Check out the National Institute on Agings websites. You'll find tai chi listed as an exercise for balance at
http://go4life.niapublications.org/try-these-exercises/balance/tai-chi
Lots more general info at http://go4life.niapublications.org/ and http://go4life.niapublications.org/
Thanks to Doc Rowe for pointing me to this.
Information of interest to practitioners of tai chi.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
New site for students in England
My student in Plymouth, England is building a site. Here's the link.www.garyellistaichi.co.uk
Friday, July 22, 2011
Archives of Internal Medicine
A recent article says older women should be excercising to stave off Alzheimers. Here are excerpts.
Brains and Aging
Comment on "Physical Activity and Cognition in Women With Vascular Conditions" and "Activity Energy Expenditure and Incident Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults"
Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH
Arch Intern Med. Published online July 19, 2011. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.273
The study found that persons in the highest tertile of average energy expenditure(AEE) had significantly lower odds of cognitive impairment compared with persons in the lowest tertile. The fact that the study used a validated measurement of energy expenditure, not just self-report, makes the results of further importance.
Most notably, vascular degenerative processes clearly play an important role in late-life dementias. In addition, vascular risk factors, such as limited physical activity, midlife hypertension, and smoking, are associated with late-life dementias. In practice, distinguishing vascular dementia from Alzheimer disease is difficult, especially in very old patients in whom dementia is most common. Importantly, limited physical activity and other vascular risk factors are modifiable, suggesting potential for reducing the growing burden of late-life cognitive impairment.
Among the growing evidence base for the benefit of even moderate exercise, an earlier randomized controlled trial showed that, even after onset of dementia, a regular walking program reduced decline and was associated with decreased admission to nursing homes for behavioral problems.
Brains and Aging
Comment on "Physical Activity and Cognition in Women With Vascular Conditions" and "Activity Energy Expenditure and Incident Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults"
Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH
Arch Intern Med. Published online July 19, 2011. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.273
The study found that persons in the highest tertile of average energy expenditure(AEE) had significantly lower odds of cognitive impairment compared with persons in the lowest tertile. The fact that the study used a validated measurement of energy expenditure, not just self-report, makes the results of further importance.
Most notably, vascular degenerative processes clearly play an important role in late-life dementias. In addition, vascular risk factors, such as limited physical activity, midlife hypertension, and smoking, are associated with late-life dementias. In practice, distinguishing vascular dementia from Alzheimer disease is difficult, especially in very old patients in whom dementia is most common. Importantly, limited physical activity and other vascular risk factors are modifiable, suggesting potential for reducing the growing burden of late-life cognitive impairment.
Among the growing evidence base for the benefit of even moderate exercise, an earlier randomized controlled trial showed that, even after onset of dementia, a regular walking program reduced decline and was associated with decreased admission to nursing homes for behavioral problems.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Tai chi and fibromyalgia
There's a link here for an editorial piece from the New England Journal of Medicine that only shows the first 100 words but when I read the whole if it, provided by Dr. Rowe, they think tai chi helps. NEJM has published two articles on tai chi as a therapy, as well.
While at this link, take a look at the other two articles and comments you find in a search under tai chi on the NEJM site. I think you'll find them interesting.
editorial http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe1006315
other articles http://www.nejm.org/search?q=tai+chi+fibromyalgia&asug=tai
While at this link, take a look at the other two articles and comments you find in a search under tai chi on the NEJM site. I think you'll find them interesting.
editorial http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe1006315
other articles http://www.nejm.org/search?q=tai+chi+fibromyalgia&asug=tai
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Testimonial
I had the privilege of attending Lee Wedlake and Dr. Rowe's first ever "Functional Anatomy for Martial Artists" seminar. This is a must for all instructors and serious martial artists! Instructors often teach students that if they do "a certain move" on an opponent the effect will be a break or injury. However; if a practitioner themselves move in an incorrect way, the effect on themselves may also result in a break or serious injury.
Ed Parker often stated that; "The man who knows how will always be the student, but the man who knows why will continue to be the instructor." Taking SGM Parker's quote to the next level, participants in these seminars will learn the "hows" that make these "whys" work or in some cases not work.
I can't wait for part two of this seminar series.
Tim Walker, 4th degree black belt
American Kenpo Karate University, Inc.
Ed Parker often stated that; "The man who knows how will always be the student, but the man who knows why will continue to be the instructor." Taking SGM Parker's quote to the next level, participants in these seminars will learn the "hows" that make these "whys" work or in some cases not work.
I can't wait for part two of this seminar series.
Tim Walker, 4th degree black belt
American Kenpo Karate University, Inc.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Functional Anatomy Seminar
Professional Development Seminar
Functional Anatomy for the Martial Artist, Part One
A one-day, team-taught seminar on how major joints work and what can happen when they are subjected to force. The yin and yang of this is how you can hurt yourself by improper body mechanics or how the martial techniques may be applied to injure the joint.
WHO: Kenpo professor Lee Wedlake and Marc Rowe, M.D. will team teach this seminar. Dr. Rowe is Professor Emeritus, Univ. of Pittsburgh and a retired surgeon with years of practice of Yang tai chi.
WHEN: Saturday, June 25. 9am to 4pm
WHY: The impetus of this seminar was from students in our tai chi and kenpo classes expressing interest in the basics of functional anatomy we taught. It is important to know how your joints are designed to work best to prevent damage from repetitive, incorrect movement or trauma induced by impact and twisting as is taught in martial applications. This is needed to protect oneself in training or to gain insight as to what is actually happening when you apply defensive techniques.
HOW: Participants will get classroom work through lecture and PowerPoint presentation mixed with supervised hands-on practice of technique application. New students of tai chi along with experienced kenpo practitioners will be introduced to the applications of tai chi self-defense. We anticipate the kenpo people can be of great value in assisting the tai chi students in practice with a partner. This makes it much easier for those unaccustomed to such hands-on training to gain insights into the “why” we do what we do in a safe, controlled environment.
HOW: Participants will get classroom work through lecture and PowerPoint presentation mixed with supervised hands-on practice of technique application. New students of tai chi along with experienced kenpo practitioners will be introduced to the applications of tai chi self-defense. We anticipate the kenpo people can be of great value in assisting the tai chi students in practice with a partner. This makes it much easier for those unaccustomed to such hands-on training to gain insights into the “why” we do what we do in a safe, controlled environment.
WHERE: Location: Celebration Hotel, 700 Bloom St, Celebration, FL. (near Orlando)
Registration and fee: Space limited, pre-registration required. You can register by e-mail or phone. $100 to Lee Wedlake’s Karate Studio, Inc. Check, cash or PayPal.
There will be a lunch break on your own. A “Get To Know Dr. Rowe” gathering will also be held; day/time/place TBA.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tai Chi May Help Heart Failure Patients
These are extracted from the whole article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Article by Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- The ancient Chinese exercise of Tai chi may improve quality of life for people suffering from heart failure, Harvard researchers report.Tai chi combines flowing circular movements, balance and weight-shifting, breathing techniques and focused internal awareness. It has already been shown to be helpful with a number of medical conditions, including hypertension (high blood pressure), balance and musculoskeletal diseases, and fibromyalgia, the researchers noted."Tai chi training improved important parameters of quality of life, mood and confidence to perform exercise in patients with heart failure," said lead researcher Dr. Gloria Yeh, from the division of general medicine and primary care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
For the study, Yeh's team randomly assigned 100 heart failure patients to a 12-week Tai chi program or to educational sessions about heart failure.The researchers found that although both groups had similar oxygen use during six-minute walks, those who practiced Tai chi showed greater improvements in quality of life, which was measured using the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire.In addition, those taking part in Tai chi also showed improvement in mood and improvement in the number of calories burned each week, compared with those in the education program, the researchers added.People with chronic heart failure suffer from the inability of the heart to pump blood efficiently to meet the body's needs. The condition causes shortness of breath, coughing, chronic venous congestion, ankle swelling and difficulty exercising.
"As a complement to standard medical care, this study has demonstrated that Tai chi enhanced quality of life, mood and exercise self-efficacy," Fonarow said. "Tai chi appears to be a safe alternative to low- to moderate-intensity conventional exercise training in patients with heart failure. Further studies are needed to compare Tai chi to aerobic exercise training, and to determine if participation in Tai chi will have a favorable impact on risk of hospitalization or survival in patients with heart failure."
Article by Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- The ancient Chinese exercise of Tai chi may improve quality of life for people suffering from heart failure, Harvard researchers report.Tai chi combines flowing circular movements, balance and weight-shifting, breathing techniques and focused internal awareness. It has already been shown to be helpful with a number of medical conditions, including hypertension (high blood pressure), balance and musculoskeletal diseases, and fibromyalgia, the researchers noted."Tai chi training improved important parameters of quality of life, mood and confidence to perform exercise in patients with heart failure," said lead researcher Dr. Gloria Yeh, from the division of general medicine and primary care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
For the study, Yeh's team randomly assigned 100 heart failure patients to a 12-week Tai chi program or to educational sessions about heart failure.The researchers found that although both groups had similar oxygen use during six-minute walks, those who practiced Tai chi showed greater improvements in quality of life, which was measured using the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire.In addition, those taking part in Tai chi also showed improvement in mood and improvement in the number of calories burned each week, compared with those in the education program, the researchers added.People with chronic heart failure suffer from the inability of the heart to pump blood efficiently to meet the body's needs. The condition causes shortness of breath, coughing, chronic venous congestion, ankle swelling and difficulty exercising.
"As a complement to standard medical care, this study has demonstrated that Tai chi enhanced quality of life, mood and exercise self-efficacy," Fonarow said. "Tai chi appears to be a safe alternative to low- to moderate-intensity conventional exercise training in patients with heart failure. Further studies are needed to compare Tai chi to aerobic exercise training, and to determine if participation in Tai chi will have a favorable impact on risk of hospitalization or survival in patients with heart failure."
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Green tea and tai chi
Doc Rowe sent this along about green tea and tai chi being good for post-menopausal women. He thought the study structure could be better but the idea is interesting.
http://asn-cdn-remembers.s3.amazonaws.com/08879102ee441a9a3970d15d059627c9.pdf
http://asn-cdn-remembers.s3.amazonaws.com/08879102ee441a9a3970d15d059627c9.pdf
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Web resource for internal practitioners
This is an e-magazine, "Nurturing Life". http://www.yang-sheng.com/
The Crocodile and the Crane
I was given this book as a gift by Marc Sigle on my last trip to Germany. It's a story wrapped around an American chi-kung master but not a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon type of story. I did not know how to describe it but when I looked at the back cover, there it was in small print; Fiction/Martial Arts Fiction/Apocalyptic Thriller. I didn't know they had an Apocalyptic Thriller catagory.
I read it quickly. It had just enough detail on chi-kung and martial arts to keep me interested as well as a story that kept moving. The author is a well-versed martial artist. His bio says he did some kenpo.
If you're into Chinese martial arts I think you'll like it. $12.95, ISBN-13 is 978-1-59439-087-6.
http://www.amazon.com/Crocodile-Crane-Novel-Immortality-Apocalypse/dp/1594390878
I read it quickly. It had just enough detail on chi-kung and martial arts to keep me interested as well as a story that kept moving. The author is a well-versed martial artist. His bio says he did some kenpo.
If you're into Chinese martial arts I think you'll like it. $12.95, ISBN-13 is 978-1-59439-087-6.
http://www.amazon.com/Crocodile-Crane-Novel-Immortality-Apocalypse/dp/1594390878
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tai chi beats back depression in the elderly
This was on the univ. of California website. It is not a complete copy of the article. but what I have here is interesting.
Researchers at UCLA turned to a gentle, Westernized version of tai chi chih, a 2,000-year-old Chinese martial art. When they combined a weekly tai chi exercise class with a standard depression treatment for a group of depressed elderly adults, they found greater improvement in the level of depression — along with improved quality of life, better memory and cognition, and more overall energy — than among a different group in which the standard treatment was paired with a weekly health education class.
The results of the study appear in the current online edition of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
"This is the first study to demonstrate the benefits of tai chi in the management of late-life depression, and we were encouraged by the results," said first author Dr. Helen Lavretsky, a UCLA professor-in-residence of psychiatry. "We know that nearly two-thirds of elderly patients who seek treatment for their depression fail to achieve relief with a prescribed medication."
In the study, 112 adults age 60 or older with major depression were treated with the drug escitalopram, a standard antidepressant, for approximately four weeks. From among those participants, 73 who showed only partial improvement continued to receive the medication daily but were also randomly assigned to 10 weeks of either a tai chi class for two hours per week or a health education class for two hours per week.
All the participants were evaluated for their levels of depression, anxiety, resilience, health-related quality of life, cognition and immune system inflammation at the beginning of the study and again four months later.
Researchers at UCLA turned to a gentle, Westernized version of tai chi chih, a 2,000-year-old Chinese martial art. When they combined a weekly tai chi exercise class with a standard depression treatment for a group of depressed elderly adults, they found greater improvement in the level of depression — along with improved quality of life, better memory and cognition, and more overall energy — than among a different group in which the standard treatment was paired with a weekly health education class.
The results of the study appear in the current online edition of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
"This is the first study to demonstrate the benefits of tai chi in the management of late-life depression, and we were encouraged by the results," said first author Dr. Helen Lavretsky, a UCLA professor-in-residence of psychiatry. "We know that nearly two-thirds of elderly patients who seek treatment for their depression fail to achieve relief with a prescribed medication."
In the study, 112 adults age 60 or older with major depression were treated with the drug escitalopram, a standard antidepressant, for approximately four weeks. From among those participants, 73 who showed only partial improvement continued to receive the medication daily but were also randomly assigned to 10 weeks of either a tai chi class for two hours per week or a health education class for two hours per week.
All the participants were evaluated for their levels of depression, anxiety, resilience, health-related quality of life, cognition and immune system inflammation at the beginning of the study and again four months later.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
An interesting Yoga blog
This person is knowledgeable on body mechanics. Worth a look.
http://www.dailybandha.com/
http://www.dailybandha.com/
Friday, March 4, 2011
Meditation versus dance for harmonizing mind and body
This is a rather interesting article. It says that meditators are better tuned to their bodies than dancers. Read the article to see how they established this.
http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/02/23/meditation-dance/
http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/02/23/meditation-dance/
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Celebration classes kick off March 7 and 8 CORRECTION
If you missed the introductory sessions you can still enroll although class size will be limited. E-mail me at lee@leewedlake.com to do so.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The hospital class says goodbye
I'm going to miss them but Marc Rowe will take good care of them. I have him and Teresa Frank at the hospital to thank for re-starting the program. Marc told me I should get it going again in 2009 and Teresa was all for it when I called her. It's been a huge benefit to many and I'm glad Marc will keep it going.
Group shot sent by Dr. Jim Reid.
Chi kung book
Dr. Rowe loaned me a pretty good book on the chi kung we do. It's titled The Way of Energy and it's by Lam Kam Chuen. If you need a book to go with your DVD, this one is recommended. $15.95 and the ISBN is 0-671-73645-0
Monday, February 21, 2011
The new DVD is here!
I have finally gotten the DVD you have been asking for over the years. I know it took quite some time but I'm sure you'll be happy with the product. It's a 55 minute disc with the warm-ups, basic postures, eight chi-kung exercises and the Four Corners set. It's professionally shot and edited by Spearman Resource Group in Ft. Myers. The cost is $25 and you can get one direct from me at a class or order online at http://www.leewedlake.com/ in the store. A follow-up DVD with the short form is in the works, too. And it won't take years to get done!
Friday, February 11, 2011
A Life Handbook
HANDBOOK
Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books.
8. Sit in silence for at least 30 minutes each day
9. Sleep for at least 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts. Know what you cannot control. Let go and invest energy in positive present events and a plan.
13. Don't over do. Know and express your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time being angry with anyone.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Life is school and we are here to learn. Problems are simply a part of the curriculum. Lessons learned will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more..
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...
Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your relatives and some friends will. Stay in touch.
Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books.
8. Sit in silence for at least 30 minutes each day
9. Sleep for at least 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts. Know what you cannot control. Let go and invest energy in positive present events and a plan.
13. Don't over do. Know and express your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time being angry with anyone.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Life is school and we are here to learn. Problems are simply a part of the curriculum. Lessons learned will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more..
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...
Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your relatives and some friends will. Stay in touch.
Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Regular Walking Enhances Brain Circuit Connections
Sent in by Doc Rowe. Exercise is a key.
Posted on 2010-09-10 06:00:00 in Brain and Mental Performance | Exercise |
http://www.worldhealth.net/list/news/brain-and-mental-performance/
The default mode network (DMN) is a brain circuit which dominates brain activity when a person is least engaged with the outside world (such as being a passive observer). Previous studies have found that a loss of coordination in the DMN is a common symptom of aging and in extreme cases can be a marker of disease, and data has suggested that older adults who are more fit tend to have better connectivity in specific regions of the DMN than their sedentary peers. Arthur Kramer, from the University of Illinois (Illinois, USA), and colleagues followed 65 adults, ages 59 to 80 years, who were sedentary (two or fewer episodes of physical activity lasting 30 minutes or more in the previous six months), who joined a walking group or stretching and toning group for a year. The researchers measured participants’ brain connectivity and performance on cognitive tasks at the beginning of the study, at six months and after a year of either walking or toning and stretching. The team employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to determine whether aerobic activity increased connectivity in the DMN or other brain networks. At the end of the year, DMN connectivity was significantly improved in the brains of the older walkers, but not in the stretching and toning group. Additionally, the walkers also had increased connectivity in parts of the fronto-executive network, which aids in the performance of complex tasks; and they performed significantly better on cognitive tests than their toning and stretching peers. The researchers write that: “The study provides the first evidence for exercise-induced functional plasticity in large-scale brain systems in the aging brain … and offers new insight into the role of aerobic fitness in attenuating age-related brain dysfunction.
Posted on 2010-09-10 06:00:00 in Brain and Mental Performance | Exercise |
http://www.worldhealth.net/list/news/brain-and-mental-performance/
The default mode network (DMN) is a brain circuit which dominates brain activity when a person is least engaged with the outside world (such as being a passive observer). Previous studies have found that a loss of coordination in the DMN is a common symptom of aging and in extreme cases can be a marker of disease, and data has suggested that older adults who are more fit tend to have better connectivity in specific regions of the DMN than their sedentary peers. Arthur Kramer, from the University of Illinois (Illinois, USA), and colleagues followed 65 adults, ages 59 to 80 years, who were sedentary (two or fewer episodes of physical activity lasting 30 minutes or more in the previous six months), who joined a walking group or stretching and toning group for a year. The researchers measured participants’ brain connectivity and performance on cognitive tasks at the beginning of the study, at six months and after a year of either walking or toning and stretching. The team employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to determine whether aerobic activity increased connectivity in the DMN or other brain networks. At the end of the year, DMN connectivity was significantly improved in the brains of the older walkers, but not in the stretching and toning group. Additionally, the walkers also had increased connectivity in parts of the fronto-executive network, which aids in the performance of complex tasks; and they performed significantly better on cognitive tests than their toning and stretching peers. The researchers write that: “The study provides the first evidence for exercise-induced functional plasticity in large-scale brain systems in the aging brain … and offers new insight into the role of aerobic fitness in attenuating age-related brain dysfunction.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Tai chi podcasts
You can hear these podcasts with me and my teacher at
http://feed.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/3314/mp3.rss
or through i Tunes at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=381705015
http://feed.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/3314/mp3.rss
or through i Tunes at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=381705015
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tai chi shoes
These are also called kung-fu shoes. Here are some sources.
http://www.martialartssupplies.com/kungfushoes.html?gclid=CPTLgMO16aYCFU5a7Aod1WB51Q
http://www.discountmas.com/kungfuslippers.html
http://www.discountmas.com/kungfuslippers.html
http://www.martialartssupplies.com/kungfushoes.html?gclid=CPTLgMO16aYCFU5a7Aod1WB51Q
http://www.discountmas.com/kungfuslippers.html
http://www.discountmas.com/kungfuslippers.html
Monday, January 31, 2011
Meditation changes your brain
Dr. Rowe sent this along.
Participating in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. In a study that will appear in the January 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report the results of their study, the first to document meditation-produced changes over time in the brain's grey matter.
"Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day," says Sara Lazar, PhD, of the MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, the study's senior author. "This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing."Previous studies from Lazar's group and others found structural differences between the brains of experienced mediation practitioners and individuals with no history of meditation, observing thickening of the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotional integration. But those investigations could not document that those differences were actually produced by meditation.For the current study, MR images were take of the brain structure of 16 study participants two weeks before and after they took part in the 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program at the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness. In addition to weekly meetings that included practice of mindfulness meditation – which focuses on nonjudgmental awareness of sensations, feelings and state of mind – participants received audio recordings for guided meditation practice and were asked to keep track of how much time they practiced each day. A set of MR brain images were also taken of a control group of non-meditators over a similar time interval.Meditation group participants reported spending an average of 27 minutes each day practicing mindfulness exercises, and their responses to a mindfulness questionnaire indicated significant improvements compared with pre-participation responses. The analysis of MR images, which focused on areas where meditation-associated differences were seen in earlier studies, found increased grey-matter density in the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and memory, and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion and introspection. Participant-reported reductions in stress also were correlated with decreased grey-matter density in the amygdala, which is known to play an important role in anxiety and stress. Although no change was seen in a self-awareness-associated structure called the insula, which had been identified in earlier studies, the authors suggest that longer-term meditation practice might be needed to produce changes in that area. None of these changes were seen in the control group, indicating that they had not resulted merely from the passage of time."It is fascinating to see the brain's plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life." says Britta Hölzel, PhD, first author of the paper and a research fellow at MGH and Giessen University in Germany. "Other studies in different patient populations have shown that meditation can make significant improvements in a variety of symptoms, and we are now investigating the underlying mechanisms in the brain that facilitate this change."Amishi Jha, PhD, a University of Miami neuroscientist who investigates mindfulness-training's effects on individuals in high-stress situations, says, "These results shed light on the mechanisms of action of mindfulness-based training. They demonstrate that the first-person experience of stress can not only be reduced with an 8-week mindfulness training program but that this experiential change corresponds with structural changes in the amydala, a finding that opens doors to many possibilities for further research on MBSR's potential to protect against stress-related disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder." Jha was not one of the study investigators.
Source: Massachusetts General Hospital
Participating in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. In a study that will appear in the January 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report the results of their study, the first to document meditation-produced changes over time in the brain's grey matter.
"Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day," says Sara Lazar, PhD, of the MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, the study's senior author. "This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing."Previous studies from Lazar's group and others found structural differences between the brains of experienced mediation practitioners and individuals with no history of meditation, observing thickening of the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotional integration. But those investigations could not document that those differences were actually produced by meditation.For the current study, MR images were take of the brain structure of 16 study participants two weeks before and after they took part in the 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program at the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness. In addition to weekly meetings that included practice of mindfulness meditation – which focuses on nonjudgmental awareness of sensations, feelings and state of mind – participants received audio recordings for guided meditation practice and were asked to keep track of how much time they practiced each day. A set of MR brain images were also taken of a control group of non-meditators over a similar time interval.Meditation group participants reported spending an average of 27 minutes each day practicing mindfulness exercises, and their responses to a mindfulness questionnaire indicated significant improvements compared with pre-participation responses. The analysis of MR images, which focused on areas where meditation-associated differences were seen in earlier studies, found increased grey-matter density in the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and memory, and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion and introspection. Participant-reported reductions in stress also were correlated with decreased grey-matter density in the amygdala, which is known to play an important role in anxiety and stress. Although no change was seen in a self-awareness-associated structure called the insula, which had been identified in earlier studies, the authors suggest that longer-term meditation practice might be needed to produce changes in that area. None of these changes were seen in the control group, indicating that they had not resulted merely from the passage of time."It is fascinating to see the brain's plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life." says Britta Hölzel, PhD, first author of the paper and a research fellow at MGH and Giessen University in Germany. "Other studies in different patient populations have shown that meditation can make significant improvements in a variety of symptoms, and we are now investigating the underlying mechanisms in the brain that facilitate this change."Amishi Jha, PhD, a University of Miami neuroscientist who investigates mindfulness-training's effects on individuals in high-stress situations, says, "These results shed light on the mechanisms of action of mindfulness-based training. They demonstrate that the first-person experience of stress can not only be reduced with an 8-week mindfulness training program but that this experiential change corresponds with structural changes in the amydala, a finding that opens doors to many possibilities for further research on MBSR's potential to protect against stress-related disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder." Jha was not one of the study investigators.
Source: Massachusetts General Hospital
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Lineage t-shirts
I've had some shirts made up for members of the class with the logo above and our style and lineage on the back. They should be about $15. White shirt, black logos. Ask for them in class.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Professor doing the Short Form
This is an old film of Professor and one of many available to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl2mvyjHYS0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl2mvyjHYS0
Monday, January 17, 2011
Wikipedia entry on Professor
This is a brief write-up on Cheng Man-Ching.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheng_Man-ch'ing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheng_Man-ch'ing
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Aetna finds mind-body link to care costs
Aetna finds mind-body link to care costs
01/13/11
Hartford managed care provider Aetna Inc. thinks it's on to a vital clue in which an unstressed mind and body are key to people staying well enough to lower their medical bills.
In a 12-week study in which 239 Aetna employees volunteered as guinea pigs, meditation and therapeutic yoga combined to curb stress levels in the groups that performed one or the other, the insurer said.
Of those, 96 employees were assigned to mindful meditation classes, and 90 were assigned to therapeutic yoga classes. The remainder did neither exercise and were assigned as the control group.
Not only did participants in the control group record higher stress levels than the mind-body exercise participants, they also had medical costs that were $2,000 a year higher than those reporting the lowest level of stress, Aetna said.
Aetna stressed the study results are not totally conclusive and is meant to supplement conventional health treatment. However, it says the findings are enough that it will expand the study to include more volunteers to validate the results.
"Helping people take control of their health is a critical step in achieving better health and reducing the cost of health care," Aetna President and CEO Mark Bertolini said in a statement Thursday. "Stress takes a significant toll on physical and mental health. We want to understand, and also demonstrate, whether integrative medicine can offer our members options that both better suit their lifestyles and can be proven to improve their health."
01/13/11
Hartford managed care provider Aetna Inc. thinks it's on to a vital clue in which an unstressed mind and body are key to people staying well enough to lower their medical bills.
In a 12-week study in which 239 Aetna employees volunteered as guinea pigs, meditation and therapeutic yoga combined to curb stress levels in the groups that performed one or the other, the insurer said.
Of those, 96 employees were assigned to mindful meditation classes, and 90 were assigned to therapeutic yoga classes. The remainder did neither exercise and were assigned as the control group.
Not only did participants in the control group record higher stress levels than the mind-body exercise participants, they also had medical costs that were $2,000 a year higher than those reporting the lowest level of stress, Aetna said.
Aetna stressed the study results are not totally conclusive and is meant to supplement conventional health treatment. However, it says the findings are enough that it will expand the study to include more volunteers to validate the results.
"Helping people take control of their health is a critical step in achieving better health and reducing the cost of health care," Aetna President and CEO Mark Bertolini said in a statement Thursday. "Stress takes a significant toll on physical and mental health. We want to understand, and also demonstrate, whether integrative medicine can offer our members options that both better suit their lifestyles and can be proven to improve their health."
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Our lineage
My teacher, Tom Baeli of Lehigh Acres, studied with the Professor in New York City. We come downline from the Professor through Tom. Here's a site you can read some articles about him.
http://www.chengmanching.com/index.html
http://www.chengmanching.com/index.html
Friday, January 14, 2011
New tai chi report
Tai Chi May Prevent Falls Among Seniors
New Guidelines Suggest Reducing Certain Medications Also May Improve Balance in Seniors
By Denise Mann
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD Jan. 13, 2011 --
Updated guidelines from the American Geriatrics Society and the British Geriatrics Society recommend interventions such as the slow-motion Chinese martial art tai chialong with medication reviews to help prevent falls among the elderly.
The guidelines, which appear in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, were last updated in 2001.
Falls among the elderly are linked to an increased risk for hip and other fracturesand head injuries, all of which can lead to reduced independence, early admission to long-term care facilities, and even death.
“Given the frequency of falls and the injuries that occur as a result, falling is as big of a problem as heart attack and stroke, and we need to start taking it as seriously because falls are preventable,” says guideline author Mary Tinetti, MD, a geriatrician at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. “The most effective way to prevent falls is to reduce medication, make the environment as safe as possible, and improve balance and gait through exercises including tai chi or physical therapy.”
Tinetti and other panel members reviewed studies looking at fall prevention interventions published between May 2001 and April 2008 to develop the updated guidelines.
NEWS RELEASE-BRITISH
An advisory issued by the British Geriatrics Society and the American Geriatrics Society on Wednesday has recommended elderly people to practice tai-chi to reduce their chances of broken bones. Apparently, the ancient Chinese martial art helps people in maintaining balance, which further assists in decreasing the probability of people falling down.
The suggestion is a result of many years of research that was carried out to check the does and don't, which led to people suffering from a fractured hip. It needs to be noted that hip fractures are a leading cause for extended hospitalization among older people.
It was also observed in the publicized theory that tai-chi helped in improving the balance, gait and strength of a person.
Talking about the study, Dr. Mary Tinetti from the School of Medicine, Yale University in the United States, reported that the biggest cause of health problems among seniors was their loss of functional independence. She added that, provided the frequency and the results of falls, their health risks were equivalent to that of heart attack and strokes.
New Guidelines Suggest Reducing Certain Medications Also May Improve Balance in Seniors
By Denise Mann
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD Jan. 13, 2011 --
Updated guidelines from the American Geriatrics Society and the British Geriatrics Society recommend interventions such as the slow-motion Chinese martial art tai chialong with medication reviews to help prevent falls among the elderly.
The guidelines, which appear in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, were last updated in 2001.
Falls among the elderly are linked to an increased risk for hip and other fracturesand head injuries, all of which can lead to reduced independence, early admission to long-term care facilities, and even death.
“Given the frequency of falls and the injuries that occur as a result, falling is as big of a problem as heart attack and stroke, and we need to start taking it as seriously because falls are preventable,” says guideline author Mary Tinetti, MD, a geriatrician at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. “The most effective way to prevent falls is to reduce medication, make the environment as safe as possible, and improve balance and gait through exercises including tai chi or physical therapy.”
Tinetti and other panel members reviewed studies looking at fall prevention interventions published between May 2001 and April 2008 to develop the updated guidelines.
NEWS RELEASE-BRITISH
An advisory issued by the British Geriatrics Society and the American Geriatrics Society on Wednesday has recommended elderly people to practice tai-chi to reduce their chances of broken bones. Apparently, the ancient Chinese martial art helps people in maintaining balance, which further assists in decreasing the probability of people falling down.
The suggestion is a result of many years of research that was carried out to check the does and don't, which led to people suffering from a fractured hip. It needs to be noted that hip fractures are a leading cause for extended hospitalization among older people.
It was also observed in the publicized theory that tai-chi helped in improving the balance, gait and strength of a person.
Talking about the study, Dr. Mary Tinetti from the School of Medicine, Yale University in the United States, reported that the biggest cause of health problems among seniors was their loss of functional independence. She added that, provided the frequency and the results of falls, their health risks were equivalent to that of heart attack and strokes.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Audio podcasts
Dr. Rowe and I have done several podcasts on breathing. You can find them at either of the links below.The second is on iTunes and they are both Free!
http://feed.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/3314/mp3.rss. Look for the three-part “breathing overview” or “breathing basics”, “how do you do it” or “impact injuries” podcasts.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
New for our students
This blog is a tool we'll use for keeping our students updated. Watch for news articles, study results and observations on what tai chi has done for our students.
To kick it off, take a look at these news clips from my class at Lee Memorial health Systems health Park Medical Center. http://www.leememorial.org/healthmatters/index.asp Look in the archive for January 6, 2011 entitled Medicating with Tai Chi and December 14, 2010 entitled Share Club Tai Chi.
To kick it off, take a look at these news clips from my class at Lee Memorial health Systems health Park Medical Center. http://www.leememorial.org/healthmatters/index.asp Look in the archive for January 6, 2011 entitled Medicating with Tai Chi and December 14, 2010 entitled Share Club Tai Chi.
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