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The Trouble With Treadmills

March 23, 2012 By 4 Comments

TreadmillIt is sad to say, but your beloved treadmill is slowly damaging your body. Every year, chiropractors and physiotherapists end up making money off the winter treadmillers.

You see, when you walk, or run, on a treadmill, you lift your leg, drive it forward, place it back down on the treadmill, and THEN THE TREADMILL MOVES YOUR LEG BACKWARD FOR YOU.

When you walk, or run, on the un-moving ground, you lift your leg, drive it forward, place it back down, and pull with the hamstrings to move your body forwards through space. This is a fundmental difference in movement cordination.

Over time, treadmillers end up with a muscle imbalance between the front and back of their legs. This can contribute to all kinds of injuries. Typically, if one only uses a treadmill, one will not notice imbalance-type injuries for a long time. They show up frequently in those who use a treadmill for the majority of their workouts during a season, or lengthy time period, and then switch back to waling, or running, on natural terrain. In the treadmiller’s mind, an easy 6 km run that they’ve done all winter on the treadmill should be no problem no that the snow is gone and spring is here. But half their muscles are undertrained for the distance, pace and intensity they wish to go. Voila: injury!

Additionally, the treadmill is very flat and the ankle has to do very little balancing over the course of a workout. So when the seasonal treadmiller decides to run trails instead of a flat track outside, he now challenges all his stabilization musculature well beyond its limits and is highly likely to create an injury to his knees, hips or ankles.

This last situation can easily trap a person who abstains from treadmills but does all his or her workouts on very flat terrain. As soon as the workout intensity is increased by terrain variations, muscular balancing systems are overloaded and will blowout more easily.

This is why the walking, or running, workout you do on one surface is more tiring than on another. You are using more muscles to stabilize as you traverse different topography.

Now what about the poor treadmiller? Sometimes, it is just too hot, or too cold, to workout outside. Or perhaps your training is always done on a smmoth hardwood, or concrete, surface. The solution is one adocated by the LI family’s Daoqiquan methods for over 400 years: vary your training surface regularly! Use the treadmill, just not exclusively. Sprinkle in enough other surfaces so that the body becomes balanced. If you’e been trapped by your treadmill and wish to move to the real world, start with a shorter distance and slower pace (lower intensity) and give your tissues time to adapt before matching your new workout to the old one.

There are problems with nearly every training modality. Each problem must be considered and taken into account so it doesn’t prevent your from reaching your training goals.

Happy circling,

Dr. Yancy Orchard, Shizi
Orchard Kung Fu: “The Martial Way of Vitality”
Jiulong Baguazhang, Flying Dragon Qigong, Traditional Chinese Weapons
Saskatoon, SK, Canada
www.NineDragonBaguazhang.ca
Youtube: XinFuGompa

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Root Cause of Illness and Healing

October 15, 2009 By

StoneLanternFrontIllness comes to us all at some time in our lives. There are hundreds of mitigating factors that cause it to appear in our bodies. We can talk about the nerves, the flow of blood and lymph and how to adjust these things and that is part of what good daily circle walking especially with the Double Palm change can do, adjust these things and help them function better. Then we have the other side in which our brain wave patterns are altered by an extended period of circle walking producing a relaxed state of consciousness akin to a light meditative state. In this state many of the body processes are able to re-charge or correct themselves just as they do in meditative practice, but with the added benefit of movement to increase circulation of vital fluids to tissues and organs.

All of these things can help us prevent illness or work towards a cure, but they are not the answer to curing the root cause of the illness in the first place. This is the realm of the psyche and the “spirit” the roles played by the mind and how it affects the body through the brain and especially a part of the brain know as the Limbic System.

The Limbic System is involved with instinctive behavior, deeply held emotional ideas, basic impulses such as sexual arousal, anger, pleasure and survival instincts. It forms a bridge between our centers of higher consciousness and the cerebral cortex and the brain step which regulates the body’s systems one of which is the immune system.

So what does this have to do with healing or illness the spirit or Qigong? The answer is that from the incorporeal mind we influence the corporeal body. Yes this is a dualist approach not a monist view but it is the view of the Li family Xin-fu Dao philosophy.

The Limbic System is the link. It is influenced by what we think, feel and desire, but it goes farther than just saying ok so I think happy thoughts and I can fly like Peter Pan or never get ill, NO not at all! You can think happy thoughts until the stars burn out and if they are not coming from the deeper realms of the spirit self, the inner self that is the root of our being then they are not going to affect the Limbic System or have any influence over the control of our immune system.

Taking western allopathic or chiropractic treatments, doing yoga or meditation or Taijiquan or Baguazhang may have some influence over our predilection to illness, but it will not stop us from getting sick, getting cancer or other life threatening diseases again and again until one of them finally kills us. We can adjust the body and give it herbs and pills and shots, however until the inner mind is right we will get sick over and over again.

What does it mean to have the mind right? That is a question for the ages and the sages. The mind we are aware of, the one we experience the world with, which tells us what we think is reality is not the important one in this situation. The inner mind that harbors all of our real desires and goals is the one that matters here and most of us are not even close to being in touch with it. I am talking about the deeper intelligence that is present at birth, that knows how to make cells form into ears, legs, hearts, muscles and that knows what talents and skills we will have as a child and adult. This inner mind is the one that really matters to the immune system. When as Joseph Campbell has said,”Follow your Bliss” or as Lao Zi says, “find our own true path” then we fulfill what our spirit has come here to accomplish, we find our “Calling” and our inner being is fulfilled and happy. This happens in very few of us as we are so out of touch with our true selves, we wear so many masks to disguise ourselves from our associated, friends, family and ourselves that we have little idea who or what we really are.

That is why the American Indians, the Tibetans and other cultures have talked about vision quests, spirit journeys and other methods of using meditation and special training to find these root causes of our illness and discontent. It might be called rooting out our own personal emotional dis-ease. When this is accomplished and we know our true inner will, illness become less and less frequent and healing becomes truly a process we control. Jiulong Baguazhang and the practices of the Li family concepts can help in this quest but it must become more than just a martial art or physical exercise. There is much more here than meets the first layers of your consciousness.

Copyright 2009 IAM Co.

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Qigong Practice Times

June 26, 2009 By

Jiulong Baguazhang, as part of Daoqiquan, is a complete health system as well as a martial art.  In response to a question on the Jiulong yahoo group, this information was posted and we thought Jiulong Journal readers would appreciate reading it.

Time and Place for Qigong Training

Qigong is more than exercise. It is a healing discipline for the body, mind, and spirit. Some of the rules that govern Qigong practice differ significantly from those that apply to calisthenics, aerobics, or working out at a gym. Since one of Qigong’s goals is greater harmony between inside and outside, between yourself and nature, when and where you practice can influence the effectiveness of Qigong techniques.

Even good Qigong exercises are less effective at the wrong time of day or in uncomfortable surroundings. Most people practice Qigong in a daily “wellness workout” designed to prevent disease and improve or maintain health. The workout, lasting from ten minutes to an hour or longer, consists of dynamic exercises, self-massage, and, sometimes, meditation. Additionally, we all experience times when particular parts of the body are calling for attention, whether due to disease or just feelings of therapeutic Qigong techniques, either instead of or in addition to the normal daily practice.

The daily workout should occur at a fixed time each day. Therapeutic Qigong is practiced whenever it is needed or prescribed by a qualified Qigong master or physician.

The general rule is that the period from 12 midnight until 12 noon is called Sheng Qi “the time of the living breath.” It is best to practice your Qigong wellness workout in the middle of this period, at about 6 a.m. known as the early morning is the “spring time” of the day as the living breath peaks at sunrise, the ideal time for Qigong training. The effects of morning practice are long lasting and cumulative. You are likely to still feel pleasantly energized in the afternoon. Many masters say not to practice from 11:00 a.m. to 1: 00 p.m. when the Heart Fire is ruling the body.

The winter portion of the day, from noon until midnight, is called Si Qi “the time of the dead breath.” Seeds planted in the early spring bear the healthiest fruit; those planted during the winter are less hardy so the afternoon is not the best time for Qigong training according to tradition.

As each day passes, your supply of Qi increases. While you are learning new Qigong techniques, it is a good idea to have at least two practice times, one just for yourself, to build the Qi and enjoy, and another “homework” time to review and memorize techniques and details. Do your homework after the morning wellness workout, whenever your schedule allows.

Review instructions and practice the exercises slowly and carefully, over and over again until your body can do them automatically. But remember that the time for your self is the early morning. If you have to get ready for work or prepare the kids for school, try getting up an hour earlier. You can’t take care of others effectively if you are not taking care of yourself. Your family will appreciate that the more Qi-full you are, the more cheerful you are. (And breakfast seems to taste better if the cook is happy.)

If your schedule just doesn’t permit early-morning Qigong, then find whatever time you can. On the other hand, if you have time to spare, there is no prohibition against more than one wellness workout per day. This would be in addition to the important morning practice and your “homework” review session.

If your normal workout is at sunrise, try another one at sunset. Qigong done at sunset although not as powerful as sunrise is a wonderful way to punctuate the daylight hours. The energetic and beautiful exercises feel completely natural at these times of day, probably the human equivalent of bird songs.

No matter what time of day you practice, always wait at least two hours after eating a meal. There is a saying, “If the belly is filled with food, there is no room for Qi.” A full belly interferes with breathing and movement. Digestion uses Qi, making less available for Qigong. It also diverts Qi to the digestive system, away from the areas of the body that are the focus of your exercises. If you eat after practice, wait at least one half-hour after your session to allow time for residual effects of Qigong practice. After the half-hour “cooling down” time, the Qi will be settled and you will be ready for normal activities.

Li Family Daily Practice Times

The Chinese zodiac divides the day into six hours that are in duration the equal to two of our hours. These hours are assigned animal names, elements, and directions. Time is always based on actual sun time not daylight saving time in relation to where you are in the world.

BASIC RULES FOR PRACTICE TIME

MORNING PRACTICE 5:00 – 7:00 a.m.
Face the rising sun in the morning to draw yang energy into the yin (front of the torso). Energy is absorbed by the Renmai meridian directly. Do not of course stare into the Sun.
The hours for this practice are 5:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m. hour of the Rabbit

EVENING PRACTICE 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
The setting sun in the evening 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. hour of the Rooster

MIDNIGHT PRACTICE 11: p.m. – 1:00 a.m.
At midnight, the energy is most conducive to creating yin energy in the system for deep and profound rest. This is 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. time symbol of the Rat

FULL MOON PRACTICE
On nights of the Full moon one night before during and one night after full to increase the Yin energy and reduce stress face the moon above with the torso front on. To decrease excess Yang energy face away from the moon so it shines on the back Dumai meridian.

DO NOT PRACTICE
The hours between 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. are considered to be dangerous practice times. This is the Chinese hour of the Horse and in Qigong is known as the “hour of fire” because the heart Qi energy is highly active and should not be disturbed by meditative or Qigong practices.

Meditation and all Qigong practice was forbidden by the Li family at this time unless specifically instructed by an expert in Qigong and meditative practice you should avoid all internal practices during the hour of the Horse.
Now you have the information you requested use it wisely.

John P. Painter
Shifu Daoqiquan

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