Visualize Your Goals

Many inspiring people and self-help authors have told people that visualizing your goals helps you achieve them. In recent years, studies have even supported this, at least as far as athletic performance goes. But can it work for healing?

Well, I don't think you can make cancer disappear with sheer force of will. That being said, if you aren't using the power of the mind and visualizations as part of your treatment, for cancer, back problems, chronic pain, or anything else, then you are wasting a potent, and totally free, resource for health and wellness.

I use visualizations with my patients, but they are very concrete. They are focused on where you are now, and how you feel, and how to slowly change that.

Here is an example you can use at home.

If you have stiff muscles or joint, anywhere on your body, go outside and sit in the sun. If it is cold or raining outside, sit inside with a blanket to keep you warm.

Set up some sounds of gently running water. If you have a stream near your house, or a fountain in your yard, that's perfect. Otherwise, just search for some river sounds on YouTube.

No sit or lie down comfortably so you aren't putting any weight on the tense or painful areas. Close your eyes and picture the affected areas like blocks of ice. Stiff, cold, painful ice that is attached to your body. Most people find this part comes pretty naturally.

Next feel the warmth around you, from the sun or the blanket, and visualize it sinking into your body. Breath deeply. Your body is like a glacier and the sun has just come up.

Slowly, as though you were watching a real glacier, visualize the ice on your body begin to melt. Picture tiny streams of cool water trickling down to the ground. Think about what the water would sound like. Feel your muscles and joints relaxing and picture the ice cracking and melting as it happens.

If you feel very warm, and it feels good, you can even picture the ice evaporating into steam and floating away. Make believe you hear the steam just like you hear the water running.

You can do this visualization as long as you want. Just make sure you aren't experiencing any pain, and put on sunscreen if you plan to sit in the sun for a while.

Five to Ten Minutes of Tai Chi is Better than Nothing

Tai Chi has been developed over thousands of years to help bring the body and mind to a meditative state and initiate relaxation. The best way to achieve this is by going slow, and doing the techniques and forms over a period of 30 minutes to an hour.

I've talked about the benefits of a Tai Chi routine before, in multiple posts. I've also spoken on how to keep your mind from wandering when you exercise, and how to make your routines feel like they are going by faster. But today I'm going to touch on another reason I hear all the time for why people don't have a mind-body routine.

"I don't have enough time."

Specifically, these people tell me that they have some free time, just no enough free time for a whole mind-body routine. So, they figure, what is the point of even trying if you can't fit a whole Tai Chi form in?

The point is that your mental health can still be improved with those five to ten minutes a day. You may not lower your heart rate much in a seven minute Tai Chi exercise. You may not engage much muscle relaxation with only four minutes of stretching (which would be about one or two good stretches, in my book). But, you can do wonders for your mind with six minutes of slow Sunset Tai Chi in the evening. You really will see a difference if you commit to five minutes of Sunrise Tai Chi each morning.

It's about getting your mind into that quiet place, no matter how long you stay there. Your mind isn't like your heart. You don't need to do 20 minutes of warm up cardio, and then a full exercise routine before you see improvement. Your mind and overall health will benefit from even a few deep breaths while you wait at a red light.

So the next time you tell yourself, "Gee, I'd love to do Tai Chi, but I only have ten minutes in the morning and ten minutes at night to exercise, and that isn't even worth trying," think about this post. Your mental health will thank you for it.

Mind-Body Workout #6: Outdoor Edition

Summer is here and the sunshine is out! That means it's time to get outside and get some fresh air while you exercise. So here we go!

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Mind-Body Workout #6: Outdoor Edition

Diving for Pearls: Let's start with getting some of that fresh air into our lungs. You've never appreciated how nice that summer air is until you hold your breath for a while.

Get the Kids Outside: TV and Video Games are just as entertaining in the summer when your kids aren't in school and actually have time to play them. But balance is everything, so make sure your kids come out to play and exercise (and meditate!) with you for a few minutes. This will build hand-eye coordination and concentration.

Upper Body Movement: "White Ape Picks Up the Peach" is a great motion for increasing flexibility and range of motion in the upper body. Do this movement to stretch your arms, chest, back, and shoulders.

Finish with a Walk: A Tai Chi walk, of course! Make sure you are keeping your mind centered and letting the thoughts drift by like clouds. This is a meditation that also builds leg strength and range of motion.

That's it! Go outside in this beautiful weather and get healthy.

Happy stretching!

June is Men's Health Month

June is the nationally recognized month for educating people about men's health, and raising awareness of health issues specific to men such as increased risk of heart disease, prostate and testicular cancer, etc.

With the exception of a few sexual health exercises, all of the techniques I have talked about on this blog are for men and women alike. One exercise, the testicle massage, is not only an important tool for improving men's sexual health, but also a perfect time to check for possible testicular cancer with a self exam. 

If you are a man, 14 years old or older, you should be doing a self exam once a month. Testicular cancer has an extremely high rate of cure when detected early. Don't let something that can be found so easily in a few minutes go unnoticed.

For men 35 and above, regular prostate exams are a must. Although the survival rate for prostate cancer is also very high, it is about 30 times more prevalent than testicular cancer, and if metastasized, prostate cancer's survival rate sharply decreases. The exam for detecting an enlarged prostate requires even less of your time than the testicular self exam, and can be done by your doctor during your annual physical.

There is plenty more to talk about regarding men's health and prevention, but I'll let you explore other resources for those things. Make sure one of those other resources is your primary care physician!

Happy stretching!

Yin and Yang in Meditation

There are, generally speaking, two kinds of meditation: passive meditation, and active meditation.

Passive meditation would be something like Zen meditation. The goal of Zen is to sit quietly and do nothing. Have no thoughts, and simply accept the sensations in your body and the state of the world around you without judgment.

Active meditation includes Taoist visualizations. You may look like you are sitting and doing nothing, but on the inside you are actively picturing the movement of energy through your body, around your body, and in the world outside. Active meditation is about willpower, and your ability to maintain focus on one thing for an extended period of time.

Both kinds of meditation are important for a healthy mind, just like both strength and flexibility are important for a healthy body. To function at 100% during the day, your mind needs to be clear. Clear of worry when you are just resting (passive meditation), and clear of distractions when you are working (active meditation). 

When it comes to sticking to your mind-body routine, both acceptance and willpower are needed. You need the willpower to get up off the couch, put down the potato chips, and do those workouts. But you also need acceptance and patience for when you don't do your workout, so you aren't beating yourself up about missing a day and giving yourself unhelpful stress.

Think about which side of the meditation balance you need to work on, and how your life, or the lives of people around you, might be different if you could do both equally well.

Mind-Body Wellness for Cancer Survivors

This Sunday is National Cancer Survivors' Day, a day for appreciating all of our loved ones who got through the trials and tribulations of cancer, and are now rebuilding and redefining their lives in the wake of their remission.

It is also a reminder of how cancer never truly leaves us. Even if our body is free of malignant cells, the impact it has on our lives, one way or the other, stays with us.

But survivors also have the power to change their lives for the better on the other side of this experience: not all the baggage we take from going through cancer has to be a burden. Many people find the motivation to change their lifestyle in the battle with cancer. But to really improve your life as a survivor, those healthy changes need to stay with you long after the countless hospital visits and surgeries and chemo sessions have ended.

I've talked a lot about how a mind-body exercise routine is key to boosting your immune system and preventing chronic illness. I've talked about how to take baby steps for learning mind-body techniques, how to commit to a regular routine, and even how to fit it into your busy schedule.

But today, the message is this: make sure you don't leave your mind-body tools behind when you walk out of that oncology ward for the last time.