Seated Tai Chi Coaching for St Barnabas Hospice

www.ki-ways.com Telephone 07413 620344 E-mail: [email protected]

A Seated Tai Chi Workout

for All Abilities

St Barnabas Hospice

Grantham

http://www.ki-ways.com/

www.ki-ways.com Wake House, Bourne, Lincolnshire Tel 07413 620344 PE10 9AE

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Table of Contents

1. Title Page

2. Table of Contents

3. Synopsis

4. Is it Fun?

5. Safety

6. Exercise Routines

7. Breathing

8. Tai Chi Warm-up Exercise

9. Flowing Tai chi Exercises

10. Inner Smile meditation

11. Self-massage

12. Tai Chi

13. Chi Gung


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Synopsis

This short course introduces and teaches participants how to perform and teach a

series of basic seated Tai Chi exercises that are suitable for people of any ability.

The movements are all low impact flowing movements that are designed to loosen

the body and help to relax whilst at the same time building up the internal strength

and core muscles participants whilst creating an overall improvement in wellbeing.


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Is it Fun?

Are you enjoying yourself? If you are not,

then why are you doing it?

The exercises taught in this programme are intended to be light, easy and enjoyable.

If for any reason somebody is not enjoying the exercise, they should not do it.

There are plenty of other exercises in the programme and there is no point in trying

to do something that you do not enjoy.

There could be many reasons for not enjoying an exercise such as pain, “it feels

silly”, “I don’t like it” and so on.

These exercises all work in some way on a mixture of body, mind and spirit. If an

exercise hurts or feels wrong for whatever reason whether the reason is defined or

not, the client should feel free to skip it.

This philosophy can prevent a person from damaging themselves on a physical level

and on an emotional level prevent them from being embarrassed or feeling that

somebody is trying to control them.

This is opposite to the “no pain, no gain” philosophy that many people have. The

coach should be constantly vigilant for people attempting to push themselves too

hard or doing something that they do not like just because everybody else is doing it.


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Safety

In general, the exercises included in this programme are safe for all people.

In general provided that the client is enjoying the exercises and they are not causing

discomfort either during or after the session then the exercises will work for

everybody.

Common sense is the most powerful tool. This needs to come from the client and

the coach. The client should be encouraged to not push themselves too hard and

the coach should keep an eye on the client to ensure that they do not.

Signs of pushing an exercise to hard can be:-

Expressions of pain on the face

Grunting

Looking uncomfortable

Looking confused

Dizziness

Sweating

Not enjoying the session

The following general advice applies

If an exercise causes you pain - stop

If you have swollen joints you should be careful not to agitate the joint

If you feel short of breath during the exercises – take a break

Ensure that you do not become dehydrated

Try to leave an hour after eating so that your food can digest

Dress comfortably

If you are in any doubt whatsoever regarding the suitability of Tai Chi

exercises for you then you should discuss your intention to join in a Tai chi

session with your doctor.


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Many of the exercises in this programme are repetitive. This automatically implies

the question “How many should I do?”

Again, the answer is to use common sense and intuition. Most of the Tai chi text

books that I have seen are very prescriptive. For example, usually for movements

like “Opening the Chest”, it is said that the person should repeat the exercise eight

times.

If you are relatively fit, eight repetitions of the exercise would be very easy. In these

sessions, we are not learning how to help the “super fit”, so performing this exercise

eight times can be far too challenging for some people.

My advice is to follow the safety guidelines stated earlier and find out how many

repetitions your client can perform comfortably. Let them stay with this number for a

while and then if the client likes the idea, gradually increment the amount of

repetitions as their fitness increases.

Below is a table that I used for a client with emphysema that is a typical example of

the time scales used when I am coaching. He felt benefit from the “opening the

chest” exercise and the following training programme using this exercise improved

his breathing significantly:-

Week 1 - 3 Four repetitions

Week 4 – 6 Six repetitions

Week 7 Seven repetitions

Week 8 Eight repetitions

In the beginning, four repetitions was all that he could manage.

Within two months, he had doubled the quantity and felt health benefits.

We then decided that eight repetitions were sufficient for a working exercise to be

repeated 3 – 5 times a week.

If he was having a “bad day”, he would just do less that day but was advised not to

try and catch up on following days.

Each client is different. I find that a non-prescriptive approach towards the exercises

is the most empowering to help the client improve their health because it makes

them feel like they are more involved in the decisions around the fitness routines.


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Exercise Routines

In this training programme, we have three small exercise routines and a simple

meditation exercise. They are as follows:-

1. Tai Chi warm-up exercises

2. Flowing Tai chi exercises

3. Inner smile meditation

4. Self-massage

Tai Chi Warm-up Exercises are designed to flow through your body, they start at

the wrist and then gradually work through to the feet, loosening all joints in the body.

They do follow a sequence and the sequence delivers the best results – however, if

you get a few exercises in the wrong order or miss a few there will be no harm

Flowing Tai Chi Exercises are an adaption of the classical Yang style of Tai Chi.

The work holistically but experience has taught me that they are particularly good for

increasing the circulation in the back as most muscles of the back are gently

exercised during this routine. The routine outlined follows the classical Tai chi

routine so that the participant can observe a flow more easily but there is no extra

health benefit gained from following a set routine for this sequence

Inner Smile is an ancient Taoist meditation practice. It can be used to create a

sense of well-being for participants.

Self-massage is designed to invigorate the client after the relaxation of the inner

smile so that they client finishes the session feeling both relaxed and lively. Many of

my elderly clients have taken these exercises to help themselves “get started” in the

morning.


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Breathing

In Tai Chi and all similar arts there are advanced breathing techniques.

This can be unnecessarily daunting for the beginner as the whole philosophy behind

the breathing and the movement in Tai Chi is to try and return the body and mind

into a more relaxed state.

If we try too hard – we usually get it wrong with the breathing. If, on the other hand

the coach gently encourages the clients to breathe deeply and naturally with the

exercise and to allow the breathing to follow its own pattern, it is likely that the

breathing will be correct.

During the course we will investigate how the breathing should be done for all of the

exercises.

The simple rule of thumb with breathing is that if your hands are moving away from

your body – you exhale and if they are moving towards your body – you inhale.


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Tai Chi Warm-up Exercises

This part of the programme includes the following exercises:-

1. Wrist loosening

2. Elbow Circles

3. Shoulder Rotations

4. Shoulder Rolls

5. Shoulder Drop

6. Neck Loosening

7. Neck and Shoulder Massage

8. Opening the Chest

9. Twist

10. Kidney Rub

11. Arm Swing

12. Hip Rotations

13. Leg Massage

14. Feet and Ankles


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Wrist Loosening

Join your hands together and gently

rotate the wrists.

Do not rock the hands back and

forth and forth as this can put too

much strain on your wrist

Elbow Circles

Reach out with your fingertips

Pull your elbows back


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Shoulder Rotations

Place your hands on the inside of

your shoulders

First rotate your elbows in one

direction and then when you feel

that your shoulders have started to

loosen up, rotate them in the other

direction


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Shoulder Rolls

Roll your shoulders in both

directions

Shoulder Drop

Lift your shoulders as high as you

can manage comfortably

Take a deep breath

Hold the breath for a count of three

On the count of three,

simultaneously release the shoulders

and exhale.

Feel how your shoulders have relaxed


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Neck Loosening

Swivel the head left

and right

Bring your ear towards your left shoulder then

your right shoulder

Make semi-circles with your chin

Move your neck around gently in any position that

is not painful to finish releasing tension from the

muscles


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Neck and Shoulder Massage

Grab the muscle at the back of your

neck and massage it

Repeat with the other hand for the

other side

Grab the large muscle on the top of

your shoulder and massage it

Repeat with the other hand for the

other side


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Opening the Chest

Inhale and cross your

forearms in front of

your chest.

Exhale and pull your

elbows back

Inhale and cross your

forearms in front of

your chest.

Exhale and open up

your arms

Twist

Twist to one side and then the

other as you exhale


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Kidney Rub

Reach behind your back and

massage the kidney and lower back

area

Arm Swing

Gently swing your arms left and

right as you rotate your body. If

your chair has arms be careful to

not hit them!

Hip Rotations

There are four planes of direction

that your hip can move in –

clockwise, anticlockwise, outwards

and downwards.

Work each leg on each plane


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Leg Massage

Massage along the length of the

thigh muscle

Rub your knees vigorously

Repeat for both knees

Do not forget the back of your

knees

Rub your thumbs along the inner

edges of your shin bones

If you can reach comfortably,

massage the Achilles tendon


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Feet and Ankles

Place your big toe on the floor and

rotate the ankle in both directions.

Repeat for the other leg

Point your toes forwards

Point your heels forwards


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Flowing Tai Chi Exercises

This part of the programme includes the following exercises:-

1. Sitting Posture

2. Opening Move

3. Embrace

4. Throwing the net

5. Bounce

6. Push to the front

7. Push to the left and right

8. Circles

9. Closing Move

10. Sitting Posture


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Sitting Posture

Start by sitting as upright as is

comfortable.

Lift your head; let your elbows drop

and your shoulders relax.

Let your breathing become relaxed

and deeper.

Feel your weight sink into your

chair.

Opening Move

Let your arms drop to your side

Inhale in as you lift your arms

Exhale as you lower your arms


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Embrace

Hold your arm up in front of you in

the “embrace” position.

Turn in the direction that the upper

elbow is pointing

Swap the hands over

Twist back to the front and repeat

for the other side


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Throwing the Net

Throw your arms out to one side as

though you were casting a net

Now pull the net back by twisting

your body in the opposite direction

Throw the net to the other side

Pull down again


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Bounce

Touch your hand against the

fore arm of your other arm.

Inhale

Part 1

Lift up and push out as

you exhale

Repeat several times

Swap the hands over

Part 2

Repeat several times with

the hands swapped over


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Push to the Front

Inhale as you draw your hands inwards

Exhale as you push away

Push to the Left and Right

Push to your right

and exhale

Back to the

centre as you

inhale

Push to the other

side as you

exhale


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Circles

Inhale and cross your arms in front

of your chest

Exhale and open the arms


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Closing Move

Warm down by exhaling as your

hands sink

Inhale as your hands rise

Sitting Posture

Sit and relax for a moment. Your

back should feel warmer and your

shoulders more relaxed. Perhaps

you can feel energetic changes?


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Inner Smile

Meditation has been used for millennia by cultures throughout the world. There

are thousands of methods of meditation – some of them difficult and some of

them easier. They all have one thing in common – they are trying to help the

mind calm down and be more controlled in one way or another.

The Inner smile meditation was written about by the Taoist sages over two thousand years ago. It is simple and has a straightforward and direct goal - to make you feel happy and serene. Think more about the serene and spiritual smile of the Dali Llama than the wild laughter of the comedian

In oriental medicine the serene smile is spiritual whilst too much laughter can put

pressure on the heart. Forced laughter can be especially damaging for those

with a delicate constitution.

Try this gentle “Inner Smile” exercise:-

1. Start by sitting in a comfortable position

2. Close your eyes if you are comfortable with closing your eye in public

3. Take two or three big deep breaths to calm your mind

4. Let your breathing relax and let your pulse rate calm down

5. When your breathing is normal and your pule is not racing, think of

something that makes you really happy.

6. Try to imagine the event with all of your senses including smell, taste and

touch

7. If it made you so happy at the time – you smiled. Why not smile now –

nobody is watching you.

8. As you smile – notice the “lift” in your heart area. If you missed it, just

smile again. You will get it

9. Concentrate on that “lift” that you get when you smile. Imagine it radiating

out throughout your body

10. Before you open your eyes – be sure to smile!

11. Feel how the atmosphere in the room has changed.


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Self-Massage

Vigorously rub your hands together

to get them warm

Pretend that you are “washing your

face” with your warm hands

Gently tap on the top of your head

with your finger tips


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“Open” your forehead

Massage your temples – clockwise

and anticlockwise

Stroke your throat


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Gently tap your breast bone

Massage your abdominal area in

clockwise spirals

Use the edges of your hands to

gently “chop” the thigh muscles

Tap either side of the calf muscles

with your hands


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Tai Chi

The origins and early history of Tai Chi have been somewhat obscured by the mists of time. Many of the stories of the origins relate back to the fifteenth century and a Taoist priest on the Wudang Mountain in China as being the origins of Tai Chi.

Tai Chi can contain a mixture of the following four elements:-

Healing Arts – The concept for healing arts here is from traditional Asian

medicine where Chi or Energy flows in pathways or meridians as used by

Shiatsu therapists, acupuncturists and herbalists amongst others. Western

medicine has done much research on the beneficial effects of Tai chi and

shown it to be an excellent exercise system for maintaining health and

reducing stress.

Meditation – Meditation assists the integration of body and mind to allow the

spiritual aspects of the art to unfold.

Martial arts – Tai Chi came from martial arts and it should always be possible

to relate what you are doing in Tai Chi to martial arts movements.

Chi - Chi is the binding force that brings together the martial, healing and

meditational aspects of the style and differentiates it from other styles.

The speciality within Ki-Ways is to help you to find the correct combination of the

aspects of Tai Chi that are right for YOUR evolution and wellbeing. All aspects of

the art will be taught to the level needed by the individual at their current state of

health, wellbeing and fitness.


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Chi Gung

Chi Gung literally means “Energy Work”. It is a method of learning how to cultivate and improve your own Energetic system and thereby hopefully increase your health and happiness.

Many Chi Gung movements look very much like Tai Chi movements. Indeed, Tai Chi

movements are all used for Energy cultivation so they can be regarded as Chi Gung.

There are however many styles of chi gung. There are the flowing Tai Chi style movements,

standing Chi Gung, meditation Chi Gun and even “hard” Chi Gung amongst many others.

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Seated Tai Chi Coaching for St Barnabas Hospice