Tai chi and other slow-paced exercises that emphasize breathing can help melt away stress

Two years ago, Mike Lens had a life-changing experience. "I had a heart attack. I was 46 years of age and needed to get back into shape," he says. Health care workers encouraged him to learn stress management skills during rehab. Lens and his wife, Jeanne, took a tai chi class in Brandon where they live, and his world got calmer. "It's a wonderful form of relaxation," says Lens, a salesman. "It takes the stresses of the day away and gets you in tune with your body." Tai chi, quigong and aqua chi - done in the water - are systems of exercise involving postures, movements and breathing to calm the inner body. Giving the mind and body a small rest period to relax and refresh is like topping off your energy tank. Tai chi is an ancient Chinese martial art health practice that incorporates meditation in movement, says Glenda Baker, who taught the class the Lenses took. It's based on the belief that where your mind goes, your energy will follow. The health practice involves deep breathing combined with slow movement to reduce stress. It helps you let go of what's weighing you down. Tai chi allows a person to get more oxygen into the bloodstream and to the muscles and organs. It helps the body repair. "It's not mystical. It's basic biology," Baker says.

All the movement meditation systems fall under the umbrella of yoga, says Baker, who is a tai chi, aqua chi and quigong instructor at Avera McKennan Fitness Center. "Meditation is meant to make people aware of 'right here, right now,' how you're feeling and functioning," she says.

We are a culture in motion, and it's very difficult for most of us to slow ourselves down and become completely still either physically or mentally, says Bill Cooper, chaplain at Sioux Valley Hospital.

"The forms of meditation that involve motion allow us to slow down but still be in motion. It's an intentional and sacred type of motion that allows our mind to focus on what our body is doing. The mind, body and spirit come together in a sense of peace."

But misperceptions regarding meditation abound.

Don't be intimidated

It's easy to get intimidated by the word. People assume you need years of training to cull beneficial effects from meditative practices, says Marcia Jones, a program director at Avera McKennan Fitness Center.

More Links

www.meditationsociety.com/society.html
www.1stholistic.com/Meditation/hol_meditation.htm
www.holistic-online.com/Alt_Medicine/altmed_definitions.htm#what-is
www.nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation/

But don't get caught in the mystical, out-of-body reputation. "People have a skewed view," Baker says. "You don't need to be in a dark room with a candle," chanting aaooohhhmmm.

People may think they need to study with a maharishi for years to learn how to meditate and then take a lot of time to practice it. "But once you learn how to breathe with a full, whole body breath and clear the mind, that is a small form of meditation," Baker says.

Guided imagery helps exercisers clear their minds and immerse themselves in the immediacy of the moment.

Modern society doesn't teach people to relax, and stress may be killing them. Seventy-five percent to 80 percent of all doctor visits are stress-related, Baker says, and up to 80 percent of all deaths in industrialized countries are related directly or indirectly to stress, she adds.

Tai chi and other Eastern forms of study train students how to let go of distracting thoughts and focus attention on breathing and movements. Being fully aware of the moment and not concentrating on anything in the past or the future calms frazzled nerves.

The more stressed a person is, the tighter his or her chest muscles become, Baker says. The more relaxed a person is, the more he or she can increase oxygenation, have a body that works more efficiently and feel better.

Encouraging a mind-body connection will ensure a more balanced lifestyle, Jones says. "You can run all you want, but if you don't feel good emotionally, you don't get the full benefit" of the exercise.

Benefits to the body

Meditation has become a valid form of medical treatment. It can help control blood pressure and lower heart rate, blood sugar and pain, experts say. It's beginning to be used for cancer, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's patients as well.

"Their body responds better to treatment, and healing improves," Baker says.

Baker started practicing tai chi and meditation eight years ago to relieve her migraine headaches.

"I used to have to take medicine for it, but I don't anymore," she says. She also thinks the practice has lowered her blood pressure, raised her bone density and kept her flexible.

Lens has seen good results, after initially not knowing what tai chi was, he says. He balances two days a week in meditation with three days of more traditional exercises.

The routine has helped him get in shape, much better than he was before the heart attack, he says. "It makes me feel good. It relaxes me. It gives me the ability to relax myself during the day," he says.

The biggest thing about tai chi is the breathing, Lens says. "When you get into the deep breathing, it releases the tension. It makes you feel so much better. It's a wonderful nonstressful exercise."

Meditation is a form of self-care, a balm for the mind, body and spirit. Living in harmony is a worthy goal, and movement meditation can help people achieve that. "It's something we need in our lives," Cooper says.

"We are physical, spiritual and mental beings," he says. "The spirit, the mind and the heart complements and impacts each other."

This type of meditation has a modern feel, instructors say. The accessible learning curve and speedy benefits fit in with society's fast lifestyle because people can practice it while standing in line at the bank or taking a break from work.

"You might call it the drive-through meditation," Baker says.