One of the most common and debilitating places to hold onto pain and tension is in the neck and shoulders. Shoulder pain and tension is often associated with responsibility – literally carrying the world on your shoulders. It is so common that I can state with confidence that you too are carrying your shoulders too high. It is as if we need to suspend our arms from our shoulders instead […]
Everybody carries far too much tension around with them. This tension drains them ofenergy, pulls their body apart and resists every move they make. We are so often told to relax but not many people realise that relaxation is a skill that needs to be learned. To find out why read my book “Stress Proof Your Body”. The first and most important principle in everything I teach is ‘Relax Down’. […]
As mentioned in my book ‘Stress Proof Your Body’, one of the most popular relaxation exercises is called progressive muscle relaxation. A more efficient and powerful way to achieve the same level of relaxation, is not to tense then relax the muscles but to send a message from the brain for the muscle to lengthen. In this way you gradually train your muscles to relax at will and so defeat the […]
In kung fu and tai chi, we always aim to make our movements balanced, efficient and powerful. A balanced movement is one where the forces involved are balanced throughout the body. At no point is the individual out of balance and vulnerable to counter-attacks. An efficient movement is one which uses only the necessary muscles and doesn’t hold onto unneeded tension anywhere in the body. We all know what a […]
As anyone who comes to my classes will know I talk a lot about leg strength. Basically, without strong legs you have no real support so your upper body will be full of tension to keep your weight off your weak legs. Strengthen your legs and your upper body can then relax down onto them and you will maintain great mobility and power well into your old age. I cannot […]
Raising and lowering your arms Every day we raise and lower our arms hundreds of times. Whether we’re picking thingsup, drinking a cup of tea, using a computer or driving a lot of our activities involve ourarms. Changing the way we raise and lower our arms can save us a lot of energy andmake the movements far easier and more powerful. Raising and lowering your arms are really two different […]