Sunday, February 24, 2013


Tai Chi is a Form of Mindful Movement 

Tai Chi Fundamentals is a form of Tai Chi broken down to make this peaceful, flowing exercise available for more people. Health care practitioners are better able to replicate and teach parts of tai chi moves and forms after taking courses. The courses I recommend are taught by Tricia Yu or the Culottis.

http://www.taichihealth.com/ in Taos, New Mexico

Patricia Corrigan Culotti & Michael Culotti are teachers located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
http://www.enhancingbalance.com/welcome.html


Consider taking a tai chi fundamentals class for yourself and perhaps to complement traditional PT for some of your clients.

Please view these clips of Tricia Yu. She is located at TaiChiMindBody on youtube. You may just want to practice along with her, as I did for 3 years:


This would be the TCF form:

The basic movement patterns are here to start learning here.

After mastering the movement patterns, and then the TCF form, you may want to progress on to taking a class in the Yang style short form. This is the lineage of Cheng Man Ch'ing (CMC) 

Enjoy.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Standing Desk Contributes to Physical Activity at School



From Abby Brown at Marine Elementary School, Stillwater, MN

Hello, All,

Below is a link to research conducted with Marine Elementary students in 2010 and published by "The Internet Journal of Allied Health Services and Practice" in January, 2013. The intent was to learn if there are significant differences in activity and eating during school days vs. summer vacation, and if this impacts physical health.

Although it was a small sampling, data indicated that children gain weight over summer months due to less structure, less activity, and a change in diet. Students at Marine utilize the standing station option for movement during the school day. What does this suggest? That the school environment CAN impact the health of children in a positive manner. And movement options, as an integral part of the classroom, should be seriously considered.

I am hopeful that this research will provide a 'talking point' for parents, teachers, and school administrators on the importance of taking measures that help combat the negative effects of "home and summer life" with regards to children's wellness.

The document is 'locked' from saving/copy/pasting, but can be viewed and printed. I realize not everyone may need to article in it's entirety, but please forward link to those you feel would benefit from this type of information.

Examination of Changes in Youth Diet and Physical Activity Over the Summer Period (McCue, Marlatt, Sired, Dengel)http://ijahsp.nova.edu/articles/Vol11Num1/McCue.htm

Kudos to Marine School!