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.
Take a minute off of work and stretch out your lower back. Sitting all day can really do a number on your lumbar area, but this motion is perfect for loosening the grip of soft tissue, and only requires a chair and a table.
If you find yourself losing focus at work, go watch one of my Youtube videos and do a quick 5 minute stretch! You'll feel refreshed and ready to tackle whatever work you need to do.
A body in motion tends to stay in motion. That couldn't be more true for our bodies! Regular exercise has been proven to maintain mobility and flexibility as you age. But, that old law of physics is also useful for talking about our ability to get things done: If you work hard all day, you are more likely to really tackle the next project you set for yourself, rather than give up.
Think about it this way: we have two mind-body states, excited/working hard, and calm/not working. Once you are in one, it is easy to stay in it. Switching between the two is hard.
Those of you who do Tai Chi or exercise every morning know this already. How much easier is focusing on your job after doing your morning routine?
Well, it works both ways. If you are struggling with committing to the exercise, not the work, then use your busy days at the job as motivation for your workouts. Don't plan workouts on days you don't have much to do. You'll have a much harder time getting off the couch. It's much more difficult to be motivated by the threat of worse health years in the future than by your boss firing you tomorrow. You'll try very hard at work, if you value your job, and that effort will carry over into completing your workout after.
Then, your "days off" can really be all about relaxation.
Have a great weekend everybody!
This week's Tai Chi Tuesday is another combined movement for arthritis relief and martial arts training. Just change the effort you do it with to change the results! Remember, 40% for relieving inflammation, and 80-100% for martial arts training and physical fitness.
We're trying something new here at the blog, because a lot of people have been asking for workouts to do when they can't meet me in person or want to try mixing it up after doing the routines in my books, dvds, and courses. So for you guys who like variety in your mind-body health and fitness routines, I'll be posting a short workout plan once a month based on the exercises I have posted on the blog.
Feel free to choose the workout that's perfect for you, and stick to it, or switch routines every month to keep your mind and body sharp.
This first routine is for the weekend warriors and athletes who want that extra edge in their field. It builds muscle and increases strength, all with the goal of honing your speed and reflexes.
Do this routine four days a week, and make sure you get a good amount of sleep. If you want, you can augment this routine with a meditation exercise and some jogging on the off days to help you recuperate and build cardiovascular endurance.
Four days a week, do each of these five exercises:
Good luck!
Hi everyone! I know we usually do a video on Tuesdays, but we have so many things to announce that I decided to just skip the video this week and put all the announcements in one spot. So here we go!
First of all, I want to make sure everyone (especially you new visitors) knows that by signing up for my blog updates (on the right) you now get access to my Free Deep Breathing Guide which I like to call the "magic carpet" of the mind-body system. It really does give you an incredible foundation of meditation practice, muscle control, and lung-capacity improvement which you can build on using the other exercises and tips that I post every week. If you haven't signed-up for my blog updates yet, please do! You'll get the Free Deep Breathing Guide in the very first update you receive.
My second announcement is about the amazing sale happening on Amazon through my publisher, YMAA. Right now, you can get my Sunrise Tai Chi DVD for less than $10. You can watch some teasers for the DVD here and here. This is an incredible price for a DVD containing almost 4 hours of content. For people who can't meet me in person, this is an excellent way to learn a Tai Chi form that you can use for life.
Last but not least, I will be teaching a Seminar for Relieving Lower Back Pain in Andover, MA, on both September 28th (Sunday) and October 12th (Sunday) from 11am-3pm. The seminar is in two parts, and registration gets you in for both days. Sign up while there is still room! This is 8 hours worth of practice and training with me for lower back pain relief, as well as energetic healing and meditation techniques. I hope to see you there!
We've got even more exciting things in the works, so make sure you're checking the blog and email updates often. Happy stretching!
A few days ago my publishing company, YMAA, announced a HUGE sale on my Sunrise Tai Chi DVD through my facebook page. If you haven't heard about it yet, please go to Amazon.com where you can get the DVD for over 70% off!
That's less than $10, and even qualifies for Amazon's free shipping on orders over $35. If you are going back to school with Tai Chi, my Sunrise DVD is an excellent resource. You won't find a better deal anywhere else!
In other exciting news, I have put together a Guide to Deep Breathing that is FREE for those who subscribe to my blog. So if you haven't subscribed, please do! You'll get access to the breathing guide totally free with your first blog update email. You can sign-up for my blog through the sidebar on the right -->
Happy stretching!