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Therese Iknoian
Articles & Books From Therese Iknoian
Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-22-2022
The ancient practice of T’ai Chi and Qigong includes postures and movements, as well as a philosophy. T’ai Chi also has its own lingo — words and concepts you need to know.Basic T'ai Chi and Qigong movementsIf you’re practicing the ancient postures of T’ai Chi, you need to become familiar and fluid in adopting the basic stances and movements.
Article / Updated 06-20-2019
To get started with Yoga with Weights, you need a little willpower, an open mind, and a sense of adventure; at least, those are the only intangibles you need. Taking the first step in any new activity is usually the hardest part. As for the tangibles, you need some equipment to get going.At minimum, you need a quiet and comfortable place to exercise, hand weights, and ankle weights.
Article / Updated 09-09-2016
Yoga is well known for making people more flexible, supple, lithe, and limber. In fact, you’ve probably seen photographs of yogis or yoginis contorting themselves into different yoga postures. However, recent studies indicate that it’s a safe and effective option for relieving moderate low back pain.In a study funded by NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), participants suffering from chronic lower back pain were divided into three groups: one group took 12 weekly yoga classes, one group took 12 weekly stretching classes, and one group was given a self-care book and encouraged to exercise to relieve pain.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-27-2016
Yoga itself is at least 5,000 years old, and yoga exercising — what you know as yoga postures, or asanas — emerged about 600 years ago. Even though yoga has evolved over the centuries as it traveled to new cultures, its principles are universal. Yoga is a practice of mind, body, breath, and spirit. The articles in the Cheat Sheet touch on the physical and mental benefits yoga offers, offer suggestions for how to enhance your yoga practice even when you’re on your own, and remind you why warming up is so important to any exercise routine — even one as “user-friendly” as yoga.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Trying or reading about other things can supplement your practice so your T’ai Chi actually becomes better. Take a look at the following items, any one of which can help you become a more well-rounded and better T’ai Chi practitioner:
Read a little Taoism: Taoism (dow-ism) is the philosophy underlying T’ai Chi, as well as other Chinese internal martial arts or spiritual and health practices, such as Qigong.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
When you start to perform any action in T’ai Chi, you visualize it. In other words, you think it through first. Don't just let your mind go along for the ride — use it to see not only what you’re going to do, but sort of inside what you’re going to do. You see yourself completing it. You imagine the energy flowing to all the right places.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Qigong (chee-gung) covers a lot of different types of movements and practices that involve using and feeling the body's energy. That can include being healed by someone else's energy, passively meditating in a way that unblocks and uses your energy better, and moving in a meditative way that unblocks your energy channels.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
If you have limited time available for T'ai Chi practice, you can follow mini-form routines to target a specific area, such as strength. The mini-forms described here can help you achieve better functional strength — lean and toned muscles that do what you want, when you want, and have enough tone and conditioning to not get hurt or leave you stranded in a pinch.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
If you’re practicing the ancient postures of T’ai Chi, you need to become familiar and fluid in adopting the basic stances and movements. The following illustrations show some elementary positions to master:
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Practicing T’ai Chi on a regular basis may give you physical and mental benefits, depending on how much, at what intensity, with what seriousness, and how often you incorporate it into your life.
Some of the benefits listed here aren’t completely proven by fully recognized scientific studies. Nonetheless, the various benefits of T'ai Chi may include the following:
Better cholesterol levels
Decreased depression
Decreased risk of cardiovascular disease
Increased immunity (less sickness)
Increased muscle strength and flexibility
Less lower back pain
Less asthma
Developing better balance with T'ai Chi
Good balance has been easier to study than some other areas.
