by Jocelyn Watkin | Mar 30, 2018 | Information |
There’s an old tai chi joke and it goes like this: A new student approaches his tai chi teacher to ask, “Master, how do I live as long as possible?” The master, a woman of many decades experience, replies: “Keep breathing as long as you can“.
Breathing – we all do it automatically: approximately 18 times per minute, 1,080 times per hour and nearly 26,000 times in a 24-hour day. You would have thought we’d got it down to a fine art?
But, what if I told you that most of us could do this breathing thing a lot better? And, by better I mean having more more energy, less anxiety, better sleep, less stress, better posture (with less back ache), and that it was a way you could quickly calm your mind when it is revved up. Of course, you don’t have to do this type of breathing for all of those 26,000 breaths. Instead, you can try it for just for a minute or two and for 2-3 times per day – it could make a huge difference in your life and health.
Tai chi is an ancient, Chinese martial art and exercise that involves a series of movements performed in a mindful, focussed manner and accompanied by deep breathing.
You don’t have to know tai chi to learn tai chi breathing. I can show you how to do this so you can breathe your way to better health. You will be able do this anywhere, anytime, while seated or standing.
Let me show you how in this short, 3-minute video.
Click on this link to find out WHY tai chi breathing is so good for you and why it can help you to bust stress in just a few minutes per day.
Find out more about a winter wellness workshop in June, where you will learn breathing exercises to wallop winter colds and boost your immunity.
Better breathing keeps you warmer in winter and more relaxed. Purr-fect.
by Jocelyn Watkin | Oct 26, 2017 | Information |
“This tai chi breathing is like a drug”, one of my students said.
“In what way?” I asked.
“It is fast acting, enjoyable and like taking both an ‘upper’ and ‘downer’ together.”
I didn’t want to delve into his drug taking history at that point. Instead, I asked him to describe the effect tai chi breathing had on him.
“When I’m tired or down, it lifts me. When I’m over-hyped and stressed, it calms me. When I do it, I feel very satisfied.”
Tai chi and tai chi breathing is satisfying. It’s considered a ‘wonder drug’ to manage stress, as it can give you the gift of balance and harmony.
So, how does it work? Firstly, we need to get our heads around what stress is and what it does to us.
Stress can be a good thing
It is a biological necessity. Back in the ‘dawn of time’ survival stress was our saviour – flooding our bodies with hormones and energy so we could fight or take flight. This was great stuff for a chance encounter with a sabre-tooth tiger or when hunting mammoths.
However, most of us can now get our protein on demand at the supermarket. Our need for survival stress has declined but, unlike the mammoths, it has not become extinct. It’s there whenever we need it, which is a good thing as danger still lurks in the 21st Century. We could still have a chance encounter with a Reliant Sabre or other speeding car as we cross a busy street. If so, our ‘flight’ reactions to leap out of the way will be life saving.
When stress goes bad
‘B
ad stress’ grips you into a strangle hold when you work too hard and for over-extended periods of time – whether at work, home or school. Examples are: constant long hours on the job, noise, crowding, worry, having to rush, meet impossible deadlines and respond to constant demands, all with not enough time for rest, sleep and relaxation.
This kind of stress fools your body to think it is under attack, so it tries to be helpful by changing to a state of readiness. This is not harmless like switching your mobile phone to ‘flight mode’. Instead, your setting for flight (and fight) causes your body to release a rush of hormones and chemicals, such as adrenaline and cortisol, and divert blood to where it is needed, like your muscles.This is what is called the sympathetic nervous system in action, which makes you breathe faster with a pounding heart. Your body needs this for ‘flight’ or ‘fight’ and a healthy person easily copes with it in occasional bursts.
When stress happens constantly, such as every day and for most of the day, you might not be panting for breath. But, a tsunami of hormones and chemicals are still rampaging through your body, some are raising your sugar and blood pressure levels, so to be ready for flight (or fight). Your other functions, such as digestion and brain activity, suffer as they get less blood to work. If you can’t balance this over-reacting sympathetic nervous system then, even if you have good health, the ‘trolls’ start taking over: indigestion, diabetes, stomach ulcers, high blood pressure, migraine, anxiety, exhaustion …etc
Enter the cavalry, the parasympathetic nervous system and it tries to right the imbalance. This is sometimes called the ‘rest and digest system’ or ‘the relaxation response”. It has a calming effect by slowing the heart rate and the breathing. It also increases digestion and relaxes the internal muscles to help stop those anxious ‘butterflies’ in your stomach and that gut-churning feeling in your abdomen.
But due to the over-stimulated sympathetic nervous system, more help is usually needed.
And the
n a hero comes along… no, not Mariah Carey … but tai chi.
Tai chi is an ancient, Chinese martial art and exercise that involves a series of movements performed in a mindful, focussed manner and accompanied by deep breathing. Some see it as a meditation, some as a good exercise you do in the park, others as an easy way to relax.
The slow, continuous, gentle movements of tai chi, the deep abdominal breathing and the tranquil mind further activate and support the parasympathetic nervous system. This is why tai chi lifts you up when you’re down or tired and calms you when you’re hyper. It helps your body to return to a balanced state, which is sometimes called the Yin and Yang effect
Tai chi is not an ‘upper’ or a ‘downer’ and nor is it like taking both together, even if some people interpret it as that. It is suitable for all ages and gentle on your joints.
Dr Paul Lam of the Tai Chi for Health Institute says, “Tai chi is based on nature. Its gentle flowing movements contain an inner power which strengthens the body and mind. Those who practice tai chi become like a tree or river, calm on the outside, but full of internal strength, more capable of withstanding whatever life may throw their way“.
Just 4-6 minutes of tai chi or tai chi breathing per day can make a big difference to your health and fitness. You can do this anywhere, anytime. A regular, daily set-time is good to build your strength (both body and mind) and to help quell the ‘trolls’. More is better, of course. Make a start by doing tai chi or tai chi breathing every day, even if you have limited time or ability.
Want to try tai chi breathing right now? Try this short tai chi breathing exercise to reduce stress with Jocelyn Watkin. You can do this while seated or standing at home, in the workplace or elsewhere.
As well as your daily sessions, you can also do extra tai chi or tai chi breathing whenever you need it. You don’t need to rush to the gym or park and nor do you need to find a quiet, dark space. You can do tai chi right where you happen to be. You don’t need special clothes, fancy shoes or expensive equipment and you can do it indoors or outside. It is ‘like a drug’ but there are ‘no nasty chemicals’ or bad side effects.
Tai chi makes you feel like a hero lives within you
Dr Lam says, “Hour for hour, practising a Tai Chi for Health programme is probably the most effective exercise to improve health and wellbeing. You can start and continue to progress to higher levels no matter what your age or physical condition”.
Tai chi and tai chi breathing will give you a quiet, inner strength that helps you to take back control of your life. It will make you feel that a hero definitely lives within you.
By Jocelyn Watkin, 2017 ©. Jocelyn has trained in martial arts for over 20 years and has focussed solely on tai chi since 2003. She is a board-certified, premier instructor for the Tai Chi for Health Institute. You can find out more about her here.
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More information
by Jocelyn Watkin | Aug 26, 2017 | Information |
No need to wait until New Year to take good care of your spine. You can do this now.
Bad backs are one of the most common reasons for doctors’ visits and missed work days. So, when your back is being a pain can tai chi help?
Yes, tai chi exercise has been proven to be a safe and effective intervention to reduce pain in those with persistent low back pain. Find out more about this research and discover the five ways tai chi can help you get back to better health with your spine:
- Proper body alignment
- Good posture / recognising the neutral spine position
- Build core stabilization
- Avoid certain body positions and movements
- Practice the four tai chi principles
Check out the details of these key five points here.
Understanding how your spine works and practicing the five key points (as above) are the essence of good spine health. Tai chi can help you to make the right moves and to reduce back pain. Practice tai chi every day, if you can. Don’t wait for New Year to make this happen. Like nature, we are happier and healthier when balanced and in harmony all of the time, not just once per year.
Take good care of your spine and it will take good care of you. Soon, you too could say kia ora (hello) to a better back.
It’s best to avoid certain body positions and movements
by Jocelyn Watkin | Mar 14, 2017 | Information |
Energy – we all want more! Tai chi is the only exercise I know that seems to give you energy or at least makes you feel more energised.
Good energy levels are strongly connected with good breathing, which is a key component in tai chi.
Of course, without breath there is no life. You’ve probably heard that old tai chi joke: Student asks: “Master, what is the secret of a long life?” Master replies: “Keep breathing for as long as you can.”
I’ve recently upgraded my instructor qualifications to include Tai Chi for Energy. This programme was created by Dr Paul Lam of the Tai Chi for Health Institute by combining the movements of two different tai chi styles, Chen and Sun:
- Chen style is vigorous and complex, combining fast and slow movements with powerful spiralling, seemingly elastic force.
- Sun style incorporates unique qigong (life energy) movements with agile stepping.
Together, these two contrasting styles enhance energy flows, which can relax, refresh and revitalise. As such, Tai Chi for Energy can help to improve your health and wellness, internal energy, and the ability to manage stress. This form is a natural sequel of Tai Chi for Rehabilitation (which I’m also qualified to teach).
I look forward to teaching my students this exciting and energising tai chi form.
Find out more:
Jocelyn Watkin (centre) was awarded the Tai Chi for Energy Instructor qualification by Master Trainers Janet Cromb (left) and Tamara Bennett (right)
by Jocelyn Watkin | Oct 8, 2016 | Information |
Wish you had a magic wand?
Do you wish you had a magic wand so you could be better at tai chi? Do you believe that your lack of coordination will hold you back or that you’re not ‘naturally gifted’?
The truth is out – you don’t have to be genius or gifted at all. And, you don’t need magic, either. It turns out that what our mothers always said is actually right: Practice makes us better.
“Bounce” by Matthew Syed
I’ve been reading a great book on this topic by three-times Commonwealth table-tennis champion, Matthew Syed. Matthew explores what it takes to be successful in sport (and in life) in his book: Bounce: the myth of talent and the power of practice He proves that effort and sustained purposeful practice brings excellence.
So, how do you practice ‘purposely’? Here are some ideas:
- Set a regular tai chi practice time each day. It doesn’t matter what time of the day, just do it when it is the BEST time for you. If you have arthritis or are stiff, you will know when your joints are their best.
- Make a start, even if you only have a few minutes at that time. 5 minutes is better than nothing, as long as you warm up. 10 minutes is better than five. 20 minutes is ideal. It is better to practice every day than to have longer tai chi workouts for only two or three times a week.
- Start with the warm-up exercises or the Qi Gong breathing exercises.
Some students tell me they don’t like to practice in case they get it wrong. Here are more ideas to help:
- Everyone is different: age, body shape and some may have health issues or injuries. There are many different ways to do tai chi and never one perfect way.
- After the warm-up, do the tai chi form or moves you know best. Go over these several times and for as long as you as you feel comfortable. If you feel any pain, please stop immediately.
- Follow the essential tai chi principles: http://taichiforhealthinstitute.org/essential-tai-chi-principles-2/
- Follow along with a teaching DVD such as Tai Chi for Arthritis by Dr Paul Lam.
- Prepare questions to ask your teacher the next time you attend a class.
Remember, it is about effort – not talent (nor magic). Practice will help you to say Kia Ora (Hello) to better tai chi.
Find out more:
No need to wish upon a star to be better at tai chi
