Boston Healing Tao Tea Room

Dr. Oz, MD has been on Oprah recently discussing the health benefits of the mangosteen fruit. Below is a short summary about the mangosteen which may be helpful to you when explaining its merits to others.

All the best in health,
Jamee, Boston Healing Tao Instructor

Dr. Oz mentioned a fruit called the mangosteen in the same segment as the purslane and his green drink, as well as the goji, etc. Mangosteen is a fruit most people in the US are unfamiliar with. This post is intended to provide information about the fruit and to enure that those who are interested in the mangosteen do not fall into any of the marketing traps and hype that are out there. So, here’s the heads up…

1) What can be factually said about the mangosteen from scientific research is this: it appears the phytonutrients in the fruit help maintain intestinal health, neutralize existing free radicals (anti-oxidant), maintain a healthy immune system, support cartilage and joint function, maintain a healthy seasonal respiratory system and relieve minor muscle pain after exercise. In addition, a recent double blind human study shows mangosteen used as a mouthwash is effective in treating halitosis (bad breath), plaque and gingivitis (gum disease).

2) Mangosteen has been used medicinally in traditional healing for over a thousand years. There are 138 documented medicinal uses for the mangosteen in Eastern Medicine. The most common uses have been as an anti-inflammatory, an anti-microbial, an analgesic, an anti-diarrheal, a gastrointestinal aid, a treatment for skin ailments and, as Dr. Oz mentioned, a sexual aid.

3) The principal biologically active phytonutrients in mangosteen are catechins, polysaccarides, proanthocyanadins, anti-oxidants, sterols and a class of compounds known as “Xanthones” which account for most of the medicinal properties of the fruit. There are 200+ known Xanthones that occur in nature, typically in lichens, mosses and tree bark — not things you probably want to eat. The family of plants related to St. John’s Wart, of which mangosteen is a member, also contain Xanthones. Of the 200 or so known Xanthones, mangosteen contains over 40.

4) If you are scientifically minded, go to PubMed (you con find that in Google since I can’t link it here) and look up the keyword “mangosteen” — you’ll get a long list of scientific studies that have been done on the fruit. You can do a general internet search for “mangosteen” though you’re going to get a plethora of listings that are only selling juice and may or may not have useful and accurate information. To be sure, all of the leading brands of mangosteen juice are sold by direct distributors and they can make some pretty outrageous and misleading claims in their enthusiasm to make a sale.

5) You cannot buy fresh mangosteen fruit in the US and most of Europe because it doesn’t keep well. Mangosteen is called “The Queen of Fruits” because Queen Elizabeth offered knighthood to anyone who could bring her the fresh fruit… no one ever did. Even if you did buy the whole fruit, the health benefits of the fruit are in the rind, not the fruit, and the rind tastes horrid. So you wouldn’t eat that and thus would miss out on the benefits of the fruit.

6) Not all mangosteen juices are created equal. As I just pointed out, the benefits of the fruit are in its rind, not the pulp, so unless the juice is a whole fruit puree you won’t get the full benefit. Just squeezing the fruit and throwing the juice in bottle will let you market it as a mangosteen juice, but that does not mean that it offers any of the benefits Dr Oz referred to or that have been the subject of the mangosteen’s uses in traditional medicine he indicated.

7) Also beware of juices that use extracts and concentrates — as already mentioned, there are over 40 known Xanthones in the mangosteen’s pericarp and fruit concentrates or extracts usually miss most, if not all, of them. Some products claim to be extra rich in Xanthones because they extract and concentrate a small subset of the Xanthones that are available in the fruit and thus undermine the synergy of the entire fruit. They often focus on the Alpha Mangostin Xanthone which is an anti-oxidant and miss all of the other Xanthones that are anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, etc. Also look for warning signs like added sugars, preservatives, added water, etc. Be very aware of what you are buying. To the best of my knowledge, there are no store bought brands that are whole fruit, not watered down, and without concentrates, extracts or additives.

The whole fruit tastes nasty without help. Try different brands to find the one that tastes best to you. There are brands out that there that are the whole fruit and tastes delicious. If you try a brand and it tastes bad, keep experimenting with other brands. If it doesn’t taste good, you won’t keep drinking it over time. Taste is a huge barrier to consumption and if you want to use the mangsoteen over the long term as a health aid, then you need to find one you enjoy drinking or you WILL quit even though it is good for you.

9) The first company to bring mangosteen juice was XanGo. You cannot buy XanGo in a store nor do I believe you can buy any unadulterated whole fruit puree mangosteen juice in a store. At least, I haven’t found one yet. Most are sold only through direct distributors. XanGo is an international business and they drop ship directly to your door, as do most all direct sales brands.

For more info about Xango please go here

by Naomi Shragai

In our culture today the connection between physical and emotional problems is gaining currency. Surprisingly, the best answer to coping with the stresses of life is by using a hands-on approach that straightens the body. This technique can help in balancing moods, changing behavioural patterns and managing life’s challenges.

To most people the Alexander Technique is a method of improving posture or relieving backache. However, the emotional and psychological benefits have convinced many to continue lessons long after their aches and pains have disappeared. Hilary, a 38-year-old barrister from North London, gained enormous psychological benefits from having lessons in the technique.

Her psychiatrist had referred her to me after a two-week admission at The Priory Hospital for a psychotic, manic episode. Therapy and medication had had minimal impact on her subsequent depression, and both she and her psychiatrist were willing to try anything that might help. When I first met Hilary, who is married with a four-year-old son, her depression was so severe that she could not even engage in a 50-minute therapy session. Instead, I suggested three Alexander Technique lessons a week until her mood stabilised.

Hilary says she was suffering extreme depression at the time. “I was completely non-functional,” she recalls. “My son, Peter, was three months old and I had to leave him with a full-time nanny to look after him. I wasn’t doing anything except trying not to kill myself.”

The effects of the technique in balancing her mood and helping her to think rationally were powerful. “Before, I had ten years of antidepressants and therapy to some effect, bringing some stability. Using the Alexander Technique helped me to achieve a degree of healing that wasn’t possible with just talk therapy and pills. For me, the technique became a lifeline. I felt calmer from the first lesson.”

The Alexander technique is a way of re-educating the body towards balance and alignment. In individual lessons, a qualified teacher helps the student to recognise faulty muscular use and poor posture through gentle touch and guidance (see panel, facing page). There is an emphasis on lengthening and widening the back, and freeing the spine to achieve a more co-ordinated movement.

With the aid of the teacher’s hands, the student learns to release and lengthen muscles that have been shortened over time because of stress and misuse. But how can stopping unnecessary muscular tension heal emotional wounds? Unconscious experiences, such as unhealed traumas, unexpressed feelings and painful memories can be pushed into the body where they are not free to be dealt with in the mind. These tensions might turn into physical symptoms and ailments, but can also lead to mental illness, such as depression and anxiety.

Frederick Alexander, the founder of the technique, taught that how we use our bodies has an extraordinary effect on our ability to accurately perceive the world around us, as well as our emotional and physical health.

“I had been holding fear in my muscles” Hilary says the technique helped her to cope with emotional scars from her childhood. “One experience I had is that I would just let the fear out of my body. I would lie on the treatment table and I would just let it flow out. I had been holding it in my muscles. So, with lessons over time, the world seemed like a less scary place. I had less fear. I look back now and realise that this fear made me perceive anything anyone did to me as a threat. As a result, I was basically confrontational all the time, with everyone.

“Of course, at the time I couldn’t see it. As my balance improved, my perceptions softened and with less fear came less confrontation. I was better able to connect with reality.”

“With balance in your body, you feel less vulnerable, more able to cope. A good example of that is my son’s crying. When I started Alexander lessons, Peter’s crying was the sound of m failure as a mother. It was heartbreaking to me. Obviously, a child’s crying is not that, but I had made it all about me, using it to condemn myself. With the Alexander Technique I was able to reassess the situation - it’s just the sound of a baby’s crying. It didn’t pierce my heart. A feeling of stability replaced the fear and self-loathing.”

For Hilary, the physical space gained in lessons in lengthening and widening the body translates to a mental space available for thinking and reflecting.

Another Alexander Technique student, Sally, a 50-year-old mother of two and a theatrical agent from Central London, initially came to see me for psychotherapy for family problems. Further into the therapy we agreed that it might be beneficial to use the technique. Sally says: “Whatever is thrown at me now, my spine supports me. I feel that I can hold myself physically and emotionally. I no longer see my brain in my head, I see my mind and body completely co-ordinated. I’m much more balanced, more selective in what I say.

“I used to rescue everybody. That was my role in life. That was the norm. I’d get up in the morning and I’d rescue people. The armour was on and I went into battle because that was the only thing I knew. It’s very different now. I’m looking after myself, I think I’ve come out of it much more selfish. What I didn’t know was that if you look after yourself, you’re going to be so much better with other people.”

Anne, 39, a single woman from North London, had attended psychotherapy sessions for nearly seven years for depression. Although the insight she gained was essential for her to make sense of her life, she felt frustrated when her depression recurred at stressful times.

“For me, the Alexander Technique was more helpful for depression than therapy,” she says. “With good posture and balance you are more able to withstand the physical and emotional knocks that life throws at you. A feeling of a lightness and ease in standing and sitting replaces the sense of being held together by tension and fragmented body parts. With lessons, my body started to feel less fragmented, more cohesive, and with that cohesion came a new clarity of thought.”

These three women had psychotherapy sessions alongside the technique, but all benefited from their improved body use. It helped them to translate the insights gained in psychotherapy into changed behaviour.

Another student, Tim, 52, a single professional man from South London, who also suffered depression, says the technique even helped him to contain suicidal thoughts. He describes how lessons left him with a heightened sensitivity to feelings, as well as a greater capacity to hold and think about these rather than being overwhelmed by them. He says: “You feel yourself getting into gear, but you don’t actually end up driving.” Making the neurological connection Missy Vineyard, who runs a training course for Alexander Technique teachers in Massachusetts and is the author of the book How You Stand, How You Move, How You Live, describes the lessons as learning how to consciously stop unwanted behaviour at a neurological level. She believes that the technique teaches conscious inhibition by activating the pre-frontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for impulse control.

Lucy Brown is a professor of neurology and neuroscience at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and a student of the Alexander Technique. She is committed to understanding the technique’s neurological and psychological links.

According to Professor Brown, studies suggest that the technique activates those parts of the brain involved with cognition, learning and emotions. She says: “It is reasonable to speculate that areas of the pre-frontal cortex would be activated under the circumstances of a lesson and long-term learning from the technique.” While further research is needed to establish exactly how the technique produces these benefits, people’s experiences speak for themselves.

Students of the Alexander Technique will confirm that the mind is not just located in the brain, but in the muscles, cells and organs throughout the body. The writer and novelist Aldous Huxley, a student of Frederick Alexander’s, knew these truths all too well. In writing about Alexander’s work, he said: “If you teach an individual first to be aware of his physical organism and then to use it as it was meant to be used, you can often change his entire attitude to life and cure his neurotic tendencies.”

(The names of the students have been changed.)

THE LOWDOWN

What is it? The Alexander Technique was developed by the actor Frederick Mathias Alexander around 1900. He believed that correct alignment of the head, neck and spine would alleviate back pain, breathing disorders and stress-related conditions. He claimed the technique frees the neck of muscular tension. It also allows the head to move forward so that it balances lightly at the top of the spine, which encourages the back to lengthen and widen, giving the body freer movement.

Suitable for Treating neck and back pain, poor posture, migraines and arthritis. It is increasingly accepted as useful for treating chronic problems such as arthritis, Parkinson’s disease. What little good-quality research there is suggests that there could be some merit for these claims.

Cost £30-£40 for a 45-minute session.  Contact The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (0845 2307828; stat.org.uk ) to find a teacher near you.

Naomi Shragai is a psychotherapist and teacher of the Alexander Technique in North London. She is a member of the UK Council for Psychotherapy, the Association of Family Therapy and the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique

* Have your say

“At last , an article which says so eloquently what I experienced as some lifesaving benefits of the Alexander Technique. When I nearly died following an ectopic pregnancy and was told that I was likely infertile, I nearly cracked with grief. A therapist sent me to Alexander lessons, saying, “You need to learn to look after yourself rather than become dependent on me.” Lessons gave me back my old confidence, taught me to pause, or inhibit, long enough to use verbals instructions to “free my neck” and “allow my back to lengthen and widen” which quietened my anxieties. I went on to give birth to three miraculous children using my Alexander orders/directions and “whispered ah” breathing. Alexander also kept me and my ITN C4 news crew safe when we were in danger of being kidnapped in Peru in 1990. It took away the panic by connecting me with my common sense. Alexander is deeply scientific, not “alternative”, and your article helped to put the Technique where it belongs. Thank you.”

- Anita Bennett, Bristol, Bristol

“I came to the Alexander Technique a year ago with severe M.E. It was a struggle at first to get from the taxi into the clinic and today I walked home 20mins uphill! I can also relate well to the huge improvement in my mental wellbeing as I had a plethera of emotional troubles for a large part of my life resulting in copious prescriptions,none of which did anything to quell my extreme anxiety and depression. When I collapsed with M.E a few years ago I feared my life was finished but now with the simple beauty, yet fascinating complexity of the A.T lessons I know I have a new and exciting life ahead of me.”

- Sheralyn Rennert, Surrey, U.K

“I also came to the Technique because of a “physical” issue and came away with more “mental” well-being. Of course the Technique itself emphasizes that physical and mental are 2 sides of the same coin. A good place to learn more about the Technique is their wonderful site at http://alexandertechnique.com.”

- Jack Martin, Dublin, Ireland

To find an Alexander Technique Teacher near you go to Alexander Technique International, (ATI).

For those who may not have read this before, here’s a nice article
from the Qi Journal by Yang Chengfu’s senior student, Li YaXuan

From a speech in 1956

“… So subtle; so subtle; as if there is no sound.
Immortal, immortal; as if there is no shape…”

Prior to producing momentum, the body gesture should be stable and
the balance completely centered. The mind and body should be relaxed.
There should be no hesitation, no rigidity. Remove all distracting
thoughts from the mind and allow the return of the body gesture to
that state of being natural. With this, you can start to move.

When moving, use your heart/intention and qi to do the moving, to do
the operation. Use your spine and waist as an axis in producing the
boxing sequence. Your moving momentum should be like that of a moving
cloud, like running water, like pulling a thread, and like a hanging
thread. Usually twenty minutes to a half hour is about right to
complete the frame. After practice your mind and spirit should feel
uplifted; your mind and perception, clear. This will show that your
practice is on the right track. Once you reach this level, you should
quietly reach awareness. Reaching this level is really not difficult.
Avoid rigidity and hardness in the body. Avoid moving the four limbs
independently, by themselves. Use your intention and qi to carry the
movement. The whole body should be relaxed. Sinking your qi and
momentum to the lower place is taiji’s correct rule. I (Teacher Li)
have often seen taiji practicioners allowing their four limbs to move
completely by themselves and to move without guidance. This may look
fancy but it is a mistake.

Master Li Ya Xuan
After practicing awhile you should feel your palm and the inside of
your fingers, i.e., the belly of the fingers, should feel the
fullness of qi and intention. This proves that qi and blood have
already reached the tip, the recesses, of your body. Based on this
achievement, if you continue to practice your skill, you will
eventually, spontaneously reach the level of awareness and
connection. If you practice for a lengthy time without being able to
feel this sensation, that means that your qi and intention and skill
frame are incorrect. In that case, you should immediately seek a good
teacher to guide you further, otherwise, if you continue to practice
incorrectly too long, it will not be possible to ever make the
corrections needed.

Use your mind to operate your qi. Use your qi to operate your body.
Use your eyes to look inside, to sense how the body and the mind are
connected; to see how your spirit and qi are relaxed. After awhile,
you will automatically reach the level of unity of inside with
outside; unity of upper with lower. If you pay attention only to the
external skill movement, you are focusing only on external skills.
Your spirit and intention should stay inside to facilitate, to
reserve the quiet energy. When you use energy, the correct method is
to have a harvest before you start. Remember, every movement should
be clean and relaxed. With this your perspicacity, alacrity, and
flexibility can grow. Avoid becoming angry and displaying combative
signs such as clenching teeth and staring angrily with your eyes.
Those intentions and mannerisms are harmful; avoid them.

Some may ask, “If you do not have intention during the practice, when
you need it during combat, how can you then use it?” Actually,
practice is the time for building and accumulating your qi and
spirit. If you consolidate your qi and spirit, when you need them,
they will easily come out. If during practice you become extremely
angry and show such energy and qi externally, you will exhaust your
qi and spirit. In this case, since your qi then cannot accumulate,
when needed you will not have a sufficient supply to be able to make
a truly surprising movement.

Your upper body should have an empty and flexible spirit. Your middle
body should have the energy of the waist and spine. Your lower part
should have the qi of the dantien. These three parts are combined.
The external and internal are connected. With these your movement
will be appropriate. Everything should be natural. Do not pay
attention to any single, particular part of your body. If you think
only of sinking your qi then your qi will hesitate. If you think only
of making your spirit higher, of lifting up your spirit, your spirit
will be restricted. That is not a Taoist natural quality.

What do we mean by empty, flexible, top of head energy? This means
when your body gesture is comfortable and straight, settled, your
empty, flexible qi will automatically reach the top. This is not
something you can simply, intentionally cause by thinking a force to
the top. If you intentionally use force to reach your top, you will
have the characteristic of being straight and hard but without the
empty and flexible. Intentionally, trying to force a quality is
something that must be avoided in acquiring tai qi skill.

To practice taiji skill, you should first rely on a good teacher to
show the use of these skills. Secondly, you should understand the
theory of the great Teacher Chang San Feng and Wang T’sungYueh. You
should have no distraction during the practice, otherwise, you will
go the wrong way. In addition, when you do taijiquan you should not
practice external skill boxing, otherwise, your effort will be
without achievement.

This skill is called “relaxed and flexible energy”. Therefore, when
you use this energy there is no sound. When a person is hit,
externally there is no sign but internally, the penetration has
already been made. The external skill is a so-called tense and hard
energy. When this is used, you hear a “thump”, “tung”, “whap” sound.
When a person is hit, externally they show a red welt, or a red and
blue wound but internally there may be no penetration. Some say that
the taijiquan skill must be combined with other skills in order to be
useful. This really shows their lack of true teaching, of true
learning of taijiquan. This person does not understand taijiquan
theory and really is showing ignorance.

When people first learning the boxing frame, within a few days they
will feel muscle pain in their legs. After a month, they may feel
knee pain. After that they may feel some shoulder soreness. Learners
should not be surprised with this. This is a natural process. This
also is how a good teacher gives correct guidance. Continue the
practice and the soreness and pain will heal. Later, your skill will
be much improved. If people fear soreness and pain and then stop
practicing, only to re-start after the pain goes away, thus are only
doing a sporadic, start and stop practice, they are really wasting
their time. If you learn taiji boxing but never feel any leg pain,
knee pain, or shoulder soreness, then the teacher is not giving
correct guidance. You must select another teacher, a good teacher.
When you relax, first relax your mind. This is most important because
the mind is the host of the entire body. After the mind is relaxed,
the whole body then also is relaxed. If you use your mind to
influence the body after awhile you will automatically achieve real
relaxation. This will allow production of your internal energy.
The whole body, the qi, and momentum should be relaxed and open. With
this the empty and flexible can reach the top. Every movement is like
that of a river and the sea. Every step is like that of a cat. The
lower and upper should follow each other. Inside and outside should
cooperate completely with one another. With this, internal energy
will be produced.

When doing the skill, do not just move your four limbs. Rather, use
your mind to move them; use your qi to carry them; use your waist to
guide them; use your intention to induce. With this the upper, the
lower, the internal, and the external can become connected by one qi;
this is needed.

If you make even just a single gesture, not only must your four limbs
open but also your mind, your intention, your chest, should be closed
first; then all open together. All movement always starts from inside
and goes towards the outside. This is why tai qi is called an
internal skill, an internal kung.
Internally you should use your mind and intention as the host, the
head. Externally you should use the waist and the spine as the axis;
be completely centered. Internal/ external, upper and lower parts all
become one. With this there is something whose wonder is beyond
understanding.

Seek coordination of the upper and lower. This is the beginning step
of practice. Next, try to sense gingerly, look for something very
light, flexible, like cotton - soft. This is the middle level skill.
Finally, seek the empty and nothing in there. This is the last
research focus. When your body is light and flexible, there is still
something there. If you reach the level of empty and nothing, then
actually everything will follow your intention. This really is
reaching the most wonderful, mysterious level.

When Teacher Chengfu pushed hands and used his launching energy, his
eyes would give a certain extremely stern and dark look that caused
fright. The opponent then would feel stunning surprise and deep fear
of loss of life or eminent death. This shows how the spirit and body
can become one within a moment; how the whole body force can be
mobilized, concentrated, focused and produced within an extremely
short period of time. Because this happens within the briefest of
moments with the quickness of a thought, so suddenly, the opponent is
not able to make a defense. Besides that, there is no way to defend
against this.

Everyday, when we practice, we practice slowly. This slow practice
helps accumulate the spirit, qi, and intention. This is how the
internal and external cooperate to show such wonder. If you practice
too fast, not only will you not accumulate spirit and qi but,
internally and externally, the parts can not cooperate to the
appropriate degree needed. Therefore, even if you do the launching
energy, it will not be full. In addition, neither will your force be
capable of surprise.

When the whole body relaxes, the upper and lower parts must be
completely relaxed. This is one of the necessary conditions of
taijiquan. If your movement is not complete, or is complete but not
relaxed; or if you only relax your shoulder but your waist, kua,
belly, and back do not know what is relaxed; or after practice, your
palm does not feel inflated, then this shows you did not have the
right teacher. I have often seen practicioners shake their body and
make lots of sounds. Their heads are like those of sale-pitching
people; swollen, manicured, proper, everything in place, and with a
look of arrogance and a condenscending attitude. They think taiji
only “talks” about being soft and does not “speak” of force.
Actually, these types of arrogant, over-confident people do not know
that taijiquan has it’s own theory and can only be learned from a
teacher. It is not something you can learn by mere observation.
Taijiquan is not something you can just figure out by yourself at
home.

In the practice, you should feel the whole body relax and also feel
the movements being clean. If the whole body is stable and sunk then
the whole body will be comfortable and connected. In every movement
you should quietly think of how to use your intention, of how to send
your intention to the other’s body, and of how to enter inside the
other’s body. With this method, after a long period of practice, you
will see progress.

When your spirit and qi return inside and are reserved in your bones,
the whole body will be full of empty and flexible qi. If you then
want to be light, you will be light; if you want to be heavy, you
will be heavy. For skilled people who feel light - it is as if there
is nothing there. For skilled people who feel heavy - it is as if the
weight would break a mountain.

This is how you should practice your essence and transform your qi;
this is how you then practice your qi to transform your spirit. Upon
reaching the spiritual, you can reach the level of emptiness. To
reach the level of empty and flexible, you must start with being
solid. If you want to be light and quick, you must start with being
heavy and stable. After you practice the skill for quite a long time,
you can then reach the level of extremely light, extremely quick,
empty, and flexible.

In the very beginning, if you try too soon to acquire the empty and
flexible, light and quick, then your whole body movement will be full
of confusion. If at the very beginning, you talk too much of empty
and flexibility you will then acquire floating and be of no use. In
taiji these types of people are the so-called “those who do not go
out of their house for ten days.” Actually, if you do not have a true
teacher, a truly good teacher, ten years, or even after all your life
you will not be able to “go out of your house” with the skill.
Taijiquan is a skill of reaching a maximum result via a minimum
movement. When they move the hand, there is no comparison. They are
empty and wonderful. All phenomena are incorporated therein.
Regardless of how the other attacks, I rely on my empty and flexible
qi.

I can change according to any opportunity presented. I can follow the
momentum and respond accordingly, appropriately. Each and every
response is just right. People should not focus merely on just one
gesture, just one hand. If they do that they will miss the larger
picture. If you use the great Dao (Tao) to connect every movement, to
learn just one thing really, really well then everything will be
okay. If you only think of using one gesture, one momentum, one qi,
then the 10,000 changes are always possible. The intelligent person
will do that.

SIDEBAR
Li YaXuan
Teacher Li YaXuan was senior, early disciple of the profound master
Yang Chengfu. Teacher Li later taught government and military
officials frankly and was highly respected by all for his unselfish
attitude, high martial ethic, and high level skills. When reading the
late Teacher Li’s descriptions, his excellent martial ethic, a
critical key to receiving profound knowledge, soon becomes crystal
clear. In fact, in one descriptive story to be shared later, his
ethic and morality is both emotionally touching and nearly beyond
normal comprehension.

Within the following explanation Teacher Li discusses the highest
levels of achievement in taijiquan, namely, acquiring levels of
awareness, achieving the light and flexible skills, and finally,
acquiring the empty and flexible qi. In earlier times, taiji at these
levels was also called “qi boxing” or “spirit or immortal boxing”. Li
YaXuan was born in 1894 and died in 1976. He was an ardent, devoted
student of Yang Chengfu and, although much lesser known in the west,
he was actually senior in all aspects to better-known non-family
students established in the USA after ‘liberation’. Teacher Li also
knew and taught in association with Yang ShaoHao and was associated
with and taught at the highest level of martial art in China.
Special gratitude is due and given Teacher Chen LongXiang and Teacher
Li MinDi, son-in-law and daughter of Master Li, for their wonderful
gift, on a recent visit, of Teacher Li’s explanations and his
stories, of which the following is merely a small part. Mr. Chen and
Ms. Li, husband and wife, carry on Teacher Li YaXuan’s excellent
tradition of martial ethic and unselfish, noncommercial devotion to
the original tradition of taijiquan.

There are five taboos of practice in the acquisition of this skill:

1. Those not selecting the right teacher, enter the wrong school and
the external skill tops and is dominate. Once acquired, this habit,
even if the learner later meets a truly skilled person, will be
ingrained and not be correctable for internal use.
2. Those not believing their teacher strongly, completely enough.
They do not completely follow the teacher’s theory of practice. These
people pretend they are smarter and think east, think west, and
attempt to use other theories in combination with this skill. Their
minds and spirits become a mess. All sorts of problems manifest.
These problems are extremely difficult to correct.
3. Those who indulge in bad habits like smoking, gambling, and
prostitution. These exhaust energy, qi, and spirit. They confuse
minds. These people will never understand and can never reach a good
level of awareness.
4. The over-practice of external family skills, hard skills, like
breathing qi, making strong, exertion and effort, and the clinching
of teeth. Intense staring with the eyes, making the belly full and
then striking the belly. The use of an instrument to hit the body or
the use of a hammer to hit the head. These hard, external practices
and abuses severely harm and deaden our most valuable nervous system.
This causes parts of the nervous system to become numb, deadened, and
to be without awareness. People who have done this type of training
cannot reach good levels of taijiquan practice.
5. Those people who only learn a little bit of taiji then leave their
teacher and go out and show off in front of other people in an
attempt to falsely gain respect. These types of people are often
induced into learning other types of skills. Their’s is a show of
mere ego, not skill. After they start on the wrong path, they can
never be corrected.

The above five types of people are those who cannot reach the
awareness level of taji. The true skill, the main skill, is to make
your mind clear, and to focus your mind. But in order to clear your
mind and to concentrate, to focus, you should first become very
stable and very quiet. Only after becoming quiet can you become
clear. At that point you can focus, meditate. This is the way to
reach awareness. After achieving beginning awareness, you can reach
an even higher level of awareness. You can then reach understanding.
Later, you can reach the level of precise understanding. So, if you
want to clear your mind, before settling your mind, you must have the
intention of restoring your mind to the state of being without
thought; your body without action; to feeling no body, no mind. Once
reaching this state of “no action” your mind is able to become
enlightened.

After reaching enlightment, any awareness, any sensation, any
perception of conscious is that claimed by the scholars of
Confucious. That consciousness does not come from continual thinking.
If you use your mind to think of penetrating a wall without a door,
you just visualize going through the wall; if you think of working in
poison ivy, you visualize just passing through as if there is no
road - if you practice in this manner, the more you practice this
way, the farther you will be from taijiquan. A true teacher is needed.
In practicing taijiquan, you need to be quietly contemplative while
practicing the operation. If not, you will not be able to understand
what is correct. If you do not practice, then your arm, your whole
body, will not be able to follow the mind to move. Therefore, the two
aspects must be done together. This means you cultivate both your
mind and your body. If you just spend time vigorously, physically
practicing, working the body, even if you make your tendons, your
bones, your skin, and your flesh suffer, your mind and spirit will
only be confused and, although you may sweat profusely, you will be
wasting your energy, your qi, and your spirit. You will only harm
your attempt to acquire the internal skill. You will receive little
real benefit.

Cultivating the empty and flexible produces a high spirit, alertness,
readiness, eagerness, perspicacity, high energy, and profound
judgment. This keen judgment then used to acquire awareness of
internal boxing’s method. If you use these methods to defend
yourself, you will have an excellent self-defense and you will also
be able to handle any bully. If you use this skill in business, you
will understand the business very clearly, with perspicacity, and
will always succeed. If you use this method to cultivate your body,
you will achieve longevity beyond that normal.

This skill is made up of three aspects: your spirit, qi, and body.
The main emphasis is on enhancing your spirit. Afterwards comes the
practice of qi. Last in importance is the practice of your physical
body.

What is the meaning of spirit? Spirit here refers to something in
addition to our whole body, it is empty, it is flexible, there is
momentum, a function of mind, controller of intention. The movement
cannot be predicted, thus, in addition to the flexible, there is
quickness and the concept of changing. Spirit is really not involved
with clenching of teeth, intensely staring, or the use of physical
effort to produce qi.

What is the meaning of qi? qi may refer to breathing. It is that that
sinks downward when you acquire stability. It is not something seen
in muscle or use of effort to breathe. The body is stable and
comfortable. Movement should be flexible and light. Merely taking a
standing position to strike sand bags, beating the body, or striking
objects with the hands will enhance neither spirit nor qi. Those
people who practice the spirit cannot be without qi and the body -
they have all three. Rather, there is merely an emphasis on spirit
development. For those people who merely practice qi, they may have
some qi, they may have some body, but their spirit is lacking. Those
who only practice the body aspect also have some spirit and some qi,
however, they can not completely know the wonder of the spirit.
In the practice, if your intention does not completely reach the
breadth of your mind, your body gesture cannot be relaxed. Without
proper relaxation, the upper and lower will not follow or be
coordinated. Thus, your internal and external cannot match. Then your
breathing may not be comfortable. At this point, with these problems,
you should seek a good teacher for guidance otherwise, you will harm
and worsen your practice.

If the mind thinks of relaxing after awhile the body gesture will
also relax. Every movement should be followed by heart and qi. Then
your four limbs will follow nature and the internal/external will
become fit. With this your boxing intention can reach your hand.
Stillness and contemplation will allow you to reach the level of your
mind controlling everything. Everything should follow slowness, being
stable, being quiet, and reaching stillness. If the mind is not clear
and the qi floats, the more you practice with these illnesses, the
farther you will go from boxing’s intention. In this case, even if
you practice like this for your whole life, you qi will not reach
your hand. Learners should persevere, should have talent, and should
have a true teacher in order to achieve success. Even with these
qualities, in addition, the teacher and theory must be respected.
With all these present, perhaps in one or two years you may reach
some success. However, if you leave the teacher too early, you may
have some problems and attain no awareness. One way to avoid this is
to be open, to sense how the body and mind are connected. Quietly
think about what the teacher advised you about the practice. Also,
think of and visualize how the teacher practiced the gesture. With
this your problem may not become too deeply rooted. Otherwise, if you
make just a small mistake early there will be no end. It is like a
horse without a rein, it cannot be guided.

People’s practice problems may be visible or invisible. The visible
problem is easily corrected, however, those invisible are very
difficult to rectify. For example, some of these types of problems
may be the hand and the feet being high or low, or not in balance, or
not matching, or the direction is not correct, or the waist or kua
are not straight, not horizontal, or the spine is not relaxed. These
are visible problems. They are easily corrected. But, if your mind
and intention are in the wrong way and, thus, your movement and
spirit do not follow one another and your mind and body,
internally/externally, do not match; these are invisible diseases.
These diseases sometimes appear, sometimes do not appear. You can
sense it but it is difficult for you to describe or pin down. It is
very difficult to correct and eliminate these problems.
For people internally ill, regardless of how they spend their
practice, the gesture and momentum will always show ugliness. That is
because they do not listen to the teacher’s words of how to practice.
Again, they spend too much time thinking of east, thinking of west.
That is how they go down the wrong path. Learners, in particular,
should be aware of these problems.

I have often seen people who already have practiced for many years
but still cannot produce internal energy. They cannot respond
appropriately. Their hand is confused; their feet do not know what to
do; they are unable to sense. Their eyes show hesitation or hastiness
and they just fight without preparation. These are further examples
of the internal diseases. They are very difficult to cure.
Every movement should follow the breathing. Use breathing to
facilitate opening and closing. This is the so-called “using the qi
to move the body”. Every movement should have “quan” (martial)
intention. For example, when the fist comes out, carry the fist with
intention. When pulling the fist back, use intention to take it back.
Practice with the saber, sword, or spear should also follow this
advice. You cannot throw away your intention and simply allow your
four limbs to move independently. Internal movement is a combination
of mind controlling the body and the body controlling the hand. Every
hand and leg movement starts with your mind. From first the internal
the external is reached. This is the so-called “internal skill”.
Once expertness is reached then a mere thought, i.e., the mind just
thinking in one direction is able to cause just single movement that
starts and instantaneously encompasses the whole body. With this, the
whole body force will be permeated completely throughout the body.
Yet, without a good teacher people cannot reach this level. External
skill only heeds external gesture; it is external movement. Their
gesture and frame often may be very big and often may look very
quick. In reality, however, it may not be so quick.

Internal skill emphasizes awareness based upon understanding energy.
Understanding energy internally makes awareness go inside. Although
movement may appear slow, actually, it may not be slow. In addition,
in combat we decide how big the energy is, the appropriate time, the
movement–low and quick, and the target. Since everything, including
direction, is calculated, this calculation is based on hearing
energy. This hearing energy comes from relaxed, soft, sinking,
stillness, and slow practice daily. Boxing skill is an individual,
bare-handed strategy. The mind and head represent the headquarters.
The waist and chest are main but smaller fighting groups. The hands
and feet are the smallest and lowest level of the fighting groups.
The skin may be comparable to guards. The nervous system may be
considered the system of communications.

Once you have contact with the enemy, the nervous system will pass
the news to the head and heart. The head and heart make a decision,
according to the situation, to guide the waist and body; to guide the
four limbs and head and legs. If the nervous system cannot transfer
this information, it is impossible to know from which direction the
enemy is coming from or his magnitude. An appropriate response will
then be impossible. Even if you have great force, if you do not use
it appropriately you will be defeated. Use your hands and feet to
protect your heart and body. If you cannot use your gesture
appropriately you will not be able to reach your goal. The waist and
spine are the axis for the use of the hands and legs. If transitions
are not done flexibly a good result is not possible. The head and
heart are the headquarters of the whole body. Therefore, awareness
must be very clear and flexible, otherwise, a good command cannot be
made.

During combat, if you need to be quick, you must be quick; if you
need to be slow, be slow. In this art not even a single mistake is
allowed. Move forward, move backward, left, right, you can not have
even one hesitation, otherwise, all may be lost. So we can see the
importance of the nervous system being clear. Therefore, taiji skill
mainly emphasizes making your mind quiet and your temper concentrated
and focused. This keeps the nervous system clear. Some do not
understand this and place strong emphasis on the exercise of their
muscles. Actually, this also damages the most valuable nervous
system. This is a tragedy.

Those who like large muscles and strength probably have only two
chances in combat. First, during an attack, regardless whether moving
back or forth, they must be very quick. They will want their muscles
to respond very quickly. The question is whether or not their muscles
are very sensitive; yet even if they are quick, they cannot attack at
the correct time. This may only create confusion.

Crouching Tiger…
Crouching tiger, hidden dragon is not merely the title of the recent
blockbuster movie. This expression actually is borrowed from the
Chinese language. In Chinese it refers to coming across a heretofore,
unknown, ‘hidden’ individual of high skill; hidden, crouching, ready
to pounce on the over-confident, innocent. In one sense, the late Li
YaXuan could be considered to be a crouching tiger, hidden dragon in
the west. This is because he is so unknown here. In China, however,
Teacher Li’s work and words are far from hidden. In fact, he was well
known and widely respected in China prior to his death in 1976. His
story and advice merit careful reading. The Yang’s divided their
teaching into three basic phases: learning the external, learning the
internal, and finally training the mind. Teacher Li hits all three in
his discussions and even touches very briefly on the last, the most
advanced training methodology.

Crouching tiger, hidden dragon is not merely the title of the recent
blockbuster movie. This expression actually is borrowed from the
Chinese language. In Chinese it refers to coming across a heretofore,
unknown, ‘hidden’ individual of high skill; hidden, crouching, ready
to pounce on the over-confident, innocent. In one sense, the late Li
YaXuan could be considered to be a crouching tiger, hidden dragon in
the west. This is because he is so unknown here. In China, however,
Teacher Li’s work and words are far from hidden. In fact, he was well
known and widely respected in China prior to his death in 1976. His
story and advice merit careful reading. The Yang’s divided their
teaching into three basic phases: learning the external, learning the
internal, and finally training the mind. Teacher Li hits all three in
his discussions and even touches very briefly on the last, the most
advanced training methodology.

Crouching tiger, hidden dragon is not merely the title of the recent
blockbuster movie. This expression actually is borrowed from the
Chinese language. In Chinese it refers to coming across a heretofore,
unknown, ‘hidden’ individual of high skill; hidden, crouching, ready
to pounce on the over-confident, innocent. In one sense, the late Li
YaXuan could be considered to be a crouching tiger, hidden dragon in
the west. This is because he is so unknown here. In China, however,
Teacher Li’s work and words are far from hidden. In fact, he was well
known and widely respected in China prior to his death in 1976. His
story and advice merit careful reading. The Yang’s divided their
teaching into three basic phases: learning the external, learning the
internal, and finally training the mind. Teacher Li hits all three in
his discussions and even touches very briefly on the last, the most
advanced training methodology.

Original taiji learners at the source often use the term “frame” for
what most westerners call the “form” or “set”. Considering
construction, be it a house or building a skill, the term is both
more precise and descriptive, therefore, this use is most
appropriate. This term is used frequently.

Secondly, when these people hit others, they obviously hope the other
feels great pain. In addition, these people often want their muscles
large enough and strong enough to absorb the pain of being hit by
others. The question here is during the attack, if the timing is not
correct, they will use a lot of strength but will hit empty space. If
you make a defensive gesture at the incorrect time, this only shows
weakness to others. This results in much more harm. So then, what is
the use of having large, strong muscles? Further, when you are
attacked, you must be very quick. You must move with suddenness. In
combat there is not enough time to think of producing strength in
your muscles. Finally, when others attack the most vulnerable parts
of your body, strong muscles are of no use for defense or to respond.
Taijiquan is a skill with shape and without shape. Although it has
shape when an opponent attacks you, your whole body must be very
reserved and display nearly nothing in there. This will make the
opponent catch an empty shadow so to speak and, thus, not harm you.
If the enemy thinks you are empty and, on the other hand, if you show
your emptiness but can suddenly attack like thunder, thunder so quick
and strong that people must duck and cover their ears, so as to make
them totally scared, scared for their life, then this is enticing
into emptiness. Taijiquan is a skill based on unpredictable
opportunity. If the other thinks you cannot attack, you should just
move your mind suddenly to attack. If others think you will come then
you should transform as if you have nothing to attack. This is the so-
called “being suddenly visible; suddenly invisible”.

The practice frame was designed to cultivate your mind and qi. Push-
hands is done to acquire listening energy. Scatter-hands is practiced
to acquire skill of hand, eyes, body, and the step method. So, this
boxing practices heart, physical essence, qi, and spirit. When you
practice the skill, your qi must be sinking. Do not intentionally
sink it, that is, do not think of sinking the qi. Rather, use true,
fundamental intention to infuse the qi during your breathing.

Emptiness is so empty it’s as if it is solid. Being solid is so solid
it’s as if it is empty. There is something there but it’s as if there
is nothing there. Relax, let go, softness–use these to produce the
empty and flexible qi. This will enhance your perspicacity. Place
your mind and body in the right place to establish the fundamental
source. With this you can show gesture and seriousness. If your body
and mind are not correct, your gesture will show shallowness and be
overly light, floating. These qualities too easily tempt bullies.

Emptiness and flexibility are the first key to the skill. Understand
this theory like a genius then in one or two years full awareness may
be reached. An unintelligent person may spend their whole life in
practice and study but will still not be able to reach this level.
Thus, a person’s achievement, deep or shallow, is also a function of
a person’s innate talent and intelligence. Not everyone can be placed
in the same category. Practice the skill in the early morning or in
the quiet of the night without disturbance from others practicing. Do
not show off in front of other people. A poem entitled, “Poem of
Movement” explains, “The Great Dao (Tao) cannot be removed from even
the smallest, lowliest piece of ground.”

Do not have intention. Do not have the mind. Do not rely on your
chest to move the energy and qi. Your mind should completely relax
and follow nature. Allow all parts of the body to naturally rely on
one-another. Once you are without intention, once you are without
mind, the true mind is then in the place where there is no mind. Once
you do not have mind in the middle, you will not have a shape. At
that time, emptiness will produce the true empty and flexible. Feel
the connection with the universe. Everything comes from nature.

In a discussion on boxing, while there are many different schools, it
is noteworthy that they also have many similarities. Externally they
practice the hard and quick and use force; they attempt to make qi
strong, leave the spirit and talk about severity. For those people,
however, who place emphasis on the quick, hard, their mind can hardly
be still, can hardly be quiet. For those who use qi to try to inflate
their qi, their breathing cannot be comfortable. For those who
emphasize severity, they cannot cultivate a harmonious qi. These
methods really will harm the tendon, harm the flesh, and will exhaust
the spirit and qi. These practices will harm the empty and flexible
skills and prevent their acquisition. That kind of boxing cannot
cultivate longevity.

When practicing be stable and quiet, comfortable and relaxed, in
order to cultivate the empty and flexible qi. Thus, when you use this
qi, it is cold, it jumps, it is sudden, it is quick, as if you spit
out the energy from your dantien. Always sense the empty and flexible
qi and momentum. Then, during combat you can be fully aware of the
other’s force. With this, the road to victory is already half
traveled. Without the empty and flexible qi and momentum, if someone
attacks, you will have no awareness of his situation. In this case,
in the confrontation your movement will create confusion and you will
attempt to hit the other without any plan. This is not taiji skill.
If you have the empty and flexible qi, momentum; if your waist and
legs are light and wonderful; if you have spirit and qi, if they are
full; then externally you will be able to show the qi gesture. Then,
if your movement is also cold and quick; then, if you then use this
qi to cultivate the body, you will have longevity. If, on the other
hand, you use these internal skills to defend yourself, you will be
able to do so. With this awareness and these high skills, challenges
in both your personal life and business life may be handled easily.
———————————————————-

Li YaXuan, From a speech on February 6, 1956. Translated by Key Sun,
Ph.D., private student of Master Yang SongQuan born and raised in
Chen Village. Edited by LeRoy Clark, private student of Master Fu
ShengYuan.

By Bill Douglas

According to a twenty-year study by Kaiser Permanente, between seventy and eighty-five percent of illness is caused by stress, meaning that in the U.S. alone stress is costing us about one-trillion dollars per year in healthcare costs. Since most absenteeism is due to stress, US business is losing upwards of $300 billion per year.

On a more personal level, it is disturbing to realize that aging is accelerated by stress, and stress is a growing issue with all of us. Studies show that change is stressful, even “good” change. So as we computer jockeys settle into the saddle of a new age of rapidly changing information, we need an edge that can help us stay healthy, sane, “younger” and more vibrant, even as we are often at the very center of the hurricane of modern change, such as keeping up with new hardware and software.

Ironically an ancient mind/body tool provides the perfect balm for our generation’s modern problems — it is called “Tai Chi” (pronounced tie-chee). T’ai Chi is a gentle series of relaxing motions that cleanse the body’s tissue of accumulated stress and, by doing so, boosts all aspects of our health systems. According to emerging research boosting the immune system’s strength dramatically, while reducing the incidence of depression, anxiety, and even reducing chronic pain conditions, are just a few of T’ai Chi’s myriad benefits.

What makes ancient T’ai Chi the perfect modern balm is that it doesn’t require special facilities or clothing, and doesn’t even make you break a sweat, meaning you can do it in office attire in an empty boardroom just by kicking off your heels. Yet, it provides the same euphoria of a long run, the cardiovascular benefit of moderate impact aerobics, and burns nearly as many calories as downhill skiing.

Our time is filled with paradox. A problem in this modern age stems from the great promise of the information age — a tidal wave of data being created by and offered to our “left brain”; that part of our minds that is analytical, calculating, and categorizing the world. Of course, this is a powerful and important part of who we are. This is the part of the mind that gets things done, pays the rent, builds the houses, and makes the cars. Our “right brain,” however, is getting left behind in our rapidly changing techno-world, and this imbalance of thought processes is at the heart of modern stress.

Our right brain is the feeling, smelling, sensing . . . enjoying part of the mind. This is the part of the mind that smells the flowers, not to analyze the smell, but to be filled with its beauty — and this is the part that has been left behind in the digital world. When we go to the cyber mall, for example, our right brain doesn’t get to play. The cyber mall is a wonderful thing that saves us time, money, and gas for our cars (and thereby saves the environment), but there are no Auntie Anne’s Pretzels to smell in cyberspace, or warm sunlight streaming in through the big skylights.

So what do we do? We get the best of both worlds. T’ai Chi is a series of exercises to balance the mind. T’ai Chi teaches us to experience life for sheer pleasure, thereby creating balance in our busy “get things done yesterday” world. If you learn T’ai Chi and practice in the morning before you sit down at your computer, your right brain (the sensing and enjoying brain) will be turned on more. You will feel the texture of your computer keys. You will remember to take the time to get a nice cup of green tea or herbal cinnamon spice tea, and you’ll interrupt your staccato keyboard occasionally to smell the tea’s rich aroma, feel the warmth in your hands, and breathe the breath of life deeply into your lungs.

Although you are at the cutting edge of the information age revolution, you are also in the garden of life. This will give you an edge in the long run. Why? Because chronic stress diminishes our cognitive skills and therefore, our creativity.

Einstein said, “Creativity is more important than knowledge.” Even if we have the world’s knowledge at our fingertips, if we are too stressed out to use the knowledge “creatively,” we are much less effective. Plus, we’re not as much fun!

The bottom line is T’ai Chi is a set of exercises to practice enjoying life. It’s not enough just to say, “I’m going to enjoy life more.” We actually have to practice mind/body tools that can positively affect our brain wave activity, in an integrative way, as T’ai Chi is proven to do.

T’ai Chi is an extremely sophisticated mind/body science that evolved over millennia, and is now being made available to all of us after centuries of being closely guarded secrets in China. Even though the practices are ancient, they are in many ways just as cutting edge as the multi-gigabyte computer.

Don’t just be “cutting edge” with your left-brain. Go all the way and stretch the envelope with your right brain, too, by weaving T’ai Chi into your life. You will be forever glad you did, as you discover balance and calm in the eye of the modern world’s ever accelerating storm of changes rushing at us.

Author’s Bio

Bill Douglas is the Tai Chi Expert at DrWeil.com, and is the Founder of World T’ai Chi & Qigong Day (held in 60 nations each year). Bill has authored and co-authored several books including a #1 best selling Tai Chi book “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to T’ai Chi & Qigong.” Bill’s been a Tai Chi source for The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The South China Morning Post, Reader’s Digest, etc.

On April 25-27th please join Senior Healing Tao Instructors, Marie Favorito and Sharon Smith for a Special Weekend Retreat of Taoist Meditation and Chi Kung. Explore the mystery and healing power of chi, build a more intimate relationship with your energy, Immerse yourself in the Tao practice and return to your life refreshed and renewed

Take advantage of this rare opportunity to study with Marie and Sharon who together have over 50 years of experience in the Taoist arts! We guarantee that you will come away with a solid base for your Healing Tao practice. This will be held at beautiful Angels’ Rest in Leyden, Massachusetts (2 hours west of Boston & 3 hrs from New York City).

Your retreat fee of $475.00 includes all teaching, accommodations on Friday and Saturday nights, and six high quality organic meals. Arrival is on Friday at 3:30 PM and departure will be Sunday at 4:30 PM. Accommodations are elegant dormitory style with 2 to 5 per room (because of space limitations, there are no single rooms). Each guest will enjoy the beautiful facility, high-quality linens and towels, and restful sleep on a Posturpedic mattress. You may want to bring your own towel for the pool & hot tubs and comfortable shoes for exploring the surroundings. The retreat is limited to 22 participants.

You are sure to be inspired and refreshed by the energy we will generate in this beautiful country setting. Angels’s Rest is in the heart of nature, in the small, peaceful town of Leyden. Located on 20+ acres of private woodlands and meadows in the Berkshire foothills of Western Massachusetts, the elevation of Angels’ Rest offers breathtaking and far-reaching views of mountains to the east and south. With its pristine natural environment, comfortable quarters, and personal care, Angels’ Rest creates the perfect setting conducive for deep work in Meditation and Chi Kung.



*This weekend retreat is also important training for those Healing Tao students interested in becoming Associate Instructors (first level of instructor certification). If your intention is to train for this HTIA Certification now or in the future, this workshop is a MUST! Students who already have the prerequisites may be eligible for Associate Instructor Certification. Marie and Sharon will make these determinations after the weekend. See www.taoinstructors.org for information on prerequisites. Or speak with Sharon or Marie. Students in training will arrive earlier on Friday afternoon for their first session.

We will emphasize the following practices:
The Microcosmic Orbit Meditation
The Inner Smile Meditation
The Six Healing Sounds Chi Kung

Taoist meditation practice starts with opening The Microcosmic Orbit, a meditation practice in which you focus on circulating your life force through two of the most important energy channels in your body. These two channels, the Functional (Ren Mai), and the Governor, (Du Mai), connect in a flowing circle going up the spine, over the head, and down the front center of the body. The front and back channels are joined to form a circuit of continuous energy flow which is called the Microcosmic Orbit. Bringing your tongue to the roof of your mouth generates this connection. Also referred to as the small heavenly cycle, this meditation allows you to increase, recycle, and store reservoirs of chi in an energy center in your abdomen called the lower Dan Tien. The Microcosmic Orbit meditation is further enhanced by blending and supplementing your body’s own energy with the energies of Nature, the Universal, Cosmic, and Earth Forces which surround us. This not only raises your ‘vibration’, but greatly increased resistance to stress and illness.

The Inner Smile is the most basic, profound relaxation meditation in the Healing Tao. This meditation begins in the eyes and quickly produces the relaxation response. It calms and strengthens your nervous system by bringing the energy and essence of a smile and healing light into your body. In addition, the Inner Smile harmonizes your emotions and enables your body to rejuvenate itself with light, relaxation and the power of your mind. Using this focus and mindfulness, you guide the smiling essence through your major organs, the digestive tract, the brain and spine, enlivening and strengthening the central nervous system. Used as a tool, the Inner Smile meditation helps you handle life’s everyday challenges, allowing you to stay centered in the most trying of situations. Learn to Transform Stress into Chi and vitality that can be used for healing and creativity!

The Six Healing Sounds is a simple but profound practice that balances and regulates the body temperature by releasing trapped cold or heat, creating perfect ‘weather’ inside. Based on Chinese medicinal principles, this sitting chi kung involves simple arm movements synchronized with the breath and meditation to relieve stress, cool the inner organs, and cultivate tranquility, energizing the body with regular practice. Useful for anyone in any stage of health or healing.The Sounds are easy to learn and joyful to practice. They are part of the ancient and often overlooked science of Traditional Chinese Medicine. For centuries they have been used for detoxifying, strengthening, and regenerating the internal organs having a positive effect on physical health, emotional stability and spiritual unfoldment.

SImple Chi Kung to wake up your chi! Movements and meditations to lubricate the joints, stimulate chi flow in the organ systems, and set up a positive emotional disposition. Chi Kung literally translates as “skill in using energy.” Chi Kung means the practice or discipline of moving your life force and breath. Chi Kung provides internal power that can improve general health and is claimed to help maintain youthfulness. Chi Kung practice increases your Chi (Life Force) and brings a sense of calm and centeredness. With the graceful moves of Chi Kung, you can invigorate yourself, sculpt a lean, supple, agile body, fine tune your senses and supercharge your immune system.

The fee for this weekend retreat is $475.00 which includes all teaching, accommodations on Friday and Saturday nights, and six high quality organic meals. For more information please visit www.bostonhealingtao.com

Retreat Payment Policy:

Full payment is required by April 1st, 2008. Any refunds requested prior to April 1, 2008 will incur a $100 cancellation fee. After that, refunds will be made only if a replacement can be found. This policy is firm.

Publication:	MayoClinic.com
Publisher:	Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Date:	Nov 15, 2007

The ancient art of tai chi uses gentle flowing movements to reduce stress of today’s busy lifestyles and improve health. Find out how to get started.

The graceful images of people gliding through dance-like poses as they practice tai chi (TIE-chee) are compelling. Simply watching them is relaxing. Tai chi, in fact, is often described as “meditation in motion” because it promotes serenity through gentle movements — connecting the mind and body.

Originally developed in China as a form of self-defense, tai chi is a graceful form of exercise that has existed for some 2,000 years. Practiced regularly, tai chi can help you reduce stress and enjoy other health benefits.

Understanding tai chi

Tai chi, sometimes called tai chi chuan, is a noncompetitive, self-paced system of gentle physical exercise and stretching. To do tai chi, you perform a series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner. Each posture flows into the next without pausing.

Anyone, regardless of age or physical ability, can practice tai chi. It doesn’t take physical prowess. Rather, tai chi emphasizes technique over strength.

Tai chi is used to:

• Reduce stress
• Increase flexibility
• Improve muscle strength and definition
• Increase energy, stamina and agility
• Increase feelings of well-being

Tai chi has more than 100 possible movements and positions. You can find several that you like and stick with those, or explore the full range. The intensity of tai chi varies somewhat depending on the form or style practiced. Some forms of tai chi are more fast-paced than others, for instance. However, most forms are gentle and suitable for everyone. And they all include rhythmic patterns of movement that are coordinated with breathing.

Although tai chi is generally safe, consider talking with your doctor before starting a new program. This is particularly important if you have any problems with your joints, spine or heart.

Stress reduction and other benefits of tai chi

Like other practices that bring mind and body together, tai chi can reduce stress. During tai chi, you focus on movement and breathing. This combination creates a state of relaxation and calm. Stress, anxiety and tension should melt away as you focus on the present, and the effects may last well after you stop your tai chi session.

Tai chi may also help your overall health, although it’s not a substitute for traditional medical care. Tai chi is generally safe for people of all ages and levels of fitness. Older adults may especially find tai chi appealing because the movements are low impact and put minimal stress on muscles and joints. Tai chi may also be helpful if you have arthritis or are recovering from an injury.

Despite its ancient history, tai chi has been studied scientifically only in recent years. And that research is suggesting that tai chi may offer numerous other benefits beyond stress reduction, including:

• Reducing anxiety and depression
• Improving balance and coordination
• Reducing the number of falls
• Improving sleep quality, such as staying asleep longer at night and feeling more alert during the day
• Slowing bone loss in women after menopause
• Lowering blood pressure
• Improving cardiovascular fitness
• Relieving chronic pain
• Improving everyday physical functioning

Learning to do tai chi

Wondering how to get started in tai chi? You don’t need any special clothing or equipment to do tai chi. To gain full benefits, however, it may be best to seek guidance from a qualified tai chi instructor.

A tai chi instructor can teach you specific positions and how to regulate your breathing. An instructor also can teach you how to practice tai chi safely, especially if you have injuries, chronic conditions, or balance or coordination problems. Although tai chi is slow and gentle, with virtually no negative side effects, injuries are possible if tai chi isn’t done properly. It’s possible you could strain yourself or overdo it when first learning. Or if you have balance problems, you could fall during tai chi.

You can find tai chi classes in many communities today. Contact your local senior center, YMCA or YWCA, health club, community education center or wellness facility for help finding qualified instructors.

During tai chi classes, the instructor can give you personal guidance and correct any errors in your style before they become habit. Eventually, you may feel confident enough to do tai chi on your own. But if you like the social element, consider sticking with group classes.

Putting tai chi into practice

To reap the greatest stress reduction benefits from tai chi, consider practicing it regularly. Many people find it helpful to practice tai chi in the same place and at the same time every day to develop a routine. But if your schedule is erratic, do tai chi whenever you have a few minutes.

You can even draw on the soothing concepts of tai chi without performing the actual movements if you get stuck in stressful situations — a traffic jam or a work conflict, for instance.

Boston Globe - September 10, 2007

Tai chi, the slow, graceful Chinese exercise program that is sometimes called a “moving meditation,” was originally created centuries ago as a martial art. It does appear to have some health benefits, though rigorous studies are hard to come by.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, an arm of the National Institutes of Health (nccam.nih.gov ) notes, “It is not fully known what changes occur in the body during tai chi, whether they influence health, and if so, how.” But so many Americans now practice the slow-moving exercise - 1.3 percent, according to a 2002 survey - that the government is now funding a number of studies to see what health benefits tai chi may hold.

Among the best-documented health effects for tai chi is its ability to improve balance, said biologist Peter Wayne, director of Tai Chi Research Programs from Harvard Medical School’s Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies. In a systematic review of the published literature, Wayne and his colleagues found that 20 of 24 studies support the hypothesis that tai chi improves balance.

A recent study in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society found that tai chi can also boost immunity and protect older adults against shingles, a painful disease caused by reactivation of the chicken pox virus, which can linger in the body for decades. In this study, 112 adults age 59 to 86 were randomly assigned to tai chi or health education classes for 16 weeks.

Those who got tai chi had nearly twice as much immunity against the chicken pox virus (all participants had had chicken pox) measured by a blood test, as well as a stronger immune response to the chicken pox vaccine.

Tai chi has also been shown in a number of studies to lower blood pressure in people with hypertension.

But whether tai chi is any better for health than some other mind-body practices such as yoga and meditation remains to be seen, said Wayne. Tai chi teachers are not licensed by state boards, so a word of caution: If you are new to tai chi, check out several teachers and pick one with the most experience.

JUDY FOREMAN

Boston Globe

To purchase this Short Form DVD click here

With hellish hours and info overload now the norm, the C-Suite set is turning to extreme meditation to cope, says Fortune’s Oliver Ryan.

FORTUNE Magazine
By Oliver Ryan, Fortune writer-reporter
July 20,2007 9:05 AM EDT

(Fortune Magazine) — The crowd of Harvard Business School alums who gathered at their reunion to hear networking expert Keith Ferrazzi speak earlier this summer might have expected to pick up strategies on how to work a room, remember people’s names, or identify mentors. But tactical skills, it turns out, aren’t what turned Ferrazzi into a bestselling author or sought-after speaker.

Instead Ferrazzi let his fellow alums in on a little secret. The key to connecting, he told the group, is “not being an a**hole.” And the most effective path he’s found? Meditation. Exercise and prayer work too, he said, but meditation has been so effective that he now spends ten days every year at a silent meditation retreat. In other words, the man whose latest book is “Never Eat Alone” credits much of his success to alone time.

Meditation has been around for thousands of years, but not so long ago extended retreats or programs that banned speech were reserved for aging rock stars or college students on the ten-year plan. And while the practice isn’t exactly mainstream in corporate America, more and more executives are open to anything that might help them thrive in - or temporarily disconnect from - today’s BlackBerry-addled ADD business climate.

Meditation devotees include junk-bond-king-turned-philanthropist Mike Milken; Bill George, the former Medtronic (Charts, Fortune 500) CEO; ad industry mogul Renetta McCann; and NBA coach Phil Jackson. Silicon Valley is full of meditators, such as Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce.com (Charts), and Larry Brilliant, head of Google’s philanthropic efforts. Naturally, a crew of Google (Charts, Fortune 500) employees has organized twice-weekly open meditation hours, at which it has hosted Tibetan monks and a team of mind-science researchers.

Particularly hard-core is Bob Shapiro, the former CEO of Monsanto (Charts, Fortune 500), who has done three ten-day silent retreats and is considering a 30-day tour. He must certainly be the first person to serve simultaneously on the boards of the New York Stock Exchange and the Center for the Contemplative Mind in Society.

Shapiro says that meditation has improved his ability to listen and to think creatively - and there’s an increasing amount of scientific evidence to back that up. Dr. Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsin at Madison has, among other experiments, used cranial electrodes and MRI scans to study Tibetan monks on loan from the Dalai Lama. His basic finding: The brain functioning of serious meditators is “profoundly different” from that of nonmeditators - in ways that suggest an elevated capacity to concentrate and to manage emotions. He calls meditation a “kind of mental training.”

Like Ferrazzi and Shapiro, the most intrepid corporate types gravitate toward vipassana meditation centers (the term translates to “insight”), founded by S.N. Goenka, an 83-year-old ex-Burmese businessman. Though inspired by Buddhism, Goenka centers are secular, and the introductory retreat features ten days spent in “noble silence.” “It takes that much time for people to calm down,” says Andrew Cherng, the chairman of Panda Restaurant Group (as in Panda Express).

Life at a Goenka center is communal; the morning bell sounds at 4 A.M. and lights are out at 9:30 P.M. In between are meals, lectures and nearly 11 hours of private and group meditation. “I’ve found that you’re so sharpened by the ten days alone that you recover that lost time in the next ten days,” says Subhash Chandra, founder of Indian media giant Essel Group, who has “sat” 15 retreats.

The retreat, however, is only the start. Back home, students are advised to meditate twice a day. Shapiro admits he struggles to find the time, but he also notes an old saying: “If you can’t spend half an hour meditating, you need an hour.”

Author’s Bio (thanks Bill)

Bill Douglas is the Tai Chi Expert at DrWeil.com, and is the Founder of World T’ai Chi & Qigong Day (held in 60 nations each year). Bill has authored and co-authored several books including a #1 best selling Tai Chi book “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to T’ai Chi & Qigong.” Bill’s been a Tai Chi source for The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The South China Morning Post, Reader’s Digest, etc.

You don’t have to be a CEO or have a crazy life to meditate but either way meditation sure helps to create a more satisfying life. Learn to Meditate with Marie Favorito. Her guided Meditation CD’s are professionally mastered and easy to use. Just sit back and listen.

by the Mayo Clinic - Sept. 12, 2007

Tai chi is a series of gentle movements that can bring about stress reduction, improved balance and many other health benefits. Find out what tai chi is all about.

Tai chi (ti-CHE) is sometimes described as “meditation in motion.” Originally developed in China as a form of self-defense, this graceful form of exercise has existed for about 2,000 years. It’s becoming increasingly popular around the world, both as a basic exercise program and as a complement to other health care methods. Health benefits include stress reduction, greater balance and increased flexibility — especially for older adults.

What is tai chi?

Tai chi is a noncompetitive, self-paced system of gentle physical exercise. To do tai chi, you perform a defined series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner. Each movement or posture flows into the next without pausing.

Who is tai chi for?

If you’re trying to improve your general health, you may find tai chi helpful as part of your program. Tai chi is generally safe for people of all ages and levels of fitness. Studies have shown that for older adults tai chi can improve balance and reduce the risk of falls. Because the movements are low impact and put minimal stress on your muscles and joints, tai chi is appealing to many older adults. For these same reasons, if you have a condition such as arthritis or you’re recovering from an injury, you may find it useful.

Tai chi appears to offer both physical and mental benefits no matter what your age. It’s used to:

Reduce stress
Increase flexibility
Improve muscle strength and definition
Increase feelings of well-being

Tai chi hasn’t been studied scientifically until recently. Preliminary research shows that for older adults, in particular, practicing tai chi regularly may:

Reduce anxiety and depression
Improve balance and coordination, reducing the number of falls
Improve sleep quality, such as staying asleep longer at night and feeling more alert during the day
Slow bone loss in women following menopause
Reduce high blood pressure
Improve cardiovascular fitness
Relieve chronic pain
Improve everyday physical functioning

Types of tai chi

Like yoga, many styles of tai chi exist. Some of these styles include:

Chen
Hao
Sun
Wu
Yang
Zhao Bao

The intensity of tai chi varies somewhat depending on the style. For example, the Chen style may be more fast-paced than other styles. However, most styles are gentle and suitable for everyone. Talk to your doctor and tai chi instructor to make sure the style you’re using is appropriate for your physical capabilities.

When learned correctly and practiced regularly, tai chi appears to be a very positive form of exercise:

It’s self-paced and noncompetitive.
You don’t need a large physical space or special clothing or equipment.
You can do tai chi anytime, anyplace.
It’s easy to do in groups as well as by yourself.
You can add new movements as you become more proficient.

Because tai chi is slow and gentle, it has virtually no negative side effects. It’s possible you could strain yourself or “overdo” things when first learning, but with proper instruction, this shouldn’t pose a barrier to practicing tai chi.

How to learn tai chi

To gain the full benefits of tai chi and reduce the small risk of injury, learn the correct way to do the postures and movements. Strict attention to your body position and breathing are critical, so it’s best to study directly under a teacher rather than with a book or videotape. As you attend a series of classes, the instructor can give you personal guidance and correct any errors in your approach before they become habit. As you practice, you learn how to do tai chi without straining your muscles and joints.

Once you’re comfortable with the tai chi basics, you can do it by yourself. You may find it helpful to practice tai chi in the same place and at the same time every day. You’ll likely experience some health benefits right away, but they probably won’t be dramatic. Be patient. Health benefits accumulate over time.

You can find tai chi classes in cities throughout the United States. To locate a class in your community, contact your local senior center, YMCA or YWCA, health club or wellness center.

Although tai chi is generally safe, consider talking with your doctor before starting a new program. This is particularly true if you have any problems with your joints, spine or heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

by Fox News Article

The darker the berry, the sweeter the juice, so goes the saying.

But it turns out the darker berry or plum or grape, for that matter, the stronger the cancer-fighting properties.

Researchers conducting a recent study found that the compounds that give some fruits and vegetables their rich colors are powerful cancer deterrants.

Evidence from laboratory experiments on rats and on human colon cancer cells also suggests that anthocyanins, the compounds that give color to most red, purple and blue fruits and vegetables, also slow the growth of colon cancer cells.

“These foods contain many compounds, and we’re just starting to figure out what they are and which ones provide the best health benefits,” said Monica Giusti, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor of food science at Ohio State University, in a news release.

The findings, which Giusti presented August 19 at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston, also bring scientists a step closer to figuring out what gives fruits and vegetables their cancer-fighting properties.

Giusti and her colleagues found that in some cases, slight alterations to the structure of anthocyanin molecules made these compounds more potent anti-cancer agents.

In their studies on human colon cancer cells grown in laboratory dishes, the researchers tested the anti-cancer effects of anthocyanin-rich extracts from a variety of fruits and vegetables. They retrieved these anthocyanins from grapes, radishes, purple corn, chokeberries, bilberries, purple carrots and elderberries.

The plants were chosen due to their extremely deep colors and high anthocyanin content.

The researchers found that the amount of anthocyanin extract needed to reduce cancer cell growth by 50 percent varied among the plants. Extract derived from purple corn was the most potent and used the least amount of extract (14 micrograms per milliliter of cell growth solution) to cut cell numbers in half.

Chokeberry and bilberry extracts were nearly as potent as purple corn. Radish extract was the least potent and it took nine times as much (131 milligrams per milliliter) of this compound to cut cell growth by 50 percent.

“All fruits and vegetables that are rich in anthocyanins have compounds that can slow down the growth of colon cancer cells, whether in experiments in laboratory dishes or inside the body,” Giusti said.

In additional laboratory studies, researchers found that anthocyanin pigments from radish and black carrots slowed the growth of cancer cells anywhere from 50 to 80 percent.

Pigments from purple corn and chokeberries not only completely stopped the growth of cancer cells, but also killed almost 20 percent of the cancer cells while having little effect on healthy cells.

by Science Daily

Research Reinforces Findings

That Chinese Exercises Benefit Older Adults
Science Daily — New work by researchers at the University of Illinois lends strength to previous research documenting the health benefits of Qigong and Taiji among older adults who practice these ancient Chinese martial-arts forms.

Visiting kinesiology professor Yang Yang leads a group of residents of Clark Lindsey Village in Urbana in Qigong and Taiji. Yang has found that healthy seniors who practiced a combination of Qigong and Tai Chi three times a week for six months experienced significant physical benefits after only two months. (Photo by L. Brian Stauffer)

Qigong (chee-kung) and Taiji (tye-chee) – or Tai Chi, as it is more commonly known in the U.S. – combine simple, graceful movements and meditation. Qigong, which dates to the middle of the first millennium B.C., is a series of integrated exercises believed to have positive, relaxing effects on a person’s mind, body and spirit. Tai Chi is a holistic form of exercise, and a type of Qigong that melds Chinese philosophy with martial and healing arts.

“Traditional Tai Chi training includes Qigong, but most contemporary Tai Chi researchers have omitted Qigong from their research,” said visiting kinesiology professor Yang Yang. “As a result, previous researchers may not have documented all of the health benefits possible from traditional Tai Chi training.”

Yang, a Tai Chi master with three decades of experience, said Tai Chi and Qigong are relatively simple, safe and inexpensive, and require no props or special equipment, making them easily adaptable for practice by healthy senior citizens.

In two studies – one quantitative, one qualitative – presented recently at the North American Research Conference on Complementary & Integrative Medicine, lead researcher Yang found that healthy seniors who practiced a combination of Qigong and Tai Chi three times a week for six months experienced significant physical benefits after only two months.

Not only did participants demonstrate noticeable improvements in laboratory-controlled tests designed to measure balance, lower body strength and stance width, a subset of participants who contributed responses in the qualitative study provided dramatic evidence of how Tai Chi and Qigong practice had also enhanced their lives from a mental, emotional and spiritual perspective.

“Seniors said, ‘Now I can put my socks and jeans on just like I always used to, standing up instead of sitting down,” said Yang, who published the results of the studies as his doctoral dissertation. Yang said a woman noted that she had reduced the number of strokes required to swim across the pool – from 20 to between 11 and 14. Another said she was more confident of her ability to climb the stairs to her attic.

Other evidence pointed to improvements in sleep quality, concentration, memory, self-esteem and overall energy levels.

Other positive statements by participants regarding how they generally felt better mentally and physically:

• “I have the sense that I’m not going to go downhill nearly as quickly as I might have. It’s a very positive way to feel.”
• “I feel more upbeat … more optimistic … more hopeful. I upped my lifespan from 80 to 100.”
• “You don’t think about 70-year-olds learning new things they can carry on … this is so unexpected. This has made me feel much younger … much younger, let’s say, 10 years. Someone who hasn’t done this has no comprehension about how much better it has made me feel.”

The quantitative study included 39 participants and a control group of 29; the average age of participants was 80. Each was given a battery of physical performance tests in the beginning as a baseline, then again after two-month and six-month intervals. The smaller qualitative study consisted of in-depth interviews with four of the exercise participants described by Yang as “very enthusiastic about their Tai Chi and Qigong practice.”

“At present, Yang is the only one who has been putting those two things – the quantitative and the qualitative – together,” said kinesiology and psychology professor Karl Rosengren, Yang’s Ph.D. adviser and contributing author of the U. of I. studies.

“Usually they are not seen together in the same research.”

Yang and Rosengren said the quantitative study is the first, to their knowledge, to employ a randomized control trial (RCT) designed with testers blind to group allocation and to combine laboratory platform balance measures with multiple measures of functional balance and physical performance.

“It is also the first Tai Chi RCT to evaluate potential sensory organization improvements in elderly practitioners, to evaluate whether balance and strength improvements are significant predictors of a laboratory loss of balance measures, and to evaluate stance width as a possible learned strategic mechanism for improved postural stability,” Yang said.

In real-world terms, improvements in these areas are believed to reduce seniors’ risks of falling and suffering potentially catastrophic consequences.

Yang, who also is the director of the Center for Taiji Studies and the author of the book “Taijiquan: The Art of Nurturing, The Science of Power” (Zhenwu Publications), said one of the facets of the studies most interesting to him is how comments collected from the interviews correlated with the quantitative data gathered in the lab.

For example, in assessing the effects of Tai Chi and Qigong practice on participants, the researchers used a number of standard physical-activity measurements, among them, the single leg stand, or SLS. The SLS measures the length of time an individual can stand on one leg, with eyes closed and eyes open.

“With eyes open, we saw an 83 percent improvement after two months,” Yang said. “With eyes closed, we did not see results – 29 percent improvement – until the end of six months.

Numbers alone don’t tell the full story of the results, however, Yang said.

“But when you see how it translates to functional performance … how meaningful it is to their daily life – putting on jeans, taking groceries out, even the posture you have when you hold your grandchildren – the results are significant.”

Also telling, he said, is the strong desire among study participants to continue practicing Tai Chi and Qigong beyond the bounds of the research.

“The program has demonstrated its sustainability at one of the senior-living facility instruction sites, where an enthusiastic activities director has continued classes and actually expanded participation since the completion of the study, he said.”

Rosengren said the U. of I. research team plans to continue studying the links between Tai Chi and Qigong and the benefits of their practice for older adults.

“We plan to focus on trying to understand the mechanisms more,” he said. “We’ll also try to investigate more closely the effects of the expertise of the instructor by looking at other research that’s been done and trying to get measures of expertise in training.

“One of the things I think gets lost in a lot of the Tai Chi research is that the quality of the instructor matters. We’ve seen programs where they don’t really care about that. They’ll have someone who’s had six months of Tai Chi experience, and they think they can teach Tai Chi.

“Having watched Yang and having seen videotapes of instructors with minimal experience, there’s a huge difference,” Rosengren said.

“It’s the wealth of knowledge he brings and the combination of the science from the West and the traditions from the East that actually bring together things in a very positive way.”

Co-authors with Yang and Rosengren on the quantitative study include Jay Verkuilen, Scott Grubisich and Michael Reed. Additional co-authors on the qualitative study are Reed, Sharon DeCelle, Robert Schlagal and Jennifer Greene.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Un