This week's vlog is a great exercise for the forearms, an area of the body that is commonly missed in the gym. All you need is a stick, a piece of rope or belt, and a weight. Try it at home!
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.
Buddhist and Taoist Breathing: The Two Ways to Use Empty-Full Moon
We learned about the Empty Moon and Full Moon breathing skill last week, and this week we are going to talk about the two ways to use this skill.
Buddhist Breathing: When inhaling, expand the abdominal and back muscles to full moon. When exhaling, move the abdominal and back muscles inward to empty moon. On a mental level, do the lower energy center visualization, and continuously loop the mind back there when it begins to wander to other thoughts. When you breath in, picture the energy ball expanding with your muscles, and when you breath out, picture it contracting.
Taoist Breathing: When inhaling, contract the abdominal and back muscles to empty moon. When exhaling, move the abdominal and back muscles outward to full moon. On a mental level, do the lower energy center visualization, and continuously loop the mind back, just like in Buddhist Breathing. When you breath in, picture the energy ball condensing as your muscles pull in, and when you breath out, picture it expanding as your muscles push away.
Buddist breathing will feel the most natural at first, but both types of breathing are very important to overall health and lung function.
Hey Rami! Arthritis and Arm Speed
In this weeks vlog, we expand on the previous vlog about arthritis in the hands, and cover the whole arm! Also, we go into further detail regarding how these same exercises can improve your hand and arm speed for martial arts and sports. Enjoy!
Empty Moon and Full Moon Breathing
Last Friday I introduced you all to the Energetic System, and a method for focusing the mind on the Lower Energy Center. This week, we dive deeper into the breathing form we touched on and give you an exercise to do: Empty and Full Moon Breathing.
For this exercise, we will focus on the muscles surrounding the lower energy center area. This skill, coordinating the movement of the abdominal and back muscles with the movement of the lungs and diaphragm, should be practiced and emphasized on its own. This exercise is one of the pillars of every mind-body prescription I give my patients and students. It should ultimately be used with every breath you take.
Physically, this practice will allow you to regain control over the abdominal and back (or "core") muscles. If you don't use it, you lose it, as they say.
First: start to move these muscles with the help of your hands, one pressing on your stomach, the other on your lower back.
You will soon find that you can move the muscles in or out when you breath in and out. When you pull your abdominal and back muscles in, it is called "Empty Moon," and when you push those muscles out, it is called "Full Moon."
Practice this moving in and out as much as possible. At first, you won't be able to move the muscles very much, but with time your level of control will grow, and you will be able to expand and contract your core slowly and smoothly.
And remember my Rule of 80%!
Guest Vlog! Dr. Irwin Rosenberg on Aging and Muscle Health
This week's vlog is a guest video interview of my father-in-law, Irwin Rosenberg, Jean Mayer professor of Medicine and Nutrition at Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. He gave us a great interview about the importance of muscular health and integrity when it comes to aging well and having a higher quality of life.
The Energetic System
Over the next few weeks, the Friday blogs will be delving into some Taoist and Buddhist theories of the body's energy system and breathing techniques. If you find yourself really enjoying these posts please take a look at my Sunset Tai Chi books/dvds as all of this material can be found in there.
(On the other hand, if this stuff really bores you but you still want to learn Tai Chi forms, keep an eye out for my next Udemy course release, "Tai Chi for a Focused Mind - Pure and Simple." It's an abridged version of my current Tai Chi for Beginner's course that distills everything down to just the movements.)
The Lower Energy Center
One of the main energetic centers of the body is located two inches below the belly button, about three inches inward (toward the spine). In Western study, this spot in the abdomen is called the center of gravity.
In qigong, this area is known as the lower dan tian, which translates as "field of elixir," and is believed to be the body's main qi energy storage area. It is from this point that qi energy is also circulated throughout the body, much like the heart circulates blood.
The first skill required for both martial arts and health is the ability to mentally reside in one's physical center of gravity, the lower energy center. Use your breathing to reinforce your mental focus by expanding and contracting your abdominal and back muscles in a controlled manner as you breath in and out, respectively.
So, to summarize:
- Focus your mind on the lower energy center.
- Breath in and contract your belly and back. (Contracting your back is pretty challenging, and it only moves in about a half-inch, so don't force it).
- Breath out and expand your belly and back.
- Repeat, using only 80% effort on the breaths, contractions, and expansions.
Residing in the lower energy center is the secret to storing qi energy and "recharging the battery" in our body. This should not be seen as an exercise, but as a habit, or way of doing things. Ideally, after lots of practice, you should be doing this lower energy center visualization throughout your daily activities: driving, walking, gardening, typing, you name it.
Do this, and keep reading the Friday blogs to continue on your journey of increased internal awareness.