May 13, 2024
Speaking Japanese is different than “speaking Judo.” But for those who want to have a better understanding and appreciation of judo, learning how to “speak Judo” opens up the whole world of judo to them.
5 Min Read
May 6, 2024
Slow, Deep breathing stimulates the main nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system called the vagus nerve, which in turn releases hormones and neurotransmitters that slow your heart rate, lower your blood pressure and generally brings your body into balance.
5 Min Read
April 22, 2024
No one has ever walked onto a judo mat and immediately became an elite-level athlete. Anyone who thinks otherwise will have a short and limited career in judo. 6 Min Read
November 14, 2022
The first step towards enlightenment is to establish a strong will, without which you will not finish the training.
October 31, 2022
“…if you can control your consciousness without falling asleep, you can build up a better sensitivity for energy correspondence with the outside world. This is one of the desired states in meditation practice.”
Other non-pharmacologic methods of treating chronic headaches have been recommended by the American Academy of Neurology. These include relaxation training, thermal biofeedback combined with relaxation training, or cognitive-behavioral training. All of these methods strive to decrease muscle tension that may contribute to the onset of the headache. This tension is usually found in the upper back and neck.
Twenty-three years ago, when Louise was pregnant for the first time, her truck was broadsided and jettisoned over an embankment. The force of the crash caused a severe neck injury and sent Louise into preterm labor. Her daughter was born eight weeks early, but grew from a sweet baby into a beautiful young woman, as though the accident had never happened.
When people think of Chinese medicine, they most commonly think of acupuncture. When they think of acupuncture, they instantly think of back pain. It is true that back pain is the first ailment for which Western countries accepted Eastern solutions. However, there is a vast array of different conditions for which all components of Eastern medicine can be used.
We live in a very complex world. Many of us are overloaded with information, technology, apps, consumer goods, foods, clothing, stuff, activities, and events. Because of this, many of us feel overwhelmed, and don’t remember how to breathe anymore. Others may even feel they need to acquire more.
Humans have defined what beauty is and what it is not. We also defined what is good and what is bad. In doing this, we set up an emotional matrix and dogma in human society. Once we have these concepts, there exists having or not having, difficulty or ease, and other ideas in comparison to one another. Consequently, competitiveness arises and different classes are discriminated. Du, Guang-Ting (杜光庭) said: "What are beauty and goodness? They are initiated from xin (i.e., emotional mind).
Both Western and Eastern medical traditions base their definition of health on the correct functioning of bodily systems. In the Western paradigm, this is considered optimal cellular metabolism. In the Eastern model, this is considered the smooth flow of qi. Which concept is correct? They both are.
In qigong practice, through a few thousand years of pondering and practice, the Chinese people have been trying to understand the grand universe (da tian di, 大天地), the small universe (xiao tian di, 小天地), and their mutual relationship. From this understanding, they hope to live long and to comprehend the meaning of life. Since The Book of Changes (Yi Jing, 《易經》), the Chinese have believed there are two dimensions coexisting in this universe.
There is an amazing array of research studies supporting the benefits of tai chi and related exercises for a wide range of conditions. Metarobic theory explains how and why from a medical perspective, but there still remains the question of why some studies show conflicting results particularly in the field of cancer.
Being a holistic doctor for so many years, I have seen many patients suffering with depression. How do I help them recover from depression? It is all about Qi and Dao: balancing their energy with “Qi,” and restoring their beautiful minds with the “Dao”.
Back pain is not considered to be a sickness, but a pain caused by other sicknesses. Therefore, the usual treatment is first to stop the pain by using acupuncture, massage, or both in combination. The key to reaching this goal is to improve the qi and blood circulation in the pained area. Occasionally, herbs are also used to improve the circulation and stop the pain. However, all of these measures are considered temporary, since they are not able to cure the root of the sickness but only alleviate the symptoms. In order to have a complete recovery or cure the root of the problem, a healthy and strong foundation must be rebuilt. Naturally, this usually takes a long time, but it is a long-term solution.
Many people think that qigong is a difficult subject to comprehend. In some ways, this is true. However, you must understand one thing: regardless of how difficult the qigong theory and practice of a particular style are, the basic theory and principles are very simple and remain the same for all of the qigong styles.
I would like to discuss the attitude that you need to adopt in your practice. Quite frequently, people who are ill are reluctant to become involved in the healing process. This is especially true for arthritis patients. Both Western and Chinese physicians have had difficulty persuading them to become involved in regular exercise or qigong. The main reason for this reluctance is that the patients are afraid of pain, and therefore believe that these kinds of exercise are harmful. In order to conquer this obstacle to your healing, you must understand the theory of healing and the reason for practicing. Only then will you have the confidence necessary for continued practice. Remember, a physician may have an excellent prescription for your illness, but if you don’t take the medicine, it won’t do you any good.
This winter, every day we hear that some people suffer from flu or even die from the flu. This has caused major fear in the public. It is a big thing that we need to address, but how to prevent it is more important. Flu shots only work for some people. Tama-Flu also only works on some people. What we need to do is to learn to prevent getting sick by strengthening our immune system with daily qi practice. "qi" is vital energy in the body; "gong" is practice to gain the skill.
If you study the history of the human race, you will see that a large part of this history has been taken up with war, conquest, killing, and the struggle for power. We have tended to worship as heroes those who could conquer and rule other countries, and we have wrongly educated each new generation to glorify killing and slavery, and to worship power. There have been only relatively short periods when humankind has not been at war, when people could live their lives in peace and tranquility; but it was during these times that people created art, wrote poems, and sought ways to live longer and happier lives.
When you practice still meditation, regulating your body, breathing, and mind, you enter into deep meditation. Qi readjusts and balances itself, reaching even the smallest place in your body. You have feelings and visions, which cannot be experienced when you are not in meditation.
Arthritis has afflicted humankind for as far back as we can trace. In all races, the young as well as the old have experienced the pain of arthritis. The condition can also have a disastrous effect on the sufferer’s peace of mind. Despite the great advances made in many fields of science, Western medicine today is still unable to cure many forms of arthritis.
We cannot stop our physical degeneration, but we can slow this degenerating process down by providing proper care to our body. According to Chinese qigong, to slow down our aging process, we must maintain the strength of our physical body (yang) and also learn how to increase the storage of inner energy in our qi body (yin).
Qigong is the study of qi. This means that qigong actually covers a very wide field of research and includes the study of the three general types of qi (heaven qi, earth qi, and human qi) and their interrelationships. However, because the Chinese have traditionally paid more attention to the study of human qi, which is concerned with health and longevity, the term “qigong” has often been misunderstood and misused to mean only the study of human qi.
Many holistic health practitioners use their knowledge and experience with the brain, mind, and awareness to guide patients to heal themselves in their healing work. In my practice with natural healing and natural medicine, I have seen many miracles; it is as if anything is possible if you put enough effort, intent, and energy into the work. The many cases of healing from cancer are especially important examples of the power of this mind-body approach.
Common sense means "common knowledge everyone should have." But unfortunately, many people today don't seem to have it. Why is this? We live in a dynamic world. Modern people are dynamic, and the flow of information is dynamic. We all assume we are smart and do things in a smart way. But we often lose our common sense to distraction, stress, illness or physical ailments, and emotional distress. Our focus is often on others—their successes, problems, and points of view. We often forget to pay attention to ourselves.