My parents walked, weather permitting, for at least 30 minutes even when in their eighties. But that was not their only exercise. My mother continued her tai chi lessons, attending William C. C. Chen’s class in New York and my father would go to a gym.
They were convinced that exercise was a life-extender. They were right.
“Regular physical activity can actually slow the aging process on a cellular level and potentially add years to your life,” according to an article by Michelle Crouch on the AARP website.
Exercise can more. It can help both improve and protect your health.
Thus, it is even more important now when a pandemic threatens all of us and the federal government’s response has been haphazard and the medical system is being overwhelmed by too many patients and too few supplies. As a result, each of us needs to assume more responsibility for our health.
A tweet by Dr. Howard Luks highlighted the connection between exercise and the immune system:
The above tweet links to an article Dr. Luks wrote in which he said, “Exercise is the best medicine. Aside from social isolation and masks, it is also possible that it’s your best strategy to minimize the risk of having severe issues with COVID19.”
But which exercise?
Given that many Americans are abiding by the “shelter in place” guideline, that reduces the number of viable exercises.
One form of exercise not widely known in the United States is one that many more Americans should consider doing. It can be done at home. No equipment, special clothing, or athletic ability is required.
It is called qigong — pronounced chee-gung.
On his website, Bruce Frantzis, one of the leading qigong practitioners and authors in the world, describes qigong this way:
Qigong (alternatively spelled chi gung or chi kung) is a form of gentle exercise composed of movements that are repeated a number of times, often stretching the body, increasing fluid movement (blood, synovial and lymph) and building awareness of how the body moves through space.
There are many different types of qigong. Some that Master Frantzis teaches are Dragon and Tiger Medical Qigong, Heaven and Earth Qigong, and Gods Playing in the Clouds Qigong.
In this video, Paul Cavel demonstrates Heaven and Earth Qigong.
In my next post, I will continue this talk.
Bats and Stats 