New Tai Chi and Qigong Classes, Minneapolis, MN - starting 5/10/08
By Steven Sonmore L. Ac. | April 18, 2008
Would you like to easily build leg strength without running a marathon PLUS improve your posture, balance, and coordination?
Here’s your chance to learn Tai Chi and Qi Gong exercises to relieve stress and strengthen your immune system. No experience is necessary because each form will be divided into separate exercises that are easy to learn. Using smooth flowing postures and deep breathing, Tai Chi (combination of Yang and Sun style) and Qi Gong improves flexibility and strengthens joints to alleviate pain.
Learn how these dynamic exercises will enhance your life energy according to Chinese medicine principles. Register today. We are going to limit the number of students to assure a fantstic class.
Saturdays, May 10-June 7
5 Sessions, 11am-12pm
Cost: $75 pre-paid or $20 drop in rate
Location: Yoga Lift Studio
4801 Nicollet Ave South (southeast corner of 48th/Nicollet)
Minneapolis, MN
Register online at : http://www.orientalmedcare.com/tai_chi_qigong.html
Parking is available in the lot behind the center (just off 48th street) and there is plenty of on-street parking around the center.
For more information call 612-866-4000.
P.S. DVD’s will be available for purchase to make daily practice a snap.
About the Instructor: Steven Sonmore is a certified Health Preservation Instructor, a Qi Gong instructor, and a licensed acupuncturist . He is licensed by the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice and certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
Topics: Tai Chi, Qigong | No Comments »
World Tai Chi & Qigong Day - TENTH ANNIVERSARY Sat., April, 26th, 2008
By Steven Sonmore L. Ac. | April 17, 2008
World Tai Chi and Qigong Day is an annual healing event that has subtly spread across the planet since 1999. Millions worldwide have experienced the healing benefits of Tai Chi & Qigong. Many who have felt the profound stress management benefits of these ancient tools and realized what they offer have come together to share that awareness with society at large when our world needs it the most. Celebrations take place in sixty nations and several hundred cities. Mass Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong exhibitions will be taking place in many cities.
World Tai Chi and Qigong Day’s stated goals are to:
1. Educate the world about the emerging medical research revealing the health benefits that Tai Chi and Qigong offer.
2. Educate about the increasing use of these ancient traditional Chinese medicine modalities in business, education and community.
3. Provide a global vision of cooperation for health & healing purposes across geopolitical boundaries, and also an appeal to people worldwide to embrace wisdom from all the cultures of the world.
This global event began in 1999. However the first event that inspired the global event, was held in Kansas City, Missouri in 1998 on the lawn of the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in midtown Kansas City, where the Kansas City Tai Chi Club held a mass Tai Chi exhibition and teach-in involving nearly two-hundred people. CNN Headline News covered the event, which generated interest beyond Kansas City to quickly grow into a national and international event in the following years.
This world event provides a unique opportunity for people of all ages to learn, practice and celebrate the unifying power of Tai Chi and Qigong for achieving better health and a better world.
A growing body of medical evidence and scientific research has established the healing benefits available through the powerful energy techniques of Tai Chi and Qigong.
What is Tai Chi? Tai Chi Chuan is a gentle, refined exercise that offers many healing benefits to people of all ages and physical abilities. Tai Chi is a slow and rhythmical form of exercise that stems from the martial arts and the ancient practice of Qigong (chi kung).
What is Qigong? Qigong is part of traditional Chinese medicine along with acupuncture and herbal medicine and has been practiced for many thousands of years. This Chinese health regime integrates physical postures, breathing techniques and focused intention. Qi (pronounce chee) means vital life force that flows through all things in the universe. Gong (prounced gung) means accomplishment or skill through steady practice. Together Qigong means cultivating energy. It is a system for health maintenance, healing and increasing vitality. Many people, doctors, psychologists, scientists and other professionals are attracted to Qigong because they see its amazing healing powers and recognize a growing need for it. Qigong can heal you physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually and is one of the most powerful self-healing practices.
Qigong means using this vital life energy to create a healthy mind and body. This ancient discipline combines meditation, focused concentration, breathing techniques and body movements to activate and cultivate our “vital energy” as it flows through the acupuncture channels, the meridians of the body.
Learn more about these healing arts by joining our newest upcoming Tai Chi and Qigong Class in Minneapolis, MN starting May 10-June 7, 2008. For more information go to http://www.orientalmedcare.com/tai_chi_qigong.html
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Burn Calories, Dump Stress, Boost Immune Function - Without Sweating?
By Bill Douglas | April 16, 2008
According to a twenty-year study by Kaiser Permanente, between seventy and eighty-five percent of illness is caused by stress, meaning that in the U.S. alone stress is costing us about one-trillion dollars per year in healthcare costs. Since most absenteeism is due to stress, US business is losing upwards of $300 billion per year.
On a more personal level, it is disturbing to realize that aging is accelerated by stress, and stress is a growing issue with all of us. Studies show that change is stressful, even “good” change. So as we computer jockeys settle into the saddle of a new age of rapidly changing information, we need an edge that can help us stay healthy, sane, “younger” and more vibrant, even as we are often at the very center of the hurricane of modern change, such as keeping up with new hardware and software.
Ironically an ancient mind/body tool provides the perfect balm for our generation’s modern problems — it is called “Tai Chi” (pronounced tie-chee). T’ai Chi is a gentle series of relaxing motions that cleanse the body’s tissue of accumulated stress and, by doing so, boosts all aspects of our health systems. According to emerging research boosting the immune system’s strength dramatically, while reducing the incidence of depression, anxiety, and even reducing chronic pain conditions, are just a few of T’ai Chi’s myriad benefits.
What makes ancient T’ai Chi the perfect modern balm is that it doesn’t require special facilities or clothing, and doesn’t even make you break a sweat, meaning you can do it in office attire in an empty boardroom just by kicking off your heels. Yet, it provides the same euphoria of a long run, the cardiovascular benefit of moderate impact aerobics, and burns nearly as many calories as downhill skiing.
Our time is filled with paradox. A problem in this modern age stems from the great promise of the information age — a tidal wave of data being created by and offered to our “left brain”; that part of our minds that is analytical, calculating, and categorizing the world. Of course, this is a powerful and important part of who we are. This is the part of the mind that gets things done, pays the rent, builds the houses, and makes the cars. Our “right brain,” however, is getting left behind in our rapidly changing techno-world, and this imbalance of thought processes is at the heart of modern stress.
Our right brain is the feeling, smelling, sensing . . . enjoying part of the mind. This is the part of the mind that smells the flowers, not to analyze the smell, but to be filled with its beauty — and this is the part that has been left behind in the digital world. When we go to the cyber mall, for example, our right brain doesn’t get to play. The cyber mall is a wonderful thing that saves us time, money, and gas for our cars (and thereby saves the environment), but there are no Auntie Anne’s Pretzels to smell in cyberspace, or warm sunlight streaming in through the big skylights.
So what do we do? We get the best of both worlds. T’ai Chi is a series of exercises to balance the mind. T’ai Chi teaches us to experience life for sheer pleasure, thereby creating balance in our busy “get things done yesterday” world. If you learn T’ai Chi and practice in the morning before you sit down at your computer, your right brain (the sensing and enjoying brain) will be turned on more. You will feel the texture of your computer keys. You will remember to take the time to get a nice cup of green tea or herbal cinnamon spice tea, and you’ll interrupt your staccato keyboard occasionally to smell the tea’s rich aroma, feel the warmth in your hands, and breathe the breath of life deeply into your lungs.
Although you are at the cutting edge of the information age revolution, you are also in the garden of life. This will give you an edge in the long run. Why? Because chronic stress diminishes our cognitive skills and therefore, our creativity.
Einstein said, “Creativity is more important than knowledge.” Even if we have the world’s knowledge at our fingertips, if we are too stressed out to use the knowledge “creatively,” we are much less effective. Plus, we’re not as much fun!
The bottom line is T’ai Chi is a set of exercises to practice enjoying life. It’s not enough just to say, “I’m going to enjoy life more.” We actually have to practice mind/body tools that can positively affect our brain wave activity, in an integrative way, as T’ai Chi is proven to do.
T’ai Chi is an extremely sophisticated mind/body science that evolved over millennia, and is now being made available to all of us after centuries of being closely guarded secrets in China. Even though the practices are ancient, they are in many ways just as cutting edge as the multi-gigabyte computer.
Don’t just be “cutting edge” with your left-brain. Go all the way and stretch the envelope with your right brain, too, by weaving T’ai Chi into your life. You will be forever glad you did, as you discover balance and calm in the eye of the modern world’s ever accelerating storm of changes rushing at us.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Bill Douglas is a Tai Chi Expert, founder of World T’ai Chi & Qigong Day (held in 50 nations each year), and has authored and co-authored several books including a #1 best selling Tai Chi book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to T’ai Chi & Qigong. Bill’s been a Tai Chi source for The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, etc. You can learn more about Tai Chi & Qigong, search a worldwide teachers directory, and also contact Bill Douglas at http://www.worldtaichiday.org
For Tai Chi classes in Minneapolis, MN go to http://www.orientalmedcare.com/tai_chi_qigong.html .
Topics: Tai Chi, Qigong | No Comments »
Cosmetic Acupuncture
By Siamak Shirazi | March 26, 2008
What is Cosmetic Acupuncture?
Cosmetic Acupuncture is an effective, non-surgical treatment to reduce the signs of aging. It is based on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which involves the insertion of very thin disposable needles designed to be used only for face, into the groups of designated acupuncture points on the face & body where needed.
This superficial insertion on the face will increase the local circulation of both blood and energy (called Qi - pronounced; CHEE) to the face and stimulate collagen production, which will fill out the lines and tightens the skin. It also tones all the targeted facial muscles which will also gives firmness to the skin for a healthy, glowing complexion.
Cosmetic Acupuncture has attracted great attention in the last few years, especially in the big cities like New York City and Los Angeles. It used to be a treatment only for the rich and famous in Hollywood, but now everyone wants the royal treatment. A 1996 report in the international journal of Clinical Acupuncture reported that among 300 cases treated with Cosmetic Acupuncture, 90% had marked effects with a course of treatments. The effects: the skin became delicate, improvement in the elasticity of facial muscles, better complexion, and overall facial rejuvenation.
How does it work?
Siamak has been studying and researching to specialize in Cosmetic Acupuncture for over 10 years. He is licensed by the Oregon Board of Medical Practitioners since 1995 and also holds two certifications in the field of Cosmetic Acupuncture. He is able to utilize the meridians that either end or begin at the face to stimulate and balance the energy and at the same time, treat the underlying factors that contribute to the aging process. This involves the insertion of hair-thin disposable needles into specific areas on the face, ears, and hands. The needles are inserted into the energy pathways or meridians to improve the flow of Qi. As the movement of energy improves, a greater amount of energy and blood is circulated to the face, nourishing, hydrating, toning and diminishing the appearance of wrinkles.
At the same time he is attending to the outside (what you see), he can use some additional acupuncture points (usually on the arms and around ankles) to work on the inside. In this way he is working holistically, both on the physical appearance and on the underlying factors which influence that.
What are the benefits of Cosmetic Acupuncture?
Cosmetic Acupuncture can take years off your face. It helps to eliminate fine lines and makes the deeper lines look softer. It can also help to minimize dark circles, puffy eyes, double chin, sagging skin, and dropping eyelids. Other benefits include:
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Increases circulation, therefore oxygenates the skin
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Tightens the pores, and brightens the eyes
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Nourishes the skin, giving you a healthy complexion with a natural glow and radiant, younger looking skin
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Moisturizes the skin from inside, and gives rosy cheeks to people with dull, tired looking skin
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Helps minimize or eliminate fine lines
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Helps lift sagging skin, puffy or droopy eyelids
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Increases collagen production
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Brightens the eyes
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Improves muscle tone and dermal contraction
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Improves hormonal balance to reduce acne
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Improves facial color and tone
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Softens scars
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Increases blood, energy and lymph circulation
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Leaves you feeling refreshed, relaxed and rejuvenated.
Q: Can I do Cosmetic Acupuncture if I already had botox?
A: Yes, Cosmetic Acupuncture will maintain the effectiveness of botox, so it will save you a couple injections per year.
Why choose Cosmetic Acupuncture over a Face Lift?
While not a replacement for surgery, acupuncture is an excellent alternative. It is far less expensive than cosmetic surgery and is much safer, virtually painless and has no side effects or risk of disfigurement. This is unlike surgery, which may have an extended recovery period with swelling and discoloration. There is no trauma from Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture and you can stop with no ill effects. Treatment protocols can be modified to suit individual patients schedule and time frame to prepare for special events.
What is the course of treatment?
Treatments will be done 2 to 3 times a week to achieve best results, however can be modified to the individuals schedule. Each patient will respond differently to the treatment depending on their age and lifestyle. Visible results will be noticeable between 5 -7 sessions. Maintenance maybe needed depending on the individual patient, anywhere from once every month to 4 times a year follow-up sessions.
Each cosmetic acupuncture treatment lasts about 45-60 minutes with about 10 minutes of insertion time. Patients will be relaxing on a state of the art massage table while listening to soothing music. Cosmetic Acupuncture is traditionally done in 10 consecutive sessions within 4 to 6 weeks. You can also receive single treatments for follow-up or for a special event.
Does it really make a difference?
Cosmetic Acupuncture has been performed for thousands of years in China. As early as the Sung Dynasty (960AD-1270AD) Cosmetic Acupuncture was performed on the Empress and Emperor’s concubines. For centuries, the Chinese have known that beauty radiates from the inside out. The results are obviously not as dramatic as a surgical procedure but for the amount of time and money you invest, and its low risk, it’s a great alternative. It will make you look at your best and years younger. The other benefit is if you continue with follow-up treatments (the frequency of follow-up treatments varies from person to person) you can hold on to the results and slow down the aging process dramatically.
About the author: Siamak F. Shirazi, L.Ac, Ph. D is a licensed acupuncturist in private practice in Portland, Oregon since 1995. Visit his site at www.2bwell.net .
For information on Cosmetic Acupuncture treatments in Minneapolis, MN go to http://www.orientalmedcare.com/facial_rejuvenation_acupuncture_facelift.html .
This document was created, gathered, reviewed and/or modified by a group of practitioners at 2bwell, Inc. Although it might be referenced material, it is authentic in its present form and not permitted to be used with out a written consent of 2bwell, Inc.
Topics: Acupuncture | No Comments »
Can Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture Make You Look Younger?
By Steven Sonmore L. Ac. | March 19, 2008
While modern technology has enabled us to use surgery and Botox (injecting botulinum toxin into facial muscles) to look younger, my only question is what are these people going to do 5 years down the road? Before you schedule an appointment for Botox, you might want to know a little more about it.
Botox uses the substance that causes botulism, a sometimes fatal form of food poisoning. Botox interrupts nerve impulses to muscles in the face. The crow’s feet that appear when you squint, the lines that furrow your brow when you raise your eyebrows and the creases between the eyebrows when you frown can be caused by tension in underlying muscles, which contract the skin. Botox keeps this from happening temporarily.
If your doctor makes a mistake you can lose the ability to raise your eyelids all the way. If you’re getting shots around the mouth, a mistake could leave you drooling. Or you may not be able to raise your eyebrows, squint or frown.
Although muscles can cause some wrinkles, many result simply from the loss of elasticity that comes naturally with the aging process, causing the skin to sag and droop. Botox will NOT help wrinkles caused by aging and may make these kinds of winkles look even worse.
So what is the natural cure to looking younger? Many are now using the Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture also known as cosmetic acupuncture. I prefer the former name because this treatment works on not just the cosmetic level. Procedures like Botox or surgery are only band-aid solutions. Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture addresses reasons that we look old. While adjusting internal organ functioning, Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture will increase collagen production, tone facial muscles, make your skin look tighter, reduce fine lines AND you’ll feel more energy and vitality. That’s right – there is no recovery time like you experience with plastic surgery.
Research by the International Journal of Clinical Acupuncture revealed that 90% of participants got better (i.e. better complexion, leveling of wrinkles, general rejuvenation not just confined to the face) using Cosmetic Acupuncture. But don’t take our word for it. Listen to this video of one patient’s testimony. The focus of Chinese medicine has always been for thousands of years to help people live longer and healthier naturally.
For more than 20 years Steven Sonmore helped people transform health problems into solutions for attaining better health. Steven is a licensed acupuncturist, Qi Gong instructor, herbalist and Oriental bodywork therapist. He is licensed by the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice and certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Visit his clinic web site at http://www.orientalmedcare.com.