The
Voice of TCAA
A
Newsletter from the Tai Chi for Arthritis Association
For more info about
the program
July 2005 - Issue 8 - click on the title to view the article
CONTENTS
- From the Editor
- President's Message by Pam Kircher, M.D.
- The Tai Chi Prescription, Part II by Guy Prentice
- Practice Not Perfect by Sue Smith Heavenrich
- One Woman's Tai Chi Journey by Julie McCarthy
- The Depth of Sun Style by Caroline Demoise
- Ask Dr. Lam
- Reminder - TCAA Membership
- How to Get Insurance
- Upcoming Workshops
- How to Place Your Order for Dr Lam's Products
Click to the complete list of newsletter
From
the editor:
Don't miss
an inch of this quarter's newsletter! Our president, Pam Kircher, has
an important status report on all the exciting new things that are starting
to develop. In "The Tai Chi Prescription" Guy Prentice shares
his experience in becoming a health partner with his regional Preferred
Care and Blue Cross/Blue Shield-hasn't that been a hot topic of conversation?!!
The accent is on perspective and insight as Sue Smith Heavenrich shares
her thoughts in "Practice Not Perfect". Julie McCarthy shows
us all once again that the layers of depth and applications for tai chi
are truly limitless. Better register early for Depth of TCA workshops,
after you read Caroline Demoise's article as they are sure to book up
early!! Have an interesting story or experience to share? Send it to me
at Patricia
Lawson, Editor
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PRESIDENT'S
MESSAGE
By Pam Kircher, M.D.
Many of us have just returned from the annual Dr. Paul Lam/TCAA workshop in Sarasota, Florida. We had a wonderful time, not only learning more about tai chi, but also re-connecting with old friends and making new ones. I hope that even more of us will be able to be present at the annual workshop next June. There will be more details about that workshop in the next newsletter.
One exciting aspect of the workshop was the expansion of TCAA through the increased involvement of the members. On the Friday evening before the workshop began, the board met to discuss the results of the member survey that was sent out in the spring. The board developed five committees based on what we learned from the results of the survey and our TCAA goals. These committees include Member Services, Training and Program Development, Finances, Public Relations, and Research. New board members were elected. Current board members include Pam Kircher (President), Sheila Rae (V.P.), Pat Lawson (Secretary), Doug Sams (Treasurer and Chair of Finance committee), Caroline Demoise (Co-chair of Training and Program Development committee), Troyce Thome (Co-chair of Training and Development committee), Stephanie Taylor (Chair of Research committee), Marty Kidder (Co-chair of Member Services), Jef Morris (Co-chair of Member Services), Deborah Leong (Chair of Public Relations), Dan Jones, Jay Van Schelt, and Russell Smiley.
On Tuesday evening during the workshop, we had a membership meeting with some 60 attendees. At the general membership meeting, we broke into small groups and brainstormed suggestions for each of the committees. Each table of 5 or 6 people then reported their top 2-3 suggestions for each committee to the whole group. After hearing from the brainstorming groups, each person then went to the committee that they would most like to work with. Each of these committees worked with the 15-20 suggestions that had been generated by the whole group. Most committees met two or three times throughout the course of the week. From those meetings, each committee generated action items with some degree of prioritization. The board will be discussing the suggestions from the committees via e-mail over the next few weeks. We will be looking at which ideas overlap between committees and which seem practical suggestions to begin immediately. After the board does some sorting, we will be presenting the ideas to the membership and will be inviting further discussion and participation.
If you want to be involved in one or more of the committees and haven't already signed up, please do contact me at pk@pamkircher.com and I will put you in touch with the appropriate person to get you involved. This organization belongs to every one of us and as we work together, we will create an organization that not only better serves its members, but also helps to let the U.S. know about how tai chi for health can really improve the quality of people's lives!
Pam
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The
Tai Chi Prescription, Part II
By Guy Prentice
Note: Last issue Guy wrote that early in his tai chi journey he saw the need for an adjunctive tai chi exercise program for people with arthritis, and how he evaluated the TCA program's ability to fit that need. In this issue Guy explains how he not only taught the program, but fostered its growth in his community in order to reach more people.
The
medical benefits of tai chi for arthritis and other diseases as well as
improvements in balance and general health are obvious to me. So naturally
I assumed that they should be clear to everyone in the health professions.
I approached the local HMO's in my area about listing TCA and tai chi
in their publications to their subscribers. They were polite, but said
that they get many requests for all types of things and are not taking
any new ones at this time. In other words, "Thanks, but we don't
see that you have anything that will be useful to us." I wanted to
be successful in promoting and teaching TCA but realized that in order
to accomplish this through the HMO's, I needed to establish a high degree
of credibility. Here are the steps I took to partner with the HMO's in
the region:
In order to reinforce personal credibility, I believed that I should be associated with established institutions and individuals. I already had an established teaching record with the RTCCC, a 25 year-old incorporated not-for-profit New York State education institution. I was established with a well-known company and could use that fact in my favor.
I offered to give free talks and demonstrations to senior groups in order to make them aware of the benefits of TCA for health. I contacted two high school continuing education departments and agreed to teach TCA as part of their programs. I also began teaching TCA in one senior adult community and four senior centers. I wanted to demonstrate that I was able to teach a large enough number of classes to support the large population of HMO subscribers.
I contacted one of the local public education networks and asked them if they would be interested in taping one of my lecture/demonstrations for future broadcasting as a community service program. They agreed and it has been aired many times. Again this helped to advertise TCA and to enhance its credibility.
Health fairs and World Tai Chi and QiGong Day were more opportunities to advertise TCA and to associate with established institutions.
After I was armed with a proven track record, well known references, a nationally recognized program (TCA) and shown that I could deliver the right product, Preferred Care and Blue Cross/Blue Shield were happy to have me as a health partner. This enabled TCA and tai chi to be listed as health partner on their websites and in their catalogs. I provide discounts and accept co-pays in accordance with their benefit plans. This did not happen overnight. It took something like 18 month to accomplish, but this was not the final step.
In order for me to pursue other areas such as Tai Chi for Diabetes and Tai Chi for Back Pain, I needed to make more time without reducing available TCA classes for seniors in the area. My first step was to make RTCCC the primary for the HMO listings. The RTCCC made TCA part of their outreach program and through this program sends teachers to outside locations to teach introductory tai chi to up to 500 people a year. However, this only helps TCA if certified TCA instructors are available.
In order to be sure we had the teachers, I hosted a TCA certification/recertification workshop in Rochester in the autumn. In the late winter, I conducted a refresher mini-workshop for all the certified instructors in the area. One goal was to keep TCA fresh in everyone's mind and the second goal was to start building a network of TCA instructors who can support each other. We hope to gather 3 or 4 times each year.
I believe that it
is possible to develop HMO partnerships all over the country. This was
only one method. It was not the quickest or the best. I am sure it would
have gone much faster with the support of one or more medical doctors.
The HMO's are more likely to listen to the MD's than to people outside
their system. However, they do listen to us too.
E-mail Guy at GCP@rochester.rr.com
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Practice
Not Perfect
by Sue Smith-Heavenrich
Whenever
I am learning something new, it takes awhile. This summer I flew down
to Sarasota for Paul Lam's Tai Chi workshop so that I could learn the
73 Sun forms - what a leap of faith. You see, in my karate classes it
takes me weeks to learn a form. My instructor teaches me a series of moves
and I remember half of them (if I'm lucky) when I get home.
"Practice," he says. "Just practice." But how do you practice what you can't remember? You can't. But you can practice what you do remember.
So, how do I practice? I begin by doing a form I already know. That reminds my muscles of the motions, and in doing something familiar I relax. Then I begin the form I am learning. Maybe I know the first three forms and then can't remember a couple, but do remember what comes later. Maybe I can remember the sequence but can't remember the transition - is it the left foot that steps forward or the right?
I practice what I know. When I come to a part I don't remember I say to myself, "something goes here" and then I continue with what I remember. Next time I go to class I pay particular attention to the moves I have trouble with. After class I ask my teacher to go over them with me - and then I grab a notebook and write down the steps so I'll remember them later.
I would like to say that when I arrived in Sarasota, I was well prepared for the class and had actually watched the video I purchased. But that would be a lie. I did, however, have my trusty notebook and lots of pens. Plus three most excellent instructors.
We worked hard in
class, and I wasn't the only one taking notes. But even with all the class
time I needed to practice. On my own. I have discovered that repetition
is the only way I learn Tai Chi.
The thing about my practice is that it isn't perfect. I make lots of mistakes.
My moves are clumsy at first, hesitant. I am, after all, a beginner again.
But with time I learn how the movements go, how they link together, and
my body begins to remember. After a few repetitions I begin to feel more
comfortable with the form and I quit thinking, "Am I doing this right?
What comes next?"
Learning something new - anything, whether it is tai chi or watercolor painting or how to repair an engine - takes time. We need to learn not only the steps in the process, but a way of understanding the whole. We need to allow ourselves the opportunity to be a beginner, allow ourselves the time to make mistakes. In the end, we will gain a deeper understanding of what we learn. And then, through continued practice, we will get better.
The essence of practice
isn't that we "do it right", but that we do it.
Sue Smith- Heavenrich practices her 73 Sun forms in Candor, NY. You can
reach her at <taichimama1@yahoo.com
>.
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One
Woman's Tai Chi Journey
Julie McCarthy
It
was the spring of 1991 that I was first introduced to tai chi in a theology
class my senior year in college. It wasn't until a year later that I found
my first teacher, Sifu Sherry Walton Kingston. At that time, it was the
beginning of a long seven year journey with taking care of my Grandmother
who was afflicted with the Alzheimer's disease. I was in town one day
and noticed a flyer on a public board advertising a tai chi class. So
I took the phone number home and called the teacher. She explained the
benefits of tai chi and sent me more information. When I received the
papers, I sat down with my Grandmother and discussed it. I asked her what
she thought, and she said, "Why don't you give it a whirl."
And so I did. I went to my first class and signed on for 3 months of study.
I fell in love with it immediately. What drew me in, was the beauty of
the forms. I never thought that I could do something that graceful. I
graduated from college with a fine arts degree and on one level felt as
though I was partaking in performance art when practicing tai chi. The
other appealing thing about tai chi was it's stress relieving benefits.
Being the sole caretaker of someone with Alzheimer's disease takes a toll
on the caregiver. It was divine intervention that led me to tai chi, and
the teacher who I studied with for five years. I quickly picked up the
forms - Yang Style short and long forms, the 5 elements, sword form and
several types of qi gong. I was working on a form known as song form when
I was forced to end my private studies with my teacher because of my Grandmother's
declining health. But I refused to give up the practice of the forms.
When a nurse's aid would come to the house, I would go to the park and
practice no matter what the weather would be like. It was my refuge during
the most difficult time of my life. The Zhenong Qi Gong that I learned
was a powerful form which aided me in many ways, but the most powerful
experience I had was during my Grandmother's dying process. At the end
of my Grandmother's life, she was in the last phases of the disease requiring
her to be bed bound. The day she died is a day I will never forget. As
she laid in her bed and her breathing became shallow and labored, I knew
that I had to do something to ease her passing. I immediately started
my Zhenong Qi Gong next to her bed and in fifteen minutes when I finished,
I took my hands and ran them above her body starting from the head and
raking her energy field to her toes. As I ran my hands over her body,
her breathing quieted down and she did not suffer any longer. She died
ten minutes later peacefully with me at her side holding her hand. It
was the most profound moment of my life and tai chi was a part of it.
Two years later in 2000, I was asked to teach my first class at the North College Hill Senior Center. It was a new way for me to experience the forms. But tragedy befell me in 2002, two years later. After a serious fall at work, I shattered my right ankle. There was fear that I would lose my foot. Thankfully, I recovered but not to where I had been before the accident, and was left with a life long disability. During my recovery, I played the forms in my mind, moving through the forms mentally. I even taught my senior citizens from a wheel chair. It was during this time that I learned to walk again, and did remarkably well because of tai chi practice. Again tai chi's principle of flexibility aided me in accepting my new permanent condition. I no longer could perform the forms accept for the qi gongs. It was devastating to give up the forms that I desperately loved. But I did not give up my love for tai chi. I continued to teach the forms that I could do and constantly searched for a new teacher. Three years after the accident, I was attending a conference on aging when I found a wonderful teacher with exceptional chi abilities - Ralph Dehner. Without any delay, I signed up for his class and was introduced to Tai Chi for Arthritis. I finally found a form that I could do. This particular Sun Style Form developed by Dr Paul Lam allows for modifications that I could not do with my other forms. Not only that, but the powerful chi generated from this beautiful compact form is very intense and empowering. This is a form that I intend to pass along to each of my students once I become proficient in it. I look forward to every day of practice because I know it's one more day that I can walk without assistance and will push back the inevitable surgery that will fuse my ankle's bones together. Tai chi for Arthritis is a Godsend and I thank my Sifu for introducing me to it.
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The
Depth of Sun Style
by Caroline Demoise, Master Trainer
In October of 2005 Dr. Lam will be introducing a new workshop in which he will explore the depth of the Sun style of Tai Chi with students who are familiar with the 31 movement set of Tai Chi known as Tai Chi for Arthritis, Parts I and II. When you begin learning Tai Chi, you start with the chorography of external movements. Many people equate this external chorography or form with Tai Chi itself, however, these external movements are just the beginning of a long pathway to the deeper understanding that exploring Tai Chi can bring to the dedicated practitioner. It takes persistence to learn the shape of Tai Chi movements and to become familiar with the sequence of movements so that performing the Tai Chi set feels comfortable and familiar.
These
first steps in learning prepare us to ask the question, "What makes
movement Tai Chi?" Now we are ready to explore the territory of Tai
Chi depth which takes us to the internal aspects of how we animate the
movement. The practitioner can explore the role of breathing, the feeling
of energy movement from correct body alignment, the use of mind to direct
movement, and experience deeper levels of connected, coordinated full
body movement as well as more focus and relaxation during movement. Tai
Chi people spend the rest of their lives exploring how to use the choreography
of external form to walk a pathway of understanding and opening to a deeper
awareness and experience of how to harmonize with nature.
When Dr. Lam piloted his Tai Chi for Back Pain workshop, which is a depth
course requiring the familiarity of the 12 movement form known as Tai
Chi for Arthritis, Part I which focuses on how to use this set with people
who experience chronic back pain, he found students enthusiastic to learn
from his experience more depth in their Tai Chi.
If you are ready to explore what makes movement Tai Chi, I invite you to consider joining Dr. Lam in October in either Durango, Colorado or Sarasota, Florida where his new workshop will be held. Information about the Durango workshop October 22nd-23rd, 2005 is available by contacting Lavada Finney at fin2@frontier.net. For information about the Sarasota workshop October 15th -16th contact Caroline Demoise at taichi@frontier.net
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Ask Dr. Lam - submit your questions for future issues to pat Lawson at plawson6@hotmail.com
Question:
A study published in
the latest issue of Journal of Advanced Nursing has attracted attention
from the media worldwide including Fox News, Hindustan Times of India,
Medical News Today of UK, and United Press. It concludes that a structured
Tai Chi program improved their balance and physical strength and reduced
the risks of falls. Is this tai chi program related to Tai Chi for Arthritis?
Answer:
Yes, the research team uses the Tai Chi for Arthritis Program. You can
read more reports about it at:
http://www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Fitness/5-06-27TaiChi-Falls.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/06/050627233059.htm
Question:
Dr Lam, my personal trainer was working with me and he said that I should
try to feel a heaviness in my arm pits as a deep arm curls and keep my
shoulder down. I think that this felt like I was keeping my shoulder joint
open like in tai chi. Could this be the same even though my other arm
muscles were tightening?
Answer:
There are similarities between tai chi and other exercises; although I
am not sure what is the best way to do an arm curl, to open the shoulder
joint is a desirable thing in tai chi. When we practice tai chi our energy
and strength comes from inside and we gently stretch, we actually don't
tighten up the muscle as such. In performing a tai chi movement, it is
desirable to use your mind to direct your movement and exert minimum muscle
necessary to execute that movement while making the movement gentle, continuous
and the energy and force come from internal intention. So while there
are some similarities, I think that the essence of the movement has fundamental
differences.
If you would like to read my article "The Rationale of Tai Chi for Back Pain" published in the journal "Medical Paradigm" I explain that there is a deep muscle system (in contrast to the external muscle system) in the spine to protect your spine and that concept validated by scientific studies. This concept of deep (internal) and external muscle systems also extends to other joints such as shoulder joints. The way that tai chi's slow, gentle, loosening of the shoulder serves to strengthen the deep protective muscles of the shoulder joints, thus strengthening the shoulder joints from the inside and preventing future injuries. Whereas the external training is like weight lifting for the back muscles. It builds the external muscles mainly and without strengthening the internal structure, that can lead to an imbalance. It is possible to have too much external muscle and this would disturb the stability of the shoulder joint, which can cause shoulder problem in future.
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REMINDER:
The TCAA Membership year starts on July 1.
.
To join or renew your membership, please contact Caroline Demoise at <taichi@frontier.net>
or Doug Sams at <tcaa.treasurer@earthlink.net>,
or by mail to TCAA, PO Box 21982,Lincoln, NE 68542-1982. And if you've
changed your address since submitting your last membership dues, please
notify Caroline or Doug they can update the records.
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The insurance package, strictly for TCAA members, is underwritten by the Fitness and Wellness Insurance Agency, who have been in business for 18 years. It's the only agency that specializes in insuring fitness instructors. The rates are stratified by where you teach tai chi, how often you teach, and whether you own or directly rent your space.
Check it out at www.fitnessandwellness.com. For general information, call the Fitness and Wellness Insurance Agency, 800-395-8075, and ask for Eileen Romosod, Ex. 167. If you wish insurance coverage, ask for Rick Felix, Ex. 153. You can also email him at rfelix@fitnessandwellness.com. Remember, you must be a member of TCAA to get this insurance.
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How to Order Dr Lam's Products
Want to order a video,
a CD, a T-shirt, or any other of Dr. Paul Lam's products? You can mail
your order to: East Acton Videos, Inc / Tai Chi Productions, PO Box 3102,
Rancho Cordova, CA 95741-3102 or Telephone: 916-967-5696 or Fax: 800-889-2082
Enquiries: service@taichiproductions.com
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UPCOMING
WORKSHOPS
Go
to the calendar for more info
Tai Chi for Arthritis,
July 16-17, Memphis TN.
Instructor: Sheila Rae taichimail@yahoo.com
or 901-359-5560
Tai Chi for Arthritis, Level I July 29-30, Level II July 31, Houston Texas
Instructor: Troyce Thome
tthomer@cox.net (949) 842-2992 or
contact Jsavage@arthritis.org
Tai Chi for Arthritis, Aug 13-14, Denver CO. angdavis@arthritis.org
Tai Chi for Arthritis,
Level I & II, Aug 20-21, San Diego, CA.
Instructor: Troyce Thome
tthomer@cox.net or contact Georgette
Coffey at ladytaichiofrb@aol.com
or (858) 945-5402
Depth of TCA, by
Dr. Paul Lam
Oct. 15-16 Bradenton, FL, contact Caroline Demoise at taichi@frontier.net
Oct. 22-23 Durango, CO, contact Lavada Finney at fin2@frontier.net
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complete list of newsletter
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