Simple Breathing Through the Lower Two Gates

[See Upper Two Gates first, here]

After training the two upper gates for a while, place your palms on your center of gravity (lower energy center), and practice sending energy to the lower two gates. Inhale with your mind in the lower energy center. As you exhale, put your mind a few inches below the soles of your feet. Distribute the weight between the ball of the foot and the heel. 

Inhale, bring your mind into the lower energy center, exhale, put your mind and inch or two beyond the soles of your feet.

Continue with this process until you feel comfortable with the mind shifting from the lower energy center to the lower two gates, and then back again.

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P.S. The dates and deadlines for my new meditation workshops at Yang's Fitness Center in Andover have been extended, so check out their new page about it and how to register. Here, and here, you can find the updated flyers.

Happy stretching!

Simple Breathing Through the Upper Two Gates

Here's last week's post about what Four Gates Breathing is, in case you missed it.

Now let's get started on the first two gates.

You may do this sitting or standing.

Put your hands out, palms facing down. They should rest at the same height as your belly button, and your finders should be slightly spread out. Relax your wrists and make a slight bend in your elbows (do NOT lock them or tense them). Drop your shoulders. Lengthen your spine and feel your head suspended. Relax your face and touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth.

Begin on the exhalation, bringing your mind into the palms. On the inhalation, move your mind from the palms, to your lower energy center.

On the next exhalation, move in the reverse, from the lower energy center to the palms.

As you can see, I'm not asking you to move the energy along any particular path in between the gates and the energy center. If you feel like the energy is moving in your body, that's good! Right now, I want you to focus on the simple method of moving the focus of the mind from the gates to the center, and back.

Four Gates Breathing

The energy that flows through our bodies moves in and our of us via gates. We have five major energy gates in our body, and many other smaller ones. In fact, each of your skin's pores could be considered a tiny gate. The five major gates are:

1. The head. Especially the face, ears, and the center of the top of the head (the baihui point). 
2. The two palms. Especially the center of the palms (the laogong point).
3. The two feet. Especially the bottom of the soles (the yongquan point).

Four Gates Breathing just works with the four hands/feet points, as well as the lower energy center.

The Four Gates - The palms of the hands, and the soles of the feet.

Moving the Energy to the Four Gates, the Simple Way

In order to succeed with the Four Gates visualization, you should first practice visualizing the lower energy center by itself. That energy center is at the crossroads of these four gates, and you must have a solid grasp of it before you start.

Next, we divide the gates into upper body and lower body sections, and practice their visualizations separately. We begin with the two palm gates, because they are the easiest. Next, we visualize only the two lower (soles of the feet) gates. Finally, we incorporate all the separate parts into one practice.

We'll talk about each of these steps in more detail in the following weeks.

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P.S. I have two Meditation Workshops happening soon over at Yang's Fitness Center in Andover, MA. One is on March 1st, and the other is on March 15th. They are 3 hour sessions, which give you a great introduction into morning meditation (Mar 1st) and evening meditation (Mar 15th). You can register for one or both of them using this form, or by calling 978.475.2020.

Don't wait! Today is the last day to get the early-bird discount for the workshop on the 1st. And the early-bird deadline for the second workshop is March 5th, right around the corner.

Feel free to check out the testimonials of people who attended my last workshop back in September, if you are still unsure.

Hope to see you all there!

The Biggest Misconception About Pain

"I can't exercise, I'm in too much pain."

This can be true sometimes, like when you've just broken a bone, or if you just began treatment for cancer, among other things. But 99% of the time that you say this to yourself, you are tricking yourself. Or, you don't know the right exercises to do.

I have done research in both fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis, two of the leading causes of chronic pain. In both cases, regular exercise helped the patients experience less day-to-day pain. 

"But I've tried exercise! It hurts too much, trust me."

I believe you. But I can almost guarantee that the exercise you were doing was too intense. In America, when we hear the word 'exercise' we think of running, or lifting weights, or doing jumping jacks. It's true, those are all exercises, but they are only one kind of exercise: fast and hard. They get your heart rate up, they make you sweat, they make you lose your breath.

There is an entire category of exercises that Americans are missing out on: the slow and gentle exercises. These exercises should be done using between 40% and 80% of our effort. Something like walking is good, but it doesn't get your mind and body working in sync.

Yoga is good too, but it can be very challenging at the beginning for people with chronic pain, or joint issues.

The best place to start is with Tai Chi. The nature and speed of Tai Chi movements is exactly what the body needs to relieve chronic pain and restore joint tissues.

Trust me, sitting and doing nothing will make your chronic pain worse. I've seen arthritic inflammation get much worse from inactivity. I've also seen symptoms get worse due to too much activity.

Tai Chi provides the balanced approach that these conditions require to improve.

Why Young People Need Mindfulness

Most medical and media discussion of mindfulness and meditation these days is about adults. People in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. These countless articles and studies shine a light on how to reduce stress from your job, your marriage, your kids, your health, and so on. That is all great, and all very important.

Photo Credit: Axie Breen

But what needs to be talked about more is how mindfulness and meditation help you make better decisions, rather than simply deal with the stress of decisions you've already made. Being quiet and mindful and honest with your feelings is a skill, not a tool you can just pick up and put down. The more you develop that skill, the more often and more efficiently you can utilize it.

So why start later? Don't tell yourself "I'm young and free, I don't have stress right now. I'll meditate later."

That's not the right way to think about mental health and stress. It's like they say about water in the desert: If you feel thirsty, it's already too late to drink.

Photo Credit: Axie Breen

Meditation helps develop your relationship with the true you. You may be unsure about this inner you, or embarrassed by it, or worried by what you might find. That's okay. Not all meditation has to be active, like the Taoists do. Over the years, I have found that sitting in a place of "thoughts of no thoughts," or Buddhist, Zen meditation, is just as important. Just sitting and experiencing the universe and my inner spirit are healing and grounding.

Don't wait until after you've made your major life decisions in your late teens and early 20s to start paying attention to how you really feel, and what connections to the world you really need. Let the times of quiet contemplation guide your life, not just react to it. It's like stretching and strength training and cardio: they prevent future physical illness. Practicing meditation and mindfulness when you are young are key to preventing future stress.

Mind-Body Workout #4: Super Bowl Edition!

It's time for another custom mind-body workout folks, and this month, we're giving you a workout you can do while watching the Super Bowl.

Go get your Patriots gear and get ready to sweat!

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Mind-Body Workout #4: Super Bowl Edition!

These exercises have all been tailored to the usual Super Bowl viewing experience, and they are divided up into the three major portions of the game: 1st half, Half-time show, and 2nd half.

1st Half

Breathing for Possession: Every down that the Patriots have the ball, pull your abdominal wall in when you breath in, and push it out when you breath out (Taoist Breath). When the Seahawks have the ball (boo!) do the reverse, called Buddhist Breath.

Stretch for the Kicker:  Anytime the Patriots go for a field goal in the first half of the game, get up and stretch those hips on the wall. In your mind, focus on sending all of that hip strength and flexibility to Gostkowski. We need all 3 of those extra points!

Half-time Show

Let Out Some Heat and Stretch: It's probably getting pretty hot in your house now, with all the cooking and cheering and breathing and stretching going on. The half-time show is the perfect time to open your front door and let the house cool off. While you are there, do these stretches to open up those chest and shoulder muscles to prepare for the second half.

Make Room for More Food: You've still got another two hours to go, but you probably overdid it on the chicken wings and chips in the first half. No problem! Grab a chair, and loosen up your digestive tract with this twisting stretch and be ready to chow down during the finale.

2nd Half

Cheer for the Pats/Yell at the Refs: The second half is when every pass and penalty really starts to matter. Show your team spirit by getting up off the couch for each one and cheering or yelling as you see fit. "Come on, Ref! You call that a penalty?"

Lost Your Seat: Most people at these Super Bowl parties wander around during the middle quarters, but everyone suddenly fills in around the sofa when the game clock reaches 5 minutes or so. Chances are, you just came back from the bathroom and now you don't have a seat. No worries! Stretch those quads and strengthen those knees by sitting on the ground.

There you go! Your one-stop guide to making this the healthiest Super Bowl you've ever had.

Go Patriots!