Nothing New Under the Sun

In my heart, I believe that the trend of intense workouts that we

are currently seeing is a good thing. Ballistic, metabolic, extreme
boot camp, crossfitness has lit a fire under people!s butts to drive
out the cobwebs of la"iness and complacency. #he world that we
find ourselves in today is one of high stress and fastpaced chaos. In
order to keep pace, we have to keep ourselves physically fit to
endure the rigors of modern life. #oo many people have become
locked into a routine of moving from bed, to car, to desk, back to car,
then to the couch. #he plethora of high intensity workout programs
available today is an antidote to all of this. $e need to move and
experience high intensity, both for our own health, and the well
being of society as a whole.
Unfortunately, there is a down side to all of this. %ven though we
need high intensity movement programs and training regimens, we
also need rest. &ur fastpaced lives and the stress that comes from it
is killing us. $hen you add the stress of exercise into the mix, even
though exercise is a healthy form of stress, it can completely
overload a person!s body and mind. $e must also allow ourselves to
recuperate. Burning the candle at both ends is a recipe for disaster
and in a world that keeps gaining in intensity and insanity, we can!t
afford that. #oo many of us are overburdened with worries and
tension that make it virtually impossible to allow relaxation time.
&ne only needs to look at the statistics of people suffering from
anxiety, depression, and insomnia to see the truth in this.
$hat I!m offering in the following pages is really nothing new at
all. $hen you peer back into the pages of history, you!ll see that
these problems have been overcome by very smart people in the
past. 'ortunately for us, in the Information (ge, we have access to
principles, methods and techni)ues that were once highly guarded
secrets. (nd I have been very fortunate to have been in a position to
learn them from some very extraordinary teachers, from a young
age.
I have studied a lot of advanced methods of getting the body and
mind to stay balanced in a healthy and happy state. I have utili"ed
these methods for most of my life to stay happy and healthy, and
more importantly, I have been able to pass these methods down to
clients. In my over *+ years of working with people of all ages,
si"es, abilities, and personality types, a coherent system of utili"ing
these organically arose. #he methods and programs I teach work for
the average person, as well as athletes of &lympic caliber.
Before we dive into the history, techni)ues, and actual usage of
some of these practices, I want to first give a little background on
how I started to teach these methods within my strength and
conditioning programs in the first place.
,hapter -. /y ,lients
I!ve been studying methods of meditation, relaxation, and healing
right along side my more high intensity practices of strength training
and martial arts my whole life. 0aving always been hyperactive and
full of energy, I naturally focused more on the aggressive side of my
training. #hat is, until I started getting really in1ured. Starting with
my first bad knee in1ury in high school wrestling, I!ve been riddled
with in1ury and the aftermath of trauma my whole life. 0aving also
had the misfortune to go through some pretty traumatic life
situations, I also had a lot of mental and emotional garbage to weed
through. #his motivated me to strike a balance between my hardcore
training, and the healing and recuperation practices that I knew. I
was lucky enough to reali"e early on, that if I didn!t deal with my
in1uries and imbalances in an intelligent way, they would eventually
consume me.
(t first, this was done out of necessity. I soon reali"ed though, that
as my imbalances were fading away, I was also vastly improving in
my strength training and martial art practices22 (t first, I was foolish
enough to think that I had come up with something new. (s I delved
into the history of physical culture, I )uickly reali"ed that far from
being uni)ue, the combination of the softer arts with the more
intense practices was actually the norm. It seems to be that it!s only
in our modern training world that we have forgotten.
0aving this revelation and its ensuing effects impact my life would
have been reward enough for me. #he results have been that
dramatic. But where this 3new4 combination training really hit its
stride was when I started applying it with my personal training
clients, students, and pro athletes. $hen I began training others full
time, I found that everyone I trained suffered from stress, tension,
and some form of physical and5or emotional trauma. #he ma1ority of
them had never stopped to think about how these things were getting
in the way of their life goals, and their training goals.
(s I started to have them apply these methods along side their
harder training, they were floored to see how much faster they were
progressing toward their goals. $ith a lot of my more driven clients,
it was a hard sell at first. #hey 1ust couldn!t see how meditation,
relaxation, and energy work could help them achieve their goals. (s
they slowly ac)uiesced to what I was asking of them, the results
spoke for themselves. #hey soon reali"ed that they had been in need
of this kind of thing for a long time without being conscious of it.
#heir stress, low vitality, and general unhappiness had become so
routine, so ingrained into their lives, that they no longer noticed it.
#hey 1ust accepted that that was how a person was supposed to feel2
(s I was able to convince my personal training clients of the logic
of incorporating these methods into their routines, I also started to
play around with ways of inserting them into my small group private
sessions, and my classes. It took a little bit of time to get the formula
down, but when I did, the results were 1ust as impressive as the
private training results.

$hat I have come to reali"e, is that everyone who comes to train
with me has a specific idea of what they want to accomplish. But
hidden in the background, underlying and supporting that main goal,
are all the unvoiced needs of the client. #he need, better yet, the
desire, to have more energy, feel better, and be free of the stress and
depression that this wonderful modern world imposes on us. ( lot of
the time, my clients and students don!t reali"e that these 3hidden4
elements are actually the main obstacles standing in their way of
success. $hen they trust me enough to implement some of these
methods, the obstacles magically start to disappear, and they start to
progress at faster and faster rates. #his gets them even more excited
and motivated, and this creates a momentum that helps to propel
them forward. I have never had one person regret utili"ing these
methods. No one complaining of wasted time. No one thinking that
these methods didn!t produce results. $hen my students and clients
were able to fully implement these methods, the results were always
extremely positive2
#he need to rebalance the body, heal, and recuperate from
hardcore training, is the biggest element that I see lacking in modern
workouts. I have been guilty myself of not allowing enough time to
reset. (nd believe me, I have paid for it. (s I get older, I need these
methods even more to make the hard workouts I do pay out any
dividends. If I don!t utili"e them, I feel run down, my body aches
way too much, and it gets harder and harder to motivate myself to
get the hard work done.
#here are three ways that I normally utili"e these methods in my
own personal training, training private students and clients, and in
my group classes. #he first method is using these methods on off
days, to help speed up the recovery process, and to help clear out the
accumulated stress of hard work. #he second method is to
utili"e them within an actual workout program to manipulate oxygen
levels, stress levels, and the release of chemicals in the body. (nd
the final way is to utili"e them after a workout to help kickstart the
recovery process, and to transition into the reboot and rebuild phase.
In the the upcoming sections, we!ll go over each of these strategies.
But first, a little history about how I!ve come to use the methods I!ve
chosen.
,hapter *. #he (ncient Sciences of Improving 6ife
#he problems of stress, fatigue, and emotional disturbance are
far from new concerns. 0umans are humans, no matter the time and
place they find themselves. I will admit, that the time we are living
in now has these problems coming at us much faster than in times
gone by, but the basic challenges of being human and living in a
sometimes lessthanfriendly world has remained the same. #hese
problems plagued are ancestors in the same way that they plague us
now. #hey also had the added challenge of working a little bit
harder for basic survival, than most of us in the $estern world.
#hrough a lot of trial and error, and a lot of hard work, diverse
cultures all across our little planet have devised similar methods of
improving the )uality of life, and enhancing human abilities. 7oga,
8igong, (ccupuncture, (yurveda, #aichi ,(ikido, 9eiki, and a
multitude of methods of breathing and meditation are 1ust the tip of
the iceberg. %very nation and every culture has had their own
methods of accomplishing the same thing. :etting more out of life.
Seriously researching any of these traditional methods will reap
tremendous rewards.
I have had the honor of studying with some the best teachers in
the world. #hey had learned these methods and were generous
enough to teach me. (t first, when I began to teach these methods, I
was a little reserved in my teaching, because I didn!t feel that a lot of
my clients would be accepting of some of the practices derived from
cultures foreign to their own. ( lot of the practices ask the $estern
practitioner to take a kind of leap of faith, to even begin the practice.
&dd visuali"ations, sounds and images form the backbone of a lot of
the more advanced methods of practice. 'or the $estern mind,
steeped in $estern science and medicine, it is sometimes hard to
trust the methods at first.
( point was reached though, when I took a vow to never again
hold back on what I was teaching. I saw the world getting more and
more hectic, and my clients becoming extremely stressed out. I knew
that if I started to offer more of these methods, it would either turn
people away, or free them up to really excel. 'ortunately for me, and
for my clients, the latter occurred. (s I started to incorporate more
advanced methods into my training programs, I became better at
figuring out the best places to utili"e them. 6ucky for me, that my
early clients were willing to take the plunge of experimentation with
me. #hey helped me to continuously evaluate, refine, and update the
methods I was employing. #his was priceless in my early years of
using these methods to enhance training.

,hapter ;. <eStressing on &ff <ays
I had a client once, who came to me to shed some of the extra belly
fat she had gained during two pregnancies. She was already working
out on her own, and I saw the intensity with which she was hitting
her program. I watched her perform a decent strength training
program, and a lot of cardio in between. She wans!t making any
progress though. She asked me if I could help.
#he first thing I did was go through her history with her. In talking
with her, I discovered that not only did she recently go through a
painful divorce, but her mother was also sick, (N< she had recently
recovered from an eating disorder222 She was really in no shape to
start an intense workout program.
$hat I did, was write her a program consisting of active recovery
exercises. She needed to clear out all that stress before she could
make any progress. She utili"ed the exercises that we!ll go over later
on, in a program consisting of one day on, one day off. (fter a
period of two weeks, I began to add in strength training and a little
cardio for three days, and had her continue on with her active
recovery exercises on her 3off4 days.
(s I predicted, when she returned to her workouts, she started
seeing immediate gains and improvement. #he work she had done to
clear out the accumulated stress, as well as the depression she was
suffering from, had brought her to a balanced state where she could
actually embark on the mission to achieve her goals. She was no
longer 1ust spinning her wheels.
#his leads to the first method of inserting these techni)ues into a
training program. &ff day recuperation.
$hether it!s an athlete with a lot of drive, or an average person
with a lot on their plate, days of active rest are vital to a long term
training program. ,ontinuously pushing forward in life without a
moment!s rest is a recipe for disaster, and a way to make sure that
progress will eventually come to a screeching halt.
In a training program, if one were to approach it hapha"ardly, with
no logic or reason behind it, 1ust doing exercises that you feel like
doing, no real progress would be made. #he same thing occurs when
one is trying to recover or destress. If all that is done is to take the
day off, and sit on the couch and watch movies, no real relaxation
will occur. ( strategic plan, with a specific intent, is needed to take
full benefit out of off days.
$hen relaxation and recuperation techni)ues are used in an off
day program, the athlete or client almost always returns to the next
training session with a lot more energy and enthusiasm. #his tends to
make the next workout even more productive, which allows the
client to shorten the time it takes to achieve the main program goal.
( cycle is set up where ,as the client starts seeing ma1or gains in
progress, they become even more determined to stick to the program
which includes the off day program.
(nother ma1or benefit of active relaxation on off days is the ma1or
role it plays in in1ury prevention. #his is a huge topic, and the
ramifications go beyond the scope of this ebook. It will be dealt with
fully in an upcoming program on movement and relaxation practices
designed to keep an athlete in1ury free. But suffice it to say right
now, these techni)ues make a huge impact in the way of keeping
clients and athletes free from in1uries that could slow progress, or
take them out of the game for good. $hen you can keep an athlete or
client in1ury free, you can keep them on the steady path to their goal,
and not have to break the momentum of training to deal with in1ury.
%ven minor in1uries can be enough to derail progress. #he
techni)ues of relaxation and recuperation address the creeping
tension and stress, that left unabated, will inevitably develop into full
blown in1uries somewhere down the road.
,hapter =. #he Use of #echni)ues within a >rogram
#he next area of use, for our Body/ind energetic techni)ues, is
within an actual strength and conditioning routine, metabolic
workout, or fatloss session. (t first, this was the trickiest area to
incorporate these techni)ues into. &n one hand, some of these
practices were traditionally not incorporated into strength training
routines. &n the other hand, a lot of my clients are used to going full
blast once they begin a training session. 'or some of them, the idea
of taking a 3break4 to do some breathing or relaxation exercises, was
keeping them from continuing their sweat and burn.
I had originally learned how to incorporate these techni)ues into a
session from one of my strength and conditioning coaches. 0e had
learned about these practices when he had studied in 9ussia with
&lympic trainers, and with trainers from the military. #he huge
country that was the former Soviet Union, sat above both %urope
and (sia, and has been influenced by both %uropean and (sian
cultures. 'rom the (sian influence, techni)ues of breathing and
relaxation crept in to the more traditionally 9ussian health practices.
#his borrowing from other cultures was put to the test under the
communist regime, where they repeatedly ran experiments and
studies to see which practices had the most benefit. #hey only
wanted to utili"e the best techni)ues with the best results, when it
came to their military or &lympic teams. I had the good fortune to be
able to learn these techni)ues directly from my coach who had
learned them from the 9ussian experts. 'rom my indepth
knowledge of other systems, I was able to see similar techni)ues that
would be of use, due to the fact that they worked toward similar
goals, using similar means.
#he techni)ues used by the 9ussian trainers, and that I would
expand on, were techni)ues that reset the nervous system and
)uickly lowered the heart rate. Indepth meditation and visuali"ation
techni)ues are next to impossible to perform in the midst of a
metabolic conditioning routine, so the techni)ues used in a session
have to be simple to use. #he goals of their use within a session is to
clear residual tension out of the nervous system, so the athlete can
better perform the next set, and to lower heart rate faster so the next
set or round can be as intense, or more intense than the previous one.
#here are three areas of a workout session where these techni)ues
can be placed. #he first place is at the beginning of a workout as a
warm up. $hile it!s a heated topic on whether or not stretching
before a training session is beneficial, it!s usually agreed upon that
some form of warming up, and getting the body ready to move, is
healthier than 1umping into a workout cold.
#he bodymind energetic techni)ues are great for using as a warm
up22 #hey are a gentle way of increasing blood flow to the entire
body and helped to loosen up stiff 1oints. #hey also have the added
benefit of deepening the breath, and focusing the mind so that the
coming workout can be approached with the right attitude. #his also
works toward helping the client or athlete forget a little bit about
their stressful day, so they can hit their workout without being
preoccupied.

&ne of the biggest detriments to an intense workout, according to
my experience, is not being able to let go of the days worries, to
completely focus on the task at hand. (ny little detractor can become
a huge impediment to progress as the workout becomes more and
more intense, and the client becomes more fatigued. $hat may have
been a slight mental annoyance when the workout began, can very
)uickly become a huge annoyance once the nervous system is being
taxed by the exercises. #his can spiral out of control and pose a real
threat, not only to the results that can be achieved from the workout,
but also to the client!s health by increasing the chance of in1ury from
lapse of focus.
#he second place that these techni)ues can be utili"ed, is either as
part of a set, or in between sets. $hen these techni)ues are inserted
here, the purpose is to reset the body for more explosive output in
the exercises that follow. #hese techni)ues work toward this goal in
a twofold process.

#he first step is to slow the heartrate down. #here are several
ways that these these techni)ues work toward the goal of lowering
heartrate. #he mechanisms by which they work are too involved to
be delved into here, but suffice to say, they work extremely well
toward this end. I have had clients wear heart monitors during
sessions, and compare the results to times they were not performing
the bodymind energetic techni)ues. #he results were staggering to
me2 /y clients were able to drop their heartrates much faster when
utili"ing the techni)ues, then when they 1ust rested. #he reason that
dropping heartrate is so important, is because elevated heartrate is
a huge detriment when it comes to performing complex tasks
correctly. (s the heartrate elevates, fine motor skill and muscle
control severely diminishes. $hen a metabolic conditioning routine
re)uires a high degree of skill, say performing a task such as an
&lympic lift, having a lower heartrate going into it greatly reduces
risk of in1ury.
#he second step toward resetting the body is to clear out the lactic
acid and other metabolites that impede muscle function. #he gentle
moving, shaking, and breathing techni)ues speed up the bodies
ability to clear these chemicals out of the system, and allow fresh
blood and nutrients to be transported to the muscles. #his allows the
next set of exercises to be performed with muscles that are better
prepared to contract.
,hapter +. Utili"ing (fter a $orkout Session
#he final area of a workout program that benefits tremendously
from the bodymind energetic techni)ues, is in the transition from
the workout back to everyday life, ie. the cool down. (s the intensity
of a workout increases, the body at first compensates by increasing
growth hormone levels. #his is a good thing since it helps to
accomplish the goals of body repair, antiaging, and fat loss. But if
the workout crosses that tenuous line between being intense, and too
intense, the body will up cortisol levels to compensate. #he stress
hormone cortisol is a huge enemy toward the goals of most clients.
%levated cortisol levels impede not only fatloss, but also recovery,
and wind up adding stress to a client!s life, instead of the goal of
lowering stress levels2
#he bodymind energetic techni)ues, especially the techni)ue of
7oga Nidra, which will be explained shortly, have a huge impact on
clearing cortisol and other stress hormones from the system. #his
clearing of stress chemicals, and the relaxation that follows, kick
start the recovery process in a dramatic way. It allows a transition
back into the every day world with a renewed and refreshed mental
attitude, as opposed to feeling drained and beat up.
6ife is full of cycles. #here is a time for everything, and finding
that balance between different aspects of life can be challenging to
say the least2 #he transition periods between different activities and
modes of operating are often the most critical periods that can make
or break an activity.

?ust as going into a workout with a scattered mind and low energy
can sabotage the workout, going into recovery mode in a hapha"ard
way can be detrimental and slow down the recovery process. 6ike I
said, this can not only lead to a slower recovery time, it can actually
cause the exercise routine itself to be another source of stress in a
client!s life
,hapter @. %xercise - <eep Belly Breathing5 &pen Up Breathing
#he first and possibly most important techni)ue for a client to
learn, is diaphragmatic breathing, also known as belly breathing.
#his exercise, which should be a no brainer as far as breathing goes,
is so easy to overlook, that it often is. /ost people want to 1ump in
to complex exercises, and so skip over basic, correct breathing,
which is supposed to be the foundation of everything an athlete or
client does. If we skip the foundation, the house we!re building on
top of it will not stand for long.
Aery few people breathe correctly. $ith almost every person I
train, I see the same thing. short, shallow, upper lung breathing,
mostly done through the mouth. #his kind of breathing is detrimental
to any health or athletic regimen. It sets up a situation where not
enough oxygen is getting into the body, and the body starts to
respond by going into stress mode. #he stress reaction of the body
causes a reciprocal reaction in the muscles of the upper back,
shoulders, and neck. #hey tighten up, which in turn restricts the
motion of the ribcage, and the lungs trying hard to breathe
underneath. ( downward spiral happens as each breath becomes
more and more shallow.
By simply breathing in and out through the nose, and allowing
the diaphragm to drop to its fullest, pushing out the guts, a very large
portion of a client!s existing stress can be reduced. %xperiencing
what it feels like to have a reduced level of stress can be an eye
opening experience for a client who doesn!t even reali"e the amount
of stress and tension that s5he is walking around with2 #his sets up a
positive feedback loop that can have dramatic effects.
&ftentimes though, especially for a client who has been under
very stressful conditions for a long time, accomplishing a deep belly
breath is difficult. #hat is the reason why I started teaching the deep
breathing in con1unction with one of my favorite )igong exercises
which I refer to as 3&pen Up Breathing4. By incorporating arm
movements that stretch and open the muscles of the chest, shoulders,
and back, a client could be coaxed into getting the deep breathing
right.
&pen Up Breathing is an exercise that has many benefits
besides being a tool to help reset the breath. It is an exercise that
according to ,hinese medicine and )igong , helps bring the body
back into a balanced and centered state. Some )igong movements
are only good for certain conditions. #his breathing techni)ue tends
to right a lot of imbalanced states in the body. If a client has too
much nervous energy, it will relax them. If a client is very tired, it
will wake them up and get their energy flowing. It tends to raise low
blood pressure, and lower high blood pressure. It will boost the
immune system. I have used it with myself and clients at the onset of
both panic attacks and asthma attacks, and it can seriously reduce the
symptoms of these conditions2
Bnowing the benefits of this easy to learn exercise makes its
inclusion in (66 my workout programs something I didn!t have to
think twice about. It can be inserted easily into any stage of a
workout or program, and it!s incredibly simple to teach, and for a
client to learn. I utili"e it extensively no matter if I!m working with
private clients, teaching a conditioning class, )igong, yoga, or 1oint
mobility class.
,hapter C. %xercise * Aibration <rills
#he next exercise is really a category of exercises called
vibration drills. I learned this category of exercises from two
different sourcesD ,hinese 8igong, and 9ussian Sports Science.
#here are a lot of different methods of doing this group of exercises,
and the multipurpose nature of them makes them applicable in a
great variety of ways and in different circumstances.
(t their basis, vibration drills involve shaking or 1olting the
body to cause a reset of the nervous system. &n an incredibly basic
level, the nervous system is set up to be on or offD firing impulses or
)uiet. #his is oversimplifying it, but for the discussion of vibration
drills, it works.
$e all have energy pumping through our nervous systems all
the time, but sometimes, we have too much. $hen there!s a lot of
extra nervous system tension, it can be detrimental to our workouts.
If we had one of our clients perform a highly advanced lift like a
clean and 1erk, or a snatch, this extra tension could severely limit the
performance of the exercise. #hese two exercises in particular,
re)uire the ability to go from a semirelaxed state, to one of full
nervous system engagement in a rapid and powerful manner. (ny
preliminary tension will put a limit onto how much extra 31uice4 can
be turned on to complete the lift. :oing into these exercises in as
relaxed of a state as we can get our clients into, will allow for full
effort to be utili"ed, increasing the work output, and drastically
reducing the likelihood of in1ury.
#hese vibration drills can be utili"ed effectively as a warm up,
in between sets or rounds, and after a workout, for a highly effective
reset. &ne weird sideeffect, that no one has sufficiently been able to
explain to me, but nevertheless works, is that these drills will
rapidly reduce heartrate level. I have hooked my clients up to heart
rate monitors and have tested it many times. #hey work. $hen a
person!s heartrate elevates to a certain point, fine motorskills
become drastically impaired. If a client is doing something that
re)uires a high degree of skill, the chances of failure or in1ury go up
exponentially when the heartrate peaks. #hese drills will make sure
that this doesn!t happen.
#he vibration drills that I tend to utili"e the most can be
broken down into two categories. synced with breathing methods, or
1ust vibration. #he vibration drills that I learned from ,hinese
)igong, utili"e a steady shaking to progressively relax the body. #he
basic method is to 1ust allow the body to bounce up and down as one
unit, and to progressively allow for relaxation in parts of the body.
(t first, the body will bounce as a whole. (s a person progresses, the
body will start to shake as big 3chunks4 of parts. (s the practitioner
starts to break down the tension between areas of the body,
eventually a point will be reached where individual parts will be
shaking to release tension, ie. ma1or and minor muscle groups,
1oints, tendons, ligaments, organs, and glands.
#he second style of vibration drills I utili"e, come from the
9ussian sports systems. #hese vibration drills utili"e the dropping
and shaking in concert with different methods and patterns of
breathing to create profound stress relieving effects. (gain, on a very
rudimentary level, inhalation and holding of the breath sends a signal
to the central nervous system to brace up and hold tension, whereas
exhalation sends the signal to relax. #he ma1ority of the 9ussian
breathing practices that I have learned, have focused mainly on the
process of exhalation, to promote total mind5body relaxation.
In the programs that follow, we will look at the incorporation of
basic )igong vibration and its effects within a total and holistic
fitness program. $e will also look at a progressive series of 9ussian
vibration breath training, and how it can be utili"ed to not only clear
tension, but also how it can be used to teach a client proper breath
mechanics which are crucial for safe and effective exercise.
,hapter E. %xercise ; &cean Breathing
#he next exercise that we come to is &cean Breathing. #his
exercise also comes from the ,hinese )igong systems, and is one of
my teacher!s personal favorites. #he techni)ue itself is very basic,
like most of these techni)ues, but it!s ability to effect the nervous
system is pretty profound.
#o perform ocean breathing, the movement of the feet is
crucial. Standing with feet parallel and hip width apart, the
practitioner rocks forward slightly onto the balls of the feet. #hen the
practitioner rocks back on the heels. 'rom a ,hinese medicine
perspective, rocking forward on the balls of the feet activates what is
known as the bubbling well acupuncture point. #his is also referred
to as Bidney -, and is the first point on the Bidney acupuncture
meridian. #his point has a profound effect on overall health and well
being.
'rom a western medical perspective, this activates what is
known as the plantarvenous pump. #his mechanism on the bottom
of the foot helps to circulate blood back up to the heart from the
lower extremities. #his motion performed during ocean breathing is
mechanically the same as slow walking. #his heel to toe rolling of
the foot that occurs in both slow walking and ocean breathing is
critical to good blood circulation and destressing of the heart.
$hile the feet are doing their thing, the arms are rhythmically
lifting up from a spot in front of the belly, to near shoulder height.
#he reason this practice is called ocean breathing, is due to the fact
that when practicing it, one imagines an ocean in the belly. (s one
inhales and rocks forward onto the balls of the feet, the waves from
the belly gently carry the arms up and out in a relaxed manner.
almost like a buoy drifting up on a wave in the ocean.
#he effect this has on the body and mind after only a short time
of practicing is ama"ing2 #he rhythmic movement coupled with the
deep belly breathing works to take the practitioner into what is
sometimes referred to as the 3)igong state4. #his is a state of mind
body analogous to a trance or hypnotic state. In this state, the brain
and central nervous system begin to profoundly relax, and brain
waves slow down. #his allows for a )uick and easy relaxing and
resetting of the nervous system.
I mainly utili"e this exercise at the end of a session, because it
has a powerful ability to induce a dreamy, relaxed state. It works
wonders for clearing out the 3memory4 of the tough workout that
was 1ust accomplished. But once a person becomes proficient at the
techni)ue, it can be inserted at any stage to reap the benefits.
,hapter -F. %xercise = #ai ,hi S)uats
Next up is #ai ,hi s)uats. (s the name suggests, this exercise
originates in the internal martial art of tai chi. It!s name is slightly a
misnomer for most of us who are used to heavy, butt to heals type of
back s)uats. #his type of s)uat is an exercise in proper tai chi bio
mechanics, that is also a phenomenal health booster and stress
reduction exercise.
#he focus of the exercise is in learning how to properly bend
and fold from the inguinal crease, known as the kua in ,hinese. &n a
strictly mechanical level, tai chi s)uats teach how to properly allow
the body!s weight to drop from the upper body, through the hips, and
into the feet, without putting undue stress on the front of the knee
and the patellar tendon.
&n a health level, the folding of the hip that goes on in the
lower body, greatly helps to circulate lymph through the body. #here
are a lot of lymph nodes located in the groin area. 6ymph circulation
in the body, unlike blood circulation, relies exclusively on movement
to keep it going. #his is why a bedridden person needs to be moved
around regularly. #he lymph circulation, which is the main driver of
our immune system, needs to have movement to operate. (nd it
doesn!t need fast movement. In fact, it has been shown that fast
aerobictype movement tends to shut down lymph circulation for a
short time. #his is a byproduct of the fightorflight mechanism that
has allowed the human species to survive.
#he slow movement and compression of the inguinal crease
that occurs during tai chi s)uats, is phenomenal at getting lymph to
circulate. #his leg movement is accompanied by several different
upper body movements that compress and expand the armpit region,
which again is an area of high lymph node concentration. $hen the
deep breathing, which activates the compression and expansion of
the torso and internal organs is added in, this exercise becomes a
wonderful tool for not only stress reduction, but also for all around
health and wellbeing2