Muscle is Temporary; Joints are Forever

Yesterday, I wrote a blog to say,
"Strength Ain't The Way."

Some heated debate arose on a
website that runs my blogs in
tandem. While I am trying to
start a revolution of better health,
and freely offer excellent advice,
some senior citizens argued with
me that lifting weights is
ALWAYS a good thing.

This morning I found a valuable
link on Oprah.com; multiple
"fitness" experts offer advice on
exercise in your 20's, 30's, 40's,
50's, 60's, period. If you briefly
peruse the article you will see
just "how important" weight lifting
is to LOSE WEIGHT when you're
young; then gradually, the experts
tell you to phase out of it in order
to maintain your mobility. There is
no mention of how to exercise after
the decade of your 60's:
http://www.oprah.com/health/Exercise-for-Your-20s-30s-40s-50s-and-60s_1/print/1

My work coincides greatly with this
information, with the exception that
I'm not advising exercise for fat loss.
I'm trying to convey the message that
MOBILITY IS PARAMOUNT TO
YOUR HEALTH.

I want you to think of it this way:
imagine a 1-14 scale pH test for mobility.
Less than seven is incrementally decreasing
mobility, and 8-14 is increasing mobility.
When you're born, you're immobile:
you are a one (1) on this scale. Then
as you grow up, you get more mobile
until you reach a precipice; let's just
guess you reach pH 10 at age 15. Then
you start getting older, and gradually
stiffer. You reach pH 7 at age 30, and
lose a point every decade after that.
Most people finish life grossly immobile.

If you were to imagine a pH scale for
health, it would overlay the pH scale
for mobility almost identically. So again:


MOBILITY IS PARAMOUNT TO
YOUR HEALTH. What I sincerely
want you to understand is that the more
mobile you are, the fewer health problems
you will have. This has everything to do
with stimulation of the internal organs &
the spinal column, and weight-bearing on
your bones (which is where white blood
cells are manufactured).


Every time you lift weights, you are reducing
your mobility. Your tendons are getting
shorter and shorter from all the excessive
pulling; this in turn reduces your range
of motion. Even if you stretch, it's not enough.
Your mobility pH is going down every day.
When you're older, you'll have twice as
far to go to regain mobility.


Conversely, if you practice Tai Chi, you will
let go of your strength. You will relax; stand
upright; allow your tendons to stretch in
natural, rotational patterns; and increase your
mobility. If you thought it was strange that
a 15-year old only achieves a mobility of 10,
it's because people like gymnasts, dancers
and Tai Chi masters are far more mobile
than even a highly flexible teenager.


Tai Chi is based on the philosophy of
the "Tao Te Ching." Chapter 76 reads:
Man when living is soft and tender;
When dead is hard and tough.
All animals and plants when living are tender and fragile
When dead they become withered and dry.
Therefore it is said:
The hard and tough are part of death;
The soft and tender are parts of life.


Weight lifting will speed you to your death.
Fu Tai Chi will make you tender and years younger.

Strength Ain't The Way

I once read a quote from Forbes that said
something like, "for each generation to
make progress, it must view the one before
it as barbaric."

These days, exercise is all about muscle
and strength. But in the future, we will
look back on these concepts as barbaric.
Why ? Well, for a lot of reasons.

We're starting to realize that building
muscle is not as valuable as enhancing
function, i.e. those with great coordination
and balance tend to be much more athletic
than those with great strength.

I thought yoga was fad. Back in the 90's,
all the ladies and metrosexual men were
dashing into yoga classes and workshops.
(I think Madonna had a lot to do with it)
I was sure that yoga would be dead in
ten years. I was wrong. But the way
I see it, many who practice yoga still
talk about how it builds strength.

The hottest emerging exercise is called

functional exercise or (gulp) "functional fitness."

The concept is that conventional weight

training isolates and builds muscles, but

it doesn't "teach" those muscle groups

to work with other muscles. So "functional"

movements focus less on raw strength and

more on integration and coordination. These

are more like whole-body exercises that will

help you lift a toddler out of a car seat or

carry a 60-pound suitcase down the stairs.

Doctors and trainers are closing in on the

exercise of the future. They know "functional"

is better than strong, and that stretching (yoga)

is really important. Tai Chi is all that and a

bag of chips.

Tai Chi is all about coordination. In fact, the

movements are slow so that you can fine tune

your coordination. When you move slowly,

you begin to feel which parts are not linked up.

In the west, we view "coordination" as aggregate.

But in Tai Chi, there are six coordinations:

three exterior (shoulders & hips; elbows &

knees; hands & legs) and three interior (heart

& intention; intention & chi; chi & strength).

At higher levels, all six must also coordinate.

Tai Chi is also a phenomenon of stretching.

Sure, yoga gets you stretched, but not like

Tai Chi. Tai Chi focuses on "functional"

stretching in the waist and hips so that you

can stand on your feet, balance very well,

and turn your body at will. Tai Chi masters

can move like the wind.

Tai Chi focuses on cultivation of "chi" or

life energy. The chi provides amazing

speed and power. While a western trainer

might believe this is just an alternative

method of strength training, the Tenets

of Tai Chi translate STRENGTH with the

word "Li." In Tai Chi, strength is forbidden

and "Li" is a dirty word.

My teacher's father once wrote, "when

you practice Tai Chi there should not

be a single iota of brute strength remaining

in your sinews."

The popularity of yoga has paved a perfect

path for Tai Chi. Time Magazine calls

Tai Chi "the perfect exercise," and it is.

In 20 years, we will look back and say,

"how silly that we used to focus on strength."

Think Fasting

This is not a subliminal message.
I write these words to plant the
seed inside your head.
Think fasting.

If you've never tried a fast, that
is, never intentionally denied
yourself food for 24 or 48 hours,
you should try it. If you've fasted
before, perhaps it's time again.

Fasting for a day is good for you.
The so-called "godfather of fitness,"
Jack Lalane, learned much of his juicing
and health techniques from a man named
Paul Bragg. Bragg loved to teach
people about the health benefits of
water fasting. It will clean your
system and help you start fresh.

I recommend you try it this way:

Tell yourself you're not going to eat
for 24 hours. Convince yourself.
Eat a normal breakfast and a healthy
lunch; then eat a salad for dinner.
Drink water with the salad, and for
the rest of the evening. Go to bed.

When you wake up, drink water
(definitely not coffee). Keep a full
glass of water with you all day, and
keep sipping it. I recommend distilled
water first, and filtered water second.
(Paul Bragg also recommended distilled).

If you get hungry, change up the water
for tea or watered-down juice. Go for
tea first; try not to drink juice unless
you're really coming apart. Do not let
yourself eat anything until dinner time.
Then, eat another salad and drink more
water. Drink water through that evening,
and go to bed. Try to eat light and healthy
the next day: mostly veggies if you can.

The "tail end" of this exercise is to observe
and consider the rates, consistencies, colors
and general abnormality of your bowel
movements. A water fast with veggies
consumed before and after should scrape
and flush your gastrointestinal system.
You should see all kinds of "weird shit"
and you might feel like improving your
diet for the future. (imagine scraping a film
of Big Mac’s from your intestines, and you
probably won’t want to replace it…)

Repeat as often as once each week, but
definitely try to fast once every six to
twelve months.

Old People Should Not Lift Weights

Without medical doctors, we would sure
be lost. They know all kinds of stuff
about organs and bones and brains--
all kinds of stuff.

But when I read about some doctor
suggesting seniors should lift weights,
I throw up a little in my mouth. They
don't call 'em DUMBELLS for nuthin'.

As humans, we want to walk upright.
But as we age, the so-called "stabilizing
muscles" have tensed and flexed so
much that they begin to merely lock up.
I'm talking about your hips and waist.

As the hips begin to lock in the adducted,
inward-rotated and hip-flexed position
(bent over and knock-kneed), the upper
and lower body will follow. Knees, feet
and ankles get stiff. Shoulders, elbows,
wrists and fingers get stiff.
(This is starting before you even turn 30...)

Without stretching, the joints break down.
They progressively stiffen out of alignment
because some ligaments lengthen abnormally
while others shorten. This wears the cartilage,
causing arthritis, pain and reduced mobilization.

http://www.arthroscopy.com/sp12001.htm
(contrary to this diagram, tendons CAN
be lengthened)

By the time your 55, your tendons are short
and brittle. Lifting weights exacerbates the
problem, and can cause the muscle fibers
to tear out of their boney origins or insertions.

Resistance training is just plain dumb for
old people. This is why Tai Chi has become
so popular at assisted living facilities. Tai Chi
assists the elderly to mobilize their joints
without the risk of injury. Duh.

Massage: Pleasure & Pain

I took a real interest in massage when
I was about 12. My mom and I would
trade massages every evening. It was
a good deal that continued through
high school. When I graduated, my
seven-year old sister gave me a gift
certificate drawn in crayon, good for
one head rub.

In college, a girl in the dorms showed
me how to massage a hand. She said,
"doesn't that feel good when I work
all your fingers ?" She was right. So
began my exploration. I learned about
craniosacral massage from the radio;
a DJ talked about how effective it
is to gently massage the head using
only the weight of a nickel. Of course,
like all the techniques I list here, it
takes real training and know-how.

A couple years after college, I received
my first professional massage. I shocked
my masseuse when she walked in and
found me laying face down, naked, but
not under the sheet. I thought that's what
she told me to do. Oops. She later told me,
"your globes were smiling at me."

I started getting massage on a regular
basis. I recall my first Russian trigger
point massage. It's effective but just too
painful for me. I go to relax.

In Kansas City, a Chinese woman gave
me shiatsu with a towel. I loved it,
except she worked vigorously on my
stomach, which made me sick. When she
later omitted the visceral work, it was one
of the best I've ever had.

Not long after that, I was in Vegas for
my sister's wedding. I played three dollars
in a slot machine and won three hundred.
At the mall, I paid for a "water massage."
I laid down in something that looked like
a tanning bed, and received high-pressure
streams of water behind a rubber sheet.
It was so good that when I go to indoor
pools, I like to lay under the kiddie water
fall and let it pound on my back.

In 2002, I went to Thailand for almost a
month. On the second day, I learned that
a two-hour massage was a mere seven
dollars. I decided that was something I would
do every day. On the third day, my masseuse
asked if I wanted Thai massage. I gave it
a try. Turns out, it's like chiropractic
"cracking" for your whole body. She even
cracked my knees ! Although it's kind of
scary the first time, it does make you feel
really good--
except the time a little Thai girl bruised
my sternum. Okay, that's my warning.

I learned about Rolfing, but could never
bring myself to get it. Rolfing utilizes
strong manipulation to re-structure joints
and "properly" align the skeleton for
more efficient movement. Everyone I've
talked to said it's awesome, but awesomely
painful. Hmm. Not for me.

My mom became a Reiki Master, and gave
me a treatment or two. It's amazing how
well it works, considering she didn't even
touch me.

My favorite masseuse is named Mary and
she lives in Utah. Mary not only reads me
to know that I'm relaxed (because if it
hurts, you're not relaxed... Harriet--); but
Mary does lymph drainage therapy. Man
that's cool stuff. Mary can drain the lymph
nodes around my ankle, which takes down
any swelling and makes if feel awesome.

I had another massage in Northern Michigan
where the masseuse asked me if I wanted
biofeedback. I said, "sure, I'll try it." She
moved one finger around until it hit a tender
spot, let's say on my shoulder blade; when
I alerted her to it, she'd hold that spot and
start moving another finger around, let's say
my hip. When she hit another tender spot, she
would hold both, have me breath in deeply
and breath out. When she removed both
fingers, neither spot was tender. I thought
that was pretty cool too.

Which brings me to Tui Na. Chinese
Tui Na massage involves a whole range
of techniques such as reflexology of the
ears, hands and feet; all the way to the
chiropractic-like manipulation of Thai
massage. This blog was supposed to be
about Tui Na as the fourth branch of
Traditional Chinese Medicine--
but I felt it would be better to share all
that I've learned about the amazing
massage arts.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSzZqcItih8

Chinese Herbs: Nutrition From Outer Space

Back in the days when I was a body-
builder, I thought about nutrition as
if my body were a race car or something
like that. My muscles were like the engine,
and they needed high-quality fuel to
move me around. I needed protein and
vitamins to repair broken-down parts.
I stayed away from sugar because it
just made me too heavy. I thought I was
doing a pretty good job because
"I looked good."

Chinese nutrition is far more complex
than that. Every food my teacher puts
into his mouth has some medicinal
benefit. Green onion for this and ginger
for that and squash does this and broccoli
does that. Always onion "for your health."

Americans eat what tastes good.
Chinese eat for their health.

I see some pretty weird stuff when
I'm with him. "Chicken feet is good
for your skin; eat it." The last time
I saw him, sifu had boiled eggs in
a strange mixture of herbs and let them
sit for days, turning the eggshells
a strange green color. When I asked--
his girlfriend said they were "female
herbs eggs," meaning for menstruation.

I was way over my head to write a blog
about Chinese herbs, so I called my
friend Holly Sparks in Tuscon to help me.
Holly says that what's first important is
that Chinese herbs are taken to correct
syndromes instead of symptoms. Women
in the west with hot flashes might take
black cohosh to help with that symptom.
But Holly says menopause is the syndrome
that requires a delicate balance of herbs,
carefully measured out for potency.

Typically, a Chinese doctor will assess a
patient by listening to three organs on each
wrist (sort of like taking a pulse); checking
the tongue, smelling the patient, and asking
questions about their temperature, cravings,
and lifestyle.

Cravings for salt have to do with the kidney.
Sour has to do with the liver; sweet has to
do with the spleen (or pancreas); bitter has
to do with the heart; and I've never heard of
a craving for metallic food, but those have to
do with the lungs.

Ginseng is one of the great power-herbs of the
earth. Westerners consider the carrot to be very
nutritious, and yet it only grows in temperate
climates with good soil and lots of water. On the
other hand, ginseng grows on the side of snowy
mountain and can take years to fully mature.
A comparative, randomized, double-blind study
at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
indicates it may be "a promising dietary supplement"
when assessed for an increase in quality of life.
But there are some different kinds of ginseng,
some of which can be dangerous. Holly says
the Red Panax ginseng is a "hot herb" specifically
for men, and probably to be taken in the winter.

Holly says JuHua (Yellow Chrysanthemum)

calms the liver, and helps sooth stress. HeShouWu

(Polygonum) works on the kidneys, and can

do things like prevent hair from turning gray.

Cordyceps is a fungus related to insect larvae that

offers great tonic for the lungs; it was virtually

unknown in the west until three Chinese athletes

broke five world track records in 1993 because

they were taking Cordyceps, not steroids.

You can consult your local Chinese doctor about

herbs and start learning about them online.

You can contact Holly in Tuscon at:

http://4branchesacupuncture.com

Acupuncture: Quit Crying and Try It...Twice

Around 1997, my mom came to visit me
in Denver. We both hated needles to
the Nth degree, but were curious about
acupuncture as "alternative medicine."
My first argument for both of us was that
it's incomparably older than any medicine
in the west. So we found an old Chinese
guy who said he was brought to the U.S
by Nixon himself and decided to give it a try.

I told him I was having neck and shoulder
pain; I think my mom was having headaches.
He took us into separate rooms, and asked
us to lay down. He was extremely gentle,
which I have found of all acupuncturists since
that time. I told him I hated needles so he
showed it to me. It was wrapped sterilely,
and thin-as-a-hair when he took it out.
He laid me on my side, and worked quickly,
plinking in seven needles from my neck
down to my forearm. When he put one close
to my elbow, I experienced something strange
in my next breath. He told me to hold still
and relax deeply. I giggled for the next 20-
minutes, laughing at the site of needles in
my skin (I really hated needles).

After he took them out, I felt better. So did
Mom. We went back for a second treatment
(understand that it takes at least two), and
my neck pain was gone for at least two months.
You can do it too. It's SO worth it. They
can even give you needles for weight loss.

While some western researchers acclaim its
effectiveness for some ailments, others claim
it's just the placebo effect. "Chi" energy has
not been reconciled with western medicine,
and there is no supporting evidence of the
"meridians" or channels in which the chi flows.

But if you skip a meal, you feel less energy.
If work hard all day, you know you have
expended energy because you have little left.
Conversely, if you feel excited about something,
you feel a high level of energy.

Also, everyone knows that brain waves are
pulses of electrical energy. Muscle motor
units fire when the brain sends electrical
impulses along sodium chains in the body.
Our blood contains iron, which is conductive.
We have a measurable electromagnetic
charge.

There are all kinds of evidence of "energy"
in our bodies; the problem is that acupuncture
is "based on a pre-scientific paradigm of medicine
that developed over several thousand years and
involves concepts that have no counterpart within
contemporary medicine."

But as we say in the States,
"The proof is in the puddin'."
Forget your fear of needles and go try it.
You will be shocked at how well it works.

A few suggestions:
1. I like Chinese doctors. Other ethnicities
can learn and administer needles, but the
Chinese invented it.
2. Acupuncture should not cost $100.
I think $25-45 is typical, with a slightly
higher initial consultation. Also, check
your insurance; it might be covered.
3. My Chinese doctor also employs the
use of an infrared lamp. It warms the
needles and feels really good.
4. If you're tough, and really need strong
medicine, they can hook the needles up
to electric charge, and/or use bigger needles.