|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Taoist Arts Center: News and Research:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Subcategories: |
|||||
|
Tai Chi Lowers Blood Pressure The researchers focused on a group of 62 overweight, hypertensive individuals over 60 years of age. Subjects were assigned to 3 months of either moderate aerobic workouts or T'ai Chi, with each regimen consisting of 30 to 45 minutes of exercise four to five times per week. The authors chose the popular Yang style of T'ai Chi, which they describe as "13 movements practiced in sequence in a slow, fluid and continuous manner." They report that at the end of the 3-month period, the T'ai Chi program "reduced blood pressure to an extent similar to a program of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise." Systolic blood pressure (the first number in a reading) declined by an average of 8.4 mm Hg in the T'ai Chi group, and by 7.0 mm Hg in the aerobics group. Diastolic pressure (the second number in a reading) fell by an average of 3.2 mm Hg and 2.4 mm Hg, respectively. According to Young's team, these results suggest that even low-intensity exercise can produce real health benefits for older individuals with high blood pressure. They point out that "many older adults, particularly women, have had little or no experience with exercise and may find even moderate-intensity activity undesirable." T'ai Chi, which can be performed anywhere and requires no special clothing or gear, "may be desirable to older adults who do not identify themselves as 'exercisers'," they conclude. SOURCE: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society March, 1999;47:277-284. |
|||||
|
Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease reduced by Tai Chi In Parkinson's disease, nerve cells in the brain that produce the chemical dopamine begin to die, leading to tremors, balance problems, stiff facial expressions, muffled speech and difficulty walking. Medication and brain surgery help, but have their limits since they may make a person more mobile but don't help with balance. As the disease progresses, many patients loose the ability to walk smoothly, have trouble with many of life's daily activities and fall often. Tai Chi the ancient Chinese slow-motion meditation and martial art is today, mostly practiced for health. Medical research has shown it improves equilibrium, benefits many health conditions and is safe during convalescence. In its calming exercises weight flows smoothly from one posture to another, arms are moved in harmony with the legs and breathing is relaxed: tasks that require increased mental focus, awareness of balance and coordination of movement. In the 4-year project funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (published in the New England Journal of Medicine) ORI scientist Fuzhong Li and his team, randomly assigned 195 patients to one of three exercise groups: Tai Chi Chuan, resistance training, or stretching. The patients participated in 60-minute exercise sessions twice weekly for 24 weeks in a program that consisted of six Tai Chi movements united into a short routine emphasizing movement and awareness of one's center of gravity, controlled ankle sway, front, back and side to side steps and conscious weight-shifting. The results of the study showed the Tai Chi group performed consistently better than the stretching group in how far they could lean in any direction without losing balance and demonstrated better directional control of the body, increased stride length and walking ability. Tai Chi participants also outperformed those in the resistance training group. Finally, Tai Chi training was shown to significantly lower the incidence of falls. a major problem in Parkinson's Disease. Patients assigned to resistance training reported 133 drops, while the Tai Chi group had only 62. The Tai Chi group outperformed the stretching group in every test. These results are clinically significant. They suggest that Tai Chi could be used in combination with current therapies to reduce postural instability, increase flexibility and expand range of motion. In the words of Dr. Li. "There are a number of practical advantages to using Tai Chi to improve motor dysfunction of Parkinson's disease - it is a low cost activity that does not require equipment, it can be done anywhere, at any time, and the movements can be easily learned. It can also be incorporated into a rehabilitation setting as part of existing treatment. Similarly, because of its simplicity, certain aspects of this Tai Chi program can also be prescribed to patients as a self-care/home activity." Practitioners report that Tai Chi is soothing, calming energizing and enjoyable to do. It can be done in a small space, needs no special equipment and just a little practice leads to feelings of well being and increased health. This is very important says Madeleine Hackney, a kinesiologist at Emory University and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Atlanta. "Patients may know something is great for them, but if they don't like it, that's a problem." Information in this article was originally published at: |
|||||
|
Run Safe with Tai Chi Borrowing from the basic ideas of Tai Chi, ChiRunning utilizes mental awareness, physical alignment, gravity and the physics of movement to accomplish its ends. It focuses on posture, leg swing and location of the pelvis and explains how awareness connects them all together. Ultra-marathon runner, Danny Dryer, developed ChiRunning after years of experimentation. He says that a light lit up in his brain after he took a Tai Chi class, learned to relax, use his mind to feel his body and let his limbs follow his core. When he applied these basic internal arts concepts to his running trials, he was amazed by the difference. Katherine Hobson (Wall Street Journal Health and Medicine reporter) wondered about Chi Running, took a class and was surprised to learn that the run is only the end of the process. Her lesson began by helping her to align her feet, continued upward to straighten her spine and relax her chest, raised her head and dropped her mind downward with the flow of gravity. She learned to rest her torso on a stable, balanced pelvis, align her knees and metatarsals, allow gravity flow through her legs to the ground and check her posture by looking at her feet (you can see your shoelaces when you're correct). It felt strange, but good when she put it all together and to check her responses called two tri-athletes and asked them about the ChiRunning workshops they had taken a few years earlier. Frank Lee, after becoming such a running grump that his wife told him to find a new hobby, says he's enjoying the sport again, thanks both to the technical tips and the chi philosophy. "It made me focus more on the mechanics and purity of the running." Mark Seale, replied that the philosophy angle left him cold but the technical tips were invaluable. "For the same effort, I'm not necessarily a lot faster, but at the end of the run, I'm not nearly as tired," he says. Tai Chi and ChiRunning practitioners say that their joints improved and they felt better and more energized after adding the principles of the internal arts to their runs. Susan Rabinowitz, director of New York City's Taoist Arts Center is not surprised. "The principles of Tai Chi are universal", she says, "their addition can make almost any exercise more efficient, healthier and fun". These reports are anecdotal, but researchers are impressed and believe the method deserves more study. Dr. Rick Hecht, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, is a distance runner who was intrigued by the promise of a more relaxed running form. "I could do my long runs, but I would feel pretty beat up afterward, sore in my muscles; my joints would feel really stressed," he said. Then he learned Chi Running, and says running is no longer painful. "I feel like I could do the same kinds of distances I was doing before, and I don't feel beat up in the same way. It feels much better running, particularly long distances." Dr. Hecht is in the midst of a diet and fitness study of about 200 people that includes Chi Walking. His personal experience sparked an interest in a scientific study of the method and the planned pilot study designed to see whether Chi Running has benefits for blood pressure will now include several new tests as well as a measure of foot-strike forces. Sports physiologists have long known that there's a huge connection between awareness and running. The research is clear, says Tom Holland MS, sports performance coach, and lecturer for the American Running Association. "Studies show that when athletes dissociate, when they wear a walkman when they run, they don't do as well. Many runners want to think of anything but the running. But our thoughts literally change our physiologic reactions. Like anything worthwhile, ChiRunning takes time to incorporate. Practice at least once a week. Think about alignment, balance and posture and make adjustments as you run. Stay relaxed and move efficiently. You may not be faster, but you'll most likely feel better and be active for years to come. The information for this original report was found at |
|||||
|
|
|
Exercise Changes DNA J. Mark Davis at the University of South Carolina reports that these epigenetic signals create new mitochondrial DNA (the body's powerhouse cells) positively effect the expansion and growth of new neurons, improve mental function, reduce dementia and regulate emotions (The Journal of Applied Physiology). This is important since it is generally thought that cells loose mitochondria as we grow older, causing age related illnesses and declines in brain function. June Chan, ScD, compared men who exercised vigorously for at least 3 hours per week with those who exercised less, demonstrating that vigorous activity for 3 or more hours a week regulated many genes, including the tumor suppressor genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, and those involved in cell cycle and DNA repair, and found that these improvements were linked to a lowered risk of prostate cancer progression and death (Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco). The changes happen fast. Exercise sets signals in motion almost instantly that determine which genes get turned on and off. (Romain Barres et al. "Acute Exercise Remodels Promoter Methylation in Human Skeletal Muscle"). But lazy exercising won't do it. In testing gene activity of participants who exercised at two different levels, the team found that those who cycled at 80% of their maximum capacity showed significantly more cellular activity than those who had only used 40% of their ability. Susan Rabinowitz, director of New York's Taoist Arts Center notes that research finds it unnecessary to use 100% of our exercise ability to change our health and believes that these findings are in harmony with the practices of Water Method Tai Chi and Chi Kung offered at the school). Potentially life changing as these studies are, much work remains. Researchers believe the current studies offer that hope these conditions may be modified by exercise. They are still studying what other lifestyle changes can positively affect our DNA and whether these modifications can be transferred to the next generation. The public can't wait to find out, but one thing is certain: exercise can improve our health both now and in the future. We thank the following sources for the information in this article. Scientific American: How exercise Jogs the Brain. By Stephani Sutherland, February 29, 2012. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-exercise-jogs-the-brain. Scientific American: Exercise Instantly Affects DNA. By Katherine Harmon. March 6, 2012 http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=exercise-instantly-affects-dna-12-03-06. Time Magazine: Healthland How Exercise Can Change Your DNA. By Alice Park March 7, 2012 http://healthland.time.com/2012/03/07/how-exercise-can-change-your-dna/?iid=hl-main-lede. Modern Medicine: Gene activity may explain how exercise lowers prostate Ca progression risk. http://www.modernmedicine.com/modernmedicine/Enews/Gene-activity-may-explain-how-exercise-lowers-pros/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/758628?contextCategoryId=40139 |
|
|
|
Old Brains: New Neurons Jack Mezirow, professor emeritus at Columbia Teachers College, echos her report, adding that adults learn best when presented with what he calls a "disorienting dilemma" or something that "helps you critically reflect on the assumptions you've acquired." Such new discovery, he says, is the "essential thing in adult learning." As we age our brains tend to forget more easily, yet mature minds have advantages, says Kathleen Taylor, a professor at St. Mary's College of California, who reports that mental activity increases during learning and that people over forty tend to be more resourceful, better at seeing the central point of an issue and at making connections between multiple things. She encourages adults to learn something new in order to awaken their neurons and jiggle their synapses. The more it forces them to leave their comfort zone and challenge their most dearly held assumptions, the better, In a related issue, Daniel Coyle and Geoff Colvin (in their books The Talent Code and Talent Is Overrated) delve into the nature of brilliance to tell us that genius is made not born. Mozart, we learn, began as a smart, but not exceptional musician, whose talent was honed by years of focused practice and relentless dedication to his art. Mozart studied music, but the lesson for us today is that the subject itself, is not as important as the manner of its practice and slow, painstaking, training which is meant to reduce automatic action and internalize better patterns of performance, has been shown to produce the best results. As a example of this type of learning, Coyle describes a tennis center in Russia where they play without a ball in order to focus on precision of technique. (This might seem weird to you, but if you try to slow your golf swing, or your push-up till it takes 90 seconds to finish you will most likely find errors you've never noticed.) The primary trait possessed by exceptional people is not mysterious, it's the ability to develop a deliberate, difficult, error-based practice routine - and stick to it. "The Chinese internal healing and martial arts of tai chi, chi kung and meditation can be particularly helpful in this regard," says Susan Rabinowitz, Director of Manhattan's Taoist Arts Center. "They consist almost exclusively of practices that challenge an individuals assumptions and while they offer benefits to all practitioners, those who wish to reap their greatest rewards employ the sort of focused, error-based, repetitious routines encouraged by Calvin and Coyle." These ancient practices unify body and mind, utilize the effects of gravity, center energy in the belly and create toned rather than tense muscles. The ideas are intrinsically different from the ones most westerners have learned and for many they are mind boggling concepts that challenge long held assumptions and create a new manner of looking at the world. Expanding our views and seeing the connections between things may not be easy, but it's vital to keeping our brains healthy. If we use the internal arts as a tool, the mind is offered a challenge to its usual manner of cognition, the body learns to experience itself in a new way, our awareness of self deepens and the brain creates additional neurons. Rabinowitz believes it is this unity of mind, body and intention that accounts for the repeated tales of internal arts practitioners remaining alert throughout the length of their lives. She recounts a story told by her tai chi teacher, about a Chinese mathematician who studied chi kung in order to improve his memory. Until he practiced it, he could hold only three hundred equations in his mind; afterward, he could hold hundreds more. While it's only anecdotal evidence, Rabinowitz, who has been studying tai chi, chi kung and meditation since the early 1970's believes it's likely to be true and although she can't hold even ten equations in her mind, she finds that these arts have helped her to keep her energized, alert and available to new information. In addition to retaining brain plasticity, she says, "the internal arts offer an ideal tune-up for mind and body, promote health and well being and keep the brain active, relaxed and focused: offering practitioners a balanced merger of Colvin and Coyle's concentrated, repetitious, error-based practice, with Taylor and Mezirow's cognitive challenges. "Everyone can experience the benefits of tai chi and chi kung" she says, "all they have to do is find a teacher, join a class and practice, practice, practice". The original information in this article was found in the following articles. |
|
|
|
Taoist Arts Center 342 E 9 Street, NY, NY 10003 |
|
|
| Taoist Arts Center Meditation Chi Kung Tai Chi Chan Free Events Workshops Class Schedule Who We Are Personal Training Tuition News & Research Reviews TAC-INSIDER |