Meditate Mindfully For Improved Health & Well-being

Editor’s Note: Jerry uses this in presentations, and all but the last paragraph is applicable to everyone practicing T’ai Chi Chih.

If you’re still wondering whether meditation will improve your health then perhaps you’ve been off the grid for at least the last decade. There’s much hard science pointing to meditation (especially mindfulness meditation) as key to reducing stresses (the kind that mimic or even cause diseases) that there’s simply no way to ignore the evidence any longer.

Scientists are beginning to tout another mindfulness side effect, which many folks haven’t caught onto yet: regular practice enables the practitioner to train their well-being.For more information check out Dr. Richard Davidson and one of his neurological studies on the nature of well-being.

The headlines of his groundbreaking life’s work? It turns out there are only four contributing factors to an overall sense of well-being:

A sense of resilience

A positive outlook

The ability to pay attention

And an attitude of generosity

Practicing mindfulness enables the practitioner to increase all four of these constituents of well-being. It also enables the practitioner to train their well-being. What this boils down to is that practicing mindfulness enables you to learn to be well.

Although these theories may seem unbelievably simple, they’re right on the mark. For many years Dr. Davidson (a neuroscientist and professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison), along with a team of colleagues, has been studying exactly how people gain and maintain optimum health via mindfulness by tracking their brain activities with MRIs and other tests of cognitive function. Google “neuroplasticity” and prepare to be amazed.

There’s only one trick to this learning-to-be-incredibly-healthy-and-happy business: practice.The million-dollar question then is, “Exactly what specifically are you practicing?”

The truth is that most people practice feeling stressed out, anxious, sad or mad most of the time. Those factors show up in our lives as sleeping poorly, multitasking 24/7 or just eating, drinking, and exercising (or not) in ways that won’t make anyone feel well, physically or mentally.

Do you fall into any of those categories? And if so, wouldn’t you love to learn how to feel resilient, positive, focused, generous and well all the time? But have no clue how to begin? (Truth be told, when most people sit down to meditate with the intent to quiet a monkey mind, they’ve suddenly given that little guy permission to run amok, amok, amok.)

I can practically hear you thinking, “Aren’t there any easier options?”

Why yes, there is an easier option: An evidence-based, moving mindfulness practice known as T’ai Chi Chih. And the fact that it is a moving mindfulness is just one distinction that sets TCC apart from other mindfulness practices. (It’s also one of the reasons why most people experience it as fun.) TCC is user-friendly because it has no age, physical fitness or coordination requirements. With just a few modifications all 19 movements and one pose can also be done seated. And in case you’re wondering, the answer is, “Yes, it can be done in wheelchairs. Folks who are partially paralyzed also find benefits from these movements.” There are no limits to who can learn and practice TCC.

Still have questions? Visit taichichih.org to read of the well-documented health benefits from practicing TCC or visit justinstone.com to watch some short demonstrations of the actual movements and it will all become clear.

Teachers, feel free use the above for as you see fit and then tailor the paragraph below to your personal situation:

Now that I’ve hopefully piqued your interest in TCC, here’s an amazing opportunity for you to try it in a completely unique setting: early Thursday morning classes in the stunning Main House Gardens of the Mt Cuba Center (one of the prettiest spots in Delaware!) These outdoor T’ai Chi Chih classes will undoubtedly be even more powerful than usual because spending time outdoors has also been proven to positively impact your health. Now that you know the value (and ease) of adding T’ai Chi Chih to your health routine, click here for class details and here to register today. HYPERLINK “https://education.mtcubacenter.org/wconnect/CourseStatus.awp?&course=193WEL202B”