Healing and Improvement: Being Mindful of Your Body's Limits

March 7, 2014

Competition is a big theme in Western health and fitness culture. You might not believe it, but even with exercises like stretching, Qi Gong, and Tai Chi, many Americans bring a competitive attitude. In sports, this mindset is good. It tells us to leave it all out on the field. When training in something like Tai Chi, this same urge tells us to be just as good as everyone around us. It pushes us beyond reasonable limits to fit in and avoid embarrassment.

Believe it or not, fitness professionals are told by their employers to forgo teaching beginner clients certain exercises for fear of injury. This goes doubly for elderly clients. The Surgeon General has even put out warnings regarding the safety of exercises like toe-touches and squats.

The exercises themselves are not dangerous. In fact, they are the foundation for a healthy exercise routine. The real danger is not knowing and accepting your limits.

Does this mean that you shouldn't push yourself in the gym, or during your morning stretches? No, of course not. But it does mean putting your goals into perspective. If you can't touch your toes today, don't force yourself to. That is a recipe for throwing out your back. But if you bend over as low as you can comfortably go every day, stretching and strengthening the muscles that support your back, you'll reach that goal of touching your toes, in time. I always tell my students to use the rule of 80% when we train Tai Chi or do stretching.

80% effort will give you the perfect balance between improvement and injury prevention.

Most important, don't be embarrassed about not being as flexible or as strong as you would like. You can get there, but it takes time, patience, and discipline. There are no shortcuts to health. Listen to your health and fitness professionals, and even more importantly, listen to your body. Not being able to touch your toes is not embarrassing. Throwing out your back in a yoga class because you pushed yourself too hard... now that's embarrassing!

I Want to Increase My Strength...

February 28, 2014

Western culture measures strength in muscle. When you ask any American, even young boys or girls, to "show me how strong you are," 99% of the time they'll lift up their arms and curl their biceps.

But big arms don't translate into health. Nobody has ever died from bicep problems! According to Eastern Philosophy and Internal Martial Arts traditions, true strength lies in the abdomen. Specifically, in the area between the bottom of your ribs and your hips, where you don't have much skeleton for support. Almost all of your internal organs are seated here, surrounded by many protective layers of muscle and fascia. When you ask about strength in an Eastern culture, people slap their bellies, as if to say, "Look how strong and protected my organs are!"

So how do you strengthen this area? Well, most people would tell you to do more crunches and sit-ups! While these exercises are good, they only touch the tip of the iceberg. The muscle and soft tissue of the abdomen doesn't just run up and down. It goes side-to-side and diagonally as well. You'd have to do a dozen different types of crunches just to exercise all these muscles!

In my classes and online courses, it's hard to find an exercise that doesn't increase your core's strength or flexibility. But for the beginner, there is one exercise I would suggest. I call it "Empty-Full Moon." It is simple to learn, but hard to master.

Here's how you do it: when you breathe in, pull your stomach and lower back toward each other with about 80% effort. Don't just suck in hard, be mindful. Pull your belly button straight backward and feel your lower back move just a little bit in. When you breathe out, do the opposite. Push out with your back and belly with 80% effort. If you're really good, you can incorporate Wing Breath into this exercise as well.

And don't worry, this won't make your belly bigger!

A Straight Spine Promotes Good Health

February 6, 2014

Qi Gong and Tai Chi have been developed across history to promote human well-being and enlightenment. The information on this blog, on my website, and in my courses, will guide you on your way to achieving better health, higher quality of life, and a reduction and prevention of pain and disease. I have been taught by internationally accomplished masters over the past 30 years, and I am committed to sharing the wisdom they have given to me with as many people as possible. I want to be your virtual Qi Gong / Tai Chi Master. I blog to promote both the learning of the ancient knowledge and its practice. I encourage you to read on, try some of what I recommend and see how you feel. If you feel better - do some more!

Let's think about a basic mind/body challenge: maintaining a straight spine all day long.

A straight spine promotes energy and blood flow to your internal organs and reduces internal stress.

Slouching and collapsing the back constricts movement and creates stagnation around the internal organs, spine, vertebrae, and disks.

Bulging disks, sciatica, lower back stiffness, and chronic pain could all be by-products of the negative effects that stem from years of improper posture.

A straight spine stimulates open and free lungs and deep breathing, encouraging more oxygen to flow throughout the blood system. Every cell in our body functions better with more oxygen. A straight spine also opens the back, and can promote greater freedom of motion.

Most of our furniture, both at home and at work, does not promote proper, straight sitting or healthy posture -- but it is not the furniture's job to straighten our spine! We can begin to sit and stand straight with a little extra awareness and effort. Straightening the spine throughout the day is pretty easy (just like deep breathing!) if we remember and practice a few key ideas.

First, understand I am not recommending what most people think of as good posture - the soldier standing at attention. Too stiff! Think about being more like an excellent dancer, or kung fu master: lithe and flowing, always in balance and upright. By developing more mind/body awareness through Qi Gong and Tai Chi practice, you will be able to maintain a straight spine, and your whole body will thank you!

Read on, put your mind in your spine and remember to breathe deep!

Please visit my website at www.ramelrones.com for more information about me and my work to promote a healthy mind/body connection through Tai Chi / Qigong. Or you can explore Tai Chi/Qigong in more depth with my online video courses at Udemy.com.

Breathe Deep! A Simple Way to Promote Well-Being

January 31, 2014

Most of us are shallow breathers.

Think about it, we only breathe deeply when we sigh or are out of breath. Modern life does not encourage conscious or deep breathing. Cars, elevators, escalators, trains and planes – most modern conveniences – prevent challenges to our lungs. Simply walking is not strenuous enough to get the breath going either. I joke that if you are not chasing your food every day or don’t do a cardio workout 4 to 6 times a week you are probably a shallow breather.

Pay attention, watch people around you. Do you see their chest expand and contract, do their ribs move? Probably not, except at the gym. Shallow breathing is everywhere – and our health is suffering for it.

For today and every day, why not breathe deep? This simple practice promotes energy and a sense of well-being by bringing oxygen and nutrients via the blood to every cell in your body. Deeper breathing means more oxygen, greater stimulation of your cells, and better health!

Inhale deeply, expanding the muscles and ribs outwards towards the arms (Wing Breath).

Deep breathing is a conscious decision. The key idea is to remember to breathe deep, especially after you forget. Every day, add a few deep breaths and you will move more oxygen through your body, nourish your organs and brain, and stimulate better health. Remain conscious of your breathing and, over time, you will breathe deeper and deeper more often throughout the day.

Say it!

I do not want to be a shallow breather!
I want to be a deep breather!
I want to breathe deep throughout the day!
*Keep saying and thinking these three sentences, taking your first step.*

Now the second step.

Remember to remember!

Even if you made the smart and healthy decision to be a deep breather you will find that you will forget again and again.

My reminder trick is to associate deep breathing with things I do every day. For example, when I brush my teeth I start my deep breathing. When I open or close a door I take a deep breath. Before I start the car, I breathe deep, at every red light, I breathe, while I wait for a bus, I breathe. While I listen to someone go on and on, I take deep breaths.

When I use these reminders throughout the day it builds healthy habits and allows me to do more and feel better – and so can you!

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