walk slower over time as you improve. You should do 50 steps a day.
  4. Moving Down to the Floor and Back Up Safely - Lastly, we are going to practice actually going to the ground and getting back up in a safe and controlled manner. This is not supposed to be done quickly, but it does need to be repeated many times to imprint this reaction into your brain. Once you have done it enough, you'll automatically fall more safely than before. Do this ten times a day, alternating the side that you support yourself with.

Bonus Exercise: Rolling

  1. You can aim for ten rolls every other day. It is very important to keep good form while you practice rolling so you don't hurt your neck, back, or other joints. If you feel yourself losing good form, then take a break. The purpose of these rolls is to create a pattern in your body that you can use unconsciously when you are falling. If you repeatedly do rolls with bad form, then when you fall you will probably have bad form then too

That's it for this week!

Happy Stretching!

Achieving Physical and Mental Balance, Part 3

Last week, we finished up the stretching portion of our Balance-centered mind-body prescription. If you aren't up to date, you can check out part 1 and part 2 here.

This week, we begin the strength portion of the routine with two classic exercises that work your leg and abdominal muscles. In tai chi, there is a key pattern that underlies all of the techniques and movements that we learn, which can be summarized like so:

Force is generated by the legs, directed by the hips, and manifested by the arms.

In the martial arts application of tai chi, a powerful punch is much more about how your legs and hips move than it is about the arm that actually delivers the punch. A truly powerful punch is always delivered from a stable and balanced base. That base is your legs and your hips (and your hips are essentially the point of connection between your leg muscles and your abdominal muscles).

So to develop a balanced, stable base for our body, we must strengthen the legs and the abdominals.

With that in mind, here are the first two exercises you should perform for the strength section of this routine:

  1. Up and Down - The key to this exercise, which helps to build bone density better than just about any other exercise, is to remember that there are two sets that you need to do. First with your legs apart, and then with your legs together. Build up to 30 repetitions of each kind, 3 to 4 times per week.
  2. Sit Ups - Begin with this exercise on a chair if you need to, and then work down to the floor version of the sit ups over time. Build up to 30 repetitions, once every other day.

That's it for this week! Look out next week for the second part of the strength routine.

Happy Stretching!

Achieving Physical and Mental Balance, Part 2

In part 2 of our series on physical and mental balance, we give you the second half of the flexibility routine. If you missed part 1, check that out first.

As we move forward with this series, keep in mind the connection between our physical and mental balance, and how that affects us in our day-to-day lives. For children, balance in both of these areas is key to avoiding chronic physical or emotional issues. For young adults, mental balance helps with focus, whether it is for completing their studies, working hard at a new career, or keeping confident as they move out on their own. And for the older adults, physical balance becomes more and more important as our strength naturally fades, and the chance of harmful falls or accidents increases.

Think about the benefits you receive from this routine centered on balance, and use that mental image as motivation.

Flexibility exercises, set 2:

  1. Outer Hip Stretch - People always forget this one! Do this stretch (either on a chair or on the floor) 2 times per day, for 3 minutes on each side.
  2. Chair Twists - A great movement for releasing tension in your back and taking pressure off your organs. This one should be done 2 times a day for 2 minutes to each side.
  3. The Rainbow Stretch - Try to keep your arm unbent while you do this one. 2 times a day, 2 minutes for each arm.
  4. The 5 Musketeers - This is our new exercise for the week. You may have seen three musketeers in a previous video, but this new one has more information and a better angle to see the correct form. Go through all the positions 2 times a day, for 2 minutes in each. That's a total of 10 minutes, 2 times a day.

Next week we are on to strength!

Happy Stretching!

Achieving Physical and Mental Balance: Part 1

To improve your physical and mental balance, you have to train three aspects of your body.

  1. Your flexibility
  2. Your strength
  3. Your ability to 'experience' your mass

How does this help to balance your mind? Well, exercise is very good for stress reduction and emotional stability. Also, having an unstable and imbalanced body sends unconscious feelings of uneasiness to your brain. If you eliminate the imbalance in your body, you help to take that extra stress off of your mind. So long as you follow my Rule of 80% Effort, you will find yourself becoming more and more balanced, without any pain or extra stress.

This week, we tackle the first half of the flexibility routine.

  1. Hamstrings - Do the "Vitamin-H" stretch 3 times during the day, for 3 minutes each time.
  2. Calves - Loosen your calf muscles with these stretches or these stretches. Twice a day, 3 minutes each.
  3. Quads - Continue to relax the leg muscles with this stretch, or the heron stretch, if you know it. Twice a day for 2-3 minutes.
  4. Hip Extension - Finally, use this new stretch video to learn the "flamingo" stretch for the hips. This stretch should be done twice a day for 2 minutes on each leg.

That's it for now! Next week we'll give you part 2, and the rest of the flexibility set. Then it's on to strength!

Happy Stretching!