How Chi-Performance can help you stay strong, centred and healthy and keep prepared for your sporting comeback
With our lives changing from day to day and so many things vying for our time and attention I wanted to quickly share with you a few ways your Chi-Performance training can help you through the current health crisis which is affecting us all.
Many people have written to tell me what a comfort it is to have a daily practice they can turn to during these unsettling times and that it is helping them to stay centred when everything around is in constant flux.
Did you know that there are untold health benefits in Chi-performance training? I don’t usually write about these as our focus is generally on improving sporting performance but here are a few significant and important ways your training can help you through the current Covid-19 pandemic.
Health benefits of Chi-Performance
Tai Chi health benefits are extensive and well documented and it is increasingly being used as part of corporate wellness programmes. The slow, graceful movements which are based on principles from nature and the elements actually help to induce the flow-state by bringing coherence between the rhythms of the brain and heart. It also improves muscle strength, balance, flexibility and cardiovascular health and there are even claims that it has served to bring relief to those suffering ailments from multiple sclerosis to thyroid conditions.
Breathing meditation is proven to reduce fear and anxiety, helping to fight depression and detach from negativity thus elevating our mood. The benefits are not strictly psychological but produce clear and quantifiable changes in how our bodies function. Lower abdominal breathing which is developed through regular meditation practice actually create shifts in the expression of genes related to stress, inflammation, healing and healthier ageing, and particular shifts in genes relating to fighting viral infection.
Standing practice is a form of Chi Kung (literally translated as energy training) and as part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) it can be thought of as a form of medical meditation similar to acupuncture but without the use of needles. It has an impressive list of benefits including strengthening the bone marrow which is the body’s primary factory for producing red blood cells, the job of which is to transport oxygen. It also decompresses the spinal column and enlivens the entire nervous-system.
(Sources: Forbes, Daily Telegraph, University of California, Harvard Medical Centre – and a lot of personal experience!)
Get 50% off Chi-Performance audio, video and eBooks so you can learn and train at home
Until the end of April, I am offering a 50% discount on all my online material which documents breathing, standing meditation and tai chi training for golf although the principles apply equally to ALL SPORTS. Chi-Performance has always advocated and taught a home routine where you can train in the living room , outhouse or garden and work on your swing, tennis backhand etc. in slow, mindful motion thus supporting your mind-body connection which you can strengthen in preparation for your sporting comeback in future months.
Just visit the Chi-Performance Shop and enter the coupon code chi50 before you checkout.
NEW – Special six week online tuition packages in meditation and tai chi
To help you plan and maintain a daily routine which includes Chi-Performance, I am offering a limited number of online tuition packages in the following which is in addition to my usual sport-specific online coaching for golfers and other athletes:
a) Seated meditation (Zazen) and standing practice (I Ch’uan) 
b) Original Yang (Yeung) family Tai Chi
Places are strictly limited and on a first come first served basis. You’ll have six weeks of tuition with detailed worksheets and then the offer will be open to others.
You can use Skype, Zoom or WhatsApp for the calls; they are all free platforms which you can use on your pc, tablet or smartphone. Get in touch now for more details.
Stay strong, centred and healthy and keep prepared for your sporting comeback.
Happy training!
Jayne
