What is Qigong and its Origins?

What is Qigong and its Origins?
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Qigong, pronounced 'chi kung' is an ancient Chinese
exercise and body healing technique, with overtones of
spirituality, that has been developing for more than 3000
years.

China is recognized as having the oldest sophisticated and
cultured civilization known to man.

Many modern treatments for physical and mental ailments
have their origins in ancient Chinese healing practices
that have been recognized as effective by Western medical
practitioners.

Most people will be aware of both the Chinese technique of
Acupunture and the many comprehensive Chinese herbal
remedies and tonics now readily available in the West.

The recognition in the West of the practice and art of
Qigong is now also growing rapidly as more and more schools
and trainers offer their expertise.

In the last thirty years Qigong has been known to have been
practiced by groups up to thirty thousand strong in Chinese
stadiums.

The earliest known practitioner of Qigong was Hua Tao
(circa 150 A.D.) known as the first famous Chinese surgeon.

When Hua Tao advised a General who had consulted him to
have an operation the General suspected that Hua Tao was
out to murder him and ordered his execution.

It is believed that Qigong had its' beginnings in the
ancient practice of sorcery and ritual dances which led
eventually to a documented systematic approach that has
been continued to be developed to the present day by,
amongst others, Taoists, Buddhists Confucians and
practitioners of Chinese martial arts.

`Qi', translated from the Mandarin, means Life Force,
Breath or Life Energy and 'Gong' is Dedicated Practice,
Work or Technique and this gives a meaning that the
exercise is a combination of breathing techniques combined
with bodily movements.

Using slow and graceful movements and at the same time
practicing controlled and coordinated breathing patterns
boosts the flow of 'Qi', the vital life force that gives a
feeling of inner tranquility and provides the healing and
regenerative energies needed by the body.

Qigong is an aspect of Chinese medicine that is principally
practiced for maintaining good health but it is also taught
as a healing technique and is often allied with martial
arts training. There are over three thousand different
styles and schools of Qigong known throughout the world,
some make convincing and more often than not unproven
claims to have remarkable healing and curative successes.

Others are recognized by Western and Chinese medical
practitioners as having benefits to the health of body and
mind through controlled exercise leading to stress
reduction and physical well being.

Since the nineteen fifties' research into Qigong has been
ongoing in both the West and East.

Chinese hospitals have recognized Qigong as a standard
medical technique since1989 and the Chinese government
officially implemented Qigong management regulations when
adding the technique to their National Health Plan.

Work has been done that suggests that some aspects of
Qigong can have very beneficial effects on the joints,
balance and prevention of falls amongst the elderly.

The curriculae of some medical universities include Qigong
courses and offer Batchelor and Master degrees in the
subject.

As so often in this day of the fast buck there are so
called schools, teachers and practitioners of Qigong that
make unfounded claims of their expertise and the benefits
of joining their set up, for a fee of course, so be wary,
ask questions and check out the answers before parting with
any cash.

Caveat emptor and carry out due diligence!

However there are very many highly skilled, qualified and
totally committed believers actively engaged in the
business of helping others to achieve the benefits of the
ancient and proven Qigong route to bringing harmony to body
and mind.

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Jaks Lloyd is a former photographic fashion model. She now
lives in Spain and indulges her creative talents by writing
and building innovative authority websites.
http://www.hotexercise.com
http://www.eyebeautytips.com

Prisoner of Carbs

Prisoner of Carbs
Copyright (c) 2006 Karen Sessions

I more than understand the carbohydrate roller coaster that
many of you may be experiencing. You hear that in order to
achieve successful weight loss you should cut
carbohydrates. On the flipside, some readings suggest
limiting carbohydrates, and still others say to eat more
carbohydrates! Does the carbohydrate mystery have you
completely confused?

You will be amazed to learn that you can eat carbohydrates
and still achieve desired weight loss. Before you can make
carbohydrates to work in your favor you need to understand
their position, so I will recap lightly on their
functioning role. Function of Carbohydrates All
carbohydrates are broken down and are directed to the
bloodstream as blood sugar, also known as blood glucose.
When a large amount of carbohydrates, or refined
carbohydrates, are eaten the blood glucose level rises.
When this happens the pancreas expels insulin to remove
glucose from the blood and directs it to the muscles and
liver to be stored as glycogen (a starch stored in the
muscle) for later use.

The muscles and liver can only store a limited amount of
glycogen, and once those stores are full the rest is stored
as fat. Consistently high insulin levels can result in fat
storage, water retention, and an insulin imbalance.

The consequences of an insulin imbalance are a rapid rise
and fall of blood glucose. Your blood is rapidly saturated
with glucose, followed by an immediate plummet, resulting
in carbohydrate cravings. If you eat more carbohydrates to
feed into the "craving" you start the cycle over.
Therefore, insulin can literally make you or break you in
your weight loss efforts. Gaining control can put you a
step ahead.

Excessive carbohydrate intake, wrong macro nutrient
combining, and poor nutrition choices can have an effect on
how insulin is managed in the body. A high intake of
processed food and poor food combining can interfere with
insulin management.

Normally, carbohydrates are used as fuel, but when there is
an imbalance in how the body produces and manages insulin,
it can lead to fat storage rather than burned for energy.
If this condition persists, it can lead to a wide range of
illnesses and diseases such as type 2 diabetes. You will
literally be a prisoner of carbohydrates if you lose
control.

Signs of an Insulin Imbalance

Feeling sluggish

Weight gain

Carbohydrate cravings

Hypoglycemic conditions

Fatigue

Headaches

Irritability

Nervousness

Depression

Over time, the insulin imbalance can result in an insulin
resistant condition. The pancreas begins expelling insulin
anytime food is eaten, causing a constant rise in blood
glucose, making weight loss extremely difficult.

Now the question is how to gain more control. The answer is
to correct insulin imbalances. Of course, genetics do play
a part. However, the main correction will come in
nutritional changes and a proper functioning thyroid, which
can also be corrected through proper nutrition.

One might think that the solution for correcting an insulin
imbalance is to restrict carbohydrates. Restricting
carbohydrates is a set up for disaster! Rather than
restriction, try management.

Steps to help control insulin levels Limit processed food
intake Eat more natural fibrous vegetables Eat natural
carbohydrates within reason Combine your carbohydrates with
a protein

Gaining control over carbohydrates is all in the right food
choices and food combining. Now go take control!

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Karen Sessions has been in the fitness industry since 1988.
She is a nationally qualified bodybuilder and holds two
personal training certifications. She has written 6 ebooks
on fitness and has helped hundreds of clients transform
their bodies. http://www.theelitephysique.com

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Working Out to Music

Working Out to Music
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Starting an exercise program is hard enough, isn't it? No
matter what you seem to do or how much you plan, it's never
as easy as it looks. However, there are plenty of ways to
help make your exercise time fly. One of the most popular
ways to help your workout is to add a little music to your
exercise plans. Here's what you need to know.

Why add music to your routine?

A lot of people will say that they like the quiet time of
exercise, listening to their breathing, and checking their
workout times. If you are not one of these folks then you
need something to help make working out easier and more fun
­ like music.

Music helps you take your mind off of how hard your workout
might be. For example, when you're off running or lifting
weights, music can help you forget about the things that
you are thinking about and focus on your favorite songs.
This subtle distraction can allow you to focus on working
out hard and strong.

When you add music to your workout routine, you can create
a soundtrack for your success. Add your favorite
inspirational music ­ think "Chariots of Fire" or the
"Rocky" theme ­ to make you push just a little harder and
make it to the end of your workout routine. Whatever music
makes you feel strong and powerful, add that to your
workout rotation.

How do you add music to your workout?

Before you can add music to your workout, you will want to
realize that some preparation time is necessary. What
you'll want to do is create compilations (mixes) of your
favorite songs beforehand. For those of you that have
digital music players, this is quite simple. All you need
to do is create a play list by adding your favorite songs
to a folder, burning them to CD, or playing them on your
player.

What about the tempo of my music?

One of the things that you will want to keep in mind when
you're working out is how fast your music is. While you
want something that's faster in pace, you don't want to
choose anything that's so fast that you can't keep up or
you'll over-exert yourself. Some techno music can be a
little too fast for light cardio workouts or strength
training.

On the other hand you'll want to make sure that you're not
including songs that are too slow either. Generally
speaking, you will want to start with slower music for your
warm up and stretching, then slowly build up the tempo of
your music and then bring it back down again for the cool
down.

This sounds too difficult

While this does sound time consuming, you can also find
recommendations on many fitness sites and in magazines.
These lists are already created to help you maintain a
certain fitness pace, so they can be very effective. Or
you might want to choose musical CDs and tapes that are
specifically designed for working out at a certain pace ­
such as 80 bpm (beats per minute).

Music is the soundtrack to our lives; why not include it as
the soundtrack for your workout? When you choose inspiring
and fast-paced music, it can actually help you work out
longer and harder ­ give it a try! Select songs that
inspire and motivate you!

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Lynn VanDyke is a master trainer and fitness nutritionist.
Her fitness site, http://www.strength-training-woman.com is
ranked within the top 1% of all websites. She has authored
the wildly popular ebook, Melt the Fat
(http://www.melt-the-fat.com). It is yielded as one of the
best fitness and nutrition ebooks available.

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