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.

10 Tips to Choose the Right Shoes

Buying a good pair of running or walking shoes is a must for everybody if you want to save yourself from pain or injuries.  A pair of running shoes is said to last for 400-500 miles.  A good pair costs about $100-$150, which isn’t inexpensive, but it is a good investment.  If you consider medical expenses incurred from pain or an injury by a wrong pair of shoes, it isn’t bad at all.  It will also be a great holiday gift for anyone you care.

I don’t recommend you pick a pair by yourself just because they feel comfortable.  Find the right specialty running shoe store (recommended stores).  It is kind of choosing a bra (for women).  Even if you think you know your size because you think it always fits you, a trained salesperson might tell you otherwise (it happened to me).  Good shoe stores have salespeople who are runners and know exactly how to pick the right shoes for you. 

I recently went shopping for a new pair of running shoes, and I had a great experience.  I always pick a locally owned shoe store highly rated by runners.  This time, I found one from Jeff Galloway’s website because there isn’t a good one around in my area.  I ended up spending more than an hour to finally decide on one, which was the first pair I tried.  I didn’t have any preference for brands, colors, or styles, so a salesperson brought 5-6 pairs from different brands after she checked the soles of my old pair I brought, and how I walk, to make sure of my feet type (mine is neutral).  They let me run outside the store to test each pair that gave me a good first impression.  I appreciated my salesperson’s knowledge and patience, which made me sure that the pair I picked was the RIGHT ONE.     

Here are my 10 TIPS for running shoe shopping.  You can find more useful information at Jeff Galloway’s website, REI and Runner’s World.

1. Make sure a salesperson measures your feet, checks how you walk (feet type), and asks about your running activity.
2. Spend at least half an hour or more to pick a pair, preferably at the end of the day.
3. Be open to any brands, colors, styles and even a size, so you can have more choices.
4. Do not pick the exact model that you had in the previous year or before without trying them on.  A new model always changes, for better or worse.
5. If anything about fit bothers you, don’t buy the pair.  It will only bother you more later, never less.
6. Try a few more pairs even if the first pair feels perfect.  You never know if there is a better pair. 
7. Buy special running socks at the store (you don’t find those in regular stores).  They never chafe your feet and make a big difference.
8. If you still like the model after using it for a while, buy another pair before a new model comes out, especially if you run regularly and need another pair within a year.
9. Learn the best way to tie shoe laces.
10. Ask about their exchange policy. 

Training for a Half Marathon

Last November, I posted “Started Running.”  It’s my time of the year for running as the weather finally cooled down. 

I finished a 15K race in March 2015 without pain and injuries, so I set a goal a little higher for the next year – a Half Marathon.  I’ve been running for a few weeks, and I’m now going to start the training.  Like the last year, I made a training schedule referring to Jeff Galloway’s “Half Marathon Training”  Please read my post “Started Running” about my experience of Jeff Galloway’s Run Walk Run method or go to his official site.

A half marathon is 13.1 mile long, and it’s about 4 miles longer than 15K (9.32 miles).  Because of my fitness level, (un)athletic background, and the warmer weather in Florida on the race day, I didn’t want to aim too high, so I decided to run a half marathon instead of a full marathon.  It is my priority to enjoy the training and complete the race without pain and injuries.

Jeff Galloway’s Half Marathon training schedule is 17-week long, but I stretched it out to 21 weeks to make the mileage increase a little more gradual.  My training pace is much slower than one for 15K, and Run Walk Run ratio is totally different from the past (he has come up with new ratios over the years).  And, if you wonder how to keep the training schedule during the upcoming holiday seasons, please read “Exercise as Part of Your Travel Plans”  Running in a new place during travel is now one of my favorite things to do.

Walking is the Best Medicine

Walking is a man’s best medicine.  - Hippocrates

If you are thinking about starting exercise, I recommend walking.   In fact, I want to promote walking as part of your daily life, not just for exercise or weight loss.

Our life now involves too much sitting, which is a completely unnatural activity for the human body.  I’ve seen in almost everybody back, shoulder, neck pain as well as other symptoms caused by sitting too long because our body structure is designed to be upright standing and moving around.  New research in the Annals of Internal Medicine shows that prolonged sitting threatens our health and life even with a regular physical activity.  It says that sedentary or physical inactivity for a large portion of the day will increase the risk of cancers (by 13%-16%), death from cardiovascular disease (by 18%), type 2 diabetes (by 90%) and shorten our life expectancy.

Walking is an easy (no skills required), perfect activity you can do anytime anywhere to cut back sitting time.  Besides, there is a very low risk of injuries (1%-5%).  Let’s start slowly, especially if you have been a couch potato.  You can walk any way you like.  Start with walking one block or 5 minutes out and back.  Try to find some time in the morning, during the lunch break, before or after dinner, with your music, spouse, kids or dogs. Come up with your own way of making it part of your daily routine.  If you can do it everyday for a week, you can try farther and longer.  Studies by Harvard Medical School suggests that walking lowered the risk of heart attack and cardiac death by 31-32% in both men and women.  

One last thing.  You will need a good pair of walking shoes especially if you have flat feet (over-pronated) or high arches.  You don’t want to cause unnecessary pain or an injury wearing wrong shoes.  I recommend you go to a local running/athletic shoe store (NOT chain or big brand name sports stores) where an experienced salesperson will check your feet, arches, and the way you walk to pick the right walking shoes for you. 

Finished a 15K Race!

Four months ago on the post “Started Running!,” I said I started training for the Gate River Run 15K race in March.  Yes, I finished the race a couple of weekends ago.  I diligently followed my own schedule, 30-minute run twice a week and one long run once a week, except for a few weeks.  Luckily, I didn’t get injured during the training, and even finished the race faster than I expected. 

Among all the races I ran, the Gate River Run was one of the most fun races.  The participation of the people in the neighborhoods along the course was the best I’d ever seen.  They played their own music, sprayed mist for the runners (the morning was already hot and muggy), and put out “unofficial” tables of all kinds of food, from donuts, homemade snacks, sausages to beer!  

Another thing I was happy about was a lot of runners were using Jeff Galloway’s Run Walk Run method that I’ve been using and mentioned in the earlier post.  I heard their watches beeping everywhere to alert the runners to start or stop running.  I also used to use a watch as a timer, but I found a new way.  I use an app called IntervalTimer on my smartphone, so I can listen to music and the timer beeping at the same time.  During a few long runs (like one in Savannah), I also used another app called RunKeepr to keep track of mileage and pace.  (Years ago when I was training for marathons, smartphones and apps were not available, so I had to buy a GPS watch!)  I set it up to tell me the distance every mile and the pace every half a mile so I can run consistently on my training pace.  The route is also tracked on the map, so even if you are running in a city you never visited, you won’t get lost.    

After I finished the race, I got a massage at the finish line from one of the volunteer massage students.  I had to wait in a long line, but I was determined to get a massage, mainly for a personal reason, but partially for a professional one.  The students were giving sports massage consisting of mostly compressions and stretching.  Woo, how nice it felt!  I didn’t realize that simple long, deep compressions felt so good.  Because of the massage, I didn’t get sore at all next day!  

Started Running!

I wanted to say publicly that I started training for the Gate River Run 15K (9.32 miles) in Jaxsonville, FL in March, so I can’t back down.  Starting this month, I have enough time to increase mileage to 15K.  I am proud to say I have never been athletic nor a runner, but I have run 4 marathons, two of which were for charity raising over $7,500 in total.  However, I haven’t run a long distance for over 5 years, so the 15K race is a good start (or can be challenging!).    

Again, I am not a runner (and not too young), so my goal is to finish without injuries within the comfortable level of my body.  When I spent 6 months training for each marathon, I got sore and some aches, but I never had pain or injuries (knock on the wood).  That’s thanks to the program using Jeff Galloway’s Run Walk Run method, which is designed for any people to finish a marathon or a long distance race.  His method is to run and walk continuously.  While you walk, you can rest the muscles, so they won’t be worn out.  The ratio of run/walk depends on the distance of the race and your pace.  I created my own training schedule adapting his method, and my ratio is 2-minute run and 3-minute walk.  Another thing perfect for non-runners like me is you don’t have to run every day; only three days a week, so the muscles can rest and recover.  Once a week is a long distance run, and the mileage increases gradually, such as by 1 mile every week, so you can slowly build endurance.  You can do cross training for other days, if you like.  Here is Jeff Galloway's training schedules for 5K/10K.  

If you want to enjoy races for your wellness as long as you can, I strongly recommend Jeff Galloway’s method.