Tai Chi Ball Workout Guide

When Pedro Martinez returned to Fenway in 2006 as a pitcher for the Mets, Boston honored him with a video tribute at the beginning of the game series, even though he was on the opposing team. The next day Pedro was the starting pitcher for the Mets, but he only lasted three innings, giving up several runs in quick succession.

My friend and student, Larry Lucchino, told me afterward that Boston had "killed Pedro with love." Too many emotions and memories had flooded Pedro's mind, and he was unable to perform.

I also struggled for a long time to take the forces of life that were coming at me and work with them, rather than fight them. When you fight the energy of the moment, you underperform. It is so important to learn how to utilize the energy coming at you, and direct it into something constructive.

That is what practice with the Tai Chi Ball is all about. The ball represents the energetic force of the world around you. The goal is to be like water, yielding, and then forceful. The ball is the energy being absorbed, and then used against itself.

As you go deeper into this practice, you see that this energy you are absorbing and returning can also be something life difficulties in life, or troubling emotions. You take the energy of these problems, and you turn it on the problems to help solve them.

Easier said than done, but here are the motions to practice:

"Grind": Move the ball in a circular motion in front of you, always keeping it roughly level with your navel, as if you were grinding it into a table. Begin with 15 circles in each direction.

Ahn Circles: Move he ball in a circular motion in front of you, always keeping it in-line with your spine, as if you were spinning it around on a big bicycle wheel. Begin with 15 circles both toward you, and away from you.

Advanced Motion, One Arm: This motion includes two circles, one under your armpit, and another above your head. Watch the video to see exactly how it is done. Begin with 15 circles, in forward, and then reverse. Then switch arms and repeat.

If you want to experience this yielding and utilizing forces exercise even more, also practice Centering with a partner, which deals with exactly the same principles.

Happy Stretching!

Surgery, Exercise, and Understanding Your Body's Limits

One of the most difficult aspects of maintaining a healthy lifestyle is adapting your exercise, diet, and activities to your body's changing capabilities. There are countless reasons why our body may not work the same as it used to. Injury, surgery, having children, and even the natural aging process can change our body's ability to function. It could even be something as simple as not getting a chance to exercise for a while.

In my experience, if I don't do arm exercises for a couple weeks, I have to ease back into a routine to avoid straining myself too much and risking injury. When I am in good practice, I can do two sets of 30 wall push-ups (elbows in then elbows out). But if I even go two weeks without upper body exercise, I need to start back at 15 repetitions on each set, rather than the full 30.

And what if you have just had surgery? Many exercises on the blog are related to recovering from or preparing for surgery. I always show you how to do the exercise with no resistance, because adding resistance when you are weak after surgery is dangerous. You have to accept your new level of ability, and slowly work your way back up to your previous capability. Even if you are not strong enough to completely lift your arms, or if you have very low range of motion after an operation, do not feel ashamed and do not push yourself to get better too fast. The wise thing to do is to be confident that you will get better with time, and stick to your new routine very closely.

Recently, I had a blog reader ask me how they should do the breast cancer exercises when they aren't planning on having surgery. Should they do them the same? Differently? Should they bother to do them at all?

My answer was, of course they should do them! These exercises are not just for surgery, but for getting oxygen and healing energy to the site of the cancer. The difference is, what is your 80% level when you have not had surgery? 80% effort after surgery might mean just stretching your chest a tiny bit while lying in bed. If you aren't having surgery, but are going through chemo, 80% effort may be doing a few chest exercises for 10 minutes while sitting in a chair. If you are completed treatment and are feeling healthy, 80% effort could be chest and arm motions with some 5lb weights in your hands, while standing up.

It's all about recognizing what your ability is at this stage of your life, and doing the right amount of exercise to maximize healing and minimize your chance of further injury or illness.

Happy Stretching!

Spring is a Time for Moderation

As the weather begins to warm and many of us emerge from our winter-long stay indoors, we need to remember to get back into our spring and summer activities slowly. You all know my Rule of 80% by now. Being active at a moderate level is key to avoiding injuries, and helping your body adapt to new routines and experiences. So if you are getting back into an exercise routine soon, don't push it! Build back up in moderation.

But moderation isn't just about exercise. Many people (especially in New England) want to run outside and bask in the sun all day in that first week or two of warm spring weather. But if you expose your skin to too much sunlight all at once after a whole winter of being indoors, you're asking for a sunburn. Or even worse, an increased chance of skin cancer. Wearing sunscreen if you are going to be out for any extended period of time is very important. Equally important is allowing your skin to rest and properly react after sunny weather. You should only be in direct sunlight for at most an hour a day during the first two sunny weeks.

If you can begin with half an hour during the first week, and work your way up to an hour, that is even better.

A good rule of thumb is that you should already see a healthy (not red and burned) change in your skin color a few days before you start going out for more than an hour. If you have a darker complexion or your skin just doesn't change color much with sun, two weeks of at most 1-hour a day is still a safe bet.

And how about breathing? We all love to take deep breaths of that fresh, warm air after winter. But many of us walk around with a runny nose or congestion once the flowers and trees start to bloom. That's because you are getting too much pollen and fresh air too fast. You have to use a similar strategy with air as you do with sunlight so that your lungs and sinuses can adapt to the new environment.

Begin with a few deep breaths of outdoor air each day, before things start to bloom. Work your way up to a minute of deep breathing, then two, then three, etc. Don't immediately open all your house windows and let the air through, because then you won't have anywhere for your lungs to rest! Save that for when you have already been breathing the outside air for a couple weeks.

If you have serious allergies, then this deep breathing advice comes with a grain of salt. Consult a doctor before doing anything that might aggravate a preexisting condition.

Happy Stretching (in moderation)!

Taoist Bubble Visualization + Posters

The more intense the meditation and visualization, the more helpful these posters can be. For instance, the Taoist Bubble Visualization and Meditation is pretty complex. You don't only visualize a bubble of energy around your body, but also the flow of impurities out of the body, the absorption of healing energies into the body, and the blocking of negative energies from entering. This complexity is why I often have the energy bubble as the last part of a longer meditation routine.

A great way to make things simpler, and easier to remember, are these posters! There is a lot to visualize while you meditate in this form, so a poster on the wall or the floor that reminds you of the steps and the parts of the visualization can certainly be a big help.

This poster has more text, and reminds you of everything you need to know about the visualization. The other poster has fewer words, and may help you concentrate once you have the meditation memorized.

Good luck, and Happy Stretching!

Counting Breath Meditation + Posters

Today's poster meditation is the Counting Breath Meditation. For those of you who are new to the blog, the counting breath meditation is a great for transitioning from the sound-guided meditations to the silent meditations. It helps you focus on the breath with each number, and is naturally very calming to do.

This meditation has two poster options, one illustration, and one photo. They both say the same things, so pick which ever picture you prefer to look at while meditating.

Which picture do you prefer? And which meditations would you like me to make posters for in the future? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Stretching!

Healing Energy Ball Visualization + Poster

Many students ask me for tools or guides to help them remember the steps for certain meditations and exercises that I teach. My books, DVDs, and the blog, of course, are always available for you to reference. But I have put together some helpful posters that you can print out and hang on the wall in your house that will allow you to get exactly the information you need without too much of a distraction.

Today, we start with the Healing Ball visualization. Click here to download the printable .pdf file.

The Healing Energy Ball is another name for the Lower Energy Center, but people often find it easier to visualize an "energy ball" rather than an "energy center". Do whatever works best for you.

The four steps listed on the poster are just the basics. If you want to achieve an even more advanced level of meditation, then you should begin practicing my tongue alignment trick, as well as the Up and Down Forces.

Also, pay attention to the picture! It tells you to focus your mind on the lower energy center until you can reside there. It is very important that you understand the difference between simply thinking about a visualization, and residing in a visualization. Residing is about bringing your awareness to the area and experiencing the sensations associated with it. 

Good luck visualizing the healing energy ball, and Happy Stretching!