Thanks for the Great Workshop!

Last weekend we had the "Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine and Meridian Therapy" workshop for practitioners. I was surprised that I, myself, got a real charge after the 2 days! We covered a lot of information and I received some great feedback from the attendees that will make the next one even better.

A challenge that I encountered is trying to condense all the theories of TCM but not dilute them. There is so much history, and hidden meaning in concepts like the Yin and Yang, Five Elements, and Qi that it can take years to understand them.

Between now and the next workshop, set for February 19 & 20th, I am determined to form all this information into a "system" that any practitioner, or non-practitioner can use to help those around them immediately.

I feel very excited to help spread the concepts of Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, qi gong, and good clean living because we can't depend on others to make us healthy. We have to learn effective and efficient methods ourselves and help inspire others around us.

Thank you to everyone who attended and all the enthusiasm you shared!

~Think Vitality!~

Happy Halloween, Qi Gong Course News

The air is crisp, the ghouls are in the neighborhood asking for candy, and pumpkins are being carved up and set ablaze- fall is certainly here!


Enjoy the crunchy leaves and remember to keep yourself warm in this coming season particularly your neck. In Traditional Chinese Medicine a pathogen (or a cold or flu) enters through an acupuncture point on the base of the neck. By keeping your neck protected you reduce the chance of an external attack. In the next couple of days I will put up some more Immune System boosting tips.

The next Qi Gong course that was set for Saturday November 6th is going to be postponed. It most likely will be rescheduled to January as most of us are pretty busy during the holiday season. I will be in contact with anyone who has registered to make arrangements, or feel free to email me.

Enjoy the Halloween weekend and if you are going to eat some ooey gooey candy make sure that you actually want to eat it!

~Think Vitality!~

Couch Time Improves Marathon Training

Looking towards the fall, the Royal Victoria marathon is slowly approaching. In endurance training the 'old' idea was more is better. That has been shown to be a good way to injure yourself and over train!

One author pointed out, "If exercise makes you stronger, then how come you are tired at the end of a run?" The reason is exercise doesn't make you stronger - proper rest does.


So build some rest time into your training schedule and plan on tapering 2-3 weeks before race day to run your fastest time ever!

Here is an article discussing the importance of tapering.


The Globe and Mail- Couch Time Improves Marathon Training




~Think Vitality!~

Summer has arrived!

Well, I think it's fair to say that summer has finally arrived in Victoria!

With the sunshine and longer days, a lot of people are wanting to get out and get active. We should remember that whether it is having a game of basketball, tennis, or even throwing the frisbee around we can injure ourselves without proper stretching and warming up.

In my practice I have seen all sorts of injuries from summertime activity, most of which could be easily avoided by stretching beforehand. The main areas of injury are the shoulders, neck, and back. Spend a couple minutes limbering up and stretching before that game of bacchi ball and enjoy the free Vitamin D while we have it!

~Think Vitality!~




Photo source

Qi Gong Workshop - Victoria, BC

It's finally here!

Thank you everyone for for being so patient while we've been organizing this workshop. It's going to be a great event with loads of information, inspiration and practice. I'm really excited about it!

Here are the details:

Workshop: Qi Gong for Health, Vitality and Longevity
Location: Camosun College Landsdowne Campus, Victoria BC
Date: Saturday, August 21, 2010 9:00 am - 3:30 pm
Cost: $95 + tax

Qi gong, or Chi kung is an ancient practice developed to build energy and health using simple movements, breathing exercises and visualization. It is easy to do, gentle on the body, and highly effective. Practiced throughout China, Japan and Asia, qi gong can strengthen the body, reduce pain, increase energy, reduce stress, slow the aging process, improve the immune system and bring clarity to the mind. Qi gong improves health and vitality using the concept of qi.

In this workshop you will learn:

• The most effective qi gong movements for health
• Dynamic/flow qi gong exercises
• Static or stance exercises
• Basic and intermediate meditation practices
• What is qi and how it relates to healing
• How to improve your own qi circulation
• How to become healthy from the 'root'
• Common issues with other healing systems
• Discussion on qi gong healing

Qi Gong for Health, Vitality and Longevity is based on several different qi gong, tai chi, yoga, and meditation systems. With over 10 years of clinical experience as an acupuncturist and over 15 years of qi gong study, Jeffrey combines the best of each system in a simple and highly effective method that anyone can do. If the health benefits of qi gong sound too good to be true - try it for yourself and see!

Please register early as there is a limited amount of space.

You can print out this form and fax, mail, email, or phone us.
Qi Gong Registration Form

Or you can register online by clicking the "Buy Now" button below. It is safe and secure and you will receive a confirmation email.

~Think Vitality!~

Qi Gong and the Practice of Focus

30 Day Vitality Challenge Day 9

There are many types of meditation, qi gong and breathing practices that have been passed down through the ages for thousands of years. It's very easy to get overwhelmed with all the different methods from different 'masters' or 'gurus.' In my experience, simple is best.

There is no 'right' way and no 'wrong' way. Well...there might be a wrong way depending on how you look at it!

Regardless of the technique, the first and possibly most important skill to develop is the power of focus. Focus is being able to hold a single thought or intention for a desired amount of time. Studies show that we have approximately 60,000 thoughts per day. Unfortunately, a lot of those thoughts are the same and repeat over and over in our mind. When we develop our ability to focus and hold a thought we reduce those 60,000 to maybe 40,000. As our mental muscles get stronger we can reduce it even more.

A simple practice is to breathe naturally and count your breaths. That's it. Decide on a number, maybe 30, and everytime you breathe in, you count "one." Most people will lose track of the number at around 7 or 8 at first, but stick with it. Soon, you'll be able to hold your focus and be ready to move on to more advanced techniques.

As part of the 30 Day Vitality Challenge I will do 20 minutes of breath counting today.

P.S. - I have finally set a date for the Qi Gong workshop here in Victoria!
August 21, so mark your calenders!

~Think Vitality!~

Rules of the 30 Day Vitality Challenge

Rules of the 30 Day Vitality Challenge

Well, this has been unexpected- there have been several people who have said that they want to join in the 30 Day Vitality Challenge. So, here are the rules that if followed will help you feel better, look better, have more energy, feel more relaxed, and even shed unnecessary body fat.

1. Eliminate all forms of sugar.
Yes, I went there! White sugar, brown sugar, honey, cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, rice sugar, ‘natural fruit source’ sugars, molasses, and aspartame. If you can do just this one thing it will greatly impact your body AND mind!

2. Eliminate empty grains.
Eliminate white bread, pasta, multigrain bread, flour, baked goods, cookies, muffins, and cakes. Ultimately, we should eliminate all grains, end of story. But, if you don’t want to be too aggressive on yourself you can use a small amount of whole grain, sprouted wheat, or high fibre grains.

3. Exercise everyday.
What, every day! Yes, our bodies are designed to move. At the minimum you should walk briskly for 30 minutes. That could be 15 minutes twice a day as well. To do really well on the challenge you should aim to do moderate to high intensity activities everyday for a minimum of 20 minutes. This can be any activity as long as it gets your heart rate up and you work up a real honest sweat.

4. Mindfulness activity.
You need to do a mindful activity everyday. This could be meditation, yoga, qigong, deep breathing, writing a journal, listening to music, looking out a window, visualization, or simply being. Time required: 10 minutes.

5. Sleep well.
You should know your body well enough to be aware of how much sleep you need to feel fully recharged. This can be anywhere from 7-9 hours.

6. Infuse your diet with Nutrient Rich foods
While you should be avoiding junk and processed foods you should aim to consume lots of dark leafy greens, veggies, low glycemic fruits, lean protein, and healthy fats.

So to do the 30 Day Vitality Challenge you have to do one or more of the six elements for 30 days. For some that may take a lot of work and effort but if you can do all 6 elements you will notice a significant difference before and after. Try it and you will see!

~Think Vitality!~

Day 3 of 30 Day Vitality Challenge!

HIIT Me

Day 3

After waking up feeling muscle soreness from a good kendo session last night, doing exercise this morning was a real “character builder!” But, I still completed my good health promoting activity today by doing 20 minutes of HIIT.

I didn’t misspell HIIT, it is actually an abbreviation for the most effective method of burning calories, shedding body fat, revitalizing the immune system, revving up the metabolism for hours, and toning and strengthening the body.

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. In summary, you choose an activity and go hard for a period of time, then go easy, then repeat. You repeat the process for approximately 20 minutes. The intense intervals should be no longer then 60 seconds but if you are new to this start with 30 seconds. Your resting intervals should be no longer then 60 seconds as well. If you are used to doing much longer cardio workouts and that doesn’t seem long enough- just try it! If you make your intense intervals strenuous enough 20 minutes will seem like a very very long time!

Choose exercises that are gentle on the joints such as biking, elliptical, recumbent bike, swimming, power walking, hill walking, skipping, squats, rebounding, even jumping jacks. I would recommend not using running because it is easy to injure yourself during speed work. In fact, I see a lot of patients who are good runners but simply run too hard for their body to support it.

If you need some research to support this type of training check out: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8897392?dopt=Abstract

This study is based on Tabata training (developed for speed skaters) and is an effective HIIT.
Experiment with different ‘intervals’ to see what works for you!

~Think Vitality!~