Hey Stephen, that is GREAT about the tai chi. I do tai chi (but the Taoist form) which is very very gentle and beneficial....( I love it..it helps me immensely with my arthritis and balance etc..)
http://www.taoist.org/
Here's the site for the UK
http://www.taoist.org.uk/
It uses some, "standing jongs (which are just warm up exercises) that feature all through the actual |"set"...
I wonder, is this the version you are trying?
take care...
Happy Birthday Wabbit!
(38 posts) (21 voices)-
Alianthia
MemberPosted 12 years ago # -
mikiem2
ModeratorRe Tai Chi and Qigong; an old friend happened my way four or so months ago (hadn't seen him for several years). He's been into Tai Chi for many years. He spoke to his teacher about me and came up with some exercises that I could try. Pretty straight forwards stuff. I'm still at a very simple and early stage, but I like the lessons he's given me so far. I can only do a little at a time but hope to continue and improve with time.
Warning... This may sound a bit *Out There* to some people... :)
The hardest parts for me were suspending disbelief long enough to give it a good try, & trying to always remember my postures when I wasn't actually trying to practice Qigong, with as many joints as possible bent very slightly from straight -- few if any at 90 degrees or more. That supports the flow of Qi (chi) -- managing, controlling, encouraging that flow is is a big part of what Qigong is all about, and can be practiced most anywhere in most any body posture. That's NOT to say the exercises &/or specific positions aren't important, but if you're lying flat on your back you can still practice & get some benefit. On the flip side of the coin I imagine some people practice Tai Chi the same way some people practice Yoga, without the more spiritual component at its core -- the physical aspects are to facilitate the spiritual.
Long, long ago there was a fair amount of sharing of ideas between India, China, Japan etc., which wound up meaning you can find or see often complementary practices in several disciplines, e.g. Buddhist practices that have similarities to say a Hindu practicing Yoga. Modern science has also gotten involved -- among the best known results are bio-feedback. You might find it useful, WR, to explore a bit, using what you learn/accomplish & find helpful with Tai Chi as a base from which to look at other disciplines/practices. When it comes to encouraging, managing the flow of Qi, especially when it comes to managing pain, I've found imagery, particularly with colors helps, sometimes a Lot, & the same with the concept of Chakra. Reiki I think is more controversial -- my understanding is it was taken from Buddhist practices & set up on it's own, sort of without the Buddhist context. Nonetheless it has taught me some very useful stuff, as has ayurvedic medicine, which itself shares similarities with traditional Chinese medicine.
My take, FWIW as always :) , is that first & foremost our human species is all about cause & effect -- it's something we're hard-wired for. We see something, then try to figure out why, what caused that? We may differ, argue about the why, but for the most part what we've observed is what we've observed, & if we see it often enough it becomes fact. Depending on whom you ask, sometimes the cause is science, sometimes religion, & sometimes another explanation entirely, e.g. the occult. If I want to drive a nail I'll go buy a hammer that'll drive that nail -- who designed that hammer, &/or any theories or practices behind that design don't interest me at all, as long as it does what I want it to, i.e. drive that stupid nail. Yet I've seen thousands of hammers over the years, each designed to drive nails & each designed a bit differently, so obviously some people disagree with what to me is common sense. When it comes to stuff like Quigong &/or traditional Chinese medicine etc. there are lots of people more interested in how it came to be [how that hammer was designed] rather than can it work [can it drive a nail]. That said, to each their own. Focusing so strongly on the why can be so ingrained, that when science validates something with non-science roots, those roots are rarely mentioned -- when they are mentioned there's a good risk the scientific findings will be ignored. That's something neither science nor religion has been able to cure, & I lack the energy to tilt at windmills. :)
Posted 12 years ago # -
Whiterabbit-uk
Games GuruThanks Mikiem; your insights are a pleasure to read. I must admit to having been Sceptical when my friend started talking about the flow chi , balance/posture and grounding etc, but I've always been open to ideas and do feel that there is something to those traditional Eastern practices so am determined to continue.
Posted 12 years ago # -
For the past 3 weeks I have been in and out with my Migraines. The last one started Thursday night and ended this morning. Sorry I missed your birthday, Oh Long Eared Furry One With Carrot Breath. Hope you feel better. We love you! Smooch, Smooch!
I am reading this exchange about Tai Chi..and others with interest. I am thinking about checking into it around here. Maybe it would help with my arthritis, migraines etc. So as long as Wabbit doesn't mind..Keep it up.
Posted 12 years ago # -
NolafromNZ
MemberMikiem, I too am finding this most interesting and intend to follow up the Tai Chi classes. The problem here is that I am 3/4s of an hour away from the nearest town, but that can be overome, I'm sure, even if I start off with a dvd at home. Thank you for all you have written, you have obviously got a few of us intrigued. I have stayed away from morphine unless I am absolutely desperate (and I have bottles and bottles of RA Morphine in the cupboard presribed for me by my doctors) but ordinary pain tablets do nothing. May your suggestions help.
Sorry for hijacking your birthday wishes Stephen.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Gurunot a problem Nola. :) Mikiem has always posted very useful info in these forums. I'm happy that he spent so much effort replying to our posts.
Posted 12 years ago # -
mikiem2
ModeratorThe problem here is that I am 3/4s of an hour away from the nearest town, but that can be overome, I'm sure, even if I start off with a dvd at home.
Or just with what you might find on-line, or maybe in an e-book? Amazon has almost everything in their Kindle format, so I would be surprised if they didn't have something you might like & use.
Many [most?] people have at least once or twice been somewhere where you could feel the mood in the air, where there was a feeling of some shared emotions, perhaps excitement or just the good mellow feeling sitting around the table with good friends. I *think* that may be a reason Tai Chi or Yoga is practiced so often communally, in groups -- everyone contributes to & takes support from their collective "vibe" if you will.
If you do something like that on your own however, you can concentrate on You, how & what your body's feeling. And you'll know much sooner that nope, that's not going to work right now, rather than being tempted to push ahead. You can also be creative or inventive without being concerned with what anyone else would think... Unless you're an athlete [& often even then] you have a limited range of motion -- rather than just give up because you think "I just can't do that", with a bit of creativity you can do what you can, how you can.
Unrelated to Tai Chi etc. but the example that comes to mind, my mom was at a stage in her life when she needed more upper body strength, but walking was a problem so things like exercise classes were out. She had a lot of success performing the exercises her physical therapist had shown her, adapted so she could do them in bed, using soup cans for hand weights -- they actually worked out ideal because with her arthritis the soup cans were much easier to hold onto.
Just remember, Nola, when you do a stretch or any sort of physical exercise you actually do a very small bit of damage -- the idea is that we'll heal in better shape. Your body often won't feel the full effects of that damage, any soreness for 2-3 days, so baby steps & patience. If you feel fine after trying something, & the next day you're OK, wait another day or two to make sure. You'll soon learn what to expect & what your body's limits are & develop a schedule that works for you, but when you're 1st starting anything with a physical component be especially careful.
The reason I stress such caution starting out is that our bodies are very much like those very tall antenna towers with guy wires stretching out in all directions -- our skeleton itself is just a bunch of loose, separate bones, so we've got all these muscles & tendons that do the very same thing as those antenna guy wires. Problem is we don't use all of our natural motions, nor do we use all our muscles, so in effect some of our guy wires are stronger than others, & some are tighter/shorter than others [think of the spokes on a bicycle rim]. A stronger muscle can rip or tear a weaker &/or tight muscle or tendon -- if you've ever injured yourself by moving a certain way or stepping wrong, chances are that's what happened. So be extra careful at 1st so if you discover a muscle you never knew you had, it's because it feels a little sore, Not because it's screaming at you at the top of its lungs. :)
Posted 12 years ago # -
mikiem2
ModeratorI am reading this exchange about Tai Chi..and others with interest. I am thinking about checking into it around here. Maybe it would help with my arthritis, migraines etc.
IMO it'll help with the arthritis, if not directly then by sort of tempering or limiting how the rest of your body acts & responds to it. Also, since our bones are alive rather than some static mass of calcium, any physical exercise helps them & the rest of our body use calcium & other minerals they way they're supposed to.
As far as the Migraines go, there's been a lot of research into biofeedback & the positive effects on Migraines -- Tai Chi roughly speaking might be considered biofeedback without all the sensors... you feel rather than see your progress/results.
This is really, **Really** a *Maybe* sort of suggestion, Delenn... I read recently of some newer research suggesting that Migraines [& I think freeze headaches] might be related to blood vessels feeding the brain expanding/contracting. Lots of people with CFS/ME &/or FMS suffer from both Migraines & orthostatic problems -- regarding the 2nd, we have problems maintaining blood pressure & flow to the brain... the mechanism that maintains that pressure & flow is broken. Fighter pilots tighten or clench major muscles like those in their legs, since that's been found to send more blood to the brain, & thus helps prevent passing out during flight maneuvers -- they may wear compression suits for the same reason, in effect squeezing their body like a tube of toothpaste.
*IF* there is an orthostatic component to your migraines, &/or if it's related to too little blood flow or pressure to the brain [not necessarily the rest of your body], you might be able to enhance the positive effects of Tai Chi by experimenting with things like more constant, more continual movement -- selectively tightening/flexing muscles -- &/or maybe compression shirts, shorts, or socks, all of which can encourage your body to send more blood to the brain. If the problem is too much blood flow/pressure to the brain, then try the opposite, e.g. looser clothing & muscle relaxation. Tai Chi teaches you to do either more calmly in harmony.
I have a Very bad habit I think/hope I've finally broken, where during a regular checkup when the nurse measured my BP I'd relax -- I mean *Really* relax... I always do it at home that way hoping the results will be more reliable, rather than changing with my mood or depending on how tired I might feel. And it drove the nurses nuts since they had a lot of trouble hearing/measuring my pulse [the electronic device at home doesn't have to hear]. At any rate that sort of calming is something you can learn with stuff like Tai Chi.
Posted 12 years ago #
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