Mobility | ||
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Birth
You started life with a natural condition of suppleness and
flexibility. A baby does not have sore knees, a bad back or arthritis.
The limbs can move comfortably within their natural range of motion. There is no
stiffness in the muscles.
Aging
As people get older they lose the ability to move freely and easily. This
reduces our quality of life. Tai chi was designed to off-set the stiffness
commonly associated with aging.
Our aim is to regain the degree of mobility we started life with.
Sitting is more dangerous than
smoking, kills more people than HIV, and is more treacherous than
parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death. The chair is out to kill us.
(Professor James Levine, The Mayo Clinic)
Sitting
The main culprit for loss of mobility in most adults is sitting on their
backsides too much. Sitting causes:
Strained neck
Sore shoulders
Stiffness
Upper back pain
Lower back pain
Loss of circulation
Joint compression
Swollen legs
Heart disease
The solution is easy. Switch off the PC, the TV and walk whenever possible
rather than drive.
Hands
Over-use and wrong use of the hands can cause immobility and
arthritis. Main culprits:
Computer mouse
Mobile phone
Tapping a touch screen
Unnecessary application of force
Gripping too hard
Knitting
Sewing
Repetitive activity
Using a keyboard
Playing video games
Cross-train
It is common for people to seek to improve their fitness by body building,
attending the gym, running or playing a sport.
Whilst the intention is good, the approach is often dubious. Will larger
muscles necessarily improve mobility? Cross-training is essential but it
must be done properly.
Metabolism slows down 90 percent after 30 minutes of sitting. The enzymes that move the bad fat from your arteries to your muscles, where it can get burned off, slow down. The muscles in your lower body are turned off. And after two hours, good cholesterol drops 20 percent. Just getting up for five minutes is going to get things going again. These things are so simple theyre almost stupid.
(Gavin Bradley)
Body building
Many forms of exercise actively reduce mobility. People strain themselves
lifting heavy weights and working out at the gym. The muscles shorten. Joint
mobility becomes limited.
Running
Most runners run with extremely bad posture:
Elbows are stiff and locked (often raised)
The body is leaning forwards or stooping; either at the neck or collapsing at
the bottom of the rib cage
Shoulders are lifted; often one higher than the
other
Considerable tension in the upper body
Frozen sacroiliac; immobile
Knees twisted (the foot flicks out sideways)
Weight is bearing heavily down into the knees
The skeleton is not moving freely, naturally or comfortably
Tired
Running with bad posture causes serious fatigue and adverse wear and tear on the
body. It limits joint mobility and damages the skeleton.
The high degree of physical tension in the body uses energy and tires the runner
out. As the runner tires, the quality deteriorates further.
Sport
Sport was not necessarily designed with health in mind. The aim is typically to
compete, to win. Good body usage is not the goal. Mobility is only considered
relative to the needs of the sporting activity.
External martial arts
The external martial arts are normally very effective in combat. But they seldom
train in a healthy manner. A lifetime of practice is not always possible.
Often skill diminishes with age; strength decreases and mobility is lost. People
compensate by pumping-up the muscles.
Smarter exercise
Tai chi poise is healthy. The body is used naturally and comfortably. The mind
is quiet. We listen to what the body is telling us rather than
push and punish
ourselves.
A gentle art
In tai chi we seek a condition of pliability. We use the least amount of
muscular strength at all times. Only by being extremely gentle in our physical
contact can we use our nervous system skilfully.
Fluid movement
Flow and change like water. Hardness in our bodies will impede smooth movement.
A tai chi exponent seeks to have the supple, soft body they once had as a child.
The joints are mobile and flexible, and the
muscles move smoothly and easily.
Rest
Constructive rest helps us to release tension, lengthen the muscles and free the
joints without effort.
Qigong
Qigong training involves strength building and increasing the range of joint
movement. Students who train at home become stronger and more flexible in a
short space of time.
The key factor is to maintain the habit of daily practice.
Self-massage
The whole-body self-massage routine is intuitive and easy to perform. It helps
eliminate stored muscular tension and frees the joints.
Parts of the body neglected by conventional exercise are given necessary
attention.
Tai chi
The tai chi form(s), pushing hands training and
martial practice all encourage (and require) an
agile, nimble body. From the onset, students are required to release tension and
move freely.
As the student advances through the tai chi martial syllabus, the need for
mobility increases significantly. Advanced practice cannot be undertaken by a
stiff, immobile student.
Weapons
Weapons practice significantly improves mobility in the wrists, shoulders and
hips. The student patiently increases their range of motion.
Chin na
Demanding and uncompromising, chin na necessitates free movement of the joints
along with a notable degree of strength.
Muscular strength is not needed to apply chin na. Strength is required to
practice receiving it. There is a risk of injury for any student who fails to
invest in the appropriate level of conditioning.
Shuai jiao
In some ways, shuai jiao is even more challenging than chin na. Students need a
strong body in order to handle the abrupt throws and sudden loss of balance.
A lack of mobility is dangerous in shuai jiao. We require students to undertake
and pass a mobility assessment before learning shuai jiao.
Remobilise
In order to increase mobility the emphasis needs to be upon working the body
both in class and at home between lessons. Adopt a multi-faceted approach:
Strengthen your muscles
Align your skeleton better
Sit less
Stand less
Stretch more
Improve balance
Gain coordination
Increase bodily awareness
Be mindful of how you use your body
Page created
18 March 1997
Last updated
16 June 2023
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