September 15, 2019
I read a great article in Inc. Magazine the other day pointing to research that one doesn’t need to meditate like a monk in order to experience meditation’s benefits.
Frankly I’m not a huge fan of Inc. But perhaps the article caught my eye because in the T’ai Chi Chih community we teachers strive to always be mindful of Justin Stone’s invitation that we be “big hermits” by practicing T’ai Chi Chih (in other words serenity) while in the midst of our busy everyday lives.
When I looked closer at the article, however, I noticed it was written by Nate Klemp, a weekly columnist for Inc. Magazine but also the co-founder of LIFE Cross Training (LIFE XT), a company devoted to the promotion of a simple yet revolutionary idea that just as we train our bodies to increase physical fitness, we can train our brains to optimize wellbeing.
Now I was REALLY paying attention (because Nate was REALLY singing my tune!)
You can take a moment to check out my homepage here but I’d be happy to save you a little time: if I were to boil my entire Lifestyle Coaching private practice down into a thesis statement it would have to be Toss everything you’ve heard about how to reach & maintain optimum health…WELLBEING CAN BE LEARNED & TRAINED LIKE A SKILL! Plus of the 29 meditation-related blogs I’ve written over the last 4 years I bet half of them reference the fact there’s now SUBSTANCIAL scientific proof that practicing any style of mindfulness on a regular basis (including T’ai Ch Chih) basically enables the practitioner to train their wellbeing.
Nate’s article was terrific and as an accredited instructor of several different styles of meditation I can attest to the fact that he made a number of important points. And you can read the article in its entirety here but here are the headlines:
HERE’S THE THING THOUGH: as Jon Kabat-Zinn (who certainly didn't invent mindfulness but basically put it on the map) often says, sitting motionless with the express intent to meditate may be “the hardest easiest thing you'll ever do.”
Many of you know I’ve been practicing a couple of different styles of meditation for many years now. But truthfully it wasn’t until I learned T’ai Chi Chih that I also became adept at practicing seated mindfulness as well. It was almost as though T’ai Chi Chih cracked open the door to a whole different world…before that, every time I sat down to practice mindfulness it was basically as if I’d given my monkey mind permission to run amok.
Has this ever happened to you?
Yep…I had a feeling most of you have had this experience.
So yes, I’m not just implying, I’m outright saying that IMHO T’ai Chi Chih is often experienced by practitioners as FAR EASIER and A LOT MORE FUN than almost any other evidence-based mindfulness practice. (And remember that T’ai Chi Chih’s subtitle is “Joy Through Movement” so are you actually surprised to hear this?)
But T’ai Chi Chih being one of the only MOVING mindfulness practices is just one of the reasons why it's both easy and fun…it also has no age, physical fitness, or coordination requirements plus with just a few modifications all 20 movements can even be done from a chair.
But wait, there’s more…in addition to helping you train your wellbeing IN GENERAL, T’ai Chi Chih has also been the focus of at least twelve controlled clinical trials over a twenty-year period which have irrefutably connected it to positive changes in all of the following:
No wonder the Arthritis Foundation, the American Medical Association, The Mayo Clinic, and other well-known and respected health & wellness authorities have endorsed T’ai Chi Chih as a viable treatment option (potentially more effective than medication) for so many physiological and psychological conditions!
Best of all, though, just 15-30 minutes of daily practice (even in snippets…a few minutes here and there throughout the day can easily add up to great results!) is all most people need to experience the benefits…in my experience T'ai Chi Chih is clearly the most user-friendly, accessible method of improving your health (AND YOUR LIFE) I have ever encountered!
Still have questions? Click here more info on any of my FOUR introductory T’ai Chi Chih classes in THREE beautiful locations plus two additional special opportunities:
Never before have I offered so many options at one time to learn this PROFOUND YET EASY moving mindfulness practice so don’t miss out…SIGN UP TODAY!
