This month I have been sharing case stories on the Metarobics Facebook Page, of teachers who started Tai Chi due to health concerns. Some were at deaths door, and several had been told that their condition was such that nothing more could be done - they were going to die. Then they started Tai Chi. My work with Metarobic theory and research explains why exercises such as Tai Chi had such a dramatic impact on their conditions. This week I shared my own story, which I would like to elaborate on here, since it further supports the importance of an evidence and theory based perspective, in order to maximize the benefits of these exercises.
I started Tai Chi about 30 years ago, along with Kung Fu, due to my interest in martial arts. The idea of using Tai Chi for health never occurred to me. But I did receive three fairly immediate benefits. First my long term knee problems cleared up. At one point knee surgery was recommended. My knees were red, swollen and crackly. I was told I needed to give up running, or have knee surgery. I stopped running and my knees got better. But every time I tried to run the problem returned. Until the muscles around my knees were strengthened by the stance training of Kung Fu and Tai Chi. These exercises developed a visible band of muscles around my knees, which acted as a natural knee brace. The second early benefit was correction of the scoliosis of my back. The third benefit was an enhanced level of focus and discipline, which raised my college GPA to pretty much a straight 4.0, and resulted in being the top graduating senior in the college of arts at my university.
But it was not until almost 30 years later that I received the greatest benefits, and a better understanding of how to maximize Metarobic elements. Early in life I was diagnosed with the dermatitis herpetiformis form of celiac disease. Things were fine as long as I stayed away from wheat, barley and rye. But about six years ago, while living in Florida, I started suffering from numbness in my feet, as well as memory loss, and episodes during which it was hard to think or talk. Doctors could find no reason for this. I seemed healthy at all levels. Then I read an article called “Have You Seen My Brain Cells?,” about the effects of gluten on the brain in celiac patients. The description in that and other more scientific articles fit my symptoms exactly. Researchers noted that the underlying cause of neuropathy and other neurological conditions in celiacs was undetermined. It was suspected to be a mineral or vitamin deficiency, but like myself, celiac patients tested normal as a whole. Then I read an article that since celiacs tend to eat larger amounts of rice than the normal population, that they were being exposed to high levels of arsenic. At that time I was eating rice in one form or another three times a day, seven days a week. So I stopped eating almost any rice based products. The memory loss and fuzzy thinking got dramatically better, but I was still experiencing numbness in my hands and feet. It looked like long term arsenic exposure might be the culprit, and that this was difficult to get rid of in the body. I was told by my doctor that since low level arsenic poisoning is uncommon in the United States, that it was not covered by my insurance. This seems sad, since one research paper noted that as many as 50% of celiac patients develop peripheral neuropathy later in life. If this is indeed caused by low-level long term arsenic poisoning, eventually this will become a recognized and authorized condition. But in the meantime, the trick was how to get rid of the neuropathy.
This is where Tai Chi came into major play in my life. I was researching and writing about the healing effects of these exercises (related to enhanced blood oxygen saturation, diffusion, and oxygen based metabolism), due to the dramatic effects on my students with cancer. Yet here I was, the numbness having spread up my legs to the middle of my thighs, and almost to my shoulders in my arms. A doctor stuck a pin in me, up and down my arms and legs, and I felt nothing. I was frustrated, since here I was writing about the healing power of Metarobic exercise, yet I was losing all feeling in my arms and legs. But then it struck me. One point I was making related to cancer treatment and other conditions, was the importance of dosage – how much and how often each person practiced Tai Chi or Qigong, and the level of benefits they received. Yes, I was doing 30-40 minutes of Tai Chi and Qigong pretty much daily, but not multiple times a day, as did some of the people who used it to combat cancer. So I started doing 30-40 minutes three times a day. Within two weeks I experienced a dramatic turnaround in my condition, and within three months, almost all feeling had returned to my limbs. There was just a little residual numbness in my fingers and toes. Six months later even that had disappeared.
I was later able to reduce practice to two times a day, which keeps the numbness at bay. Metarobic theory explains why Tai Chi and Qigong practice would help the body to heal and function more efficiently (due to enhanced physiological function at all levels, linked to measureable increases in blood oxygen diffusion, saturation, and enhanced oxygen based metabolism). The research and mechanisms underlying this is explained in more detail in “Tai Chi Therapy: The Science of Metarobics.” But regardless of how or why it worked, the key thing to me was that it worked. Thirty to forty minutes of Tai Chi and Qigong twice a day may sound like a lot, and to many people it might not be worth it. But it also brings great feelings of peace and tranquility, keeps me young, and is something I can fit in within other activities. In the morning I take our dog to the park, and listen to music while doing Tai Chi. What a great way to start the day. In the evening, while my family watches TV, I grab a corner and do my exercises, still spending time with them. For traditionalists who do not like doing Tai Chi with music or TV, I have to admit, that focused practice in complete solitude does bring additional mental benefits. And at times I do unplug and focus on the form for this reason. But as the famous Tai Chi teacher T.T. Liang said, when someone pointed out that music was not traditional, he noted that the ancients didn’t have MP3 and CD players either.
Next month I will be going over cancer research related to Metarobics, in honor of National Cancer Awareness Month, as well as posting relevant case stories on the Metarobics Facebook page. Since I have something like 30 of these stories, I am going to try to post one each day for September. I am still travelling for conference presentations, and looking for a location interested in becoming a home for the Metarobic Institute, so we will see what happens.
In health, Dr. Gryffin
I started Tai Chi about 30 years ago, along with Kung Fu, due to my interest in martial arts. The idea of using Tai Chi for health never occurred to me. But I did receive three fairly immediate benefits. First my long term knee problems cleared up. At one point knee surgery was recommended. My knees were red, swollen and crackly. I was told I needed to give up running, or have knee surgery. I stopped running and my knees got better. But every time I tried to run the problem returned. Until the muscles around my knees were strengthened by the stance training of Kung Fu and Tai Chi. These exercises developed a visible band of muscles around my knees, which acted as a natural knee brace. The second early benefit was correction of the scoliosis of my back. The third benefit was an enhanced level of focus and discipline, which raised my college GPA to pretty much a straight 4.0, and resulted in being the top graduating senior in the college of arts at my university.
But it was not until almost 30 years later that I received the greatest benefits, and a better understanding of how to maximize Metarobic elements. Early in life I was diagnosed with the dermatitis herpetiformis form of celiac disease. Things were fine as long as I stayed away from wheat, barley and rye. But about six years ago, while living in Florida, I started suffering from numbness in my feet, as well as memory loss, and episodes during which it was hard to think or talk. Doctors could find no reason for this. I seemed healthy at all levels. Then I read an article called “Have You Seen My Brain Cells?,” about the effects of gluten on the brain in celiac patients. The description in that and other more scientific articles fit my symptoms exactly. Researchers noted that the underlying cause of neuropathy and other neurological conditions in celiacs was undetermined. It was suspected to be a mineral or vitamin deficiency, but like myself, celiac patients tested normal as a whole. Then I read an article that since celiacs tend to eat larger amounts of rice than the normal population, that they were being exposed to high levels of arsenic. At that time I was eating rice in one form or another three times a day, seven days a week. So I stopped eating almost any rice based products. The memory loss and fuzzy thinking got dramatically better, but I was still experiencing numbness in my hands and feet. It looked like long term arsenic exposure might be the culprit, and that this was difficult to get rid of in the body. I was told by my doctor that since low level arsenic poisoning is uncommon in the United States, that it was not covered by my insurance. This seems sad, since one research paper noted that as many as 50% of celiac patients develop peripheral neuropathy later in life. If this is indeed caused by low-level long term arsenic poisoning, eventually this will become a recognized and authorized condition. But in the meantime, the trick was how to get rid of the neuropathy.
This is where Tai Chi came into major play in my life. I was researching and writing about the healing effects of these exercises (related to enhanced blood oxygen saturation, diffusion, and oxygen based metabolism), due to the dramatic effects on my students with cancer. Yet here I was, the numbness having spread up my legs to the middle of my thighs, and almost to my shoulders in my arms. A doctor stuck a pin in me, up and down my arms and legs, and I felt nothing. I was frustrated, since here I was writing about the healing power of Metarobic exercise, yet I was losing all feeling in my arms and legs. But then it struck me. One point I was making related to cancer treatment and other conditions, was the importance of dosage – how much and how often each person practiced Tai Chi or Qigong, and the level of benefits they received. Yes, I was doing 30-40 minutes of Tai Chi and Qigong pretty much daily, but not multiple times a day, as did some of the people who used it to combat cancer. So I started doing 30-40 minutes three times a day. Within two weeks I experienced a dramatic turnaround in my condition, and within three months, almost all feeling had returned to my limbs. There was just a little residual numbness in my fingers and toes. Six months later even that had disappeared.
I was later able to reduce practice to two times a day, which keeps the numbness at bay. Metarobic theory explains why Tai Chi and Qigong practice would help the body to heal and function more efficiently (due to enhanced physiological function at all levels, linked to measureable increases in blood oxygen diffusion, saturation, and enhanced oxygen based metabolism). The research and mechanisms underlying this is explained in more detail in “Tai Chi Therapy: The Science of Metarobics.” But regardless of how or why it worked, the key thing to me was that it worked. Thirty to forty minutes of Tai Chi and Qigong twice a day may sound like a lot, and to many people it might not be worth it. But it also brings great feelings of peace and tranquility, keeps me young, and is something I can fit in within other activities. In the morning I take our dog to the park, and listen to music while doing Tai Chi. What a great way to start the day. In the evening, while my family watches TV, I grab a corner and do my exercises, still spending time with them. For traditionalists who do not like doing Tai Chi with music or TV, I have to admit, that focused practice in complete solitude does bring additional mental benefits. And at times I do unplug and focus on the form for this reason. But as the famous Tai Chi teacher T.T. Liang said, when someone pointed out that music was not traditional, he noted that the ancients didn’t have MP3 and CD players either.
Next month I will be going over cancer research related to Metarobics, in honor of National Cancer Awareness Month, as well as posting relevant case stories on the Metarobics Facebook page. Since I have something like 30 of these stories, I am going to try to post one each day for September. I am still travelling for conference presentations, and looking for a location interested in becoming a home for the Metarobic Institute, so we will see what happens.
In health, Dr. Gryffin
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