Tai Chi: The Healing Art That Will Empower You...

Tai Chi can enhance your second half of life in so many ways It is an ancient Chinese martial art form, and loosely translated it means “ultimate life force”. Using a series of movements that increase flexibility, build strength, and restore balance, Tai Chi helps a person reach a heightened sense of being. Many people tend to slow down, as they get older. Exercise can become more strenuous with age, taking its toll on the body. One of the many reasons Tai Chi has a big following in the mature community is because it is gentle, requiring little strain on the body. As you enter this part of life, it can help empower you by letting you connect to the strength inside of you, balancing your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. No longer does growing older have to mean growing weaker. Doctors and other Western medicine practitioners have recommended Tai Chi for years. There are more and more studies proving the beneficial nature of its practice. We’ve listed some of the benefits Tai Chi has to offer below. Fall Prevention and Balance Building Falling is the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries. One of Tai Chi’s biggest benefits (and the one backed by the most evidence) is that it increases your balance, thus reducing the risk of falling. It strengthens leg muscles and increases flexibility in the ankles, which helps you balance on uneven surfaces. Tai Chi also builds core strength, a vital part of maintaining your balance. Connect socially What a better thing to connect over than a shared interest in an engaging, beneficial exercise such as Tai Chi. Check out your local community center or senior citizens center to find out when are where classes...

Training Youth Back into Your Body...

Taking care of your fascia can bring back ‘bounce’ and ease chronic pain Say the word “fascia” a few years ago and many people would have given you a blank stare, as apt to think you were referring to a houseplant as to your body’s critical connective tissue. Fascia refers to the extensive web of connective tissue underneath the skin. Historically ignored and assumed to play a passive role in daily movement and functioning, it’s now having a renaissance. Some researchers, progressive physical therapists and fitness professionals are beginning to think of fascia as a bigger player in the human movement system — and in overall health and well-being. Clinical studies are racing to catch up with what these progressive thinkers have learned. Meanwhile, anecdotal evidence supports the idea that knowing more about your fascia and how to take care of it — especially in middle age when it begins to lose elasticity — may help alleviate chronic pain, prevent injury and “keep the body young by keeping elasticity in your tissue,” says Thomas Myers, an anatomy expert and author of Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists. Says Myers: “We can train ourselves to be younger.” Here’s what you need to know about your fascia and how to care for it: What is fascia? Myers refers to fascia as “biological fabric.” If you cut away the top layer of skin, you would see fascia as a white sheath encasing your muscles. It looks a lot like the thin layer of tissue you find on chicken breasts in the supermarket. Fascia is comprised of collagen fibers and other proteins, says Dr. Partap Khalsa, deputy director of the Division of Extramural Research at NCCAM. “It’s composed of roughly...