Tai Chi – The Best DVD Lessons

I became interested in Tai Chi, one of the best known martial arts from ancient China (more information and history). I’ve been receiving acupuncture, and I wanted to try something myself to nurture my internal energy, qi, to enhance my wellness.  I don’t want you to think Tai Chi is a mere workout or exercise; it is an art. 

I came across Dr. Paul Lam’s Tai Chi for Health series on YouTube.  I watched the free first lessons, and I was very impressed with the slow pace, thorough instructions of every step, and helpful explanation of Tai Chi philosophy.  The slow pace and detailed instruction are must for me. I often get frustrated with yoga classes both in person and videos because the pace is too fast, and the instruction isn’t always clear. Dr. Lam’s calm and kind voice alone makes you peaceful and happy. You feel like he is really there in front of you to guide you through. 

I bought Tai Chi for Energy (outside USA), and I am in the middle of the 8-lesson course.  In each lesson, you will learn only a segment of the complete sequence of movements (3 minutes in total).  Each lesson goes over the previous learned forms, and the sequence gets longer.  I practice each lesson for 3-4 days before moving on to the next lesson because I’m so looking forward to the next lesson although my movement isn’t smooth yet. The reason I said Tai Chi is an art is the first movement you learn is to put the foot apart.  You have to put your mind to every single movement, however simple and subtle it is.  Tai Chi trains your mind to slow down and concentrate.  It takes time and many practices to “master” seemingly easy flow of slow movements.  It can be very difficult for some people to slow down, but once you let yourself go and follow the flow, it will be very calming as well as revitalizing. 

This page shows you what DVDs you can start with.  Tai Chi is proven beneficial especially for people with arthritis, and Dr. Lam’s Tai Chi for Arthritis is endorsed by Arthritis Foundations and CDC.  There are many other DVDs such as Tai Chi for Diabetes, Tai Chi for Rehabilitation, and Tai Chi for Osteoporosis. 

I am not getting compensation for promoting the products.  I simply believe that they are the best DVDs to learn Tai Chi.

Calm Your Anxiety with Breathing Exercises

When we have stress, anxiety, and worries, we don’t breathe normally.  Shallow breathing could cause a panic attack for some people.  Keeping breathing under control not only calms our anxiety, but also transforms our life.    

There are many breathing exercises available.  I came across the book called Healing Power of the Breath.  It explains various breathing techniques and their benefits in different conditions or situations from trauma to relationships.  It emphasizes that breath is a “portal to the mind-body system.”  

Messages from the respiratory system have rapid, powerful effects on major brain centers involved in thought, emotion, and behavior. 

The exercises are very simple.  I found it more helpful to listen to the audio and follow the guiding cues to do the exercises.  

I will introduce 3 basic techniques.

1. Coherent Breathing

A rate of 5 breaths per minute- 5 bpm (inhaling for 6 seconds and exhaling for 6 seconds). 

Purpose: To increase Heart Rate Variability (HRV) by changing the pattern of breathing.  The higher HRV, the more flexible cardiovascular system and more resilient stress-response system.

If you were to learn one breathing technique, choose Coherent Breathing.  It helps relieve stress, tension, anxiety, worry, phobias, insomnia, and respiratory problems. 

• Sit or lie down in a comfortable position. 
• Close your eyes and mouth, and breathe through your nose. 
• Breathing should be very slow, gentle and comfortable, not forced.
• Play the practice. (If 5 bpm is too slow, play the beginning of this practice at 6 bpm.)

2. Resistance Breathing

Any kind of breathing that creates resistance to the flow of air (by pursing the lips, hissing, tightening the throat and etc.)

Purpose: To stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system by the increased pressure in the lungs, inducing relaxation. (Like cats purr!)

• Play the practice and follow the step-by-step instructions.

3. Breath Moving
With imagination, moving breath and awareness to different parts of the body

Purpose: To improve the circulation of energy through the nervous system and improve blood flow. (In Easter traditions, to open chakras and dissolve blockages so energy can circulate more freely.)

I personally like Breath Moving because I am a visual person.  When I am lying down, I can easily picture the breath as waves coming in and going out.

• Play the practice.

Total Breath

The combination of Coherent Breathing, Resistance Breathing, and Breath Moving.

Purpose: To maximize effectiveness and rapidity of response.

The book recommends you practice once a day for at least 20 minutes with full concentration. 

• Play the practice–5 bpm (20 min.)
• Play the practice–6 bpm (20 min.)

 

Body Scan

After breathing practices, finish with Body Scan to allow your system to consolidate the effects.  You can choose any other form of relaxation (meditation, visualization, deep prayer, and etc.).  It helped me calm down better because following the practices makes me more alert than relaxing.   

• Lie down and play Body Scan.

If you would like to know other healing breath practices including vibration breathing, and also make these great breathing practices your routine, download the audio files here to your device.  The book has much more information, and includes a helpful chart “How and When to Use Each Practice” in the appendix.

Hope these breathing practices transform your life!

            

These audio files are for your own personal use only.

Herbal Teas for Headaches (2) - Let’s Make Tea!

Making tea from bulk herbs is easier than you think.  Above all, it tastes much better!

HERBS

I would highly recommend you buy dried BULK herbs at a health food store with a bulk section, especially ORGANIC ones (unless you have fresh herbs in your garden).  First, you know what you are getting because I’m not really sure about the quality of herbs in tea bags.  You must have experienced that tea made from loose leaf tastes and smells much better than one from a tea bag.  I tried green tea bags from different brands, but it doesn’t taste anything like real green tea, so I am always wondering if manufactures use low grade tea leaves or herbs for tea bags.

Buying herbs in bulk also gives you many advantages.  You can find more varieties of herbs, and buy only the amount you want.  You can also pick the specific herbs most beneficial for your condition and blend them exactly the way you like.  Lastly, it definitely saves you a lot.

EQUIPMENT

You can find all kinds of tea pots and cups with an infuser in stores.  If you don’t have any of these, you can use a mug and strain the herbs with a strainer later.  I use a French coffee press for making more than one cup, but I usually use one very similar to this in the picture below from Zen Formosa (I don’t remember the brand of mine, since it’s been years since I bought it).  It’s even easier than making a cup of coffee.

INSTRUCTIONS

Amount

In the book “20,000 Secrets of  Tea – The Most Effective Ways to Benefit from Nature’sHealing Herbs” by Victoria Zak, a heaping tablespoon of bulk herbs is required, but I feel it’s too much. I normally use about ½ to 1 teaspoon, and it still comes out pretty strong depending on the herbs.  You might want to start with ½ teaspoon to get used to the taste.

If you use fresh herbs (softer and hard parts of a plant), cut the herbs into small pieces and use 2 tablespoons per cup.   

Steeping time

Pour boiled water to a pot or a cup, and cover.  Steep for 3-5 minutes for dried herbs, 7-10 minutes for softer parts of fresh herbs.  For hard parts of fresh herbs such as bark, twigs, seeds, roots, or rhizomes, put pieces of the herb in a pot, cover it with cold water, and bring the water to a boil.  Simmer for 1 hour.

Sugar/Sweeteners

The author of the book doesn’t encourage you to sweeten tea if you take herbal teas as healing remedies.  I agree.  I enjoy the earthy, bitter flavor of herbs, which tastes almost like medicine.  It’s psychological, but I feel like it works better that way.

Enjoy a blissful cup of tea!

Herbal Teas for Headaches (1) - Herbs

In the last post “Herbal Teas for Healing,” I talked about great healing benefits of herbal teas.  I’m going to introduce the herbs recommended for headaches, migraines and sinuses from the book "20,000 Secrets of  Tea – The Most Effective Ways to Benefit from Nature’s Healing Herbs” by Victoria Zak.  You will be surprised to find some of the herbs are already in your pantry!  In the next post, you will find my tips on how to make tea from bulk herbs, which I strongly recommend.

This guide is for your information only.  

Please see an herbalist if you need professional assistance.

HEADACHES/MIGRAINES

Feverfew “Manna for Migraines and Allergies” (headaches & migraines)

• Inhibits histamine release and relax blood vessels and nerves.   
• A liver stimulant – Liver weakness is associated with headaches.
• Other values: Anti-inflammatory; uterine stimulant; digestive stimulant; brings on menstruation; expels worms
• *Caution: Don’t use it if you take blood-thinning medication.

Lavender “The Herb of Harmony” (headaches & migraines)

• Calms and steadies your nerves.
• Other values: Analgesic; antibacterial; antiseptic; antispasmodic; carminative; nerve tonic

Milk Thistle/Silymarin “The Herb of Renewal” (headaches)

• Strengthens your liver – Liver deficiency is linked to recurring headaches.
• Helps to suppress the release of histamines
• Other values: antiallergenic; antitoxin; anti-aging

Rosemary “The Gentle Revitalizer” (headaches)

• Relaxes your nervous system
• Other values: Antiseptic; antioxidant; expectorant; decongestant; circulatory tonic; digestive tonic; astringent; carminative; antispasmodic; antidepressant; diuretic

Ginkgo, parsley, peppermint (topical use), and wood betony also work for headaches.

SINUS CONGESTION

Feverfew: See above

Thyme “The Knockout Infection Fighter”

• The most powerful antiseptic (antiviral, antibiotic, antifungal, antimicrobial) herb
• Other values: Antibacterial; antispasmodic; astringent; broncho-dilator; carminative; decongestant; diaphoretic; expectorant; emmenagogue; tonic; expels worms

Bayberry, fenugreek, goldenseal, and plantain (not the banana-like plant) also work.

Herbal Teas for Healing

Thy food shall be thy medicine. – Hippocrates

I have been a tea drinker for a long time (drinking other than Japanese green tea), and had a collection of mostly black teas from Europe.  Over the years, I discovered red teas, white teas, and other Chinese teas as wells as herbal blended teas.  I drink tea to enjoy the subtle aroma and flavor, and the act of making tea and taking time for myself.  It’s a kind of ritual that everybody has.

My husband gave me a book called "20,000 Secrets of Tea – The Most Effective Ways to Benefit from Nature’s Healing Herbs” by Victoria Zak, which gave me new insights for herbal teas.  Chamomile tea is not the only herbal tea.  Herbs have been around for thousands of years and used medicinally.  These days, there are different forms of herbs such as in capsules, pills, and tinctures, on the market, but I like to take a natural form in a natural way (eat or drink), if possible.  I like drinking tea, so it’s a perfect way to experience the healing benefits of herbs. 

“Herbal teas are the most effective way to get the benefits of herbs, safely and easily,” the book says.  If you don’t want to rely on pills for minor discomforts, and would like to strengthen your body’s own natural defenses against disease, herbal teas are for you.  The values of herbal teas are:

• Double Benefits: Treat symptoms AND an underlying weakness.  Herbs have more than one beneficial property and value.
• Safety: No additives, preservatives, or dyes.
• Easy Absorption: Water – digested harmoniously in the body. 
• Affordability: About 30 cents per cup using a tea bag.  Buying herbs in bulk will only cost you very little.
• Universal Tradition: Used as healing remedies in every culture in the world.

The book has an A to Z list of common health issues with names of herbs best suitable for the condition.  The following chapter contains a common name, a Latin name, profiles, cautions, beneficent parts, and properties and values for each herb (more than 100) in the alphabetical order.

I look up this book most often when I get a headache, migraine, or different cold symptoms.  For a headache, I massage the neck and head, and drink an herbal tea, or both at the same time.  Herbal teas don’t ease the pain right away, but not taking pills makes me feel better and in control of my own health.  Normally, the combination of massage and a herbal tea makes the headache go away before long.   

I will introduce herbs beneficial for headaches, migraines and sinuses in the next post.

We Are What We Eat

Thy food shall be thy medicine. – Hippocrates

We can’t talk about health and wellness without discussing what we eat.  I’ve encountered many people who were ill, but became healthy after they changed their diet.  However, I’ve never discussed food since I started this blog one year ago.  Mainly because I do have very strong opinions about it, and some issues can be political (such as GMO – I won’t talk about it here).  I’m going to share a little bit of my background of diet. 

Our eating habit is more or less cultural and depends on what we ate growing up.  I grew up in Japan eating meals made from scratch and cooked with whole foods as most Japanese families did.^*1  We hardly ever used canned/jar food and ate little processed food except Tofu.  We ate a small amount of meat always cooked with vegetables.  We typically bought fish, vegetables and fruit available in that season.  We know we should eat in-season food because they are the best (and cheaper) only during that time.  The food was normally braised, sautéed, grilled (mostly fish), and very occasionally deep fried.  We drank green tea or brown tea (hoji-cha – roasted green tea) after meal.  We ate fruit as a dessert, or small-sized sweets (Japanese or Western).  I don’t remember what we ate for snacks, but definitely not a bag of potato chips or ice cream, and didn’t drink soda except on our birthdays.  I am aware that younger generations probably eat more fast food, chips and soda, but there are a lot of other alternatives, so they don’t have to eat fatty, sweet food all the time.

I almost always cook from scratch using organic ingredients as much as I can.  If I cook something with a packaged/canned sauce even though I use fresh vegetables and meat, I feel like I am not making a proper meal.  If I use a frozen package meal and just heat it up (always adding more vegetables), I don’t consider it “cooking.”  I now make spice mix myself even for ethnic food such as Mexican and Indian, that I usually bought packaged/canned sauce or mix.  I just want to use the ingredients I know, and more importantly, it tastes much, much better (also cheaper).  In the same sense, I never used a boxed cake mix or a frozen pie crust in my life.  If I make cookies, cake or pie, it must be from scratch.  I also occasionally bake bread and make fresh pasta.  Even with all this, I doubt I am considered a great cook in Japan because other Japanese women do as much as I do. 

I do have a high standard for what I eat, and a high expectation for how I prepare meals.  I place such importance on cooking with fresh whole foods because I believe we are what we eat.  That’s why I find the popularity of “supplements” and “superfoods” too excessive.  It is great that people try to be healthier, and I am not against buying dietary supplements.  However, I can’t help thinking why not eat whole foods as this country is abundant in them.  Some people seem to want a magic pill, or a short-cut skipping eating a variety of vegetables and fruit everyday and doing exercises regularly to have healthy life.  “Supplements” are called supplements for a reason.  I believe you need a good foundation of diet first to add supplements to see results.  If we only need a collection of nutrients, do we want to live in the world where everybody has to take just one pill to survive?^*2 

What about “superfoods”?  I believe ALL whole foods are “superfoods” and more beneficial than multiple supplements. The bottom line is to eat a variety of whole foods, not just ones publicized in the media.  Whole foods consist of numerous nutrients (including more complex micronutrients), minerals, fiber, and maybe something else we don’t know yet that is good for us.  Why abandoning the natural gift of Mother Earth?  Above all, eating fresh food would bring us the joy of life.      

*¹ Just for fun, you might want to read “Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat.”

*² I highly recommend a science fiction movie “Soylent Green.”  Made back in the early 70’s, it seemed to have predicted the current course of future already.  It is very profound.