| Fitness Tip of the month |
 |
|
Fit Squad
Fitness Tip of the MonthMARCH 2010 - T'ai Chi and how it can benefit you
T'ai Chi Chuan, otherwise called T'ai Chi, is a 2000 year old member of the martial arts family. It is a mindful martial art, a peaceful art. Although T'ai Chi was originally offered by martial arts studios, in the last few years its popularity has grown and it is now practised in businesses, hospitals and schools. With T'ai Chi you can boost your energy levels, find inner peace, become more creative, slow the aging process....and all this due to the significant decrease in stress levels resulting from its practice.
 T'ai Chi can be described as moving meditation. The goals is to use the mind to both focus and move. The degree of turning and stretching in each of the movements, combined with the adaptability of the form to suit each individuals needs, enables the body to build strength and increase general health. The focus required and produced by T'ai Chi reaches deep inside the body. The entire body benefits - the tendons, joints, spine, connective tissue and internal organs. T'ai Chi restores the calmness and peace of mind that is often lost through the anxieties of daily life. Imagine life as a roller coaster and T'ai Chi as the breaks. When life gets faster and faster it is T'ai Chi that can slow things down again.
Tension, worry and anxiety often result when our mind, heart and body is unable to leave something behind. The stress makes us tense and we block the flow of our energy. The slow relaxed movements and incorporated breathing techniques of T'ai Chi help us to clean our mind, and release tension from any place in the body where we are gripping onto tension. Step into the future and get a fresh perspective on life. Try T'ai Chi today! Author: Personal Trainer Florian Apler
FEBRUARY 2010 - Stress, The Yantra Mat, and More!
As the result of daily conflicts in the workplace, at home, or in traffic, many detrimental impulses attack our nervous system. Our nervous system tries desperately to achieve a balance between activation (through stress) and deactivation (through relaxation).
It is, however, possible to switch between activation and relaxation with very little effort. In achieveing this you are able to preserve the resources of your body and use your energy effectively.But this is of course a learning process and unfortunately body perception is difficult. Even without the presence of daily voices and impulses that we are forced to react to, body perception is a challenge.
When you see yourself in the mirror, you notice physical changes and often attempt to do things (execise, makeup, hair-styles) that can alter the way you look. What if you could see your nervous system in the same way? There is no doubt that the majority of us would change our attitudes and actions to improves it's appearance also!
Our body gives us warning signals, such as headaches, sleeplessness and lack of concentration or abdominal pain when our nervous system is out of balance. If we ignore these signals the resulting problems can be significant. BURNOUT is a great example of this. It weakens the entire system, effecting energy levels and of course attitude for a long period of time. Burnout is effectively the body saying 'STOP, I needed rest one month ago and did not get it, so now I will grind you to a halt'.
Here at Fit Squad we want to offer you help in all areas of health and wellness. Personal training and exercise are extremely effective methods for relieving stress and controlling that up/down nervous system. However, there are many other excellent relaxation methods that can and should be combined with exercise to help reduce stress levels. The Yantra Mat is one such method.
The Yantra Mat is a gentler version of the traditional indian nail bed - instead of nails (ouch!) it is studded with 8,800 non-toxic ABS plastic spikes. What is fantastic about the Swedish Yantra Mat is that although the spikes feel sharp, if your body weight is distributed evenly across the mat an intense sensation quickly gives way to an incredibly comforting rush of heat. This response comes from a rise in
 Please stay tuned as next time we bring you information on TAI CHI, and how it can reduce your stress levels and improve your well being!
|