Hot Flashes? Here's another option--

A couple years ago, I noticed my
mom suddenly fanning herself,
pumping open the collar of her
shirt, and then needing to leave
the room. I knew about hot flashes,
but didn't realize my mom got them
or that so many women are affected
by this nasty little affliction.

Because I have believed Tai Chi to
be The Great Panacea of the world,
I started reading up on hot flashes to
help mom and some of my female students.

Seemingly, the big trigger is stress.

Money, family, work, love and sex are

usually the main topics adults stress over.

Evidently, nothing works. Black cohosh
and most other pills/caplets can work for
a few women, but there is no product that
works across the board. Sites like this give
product reviews, but they are designed
purely to make money for the site owner:
http://www.hotflashestreatment.com/


Forget Hormone Replacement Therapy.The risk of breast cancer, heart attacks, heart
disease, strokes, dementia, and blood clots far
outweighs any benefits. This should be
a last resort, when you've tried everything else.

After more than 20 years of research on

hot flashes, Dr. Robert Freedman suggests

that hot flashes are triggered when a woman's

core body temperature rises slightly (this is

the temperature DEEP within the body;

NOT what a regular thermometer measures).

A professor of psychiatry and behavioral

neurosciences at Wayne State University

School of Medicine in Detroit, Freedman says,

"Ordinarily, the rise wouldn't cause much

discomfort. But in menopausal women, we

think their tolerance for small increases in

core body temperature, above what we call

the thermoneutral zone, is greatly reduced.

When that zone is breached, the result is

flushing and sweating." 

Dr. Freedman and many other experts

are now recommending "Paced Respiration"

for its awesome effectiveness, and complete

lack of down side.

Freedman continues,

"Our studies show that slow, deep breathing

can reduce the frequency of hot flashes by

about 50 percent. Women who've been trained to

use this technique as soon as they feel a flush coming

on are often able to abort the hot flash or at least

reduce its severity."

"The average breathing rate is 15 to 16 cycles

(inhaling and exhaling) per minute," he notes.

"But with training, women can slow their breathing

down to seven or eight cycles per minute, which

can significantly reduce the frequency and intensity

of hot flashes."

I created an online instructional video:

Taoist Breathing for Hot Flashes.

It is TEN TIMES BETTER than

the instructions experts offer for

"paced respiration."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAiG-_MMhyM

Fat and Happy

Fat people live longer.
That's what a brand-spankin' new study
published in The Journal of The American
Geriatrics Society says. The 9000 person
study showed that overweight (BMI 25-29)
elderly people were 13 percent less likely
to die over a ten year period than those
who kept their weight within the
"recommended range."
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61163820100202

Though we live in a society hell-bent
on beauty, there are many millions of people
who are overweight and healthy as can be.

My personal theory is that people
naturally put on ten pounds a decade,
or a pound a year. And there's nothing
wrong with that.

My friend (let's call her Julie) is in her
mid-forties; she exercises an hour a day,
eats well, takes care of herself, and carries
about 25 extra pounds. She is active and
looks very healthy. If Julie HAS bouts of
mad dieting or extreme exercise, I have
never seen or heard of it. She's happy
with herself.

Another 30-pound overweight, 40+ friend
surprised me one day when she told me
she was an Ironman triathlete, getting ready
to compete again. Shocked at the notion,
I said, "when will you start training again?"
She laughed and said, "I'm running 15 miles
a day right now." Also happy.

BMI and waist circumference should not
be strong indicators of health and ability.
Some of the greatest athletes in history
have been overweight. Shaquille O'Neal
would blow the BMI curve. So would
George Forman and Babe Ruth. Here is
a list of overweight athletes who won
gold medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics:
http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/bmiathletes.php
Fupa + gold medal = Fat & Happy

In China, a chubby belly is an indicator
of health and wealth. Rubbing the belly
of a Chinese Buddha is said to bring good
luck. Chinese women prefer a man with
a paunch.

In many cultures, heavier women are the
shiznit. In Renaissance art, the rubenesque
beauty of Venus on the Half Shell and the
Mona Lisa portray the larger size as highly
prized. This 20,000-year old Mesopotamian
sculpture says a lot about beauty in that time:

And who's more jolly than Old Saint Nick ?

Oprah's weight fluctuates more than the

stock market-- 

but with her friends, fame and fortune,

do you think it bothers her ?

I got married last summer and put on

20 pounds. I have never been happier.

And perhaps, healthier.

The Controversy of Posture

This is important stuff, so I hope you'll
read it carefully.

Most agree on the concept of posture as a
WHOLE; but there are many regimes that
rely solely in their own beliefs on how
proper posture is created and maintained.

In general, it is agreed that posture:
1. means being upright (different than apes)
2. should be comfortable and sustainable
3. facilitates efficient movement
4. conserves joint mobility and functionality
5. enhances balance
6. decreases the risk of injury
7. contributes to good appearance
8. requires knowledge and practice

Now, who are these "regimes" with such
strong and differing ideas on how to create
good posture ?

• Doctors/chiropractors (medical folk)
• Yogis (yoga instructors, "alternative's")
• Yer mom, teachers and everyone else

I admit I've been to chiropractors about
a dozen times in my life. One time, I sat in
a "doctor's" waiting room, and started reading
this book about the profession of chiropractic.
The book had an entire chapter on what D.C.s
need to do in order to make money by keeping
their clients coming back on a regular basis.
I thought it was really weird to have that laying
around for clients to read. I still do. To me,
that book says "chiropractors are selling
SNAKE OIL !"

I started studying under Master Fu in 2003.
His ideas about posture were not only more
developed than anything I'd ever heard--
but whenever a differing idea about posture
came up, Master Fu would say vehemently,
"THAT'S WRONG!"

At first, I would question his authority about
posture, asking things like,
"Well Master, how do you know that's wrong ?"
Without credentials, or abbreviations after his
name, I began to realize Master Fu's ethos came
from his ability. At age 58, the guy was faster,
more flexible, more capable, and could jump
higher than most people can when they're 20.

I also started doing my homework. Many of
Master Fu's ideas about posture coincided with
100-year old texts, such as the Quan Jing, and
even latter-day publications such as T'ai Chi
Magazine. For guys like this, "posture" wasn't
just a vehicle to make money--
it's a life-long study for personal development
of health and physical prowess. The practice
of THEIR postural techniques leads to shocking,
high-level athleticism and vivid sustainability.

So without bogging down into the mud of how
yer mom told you to "pull your shoulders back,"
or how SpineUniverse.com dictates keeping
"your knees straight," let's focus on what Master Fu
says is correct. At the end of the day, Master Fu (64),
Bow Sim Mark (75), Shouyu Liang (68),
Feng ZhiQiang (80), Liang QianYa (80-something)
and many other practitioners of Neijia
are senior citizens who can still outperform
most young gymnasts...

This is me about four years ago, demonstrating
the difference between "curves of the back"
and Tai Chi posture (flat back, shoulders forward).

For the rest of the story, you can read
the principles of Fu Style Tai Chi here:
http://www.futaichi.com/Principles.html

Sitting Duck, Sitting Bull, Sitting Bad

For almost five years, I have believed
that sitting is the worst thing we do
to ourselves. I've been telling friends
and family how we sit most of our lucid
lives-- at breakfast, in the car, at work,
at lunch, at dinner, and in front of the TV--
and that this sitting is doing all kinds of damage.

And now it's out:
New studies show
Sitting Can Be Deadly

These studies suggest that prolonged
sitting sharply inhibits the body from
regulating glucose and fat, which could
lend knowledge to the diabetes epidemic.

They also suggest that exercise may not
really help those who sit for periods longer
than four hours.
(you can read the AP story above...)

In the last five years, I have created all my
own sub-theories, which differ from those
in the studies.

First, the studies take the sedentary angle,
meaning, they focus on the fact that while
sitting, the body is stationary. Although this
is true, my focus is on blockage, meaning,
that while sitting, blood and energy are kept
from circulating smoothly.

I know, I sound all "hocus pocus" again;
so let's try a drill, and I'll explain more:

Sit on a hard wood chair or a hard bench.
After a few minutes, try to figure out which
butt cheek you're sitting on MORE. I promise
that you're biased toward one cheek (you mostly
likely TWIST at the waist also).

This butt-cheek-bias is called imbalance.
It is a very bad habit that goes unnoticed.
Like your bias to one leg while standing,
your butt-cheek-bias is causing muscular-
stabilization zig-zag up your spine and
uneven stiffening of your hips. These in turn
cause impedance of visceral production and
blood flow through the joints.
THIS IS BLOCKAGE.

In other terms, it causes one hip to degrade
faster than the other, one knee to degrade
faster than the other, etc. When you finally
stand up from a sitting, your body clenches
unevenly, and though you stand erect,
you're crooked as hell.

FIGHT BACK !
To combat this self-mutilation, you must
figure out to which butt cheek you bias and
to which leg you bias when standing. Now,
reverse it ! Try sitting on the other butt check,
and standing on the other leg (always bend
your knees a little). TRY TO MAKE THIS
NEW BIAS A HABIT WHEN YOU SIT
AND STAND.

Next, every time you can, practice
The Greatest Exercise In The World
THIS WILL MOBILIZE AND STRETCH
YOUR HIPS AND WAIST.

The Tenets of Tai Chi say "if you have
areas where you cannot find opportunity,
your sickness is to be found in the hips
and waist."

My teachers father, Fu Wing Fay, said,
"Little is it realized that the human body
has a network of passages (through which
our vital energy circulates) which is like
streams and rivulets running into large
rivers. When the streams, rivulets and
rivers are not in any way blocked and
water runs naturally from its distant source
far and wide along these waterways, then
you will gain incomparable strength. The
network of passages in our bodies (called
Jing Luo) is just like that. If there's nothing
to cause a blockage, then our blood and
chi will naturally flow to all parts of the body,
and wherever you intend, your chi will follow.
If you continue to practice for a long time
every day, you will receive this injection of
blood and chi that circulates through your
whole body without stoppage or stagnation
at any time; your real chi will become abundant.
Naturally, illnesses cannot develop, and
there's no question of your life being prolonged.
For those who have learned tai chi chuan well,
their outside appearance is as soft as cotton,
distinguished and learned. But inwardly, they
are firm and strong, and nothing can stand in their way."

De-mystifying Chi-- well, sort of...

People are fascinated with chi.
We know we have energy inside us,
and that when we die, we don't
have it anymore.

What is this life energy ?
How do we get more ?
What can you do with more ?

What Is Chi ?
At the atomic level, even the hardest
stuff, like titanium, is empty. Atoms
are comprised of a dense nucleus
with electrons FLYING AROUND
it in orbit. Thus, the nature of an atom is
energy, not stuff (matter). We call this
energy "chi."
The space between is empty.

So when you strike a rod of titanium
against an anvil, the two never actually
touch. Their electrons simply repel each
other before they start to mingle.

The nature of the air we breath is
the same; it is full of energy. The space
in our lungs is empty, which allows us
to inhale. The difference with air is that
we can absorb some of the air's energy
into our body. We convert oxygen to
carbon dioxide and utilize the difference.
This, along with the chi of food, is how
you stay alive.

Cultivating More Chi
Most people live their lives with the requisite
amount of chi. That is, they breathe in and
breathe out, eat food, poop, and walk around
like everyone else. Although it would seem
like athletes develop more energy than most
people, they still do not cultivate real chi.

Chi can only be cultivated and increased
through proper postural & breathing practice.
The problem is that teachers for such practice
are extremely uncommon. While many people
teach Tai Chi and Qi Gong (chi = Qi), very
few of these "masters" know very much about
breathing.

When I debate with the greatest of athletic trainers,
I can easily stump them by asking one simple question:
What kind of breathing training do you teach ?

You see, in the world of western science and
athletics, there is still no such thing as a developed
form of breath training. It just doesn't exist.

But the Taoists have been developing breathing
techniques for 7000 years.


"Diaphragmic Breathing" is absurdly manageable

in comparison to the "Reverse Breathing" of the

Taoists.

As my teacher's father, Fu Wing Fay, said long ago,
"(breathing) has puzzled many a colleague
in tai chi, who after exhausting their life energy,
still failed to appreciate its profound principal."


If you would like to begin developing chi for

yourself, I invite you to learn and practice this

very powerful Fu Style Qi Gong (energy practice):

The Greatest Exercise in the World


What Can You Do With More Chi ?

In 1905, a Swiss inventor named Alfred Buchi

invented the turbo-charger. A "turbo" is a gas

compressor used to increase the density of air

entering an engine to create more power.



With "Taoist Breathing," the human body is just

like a turbo. Proper posture allows for a greater

"emptiness" inside the check cavity. More air

can be pulled into the lungs than with "regular"

breathing. Upon exhalation, Taoist Breathing

condenses the inhaled oxygen and sends it down

into the Dan Tien--

a analogical organ of the lower abdomen. The

Taoists use the Dan Tien as a storage battery for

the condensed breath energy.



Cultivation and storage of chi allows the practitioner

to expend this high-power energy for endurance,

greater control of the body or explosive power.

Those who possess chi also possess the finest health,

the coolest demeanor, exuberant vitality and many

other abilities of human greatness.



I like video, because it shows a real person in action.

The following video is a seventy-something year

old woman named Master Bow Sim Mark.

Master Mark has chi. If you know of any 70+

person who can do the kinds of things she can,

please leave me a comment.

Sore Muscles? Here's The Magic Bullet

Two days ago, I skied a big powder
day at Snowbird. The Wasatch Mountains
had seen almost 50 inches of new snow
this week. The powder was thigh-deep and
I was rarin' to go! Ski Utah !

Skiing deep powder can be punishing.
Most people make five turns, then have
to take a break. I will typically ski from
top to bottom without taking a break--
but because it was my first powder day
of the season, I fatigued, and had to
stop once or twice each run.

Yesterday I was sore. My legs and
butt were achy, and I tried to avoid the
stairs.

I did make a couple mistakes. First, I skied
a little too hard. Second-- and this is a big
one-- I took a long, hot shower when
I got home. Hot tubs and hot showers
exacerbate the trauma of strained and
over-trained muscles. This is a no-no.
Listen closely; don't do it.

From my days as a bodybuilder, I knew
exactly what would cure my sore legs.
Protein.

The problem is, like carbs, not all protein
is created equally. People think eating
chicken is just the right thing. As an
iridologist once told me, "You might as
well eat the feathers."

Protein is the ultimate cure for over-training,
but it must be ABSORBABLE.
What proteins are absorbable ?

WHEY is the most absorbable protein for
the human body. For most, it's best to get
it in powder form so you can make a shake.
GNC or your local grocery store should have it.

The next most absorbable protein is egg white.
Here's the catch: IT MUST BE RAW. Just
as soon as you cook, blend, shake or even
stir an egg white, the molecular structure
changes significantly, rending it almost
useless to your body. For the ultimate protein
shake, follow this link:
http://www.wildutah.net/4-23-04/htmldocs/protein.htm

I drank one shake yesterday afternoon,
and sprang out of bed this morning, ready
to get back on the mountain. It's still snowing,
and I'm gone--

In Those Heels, You Look Mahvelous !

Do you remember those old Saturday Night
Live episodes when Billy Crystal played
Fernando Lamas ? He exaggerated like
crazy, and spouted the famous line,
"It's better to look good than to feel good, Dahling."

Our culture overemphasizes beauty and
aesthetics at the risk of personal danger.
Many people will read this blog and ignore
it completely. I'm here to tell you:

Those heels are killing you !

To clarify, I'm not just talking about four-inch
stilettos, wide-heel pumps or ankle boots.
And I'm not just talking about women.
I'm talking about ANY and ALL shoes with
a raised heel:

Loafers, cowboy boots, clogs, EVEN NIKES !
I'll bet most of the shoes you own have a heel.

You see, the incline heel wrecks your posture
by pushing your body-weight forward, forcing
your knees to bend and your hips to flex (into
duck butt). This in turn forces your spine to
curve in exaggeration and throws everything
out of whack.






If you look at a human skeleton, the weight of

our bodies comes down onto the heel. Balance

lies in the heels, not the balls and toes of the foot.



Taoists wear flat shoes. My teacher's grandfather

was the greatest warrior in all of China, and the guy

wore slippers (his name was Fu Zhen Song...).






Do yourself a huge favor and cut your wear

of heeled shoes down as much as you possibly

can. Go try on a pair of Earth negative heel

shoes (they put your heel lower than the rest

of your foot). I also like Keen shoes because

if there is a heel, it ain't much.