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.

 

Medical Qi Gong for Breast Cancer

In this final installment of the Breast Cancer Awareness vlog series, I show you a move called "White Ape Pick Up the Peach." This movement utilizes a lot of shoulder rotation that will loosen up any muscles in your chest that haven't been covered by my past three videos on Breast Cancer here, here, and here. I hope these videos have helped all of you prepare and recover!

This movement is extremely versatile, it can be used to prepare and recover from upper body surgery, relieve carpal tunnel symptoms, and build up your lower energy center. Definitely add it to your repertoire!

Office Exercise Series Announcement

Hey everyone! Today, I am announcing a month-long video series on the vlog about staying healthy and fighting stress at the office. It will start on the first Tuesday of November, and you'll know you can do these exercises in the office, because I got all dressed up in business attire just to show them to you!

Office stress can be a real serious problem, especially because we sit all day long at a computer, and constantly drink coffee to stay awake. This builds up a lot of physical energy that has nowhere to go, which makes us stressed out, and then makes us tired.

Really! Having too much energy and not using it can make you tired! That's why getting exercise and increasing your heart rate each day does wonders for stress reduction and energy levels.

Not only is getting up, stretching, and even doing a little meditation good for your health, it will be good for your productivity too. This video series will be your one-stop shop for getting healthier AND working better. It all starts in two weeks, hope to see you there!

Mind-Body Workout #2: Stretch and Strengthen your Core

It's time for another mind-body vlog workout routine! This month, we're going to focus on the core, which we'll narrow down to our abdominals, lower back, and inner pelvic girdle muscles.

The core of our body is the true seat of our health and strength. In martial arts, all power is transferred through the core into our punches and kicks. The core structures also protect our vulnerable internal organs from damage.

Routine #2

This workout routine will not only work your core muscles and increase strength, it will also stabilize your lower back and massage your internal organs. Here your go!

Mind-Body Workout #2: Stretch and Strengthen your Core

Do these exercises five days a week (weekends off).

Chair Twists x 1 set
Hold each side for 2-3 minutes. Keep your shoulders even and relaxed. Don't turn your hips!

Groin Stretch x 1 set
Hold this stretch for a good 4-6 minutes. There are a lot of tense muscles in the pelvic floor.

Sit-ups x 3 sets
Go slowly, with 2 minutes of rest in between each set.
1-15 reps is beginner. 16-30 reps is intermediate. 31-50 reps is advanced.

Buddhist and Taoist Breath x 4 sets with 30 seconds of rest in between
First two sets: Buddhist breathing for 1 minute.
Second two sets: Taoist breathing for 1 minute.

These last two exercises should be done while you continue to do the Empty and Full Moon motions. If you can't coordinate that much mind-body motion yet, just focus on your breathing in and out.

Grind x 6 sets of slow, controlled motion. 
Alternate: one set rotate left, one set rotate right.
First two sets: smaller circles. 
Second two sets: medium circles.
Last two sets: big circles.

Push the Tablets x 3 sets, 30 seconds each
This is a great rotational exercise. Use a chair is you want. Put your mind in your core!

Few! That's a pretty intense workout. A lot of these moves come from Tai Chi. If you want to explore more Tai Chi movement and theory on your own, check out my DVD, Sunrise Tai Ch.

Good luck!

Another Way to Recover from a Mastectomy

This is part 2 of my October Breast Cancer Awareness and Treatment vlog series. See the first installments here and here.

This movement is called "Push the Tablets," and it incorporates rotational stretching of the lower back, in addition to moving the upper back and chest. It is great for pulling air into the back of your lungs, and for loosening the soft tissue of your chest and shoulder girdle.

Unsolved Pain in Lower Back and Legs

Recently, a reader asked me about treating Sacroiliac joint problems.

I know what you're thinking: "Sacroiliac joint? What the heck is that?"

The sacroiliac joint is where your spine meets and connects with your hips. Specifically, the sacrum bone (the second to last bone in your spine, going down) connects to the ilium (think of them like the "wings") on either side of your hips. This joint is composed to many short, strong ligaments. All of  the muscles in your lower trunk and hips help move this joint. 

Sacroiliac joint issues usually occur in women over 30 years old. SI joint issues are often mistaken for lower back injuries, or sciatica, because the pain is very similar.

The SI joint is extremely important for overall health and mobility. It is at the crossroads of our two greatest bases of movement: our spine and our hips.

Below, I've posted an abridged version of the routine that I gave to the reader, specifically designed to relieve SI joint issues. If you are experiencing similar unsolved back pain or leg pain, give these exercises a try.

Step 1 and 2: Lots of excess weight and long periods of sitting down can put too much stress on the SI joint, so before you begin to stretch it out, you need to make sure you are at a healthy weight and are remembering to take breaks during desk work and long drives to get up, stand, walk, and stretch.

Step 3: Do the following mind-body exercises:

All these stretches should be done at 40-60% effort. Also, supplementing this routine with some standing or moving meditations from my Sunrise and Sunset Tai Chi forms would add a lot.

I have linked to the exercises that I have blog videos for, and will update with more links as we release more of them. All of these exercises are in my books.

You could also buy my Lower Back Course on Udemy.com, which comes with all of these exercises, meditations, and more. Choose what option is best for you!

P.S. If you have bought any of my books or DVDs, please consider writing an honest review about it on the website you bought it from. I can't tell you how much your feedback matters both to me, and to other people considering my mind body practices.

Thanks!