Vanderbilt University researchers conducted a study of heavy marijuana users to help understand what exercise does for the brain. According to their study of 12 participants, eight female and four male they saw a 50% decrease in their cravings and daily use after just a few sessions of running on the treadmill.

Tai Chi and Qi Gong

Tai chi and qi gong are centuries-old, related mind and body practices. They involve certain postures and gentle movements with mental focus, breathing, and relaxation. The movements can be adapted or practiced while walking, standing, or sitting. In contrast to qi gong, tai chi movements, if practiced quickly, can be a form of combat or self-defense.
https://nccih.nih.gov/health/taichi/introduction.htm

Learning The Techniques and Training Of Tai Chi

Tai Chi is a practice that is derived from the concept of Yin and Yang. Over the years, it continues to uphold and managed to sustain the amenable and dynamic principles of learning way back in the olden times.

As a practice, Tai Chi’s core training features 2 forms: first, the solo form, which stresses slow sequence of movements while keeping the spine straight and firm, maintaining the range of motion and constant breathing. The Push Hands being the second core of Tai Chi training involves training of the principles of movement in a manner that is more practical and convenient.

As the word implies, the solo form of Tai Chi, requires only the one person to conquer the movements. It would take the students through a natural and complete range of motion over gravity’s center. If repeated accurately, the practice of the solo form can retain posture, maintain honest flexibility going through the joints and muscles, encourage proper circulation from any point of the student’s body, and let students be more familiarized with some of the important martial art application sequences that are usually implied by the different forms.

Major styles of traditional Tai Chi have forms that somewhat differ from the others in its presentation. Some differ in the wave of the hands, in the position of the legs, the reaction of the body and the pace of the movement. But these things don’t matter at all because what is important to Tai Chi practice is that it benefits not just your body but your mind as well. And besides, there are still many similarities coming from the point of their common origin that are obvious enough to recognize, anyway.

Solo forms, weapons and empty-hands are the basics in learning just about any form of martial arts application. This is in preparation for students for their self-defense training.

The philosophy goes: if one becomes stiff and equally uses hardness in attending to violence, otherwise resisting it, then it is expected that both sides can be injured at a certain degree. An injury like that is a Tai Chi theory that coincides with the consequence of fighting brute with brute, which, in Tai Chi is far beyond the right attitude and style.

Unlike in other martial arts where force is encourage to be applied to some extent, in Tai Chi, students are taught to face battle with delicate movements and gentleness, following every attacking motion and in the end, tiring their opponent. This is even done while remaining at a close contact. This is the principle wherein the yin and yang is applied – the main goal of training Tai Chi.

Aside from that, Tai Chi schools also focus their attention on how the energy of a striking person affects his opponent. For example, the palm can strike physically looking the same and performing the same but has a different and dramatic effect on the target.

Through your palm, you can strike and push the person either forward or backward, By doing so, lifting you opponent vertically off the ground and destroying their center of gravity. After which, this technique can literary terminate the striking force within the body of the person with the dearest intention of causing traumatic internal damage. http://taichisecrets.blogspot.com/2009/12/learning-techniques-and-training-of-tai.html

Historically, there are eight elements of yoga that, together, comprise ethical principles & practices for living a meaningful, purposeful, moral and self-disciplined life. Traditional yoga practices, including postures and meditation, direct attention towards one’s health, while acknowledging the spiritual aspects of one’s nature. Mindfulness derives from ancient Buddhist philosophy, and mindfulness meditation practices, such as gentle Hatha yoga and mindful breathing, are increasingly integrated into secular health care settings. Current theoretical models suggest that the skills, insights, and self-awareness learned through yoga and mindfulness practice can target multiple psychological, neural, physiological, and behavioral processes implicated in addiction and relapse. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3646290/

How to practice Yoga?

Before you opt for a particular style of yoga, you should consider what you’re looking for. Do you want strenuous exercises (stretching, muscle building, bodystyling) or relaxation (stress reduction, health, peace)? Sporting challenge you will find with Power Yoga, Iyengar Yoga and Kundalini Yoga. Relaxation you can find in the normal Hatha Yoga (Sivananda Yoga, Integral Yoga) and in the Viniyoga. Try out what is good for you (List of yoga schools). Ultimately, every yoga teacher has his personal style. Every yoga teacher has weaknesses and strengths. Learn from any yoga teacher. Find your own way to practice yoga. Take the best for you and accept in any yoga class the things that are personally not effective for you. And above all, always stay on your path of truth and accuracy. Don´t give up your mind on the door to spirituality.

Yoga for Beginners

Get the benefits of yoga. Learn yoga from a video with beautiful music. Relax in a few minutes with an easy yoga series. Do it as it is good for you. If you cannot do something, don’t do it. The first ten minutes we learn some basic yoga exercises and the last minutes we meditate with some mantras and the muscle relaxation. If you have little time, make only the yoga exercises or only the meditation. Do yoga at least once a week so that you stay healthy and happy.

1. We lie down on our back and relax.
2. We raise the outstretched right leg and hold it in the air. Then we raise the left leg in the air and hold it.
3. We raise both legs and the head in the air. We hold it as long as possible and breath relaxed in our belly.
4. We go into the candle, raise the butt and the legs to the sky. The hands strengthen our back. We move our feet and relax a minute in the candle.
5. We lie down again and rotate the spine. We turn the pelvis to the right and the head to the left. And the other way round. We twist the spine as far as possible.
6. We turn in the prone position and raise the right outstretched leg. We hold it and breath relaxed in our belly. Then we raise the left leg and hold it in the air.
7. We put our head backwards and bring our feet as far as possible to the head. The legs are in the air and the hands lie beside the body on the ground. They support the position. We hold the Cobra, breath relaxed into the belly and move the feet.
8. We lie the head on our hands, move our feet and relax.
9. We sit cross-legged or in the heel seat. The back is straight and the belly relaxed. We think one minute the mantra “Om Shanti”. We think it so fast, that all thoughts come to rest. Then we move a hand in blessing and think: “I send light to (name). May all people be happy. May the world be happy.”
10. We lie down and make the muscle relaxation. We tense the muscles of the legs and feet. We relax. We tense the muscles of the arms and hands. We relax. We tense the muscles of the head and the face. We relax. We tense the muscles of the whole body. We relax. We move the feet. We relax completely for some minutes. We go peaceful and happy our way. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Yoga/Print_version