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.

 

"Music Heals the Soul" Fundraiser

On May 19th (a Monday), the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute will be holding a fundraising night at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum and Library in Boston. The proceeds will go to the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies at Dana-Farber, which Rami has worked with for a number of years now. Please consider coming out and supporting this incredible organization and its good works!

In addition to the fundraiser, Rami's good friend, Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino, will be recognized with an award for his long-standing support of the Zakim Center. Congratulations, Larry! WCVB-TV/Channel 5 Boston reporter Kelly Tuthill will be there to emcee.

According to the Press Release Dana-Farber in sending out, the event starts at 6pm, and "will also include a seated dinner, live music, a silent auction, and complementary therapies from the Zakim Center, which offers integrative therapies such as massage, acupuncture, qigong, and creative arts. Tickets are $200. For more information, call 617-203-2064."

If you plan on purchasing a ticket, PLEASE be sure to double check the time and date by calling that number.

We wish the Zakim Center many more years of great work!

Addendum: Here is the video that was shown at the fundraiser in honor of Larry Lucchino and Leonard P. Zakim, enjoy!

Balance is Everything.

Mindfulness and Eastern medicine/lifestyles have taken the US by storm in the last ten years, and I couldn't be happier. The power of the mind, or what I like to call the "Placebo Effect," is a vital part of holistic health care. Everyone should be doing some kind of meditation on a regular basis, whether it is sitting, standing, or moving. I have no doubt that the medical community will continue to discover far-reaching health benefits associated with practices like Tai Chi for years to come.

However, these Eastern traditions are not a cure-all. The key to holistic health is balance. Mindfulness has been linked to decreased anxiety and decreased depression symptoms, but if you are taking a medication for either or both of these issues, beginning a Tai Chi or meditation routine does not mean you can suddenly stop the prescription. Supplementing your treatments with mindfulness practice should mean being more involved with your physician about your health, not less.

The goal, of course, can be to wean yourself off of prescriptions. No one wants to take pills every day of their life! But you have to first build a foundation of effective mind-body prescriptions, to give you and your physician enough confidence to decrease your reliance on pharmaceuticals. Don't try moving all of your eggs to another basket at once!

I teach my students from the body first, and gradually, I teach them to add layers of mindfulness and meditation to their stretching and moving. The greatest, and longest lasting health benefits are achieved after the mind and the body are both fully involved.

After all, it is called Mind-Body medicine for a reason!

Hey Rami! Guest Vlog: Larry Lucchino Talks About Rami

This week's vlog stars a guest! As many of my readers have probably seen, Larry Lucchino has been an avid client since he first came to Boston and sought help for his lower back issues. On the home page, you can find an extended testimonial that he gave a little while back.

For those of you who have not heard his testimonial, this quick summary he gave of his experience is definitely worth a watch:

And a quick announcement! We now have two moving meditation classes per week at the Zakim Center! See my Classes & Times page for details.

Health Care Costs and the Elderly

Being elderly (commonly defined as 65+) in the U.S. has changed significantly in the last few decades. The elderly are not on the last leg of their life, but rather just starting the last quarter of their life, as the life expectancy continues to rise. Many of them are staying in the workforce, either because their bodies allow them to, or to support the children that they had (later in life than their parents) through college and other financial hurdles.

This is not an indicator that the elderly are experiencing all-around better health, however. Heart attacks, cancer, and other fatal health events have been pursued with billions of dollars of research funding to increase survival rates as much as possible. But chronic, non-fatal health problems that arise in old age like diabetes, arthritis, joint and muscle pain, etc., are still only see "treatments." 

As the elderly age group grows, everyone has a responsibility to understand the impact on our healthcare system. Does longer life expectancy mean fewer chronic issues, or just more time to have them? At this point, it is latter.

This is why preventative health routines are so important, especially for the elderly. The last thing the elderly want is to be a burden, financial or otherwise, on their children and grandchildren. Learning tai chi and qigong now may mean free arthritis treatment for life.

Hey Rami! What About Strength?

In this week's vlog, the topic of discussion is strength, and how it should fit into your health equation. First up: leg strength for bone density, posture, and balance.

Be sure to keep submitting questions in the comments, on facebook, twitter, or via email!