Tag: back pain

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Masters Council

Self-awareness Can be Developed

Self-awareness Can be Developed!

How aware are you, of seeing yourself for who your truly are? Can you see every line, mark or feature on your face in your thoughts without looking in the mirror? If no one is around to see your actions, do you still keep your morals and values in check? Seeing yourself as others see you, and not caring what others think of you are two entirely different discussions. This post is about the ongoing cultivation of trying to become the best version of yourself and not about how to justify our poor behavior or actions towards those we interact with. Now then, how can we become more self-aware to be the best we can be?

I have found from my almost 40 years of studying, practicing and teaching of martial arts and other Eastern wellness methods, that it is much easier to become aware of our physical body than to know how our mind works. Therefore, the body is the key into the mind. The mind controls the body. Our body protects our mind. We are not our thoughts, but rather the observer of our thoughts or consciousness. Our body doesn’t move on its own, other than for reflexes and autonomic functions. Our body doesn’t make the decisions to get up, open the refrigerator, and put something to eat in our mouth. Junk food or healthy snack? You as the observer makes these choices. Our thoughts do not make these decisions either, but rather our consciousness. Once one becomes self-aware of their consciousness, now they can observe their thoughts and choose to direct them with our without emotion. For example, after opening the refrigerator and accidentally dropping a glass container that shatters, we choose how to react to this maybe by experiencing regret, anger, frustration, sadness, etc. Or maybe you really didn’t like that container to begin with and now you are happy, relieved or indifferent after all it was only a glass container and not your house catching on fire or someone being seriously injured.

For most people, it is very difficult to train or discipline their mind and consequently, their body. People often say or do things they regret only to realize later that they lacked the self control and self awareness to make good decisions to begin with. By gaining control of the physical anatomy, a relationship with the physical body is developed. Attention to the details of your body positioning, is what trains the mind to become more self-aware. When aligning the limbs and joints to stretch and strengthen them, while also maintaining deep and deliberate breathing rhythms, an individual can cultivate a more harmonious link between the mind, body and spirit (self-awareness). Practice of exercises that truly engage the mind and body, (very much like yoga, tai chi, isometrics) to improve health & wellness. The mind directs the body, while the body protects the mind.

Ship Pal Gye, Taoist yoga or the “Filling the 8 Vessels” are methods to increase the capacity of your nervous system. By holding the body in specific alignments, the nervous system is strengthened to endure more pain, stress and discomfort. Think of tempering steel in fire to strengthen the metal. Building self-discipline of the mind and body simultaneously!

When engaging the muscles, tendons, bones and fascia, the 12 regular energy meridians are engaged plus the 8 extraordinary meridians are opened and filled as reservoirs to adjust the ebb and flow of energy throughout the body and thereby strengthening the immune system among other bodily functions.

Exercise methods like these have been known for centuries, but are considered new or “alternative” to modern western culture.

Often times people will ask me, “where did you learn this?” Well…almost 40 years ago I began studying Korean kung fu, then Traditional Chinese Medicine, medical qigong, fitness, wellness and anatomy. It didn’t happen overnight or from a weekend seminar. It took me decades of learning, studying and teaching from and with high level masters and teachers. And I’m not done learning yet, are you?

Learn how this all works from private, small or group instruction.

Be well!

Jim Moltzan

407-234-0119

https://mindandbodyexercises.wordpress.com/

Masters Council

Fight or Flight, Rest & Digest – Managing Stress

Stress in managed within the human body through the nervous system. More specifically the interaction between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Most people pay no attention the functions until they are out of balance and begin to affect their health and happiness. Often people will deal with the imbalance through medications, drugs, alcohol, and sometimes diet. You might be surprised at how much control we have over managing our own stress through exercise, nutrition, social interactions and awareness of our emotions, and our breathing patterns.

The sympathetic nervous is system is often referred to as the “fight or flight” response. Here the brain receives stimuli that engages specific organs and their functions to make adjustments to respond to the threat of defending the individual. This could be the actions of increased eye pupil dilation to see better, dilated bronchi to bring more oxygen into the lungs and bloodstream and increased heartbeat for more blood flow to the muscles. These are the same adjustments that happen in everyday life to address normal stress in activities such as working, exercising, social interactions and others. However, the problems begin when these adjustments become the norm where the body is in a constant state of “fight or flight”. This could be looked upon similarly to having the heat and air-conditioning constantly running in the extreme direction one way or the other, all of the time, day and night, everyday. Being hot all of the time is usually not comfortable just as always be cold is not comfortable. Your body needs to adjust to your environment to find your comfort zone; your nervous system works similarly to deal with your ups and downs to find your physical as well as emotional comfort zone.

The compliment to the stress-reactive sympathetic is the “rest and digest” parasympathetic nervous system. The brain also receives stimuli to engage specific organs and their functions to make adjustments to respond to the becoming more calm and relaxed. Actions here are of decreased eye pupil dilation, constricted bronchi in the lungs and a slower heartbeat. These are the same adjustments that happen in everyday life to address normal relaxing in activities such as reading, relaxing, calm social interactions and food digestion. Too much time in this state is not healthy either as the human body needs to be able to cycle between dealing with stress and being able to relax and rejuvenate.

How Deep Breathing Affects Your Health

I write about proper breathing often. Our 1st breath as a newborn baby and the last breath before we die defines the physical human life span. Deeper breathing is a key component to having a long and healthy life. Through focused and deliberate breathing methods, many positive mental and physical benefits can be achieved.

The average person breathes 12-18 breathes per minute (BPM) during regular activity of standing, sitting & walking, engaging the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). Constant duration in the SNS dumps neurotransmitters of cortisol and norepinephrine into the blood stream putting the vital organs in a state of constant high alert and stress. Health and fitness experts suggest that 6 BPM is optimal for the lungs to properly oxygenate the whole body, balance the blood chemistry and also remove toxins. The lungs are responsible for removing 70% of the body’s waste by-products through exhalation. This is more easily accomplished through mindful breathing patterns from exercises such as mediation, qigong, tai chi and yoga. During these types of exercises, the nervous system initiates functions to secrete the happy hormones of:

Dopamine – the brain’s reward system neurotransmitter

Oxytocin – helps promote trust, empathy, nurturing, bonding in relationships

Serotonin – helps regulate mood, sleep, appetite, memory

Endorphins- our body’s natural pain reliever

Take the first letter of each hormone and you get DOSE; a healthier dose of chemicals manufactured within our bodies that make us feel better and don’t tear the body down over time like cortisol does.

Most people breathe too shallow and too quickly!

Much recent research has linked stress to poor breathing habits and consequently many ailments. Many modern chronic conditions can be traced back to insufficient cell oxygenation otherwise known as cell hypoxia.

Breathing is one of the few bodily rhythms that we can consciously adjust, along with sleep and elimination. All of these rhythms directly effect our body’s delicate blood chemistry. However, our breath is the root power in bringing oxygen (qi) into our body to nourish it down to the cellular level.

I can help. I have almost 40 years worth of experience in practicing and teaching others to take control of their health and well-being. Wellness lectures, classes, study guides & booklets.For more information, contact Jim Moltzan at 407-234-0119 or www.MindAndBodyExercises.com

Be well!

Jim Moltzan

407-234-0119

https://mindandbodyexercises.wordpress.com

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Slower Breathing & How Physiologically it is a Key Component in Longevity

How Deep Breathing Affects Your Health

Deeper breathing is a key component to having a long and healthy life. Through focused and deliberate breathing methods, many positive mental and physical benefits can be achieved.

Most people breathe too shallow and too quickly!

Breathing is one of the few bodily rhythms that we can consciously adjust, along with sleep and elimination. All of these rhythms directly affect our body’s delicate blood chemistry. However, our breath is the root power in bringing oxygen (qi) into our body to nourish it down to the cellular level.

Faster breathing is necessary when experiencing truly stressful situations, like being chased by an animal, running from a fire or similar life-threatening situations. However, continued breathing at this pace for an extended period of time puts accumulative stress on all of the body’s systems.

The following link has more information from the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health that goes a bit deeper into the science of why lower breaths per minute (BPM) is so beneficial.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5709795/

Be well!

Jim Moltzan

407-234-0119