Program seeks to prevent falls among seniors

How can older adults prevent falls?
Exercise regularly; exercise programs like Tai Chi that increase strength and improve balance are especially good.

I could not agree more.

A Change of Consciousness

The story that prompted this post could be an invention of the Starbuck's marketing team, but based on what was said, I'm willing to believe this actually happened...

Man pays for coffee of customer behind him, starts chain

A random act of kindness at a Starbucks in Florida caught on, and turned into a story of paying it forward.

It started Friday morning when one man paid for the coffee for the person in line behind him, and it went on all day.

Ironically, this chain of 'nice' started with anger.

The customer behind the man who started the whole this was honking and yelling at him. So the man, a

Tai Chi

master, responded with a bit of zen.

"It wasn't an idea to pay anything forward. Of course I didn't know that all this would happen and nor was it even a random act of kindness. It was something else it was a change of consciousness. It was my desire to take this negative and change it into something positive," said the man.

The chain of paying for the car behind you lasted all day long.

This idea of a "change of consciousness" is not unfamiliar to us in Tai Chi, indeed, those of us in most martial arts. The biggest hurdle you have to overcome in martial arts is not getting your black-belt/sash; it's not finally beating that one big and surprisingly fast guy when sparring; it's not getting your high-kick, or any other move down... it's learning self control.

For most of us, some idiot honking while we're stuck in the drive-thru would likely illicit the opposite response than the Tai Chi master gave. I'm sure some of us have the image of getting out of our car and inviting this guy to "bring it". Others might take a more passive approach and put the car in "park," even after the window ahead cleared, just to annoy him. However, the worst thing that could and DOES happen is that we'd let his choices and actions affect our day.

We might snap at the person waiting on us at the window if they make a simple mistake; we might carry it with us into traffic, adding our own horn to day's noise; we might carry it with us to work or home or anywhere and let our temper finally flare when something inevitably happens. And each one of us would likely have a flash of the guy honking away as we let our frustrations out. I quote a famous story on the Zen page of this website:

Tanzan and Ekido, two Zen monks, were once travelling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling.

Coming around a bend, they encountered a young and lovely girl in a silk kimono, unable to cross the intersection. "Come on girl," said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her across the mud.

Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he could no longer restrain himself. "We monks don’t go near females," he told Tanzan, "especially not young and lovely ones. It’s dangerous. Why did you do that?"

"I left that girl back at the road," said Tanzan, "are you still carrying her?"

Like Ekido we would likely let that driver ride with us all the way through our day, perhaps even letting it shape the rest of our week, month, and even life. And the worst part? We would likely feel powerless against it. It's so easy to react in kind to someone's chosen behavior. When my wife snaps at me in anger, I snap back. When someone flips me off, I flip right back. Mirroring is easy and seemingly automatic, but it's not always the right choice.

The Tai Chi master in the story made the right choice. He turned the negative into a positive and let it all go. He wasn't out to prove he was better, he didn't set out to start a kindness chain or even a boost to his personal karma... when he handed the money over to pay for that gentleman's beverage, he handed over any and all frustrations and hurt that he felt because that man's actions. This was a choice that was not automatic, nor was it something that came unconsciously. He had to take action to make it happen.

And think about how it changed everyone else's day! The man who received this gift let his anger and frustration go and paid for the coffee of the person behind, likely someone equally annoyed. This lasted all day and I'm sure brightened everyone who came into contact with it. Had this not been offered, I'm sure the honking man wouldn't have been happy to finally get through the line. Likely a dozen or so other things would have raised his ire throughout his day. Instead, this chosen change of consciousness changed his outlook, his consciousness, and he passed that on to everyone.

You probably won't have the chance to make a change of consciousness at the local Starbucks anytime soon. But there are other moments in our day when we can choose to react for the positive, rather than the negative. All martial artists will tell you that self control comes consciously and through effort, and even when we achieve it, we easily revert to old habits and lose that hard earned control just as fast. But now we know the difference and we can try to catch ourselves and make a choice to stay in control, and perhaps make our own little worlds a better place for everyone.

A Prayer in Motion

I was reminded of this poem, that I used to include in my old paper manuals back in the day, as we walked through long form last night...

Tai Chi
By Adrienne deJager

Garden pavilion,
shade with six wind-walls
and a man.
Skin taut on bone and sinew.
His fingers balance sea, air, stars.
Eyes closed, ruling from within.
His face creviced with age,
pivots in the stillness.
Limbs, a windless sway of bamboo.
Wisps of white hair dull in the shade.
A prayer in motion.

Tai Chi and Yoga rated in the top 10 Complementary Medical Treatments from the Mayo Clinic

It's always fun to get medical validation...

There are two great neglected areas in the treatment and prevention of disease: lifestyle changes and so-called complementary medicine. Lifestyle changes involve using diet, exercise, stress control and the like to treat and prevent disease. Unfortunately, too many doctors are too busy prescribing drugs and surgeries when lifestyle changes might be even more effective and safer.

The other neglected area is sometimes called alternative medicine, but now the preferred term is complementary medicine: treatments used in addition to conventional medicine such as acupuncture and spinal manipulation. It is intended to complement conventional medicine rather than being an alternative.

As most of the health care delivery system is on the medication/surgery merry-go-round, some doctors neglect or ignore altogether lifestyle treatment and complementary medicine...

Click to read the rest of the article...

Dragon Studios offers instruction in 3 of the ten...

5. Meditation. Meditation focuses on breathing and on a word such as "peace," "love" or "life." The word, repeated with each breath, is called the mantra. Mayo has used meditation to treat anxiety and high blood pressure and to help people quit smoking without medication.
An analysis of 20 studies found that meditation helped patients cope with epilepsy, premenstrual syndrome, menopausal symptoms, autoimmune disease and anxiety during cancer treatment.

9. Tai chi. This is a gentle exercise that is derived from Chinese martial arts. It involves a series of postures and movements performed slowly and gracefully. It is recommended to improve balance in older people to prevent their falling.
A study conducted in the Netherlands found those who practiced tai chi had 50 percent fewer falls and fewer injury-causing falls than those who did not.

10. Yoga. This involves stretching and breathing exercises derived from India. It is said to help body and mind. It is especially effective for stress relief, lower back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, osteoarthritis, anxiety and depression.
A study out of New Delhi, India, found that 98 people with heart disease and diabetes who practiced yoga breathing techniques and postures had significant improvement in total cholesterol and blood sugar.

Tai chi takes time but is worth the effort, students say

The people watching one of May Chen's Tai chi classes at the Fremont Adult school recently shook their heads in disbelief.

"The class is two hours? I can't believe it!" one woman said to her companion. "That's so long!"

But for Chen's dedicated students, two hours is barely enough time to get started.

We all know the benefits of exercise, including: a lowered risk of diabetes and heart disease, a fit physique and improved mental clarity. Yet it's hard to fit in 30 minutes of pounding the pavement, let alone a two-hour session several times a week.

Chen, however, thinks this graceful practice of a martial art derived from Kung Fu is worth the time. And many of her students agree.

Click to read the full article...

Study: Tai chi may help prevent shingles - USATODAY.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tai chi is already known as a good low-impact exercise for older people. Now a recent study suggests it offers benefits beyond improving fitness and balance: It may help prevent shingles, a painful skin condition.

Researchers found older people who performed the slow, graceful movements of tai chi had a better immune response against the virus that causes shingles than those who only got health education, according to the most rigorous test to date.

It's unclear how tai chi, an ancient Chinese martial art that has become increasingly popular in the West, affects the immune system. But health experts were encouraged by the positive results.

Read more at USATODAY.com...


Whereas shingles, at least in my experience, often is induced by stress, I can understand why T'ai Chi can help prevent this. The gentle, flowing movements of T'ai Chi, that encourage you to stay in the moment as you perform each movement can drain stress away faster than a foot massage (not to say anything against foot massages). A regular practice of T'ai Chi can indeed relieve many stress-related conditions, viral or otherwise.

In this moment

What time is it? If you looked down at your task-tray clock, you can probably tell me the exact hour, minute and maybe even second. The hour does not matter, the minute does not matter, not even the second. Only this moment, this breath... and the time for that is always NOW.

The past is done. There is nothing I can do to change it, so I need to let it go. Any tragedy or triumph, I just have to let it be there in the past. As for the future... no matter how carefully it's planned, it always seems to turn out differently than expected, even if it's just slightly. Therefore, I don't want to waste a moment concerned about the future. I have things in place that will come to fruition in their moment in the future. They may not turn out as planned, and that's OK. It's OK because right now, I want to be in this moment.

Where are you? No, don't launch google maps or anything... in this moment, all that matters is to be HERE. Not somewhere else.

My mind likes to drift off to other places quite often, it's true... and it's important to stay here in this moment. Because in this moment, right NOW, this is where I am.