10:17 minutes (2.36 MB)
Michael and Lawson talk with tai chi and qi gong master Lee Holden, whose instructional programs are featured on PBS. They discuss his groundbreaking routines and the subject of his new book 7 Minutes of Magic, a superfast boost for mind, body and spirit.

In a world that is increasingly fast, the art of Tai Chi can be refreshingly - and beneficially - slow. The gentle, deliberate movements that help to keep millions of Chinese calm, centered, and fit are equally appropriate for a fast-paced American life.

Today is Be a Yogi day in AOL’s New Year’s fitness awareness-raising program, “30 Days, 30 ways.” Part of “America Takes it Off” month, in conjunction with Good Morning America, 30 Days invites readers to do something new each day of the month. Kicking off with the article and suggestion Retrain Your Brain––a basic fitness foundation with tips like “set goals,” “make a plan, “and “reward yourself”––the month includes everything from Just Breathe to The Gym 101 to Tone With Tai Chi to Be the Outdoorsy Type.

If you love the high of running but hate the joint and muscle pain that often come with it, you may want to check out ChiRunning. Started by Danny Dreyer, a man who regularly runs “ultra marathons” (30- to 100-mile jogs) and wrote ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Aproach to Effortless, Injury-free Running, the method applies Tai Chi’s mind-body principles to traditional go-the-distance running. It’s supposed to eliminate things like shin splits and make jogging joyful.

Take tai-chi, yoga, and dance. Stir. And you have Nia, one of a spate of newish fusion-fitness methods. It’s an acronym for “Neuromuscular Integrative Action,” though the method’s founders point out that in Swahili Nia also happens to mean “with purpose” and “a small tiny movement” in Hebrew.

Regardless, Nia reaches for a body-mind “fusion fitness” with classes that are like a slow-motion aerobics session. It’s cardiovascular, caters to all fitness levels, and encourages relaxation, even when you’re drenched and panting. Among other jargony tenets (“intrinsic and extrinsic muscular movement that is multi-dynamic and multi-directional”), Nia is based on the “Pleasure Principle,” the idea that exercise should be fun and joyful, not painful or hard. Its founders claim that all this leads to enhanced chi, better immunity, flexibility, clear thinking, strength, and weight loss.

In the latest issue of The Journal of Asian Martial Arts, an academic and literary publication, psychologist and Guang Ping practitioner Richard Vogel, Ph.D. talks about intimate relationships from a new perspective in his article, “The ‘Ki’ to a Lasting Marriage––the Application of Internal Martial Arts Principles in the Marital Dojo.” Notions such as yielding, relaxing, and adhering can transfer easily to resolving personal conflict, explains Vogel. He also suggests that the highly attuned listening skills honed with a martial arts practice partner––especially in exercises like Tai Chi’s Push Hands ––are “conducive to more harmonious relationships.” And he notes that the “heightened awareness” and “enhancement of energy,” other side-effects of a practice, can also significantly reduce eruptions of emotional drama. Though Vogel doesn’t note the inherent irony, it’s fascinating how he’s applying techniques normally used for beating down your adversary to harmonizing with your mate. (Cue Pat Benatar?)