This is a two-person stretch that will help your kids release muscle tension in their head, neck, shoulders, arms, and upper back. Guide their attention to the tightest muscles with your hands so they can really visualize melting the stress away in those areas.
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.
Harness the Placebo Effect
I found this link in my Twitter feed today about research into the placebo effect and its correlation with certain genes. Very interesting!
But I have been teaching my students to harness the power of the placebo effect for years now. I believe the placebo effect is simply the power of the mind to heal the body. Of course, this doesn't just happen by magic: there are genetic factors and neurotransmitters and hormonal responses and reactions involved that are well worth studying. However, why wait for the research to tell us that the mind-body techniques we are already doing will work? We know they work! That's why we do them.
The placebo effect was originally examined as a response by people who had received sugar pills instead of real medication. Those people who had a condition, but who were given pills that were (unbeknownst to them) just sugar, somehow saw improvements in their condition, just like the other people who were receiving real medication.
Is this due to the healing power of sugar?
No, of course not. It's due to the healing power of the mind. When we believe we are going to get better, and when we believe that any tiny improvement is part of a larger trend of improvement, and not just a random moment of feeling better, we actually start getting better.
It's the power of positive thoughts and beliefs about your mind, body, and health.
By meditating, and by focusing our mind on our bodies, we can choose to our healing not as temporary or fleeting, but as the beginning of a great process of healing.
So use that brain and tap into your placebo effect. When the research finally comes out, you can learn about just what it was that your mind and body were doing that made you feel so much better.
Good luck!
Move Like a Pigeon for Your Neck
This week's vlog shows you the move "Pigeon picks up the seeds" to use for a stiff or aching neck. Move at your own pace and if you hear cracking or popping, go slower and smaller!
What the Science Doesn't Tell You
Every day, dozens of new medical studies are written about by science journalists, explaining in laymen's terms where the cutting edge of health care is at this very moment. Often, these findings are big news, and they give hope to millions of people who suffer, or whose loved ones suffer, from these illnesses.
However, these articles always end the discussion at who the treatment helped. The fact of the matter is that all studies, even very successful ones, have outliers: people who do not respond to the treatment.
In a study of 100 patients, if 90% saw an improvement in their symptoms after using drug XYZ, that means 10 people didn't get any better while taking the drug. It is only recently that scientists have become interested in why some people in every study don't respond to treatment like most people do.
Antidepressants are a perfect example. Some people respond so well, that, after a year or two on pharmaceuticals, their depression becomes treatable without drugs. Other people are helped by the same antidepressant for a couple years, and then grow resistant to it, and require additional treatment. Still other people have no positive reaction to the antidepressant at all, and have to go through six weeks of trying the drug out before realizing it just isn't helping them.
This is all to say that medicine, yes, even mind-body medicine, is not a one-size-fits-all situation. But, mind-body medicine does has some distinct advantages when it comes to making unique treatments for each individual.
Mind-body medicine has no "trial period." If you don't feel good in the first one or two days of Tai Chi, then it's on to another mind-body treatment. Mind-body medicine also gives the patient incredible control over their "dosage," so to speak. You can do 10 seconds of mindful stretching, 20 seconds, 27 seconds, 1 minute, or however long it helps you relieve the soft tissue tension without creating soreness. It's cheap, too.
So don't feel defeated if one treatment doesn't work for you. Whether it's a drug or and exercise or something else. Consider all your options, and know that you aren't alone. There are a lot of other people in your exact position, looking for treatment that works.
Quick reminder to come to my two functions this Sunday and Monday! Sunday is a meditation workshop at Yang's in Andover, and Monday is the Integrative Therapies Fair at Dana-Farber. Hope to see lots of you there!
Buddhist Breath and Taoist Breath Explained!
I get asked a lot about the difference between Buddhist and Taoist breath, so here is a vlog explaining just that. Hope this helps!
Mind-Body Workout #5: Stop Stiffness in your Upper Body
It's been a while since we released a Mind-Body workout, so here's one for all you folks who are defrosting after this long winter and preparing to go out and do some yard work soon.
Mind-Body Workout #5: Stop Stiffness in your Upper Body
Relax your Neck and Shoulders: We start with a stretch for releasing tension in your neck. Relax your muscles and your mind while doing this stretch, so that you can prepare to make the rest of the workout a real mind-body experience.
Short, Basic Motions: Now we will work our way into the joints. By doing these simple, repetitive motions in a gentle manner, you not only focus the stretch on the muscles around the joints, but also bring your mind into the stiff areas.
Turn and Twist: This motion is for your shoulders, neck, and even your spine. It's also a great mind-body exercise. Make it slow and steady and meditative!
Sweeping Tai Chi Motion: This exercise is at the end because it requires the most mobility of all the exercises. Only do this one if your joints are feeling a lot better (hopefully they are!). This motion gets all the joints in your arms and shoulders, even the the joint between your two forearms bones!
Happy stretching!