Doctors and Tai Chi

Posted by On Filed under Corporate, Tai chi
Doctors and Tai Chi

It was both an honour and a pleasure to be able to spend time with the surgeons of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital over the last 4 weeks.

Even though the doctors are very pressed for time and experience an extremely stressful environment, they turned up for their sessions with me.  Showing up cannot be overlooked. It is an important part of learning to be present in one’s body. It is the first step to immersion and learning. I thank them for allowing me to share my journey.

Mindfulness was on of the key items on the agenda. It plays a crucial role in all that we do daily.

So what is mindfulness?

“It is a state of being” , “It is a Mental state achieved by awareness in the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting ones feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.”

The qualities are: intention, attention and attitude.

What do we want to achieve?

Emotional regulation; introspection; sense of self; inner & outer awareness; and pain tolerance, being in the moment.

Stress causes us to detach from ourselves, and we often find ourselves either being distant, or snapping out at others.

One of the most useful ways to deal with these negative qualities is by doing taiji; chi gong in conjunction with guided deep breathing.

Well done to all the Doctors who took part, and a special thanks to Professor Martin Smith, academic head of surgery at Bara.

Written by Sifu Leo Ming, August 2022

If you would like Sifu to run some sessions with your team, please contact us.

It was both an honour and a pleasure to be able to spend time with the surgeons of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital over the last 4 weeks. Even though the doctors are very pressed for time and experience an extremely stressful environment, they turned up for their sessions with me.  Showing up cannot be overlooked. It …

Scientific evidence for benefits of tai chi

Posted by On Filed under Benefits, Tai chi
Scientific evidence for benefits of tai chi

For the unconverted or scientifically minded person, if you need some scientific proof of the many benefits of tai chi, then check out this easily understood video, entitled “Qi Gong & Tai Chi – Evidence Based Medicine”:



For more information on Tai Chi Classes in Johannesburg, contact Sifu Leo Ming on 0833780468.

For the unconverted or scientifically minded person, if you need some scientific proof of the many benefits of tai chi, then check out this easily understood video, entitled “Qi Gong & Tai Chi – Evidence Based Medicine”: For more information on Tai Chi Classes in Johannesburg, contact Sifu Leo Ming on 0833780468.

Why Millennials are learning Tai Chi

Posted by On Filed under Benefits, Tai chi
Why Millennials are learning Tai Chi

The millennial generation spend a lot of their time doing many things, especially as their lives are so intertwined with so much technology and social media.  Yet it is very important for them to have “alone time” with themselves. 

Doing practices like tai chi, meditation, qigong or similar types of activities would provide this quiet time.  These perceived slower activities though are a big contrast to what you find with the young people of today, who are active and busy all the time, mostly in virtual worlds.

Finding a physical activity that promotes “alone time” is important because instead of being distracted and having their attention outside of themselves, it would bring them back towards themselves, making them aware of their inner quiet which everyone has, and which needs to be nurtured.

The benefit of developing this inner quiet, is so that they can focus better, have clarity of mind, and they can make better decisions going forward that will impact their future.”

– Leo Ming, Martial Arts and Tai Chi Instructor

 

The above is Leo Ming’s response to an in depth article CNN published in September, 2017, entitled “Tai chi fights stress, getting popular with Millennials.”

This article explains how the younger generations are taking up tai chi in order to reduce stress and ‘ground’ themselves. 

The gentle nature of the practice of tai chi has a different impact on them than other popular sparring sports found in gyms, and is thus helping those who spend their days sitting behind computers, being more introverted, to destress.

They mention that even the employees are offered tai chi classes by Google Headquarters.

A student of tai chi explained the slowness of tai hi as being deceptive, saying that it is not easy, as you have to remain connected to your breath while moving slowly, and each movement uses almost every muscle.  “Everything’s engaged but not stressed like it would be in a workout in the gym,” he comments.

The article also covers the following aspects of tai chi:

  • The research into the health benefits of tai chi, how it impacts our immune system to help it guard against inflammation and fight off chronic disease.
  • “The earlier you start in life, the more you reap the rewards [of tai chi] …. as the benefits are cumulative.”
  • How it is believed that the act of moving slowly in tai chi keeps us in the present moment, and this mindfulness is what aids tai chi in being so impactful on our health, because it promotes calmness and also interrupts the stress pathways in our physiology.
  • Millennials learning tai chiThe power of slowing down, and getting back into ourselves and our centres, in this demanding world of ours.

Read the full article and watch their video here.

 

 

To learn more about Tai Chi Classes in Parkview, Johannesburg, contact Sifu, Leo Low Ming on 0833780468.

The millennial generation spend a lot of their time doing many things, especially as their lives are so intertwined with so much technology and social media.  Yet it is very important for them to have “alone time” with themselves.  Doing practices like tai chi, meditation, qigong or similar types of activities would provide this quiet …

Tai Chi Teacher in Joburg

Posted by On Filed under Benefits, Tai chi
Tai Chi Teacher in Joburg

Get to know your Sifu

Did you know that your Sifu, Leo Ming, first started learning tai chi when he was six years old?

CHiNA PLUS interviewed Sifu about his thoughts on the value of a practice like tai chi in our fast paced, technologically connected world, and some students share their views on tai chi too.

 

To get to know your Sifu, Leo Low Ming, and to learn more about his Tai Chi Classes in Parkview, Johannesburg, contact him on 0833780468.

Other blogs in our “Get to know your Sifu” Series:

Get to know your Sifu Did you know that your Sifu, Leo Ming, first started learning tai chi when he was six years old? CHiNA PLUS interviewed Sifu about his thoughts on the value of a practice like tai chi in our fast paced, technologically connected world, and some students share their views on tai …

Tai Chi and Dogs

Posted by On Filed under Benefits, Tai chi
Tai Chi and Dogs

Tai Chi has many benefits, and one that we might not realise is that it helps us with our relationships to man’s best friend – the dog.

Interacting with animals as pets, and dogs are a common pet, can be a physical activity as well as an emotionally rewarding one.

To help care for our pets, we should be walking them often, and engaging them in exercise to keep them healthy.

“Falls, ankle sprains, back injuries and even broken bones are common when walking dogs who are boisterous and if the dog handler is not in tune with themselves and their body alignment and balance” explains Sifu Leo Ming.

“Tai chi is a discipline that helps the dog handler to develop more balance and strength, as well as the inner composure, to handle their dogs better.”

This wonderful article by Christine Green outlines a number of principles that we learn from tai chi, that help with interacting with our furry friends. These include:

  1. Using our waist for handling jumping dogs, by being flexible to move with the push of the dog, rather than being pushed over.
  2. Incorporating back muscles for bad leash manners, by developing the tai chi upper body posture which activates the right back muscles to keep our center of gravity more stable.
  1. Weight shifting for dogs who keep pulling the leash, so that we maintain our balance and strength.
  1. Rooting our weight and energy down, to handle those dogs with bad leash manners, or a dog jumping up, so that we are able to keep grounded and stay in control.
  1. Relaxation, gained from the meditative style of tai chi, is good for everything, but specially for improving reaction time to deal with animals.

 

Read more about how tai chi can help you enjoy your time with your dogs more, in the article.

To experience some of the techniques explained, join your Sifu Leo Low Ming for a complimentary introductory class. Contact him on 0833780468 to learn more about his Tai Chi Classes in Parkview, Johannesburg.

Tai Chi has many benefits, and one that we might not realise is that it helps us with our relationships to man’s best friend – the dog. Interacting with animals as pets, and dogs are a common pet, can be a physical activity as well as an emotionally rewarding one. To help care for our …

Zanta Hofmeyr: how tai chi helps her as a violinist

Posted by On Filed under Benefits, Tai chi, Testimonials
Zanta Hofmeyr: how tai chi helps her as a violinist

Here is Zanta Hofmeyr, one of our students, explaining the benefits she gains from tai chi and how she enjoyed her trip to China with Sifu Leo Ming.

We also get a peak into the world of a classical violinist:

 

 

Contact Sifu Leo Low Ming on 0833780468 to learn more about his Tai Chi Classes in Parkview, Johannesburg.

Here is Zanta Hofmeyr, one of our students, explaining the benefits she gains from tai chi and how she enjoyed her trip to China with Sifu Leo Ming. We also get a peak into the world of a classical violinist:     Contact Sifu Leo Low Ming on 0833780468 to learn more about his Tai Chi …

The Wealth of Taijiquan

Posted by On Filed under Benefits, Karate, Tai chi
The Wealth of Taijiquan

Tai chi may have very early roots in China, yet it has and still is spreading in popularity all over the world.  This is due to the many benefits it provides.

Here is a short clip that explains taijiquan and it’s wealth that we can enjoy.  It also has some interesting footage of Chen village– where we recently visited on our tour to China.

The video covers:

  • What is the link between Wújí  and taijí?  And tai chi and ying yang?
  • The history of tai chi from Chen Village
  • Benefits of practicing taijiquan for society and nature
  • The science of the effects of tai chi on our own bodies
  • The Chinese government’s plans of promoting taijiquan and martial arts

 

 

Contact Sifu Leo Low Ming on 0833780468 to learn more about his Tai Chi Classes in Parkview, Johannesburg.

Tai chi may have very early roots in China, yet it has and still is spreading in popularity all over the world.  This is due to the many benefits it provides. Here is a short clip that explains taijiquan and it’s wealth that we can enjoy.  It also has some interesting footage of Chen village– …

Employee Engagement Sessions

Posted by On Filed under Benefits, Corporate, Events, Tai chi
Employee Engagement Sessions

Everything we do is with and through people, and even more so in the corporate world. It’s the people of organisations that make up the business, and the businesses success is based on how well those individuals are, and also how well they work together towards achieving the common goals of the organisation.

Thus for a productive workforce, we need productive healthy and happy people. And a trend in companies is to bring their staff together in small team buildings, or larger conferences, where they management can recognise the contribution of their people, and also communication the next steps of the business strategy.

A great way to spice these events up to keep employees engaged, is to slow them down!


Leo’s corporate wellness events do just that. He brings an element of inner health to the conference by teaching tai chi principles, like that of flow, and slowing down to gain clarity. As well as offering a team building exercise in that the group together have an experience of the practice of tai chi, developing a common memory to bring them together and build relationships.

Old Mutual offered this recently to their Ace Winners at a Durban in-house conference. Leo enjoyed taking the group through some qigong and tai chi, and brought a nice break and something different to the pace of the work meeting.

Laughs were had, a moment of solace was gained, and staff went into the next session feeling more refreshed.

 

To learn more about adding a tai chi break-away session to your next corporate event, contact your Sifu, Leo Low Ming, on 0833780468.

Everything we do is with and through people, and even more so in the corporate world. It’s the people of organisations that make up the business, and the businesses success is based on how well those individuals are, and also how well they work together towards achieving the common goals of the organisation. Thus for …

Tai Chi helps patients with Parkinson’s Disease

Posted by On Filed under Benefits, Tai chi
Tai Chi helps patients with Parkinson’s Disease

Impaired balance is one of the symptoms of those who suffer from Parkinson’s disease. They also tend to fall often, and are less able to function on a day to day basis as the disease progresses.

Exercise is encouraged – yet until this research, few forms of exercise had been shown to be effective. This study, published in the  New England Journal of Medicine , was conducted in 2012.  It found that tai chi was the form of exercise that consistently helped patients with Parkinson’s disease.

These patients were taken through a tailored tai chi programme to test if this form of exercise could improve their ability to control their posture.

The other forms of exercise that were compared to the tai chi were stretching and resistance training. All the participants only did 60 minutes of exercise, twice a week, over a period of 24 week.

The results showed that “the tai chi group performed consistently better than the resistance-training and stretching groups in maximum excursion”. Incidence of falls were lowered too, and they found that resistance training also helped with this aspect.

It is interesting to note too that the effects of the training in tai chi were maintained when they checked in with the patients 3 months after the tai chi programme ended.

So if you would like to improve your balance and posture control, consider taking up the practice of tai chi, and come and join us for a free trail class.

 

To find out how tai chi can help you with managing your health challenges and improving your balance, contact your Sifu, Leo Low Ming, on 0833780468.

Impaired balance is one of the symptoms of those who suffer from Parkinson’s disease. They also tend to fall often, and are less able to function on a day to day basis as the disease progresses. Exercise is encouraged – yet until this research, few forms of exercise had been shown to be effective. This …

Racewalking and Tai Chi

Posted by On Filed under Benefits, Tai chi, Testimonials
Racewalking and Tai Chi

“Taiji has enriched my life and improved my resilience immensely. I am grateful to Leo for all the help and guidance he has given me” shares Barbara Nell, a World Champion Racewalker.

Barbara Nell in action

Barbara has been racewalking for over 25 years, and covered a distance of some 50 000 km’s during this time. She trains on both road and track, and has worked with many coaches over the years – each contributing in their way her preparation and technique. This had lead her to achieve world records and to winning championships.

Some of her impressive achievements include:

  • the first woman in Africa to walk a 20km in under 1:50
  • held the All Africa record for the 20km women’s walk
  • has won SA Senior Track and Field Championships 4 times
  • won the SA Road Walk senior Championships 5 times
  • attended 11 World Masters Athletics Championships
  • has been the World Champion in her age group 14 times
  • won 4 silver and 3 bronze medals from these competitions
  • competed in team events and won WMAC gold medals, silver and a bronze Medal
  • in 2000 set the W45-49 5000m racewalk World Record with a time of 24:14
  • set 4 SA Senior records, and 18 SA Masters records
  • won her age group races at the South African Masters National Championships 33 times
  • won SA Masters Provincial Championships 47 times.

As part of her development in strengthening and maintaining her muscles needed for racewalking, Barbara supplements her training with tai chi and works with a biokineticist.

“In 2009, I was injured and my Physiotherapist recommended taiji to help me build strength and improve my balance in order to avoid further injury. I have worked with Leo since that time.

Firstly, it has been great to do taiji as a complete contrast to my other training which is time or distance based. The sense of being in the present while doing the movement with no immediate objective in sight is very fulfilling. Doing Taiji has definitely enhanced my muscle strength and improved my balance which has been advantageous to my race walking.

Secondly, there is so much wisdom in this ancient practice as the entire body is worked and strengthened by the many graceful movements during a morning’s session.“

She is also very much aware of her mindset, and finds that learning from her failures, not letting her walking define her, and having fun while training and competing, are also key parts of her success.

Recently she attended the World Masters Athletic Championships in Perth in October and November 2016. This event included more than 4000 competitors from some 80 countries between the ages of 35 to 97 competing in 31 events.

Barbara, on the podium after the 10km with the Australian Barb Bryant 2nd and the British Walker Cath Duhig 3rd.

Barbara participated in the Race walks in the 5000m track event, the 10km road walk and the 20km road walk in the Women 60-64 age group, where she won the 5000m and 10km walks and got the silver medal in the 20km.

Together with Lucia Willemse (W60-64) and Elsa Meyer (W70-74), they made up the South African team and they won the silver medal in the team event for the 10km (W 60-64) and the gold medal in the 20km (W60-64).

We agree with Barbara that “walking is a healthy lifestyle activity and one of the best forms of exercise” as she shared in the November/December edition of the SA Racewalking Newsletter. She further imparted that she “feels that individual endurance sport is a great teacher. She has learnt many life lessons from walking and competing. ‘In the end you are racing against yourself and trying to be the best that you can be. The most important thing for me is that it must be fun. I walk because I love it.’ ”

We commend Barbara on her achievements, and her multi-disciplinary approach to her training. May the grace and wisdom from the practice of taiji continue to give her the inner and physical strength to persist in being the inspiration she is to us, and to so many others.

 

To find out how tai chi can help you excel in your chosen sport, contact your Sifu, Leo Low Ming, on 0833780468.

“Taiji has enriched my life and improved my resilience immensely. I am grateful to Leo for all the help and guidance he has given me” shares Barbara Nell, a World Champion Racewalker. Barbara has been racewalking for over 25 years, and covered a distance of some 50 000 km’s during this time. She trains on …