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.

 

Mind-over-Matter: Rule of 80%

Whenever you are exercising for health, it is important to remember my Rule of 80%. Use 80% effort for each technique, no more, no less.

So, if you are doing wall push-ups, don't do them until you can't even raise your arms anymore. That's 100% effort. If you get to that point at, say, 30 push-ups, then you should only be doing 20-25 push-ups during your workout.

What if you are doing stretches? The same Rule of 80% applies. Don't bend over so far while doing Vitamin H that you think your legs might buckle. That's 100%. Get to a point where you feel the stretch, but don't feel any pain, and then support your head, arms, and neck with a chair or some yoga blocks.

In fact, this Rule of 80% even applies to meditations. It's better to cut your meditation off a few minutes early, before you lose your concentration, than to just let it fizzle out on its own. So, if you can sit still and quiet for 25 minutes at most, you should meditate each day for 15-20 minutes.

If, while following the Rule of 80%, you begin to feel like this level of effort is too easy, then congratulations! You've improved your strength, or flexibility, or mental focus, and now your old 80% level is your new 70%. That means you can push a little more and go for the next step.

In terms of weight loss, the Rule of 80% effort is especially important, because it helps us avoid injuries. Many people get into the habit of thinking that if they push themselves very hard during their workout, they will lose those few extra calories that make the difference. But this is dangerous, because pushing yourself like that could result in an injury, such as a torn muscle, or a sprained ankle. If that happens, those few dozen extra calories you burned aren't going to mean much if you are stuck on the couch in a sling for the next three weeks.

Mind-over-Matter isn't all at once. It's slow and steady.

Happy Stretching!

Top 5 Tips for Meditation

In the spirit of the current Mind-over-Matter meditation for weight loss plan, this week I decided to put together my top five tips for people who want to start meditating, or want to have an easier time meditating. So, let's dive right in!

  1. Find a place with gentle noise. Many people think that it is easiest to meditate when you are in complete silence. But think about it, where in the world can you find complete silence? Unless you are the lucky owner of a soundproof room, the next best thing is to put on white noise in the background. Youtube has countless 1, 2, and 3 hour long videos of rainforest sounds, babbling brooks, peaceful flute music, and so on. Having this in the background will help your mind tune-in to a rhythm and relax.
  2. Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth. I know I can't say it more than enough. But this is still one of my best tips. It closes an energetic circuit in your body, and helps you with the next tip as well.
  3. Breath only through your nose. Breathing through your nose is healthier. It filters and warms the air more than breathing through your mouth does. It also forces you to breath more slowly, since you can't inhale or exhale as much air as your can through your mouth. This lowers your heart rate, relaxes you, and helps you focus on the breath.
  4. Keep your eyes slightly open. When we are awake, it actually takes work to keep the eyes closed all the way. Let your eyelids relax to the point where they are comfortable. Some people find that closing their eyes causes them to daydream and stop meditating. Other finds that it makes them fall asleep. Do whatever allows you to keep yourself in a meditative state of mind.
  5. Sit however you like. This is a big one. So many people believe that meditation means sitting in the famous full lotus position, like those Buddha statues you see. This is not true at all. I tell most of my students to begin by sitting up on the edge of a chair (if you lean back, you might fall asleep!). Keep your back straight, and use your arms on your knees to support you, if you need it. If not, just rest them in your lap. Alternatively, you can sit on a pillow, or small block on the floor, perhaps with a wall to support your back. You can also sit on your knees, in seiza. 

And you know what? I'll throw in a bonus tip at the end: start with short meditations. Very very short. As short as you can do it, so that you are in that meditative focus for the entire time. Start with 1 minute, maybe 2. Then work your way up to 5 minutes. You shouldn't do more than 45 minutes at a time, because that can take a toll on the joints and blood flow in your legs. If you want to meditate longer than 45 minutes, make sure you take 15-20 minutes breaks in between sessions where you walk around and stretch.

Good luck!

Mind-over-Matter: Connecting the Three Forces

When trying to lose weight, a routine is very, very important. If you aren't keeping close to your dietary and exercise goals, then you won't see much change in your health. It requires dedication and discipline.

Some people help this process along with "cheat days," where they are allowed to eat whatever they want, or skip their exercises for the day, just so their mind can relax and they can enjoy some of life's luxuries once in a while.

This is okay, but there is an even better way of renewing yourself and giving your mind a rest. When I teach my students about Tai Chi and Qi Gong, I inevitably teach them about the three forces: heaven, human, and earth. One of the highest goals of mind-body practice is to connect these three forces, the yin of the earth, the yang of heaven, and the yin-yang mix of the human force. This can be achieved through a commitment to meditation, but it can also be done in little ways by simply going out and enjoying nature.

Take a walk in the woods. Watch the clouds go by. Look up at the stars on a clear night. Reconnect with friends. Do these things so that you can be re-energized by the forces around you. When we are in a routine, or a busy job, or a new lifestyle, we often get swept up by the focus that is required, and we lose our feeling of connectedness.

But that feeling of connection, to the earth, to the heavens, and to other people, is what keeps us feeling excited and alive. So the next time you are feeling exhausted, or you are saying to yourself, what's the point? Why not reconnect with your surroundings?

Happy Stretching!

Mind-over-Matter: Iron on the Wall & Fire Breath

Last time we showed you how to do a meditation with the technique Fire Breath. Today, we are incorporating that breathing technique into a classic exercise of mine: Iron on the Wall. I'll show you the stretching posture from a couple different angles, and you'll be able to see my back and shoulders rise and relax as I breath in and out loudly. Happy stretching!