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.

 

Healthy Feet Guide

Today, we're putting all of the feet videos and exercises into one place for future reference. Healthy feet and good walking posture can make a huge difference in your overall health. Any of the common walking issues I discuss in this video can cause knee problems, lower back pain, even neck pain and migraines. Without further to do, here is a little feet health-plan for you to follow, everyday if you can, and a few times a week if you are short on time, or your feet don't have any issues.

  1. Begin with stretching your calves. Relaxed calves give your feet the full range of up-and-down motion while walking. This goes a long way toward letting your feet stretch themselves with normal movement throughout the day. 
  2. Now that you are ready to be up and around on your feet, why not go barefoot for a few minutes? If it's warm out, go walk through the grass, or find a beach with some nice sand. The point here is not only to stretch the feet, but also to stimulate them with different surfaces and feelings. 
  3. Once you are done with your barefoot stroll, it's the perfect time to take a hot foot bath. Not only will this clean your feet, but it will also gently relax all the muscles and ligaments in your feet, and even soften the hard skin or calloused areas.
  4. Now that you have clean and relaxed feet, it's time to open your toes with this exercise. You don't want to push too hard and hurt your feet, but you should be working toward getting your fingers all the way through the spaces in between your toes. This balances out the compression that our toes go through during the day from wearing tight socks and restrictive shoes.
  5. You have to get on to your day at some point! These exercises should only take you roughly half an hour in total to complete, but there is alway something you can do while you are out and about. Take a look at other people's walking posture and notice how it makes them move. Do you move like that when you walk? It's almost impossible to watch yourself walk normally, so noticing the tell-tale signs of poor walking posture in other people might help you notice them in yourself.

That's it! Happy Stretching, and Happy Walking!

Watching Walkers Challenge

Today's video is a game! I challenge you to spot the incorrect alignment and walking issues of these pedestrians. Noticing common walking issues in others is a great way to begin noticing walking issues in yourself.


Stimulate the Nerves in Your Feet

Many people believe that strength training is a two-step process. First, you lift weights and do other exercises, and then you build muscle and get stronger. But the reality is that building strength has another step: training your nervous system.

The body naturally uses the least amount of muscle possible to complete an exercise or movement. This saves our body's energy for any unexpected or emergency situations that may occur. If you suddenly have to run to catch the bus, you better not have spent all your energy walking to the bus stop.

But we don't build muscle by just walking around, or doing laundry, or taking out the trash. The difference between regular movements and exercise is how much of your muscle is activated by your nervous system. It's when you focus your mind on the muscles you are working, and push them to the point of exhaustion, that your body will learn to build those muscles bigger and stronger.

What does this have to do with feet? Well, you can't really make the muscles of your feet any bigger, but you can make them stronger, which will help prevent falls, sprained ankles, and other common injuries. Foot strength isn't about how much weight you can move with your feet, but rather how force your feet can take and still keep you stable.

So the first step to building strength in our feet, as we've just learned, is stimulating the nerves. The best way to begin doing this is simply to walk barefoot on all different kinds of surfaces. Wooden floors, sandy beaches, warm asphalt, thick grass, rocky beaches, shag carpets, you get the idea. Walk slow, walk fast, wiggle your toes, go up on your tip-toes if you can. Try to feel the world out with your feet (after all, they do have some of the highest concentration of nerves in your whole body).

Walk barefoot on a different surface everyday, and you will be ready for any of the foot exercises we throw at you.


Happy Stretching!

Black Friday Sale!

Welcome back Mind/Body students! I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving (if you celebrate), and were able to relax for at least one day before we begin this season of snow and shopping. 

If you are looking for a gift for yourself, or someone else, that will help them improve their health, lower their stress levels, and attain the quality of life that they want, then we have great news. All of my Udemy courses will be half-price from today (Friday the 27th) until 11:59 PM on Monday (the 30th), when you use the coupon links at the end of this blog.

If you want to know what each course is about, check out this playlist of introductory videos I have put together about each course:

Think you are ready to pick up a course and begin your Tai Chi routine? Here are the coupon links. But remember! They only last until midnight on Monday, so make sure to pick them up before December 1st. 

15 Minute Mind-Body Workout for Recharging and Reducing Stress now $5

Tai Chi for a Focused Mind - Pure and Simple now $10

Tai Chi and Chi Kung: Sitting, Standing, and Moving Meditations now $9

Alleviate Upper Back Pain with Tai Chi & QiGong now $30

Relive and End Your Lower Back Pain with Tai Chi & QiGong now $30

Improve Your Physical and Mental Success with Tai Chi now $30

Please share these links with your friends, family, and anyone who might need Tai Chi or QiGong in their lifestyle. You never know what mind/body exercise can do for you or someone else until you try it. With this sale, hopefully, we have made beginning a new routine as affordable as possible.

Happy Stretching and Happy Holidays! We'll be back on Tuesday with a new video on healthy feet.