The Unexpected Cure: How Chinese Martial Arts Healed My Chronic Pain
Ever felt like your body's in a constant state of struggle?
That was me with my chronic wrist and back pain. It felt like a relentless shadow over my shoulders, day after day - for almost a decade.
But then, I stumbled upon an unlikely hero: Chinese martial arts.
Pain, as I learned, is like a beaver dam blocking a creek—Chinese medicine sees it as an obstruction.
Clearing this blockage isn't always straightforward though, especially with chronic conditions. It's not just about removing the obstruction; it's about understanding and addressing the underlying issues.
My journey into martial arts wasn't just about learning to punch or kick; it was about mastering the basics: body mechanics, balance, alignment, rotation, and shifting.
These fundamentals brought my imbalances and dysfunctional patterns front and center.
I've been honing these skills for 14 years, starting every session with the same basics. Because without them, my movements lacked power and opened me up to injury and more pain.
Slowing down and focusing on each movement taught me to calm my nervous system on demand, reducing inflammation and promoting healthy blood flow and energy circulation—especially beneficial for my wrist and back.
These practices didn't just support my physical health; they prepared me mentally to stay present and composed during stress.
It was seriously a revelation: movement, balance, alignment, and stress were intertwined, fueling a cycle of pain I couldn't get out from under.
My 2 wrist surgeries failed because they never tackled these root causes.
Martial arts have become my self-applied rehab and therapy, teaching me daily how to realign and rebalance.
I'm still a work in progress, but I'm leagues ahead of where I started, and my wrist and back?
They've never felt better!
This journey has taught me that healing is about more than just treating symptoms.
It's about understanding and adjusting the fundamentals of how we move and live. And for me, Chinese martial arts and Eastern medicine was the key to unlocking that door.
How To Do What You Want For As Long As Your Want
I have friends and colleagues in their 50's and 60's who move and feel better than some of my clients in their 20's and 30's. Here’s what they do different.
In fitness these days most people think exercise means going as hard, fast and intense as possible.
The "No Pain, No Gain!" mentality.
The fixation on burning calories or pushing yourself beyond measure tends to damage and deplete the body and organs in ways that aren’t always so obvious.
And most think that feeling sore, tight and achy is “normal” - it’s what it takes to be “healthy”.
But unless you’re a competitive athlete, it’s a short sighted way of staying fit for most adults.
You really need to ask yourself what’s your end goal?
Is it simply to live in a state of pain and discomfort just to look good, or is it to be able to do what you want, when you want for as long as you want?
The older people I train with who display power, control, balance and agility work out hard sometimes, but mostly they focus on refined strength that’s built over time.
They’re training for today but considering how they’ll feel tomorrow and decades from now.
Refined strength and freedom of movement is something that’s cultivated using focus, patience and consistency.
They’re not just focused on their body and how it looks but how it’s connected to every other aspect of their life experience.
They’re aware that how they move is a reflection of their mental state, and how their mental state also reflects how they move.
They study the relationship and harmony of their body mind & spirit, everyday.
The latest and greatest exercise routines out there are oftentimes not a recipe for longevity and true health and fitness.
Taking some time out to consider what you truly want for your future self is worthwhile investment of your time.
Because having a body mind that functions and performs well, and with more control and freedom into your 60's, 70's, 80's and beyond is done in a nurturing way, not a violent and aggressive way.
Here are a few things to consider as you go into your next workout or activity:
Can you feel your whole body contribute to the movement/exercise you’re performing. (This will require focus and global awareness of your body)
See if you can perform the movement while keeping the breath slow, deep, even and without force.
Look for quality and precision over quantity and intensity.
If you apply these ideas consistently, and observe your results, you’ll find clarity on how to make the movement better, and you’ll experience more longevity and comfort as you continue to move forward in your life!
The path to true health and vitality lies not in pushing our bodies to the limit, but in nurturing them with mindful, balanced practices that serve us today and preserve our well-being for the years to come.
Listening to the Body: Embracing Modern Approaches in Ancient Arts
Within the world of Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Nei Gong, and Ba Gua Zhang, there are lots of traditional styles and lineages that exist.
And having trained in authentic Qi Gong, Nei Gong, and Ba Gua Zhang since 2010 and taught professionally since 2016, I understand the importance of maintaining the authenticity of your lineage.
It's from this position of understanding and respect for the traditions that I've sometimes found it cringe-worthy to see people on the internet modify or fuse these arts and market them under their traditional names.
When I’d see someone seemingly just swing their arms around and label it Tai Chi, devoid of any authentic connection, it was hard to stomach.
But hearing a personal experience of a new client recently, led me to having a profound epiphany.
This person, plagued by various physical ailments, got tremendous value from a fairly popular online Tai Chi youtube page.
To me, sure, this account seemed to be 'Tai Chi-ish'.
Their method took Tai Chi movements and made them more accessible to the masses, without delving deep into the principles and alignments of the art, which in my understandting is what makes the internal arts unique.
But with these videos, the focus was less on correct form and internal alignments, and more on simplistic follow-along routines.
Now, even though I might have criticized this before, hearing about its value firsthand changed my perspective.
My client, after following along with these videos for the past few months, felt real relief for a few hours after he’d practice. But then, on a friend's recommendation to switch to a more 'authentic' teacher, he began to experience discomfort and lost that sense of relief.
I told him, "Forget what your friend said. Your body is the most honest critic. Listen to it."
My client's main goal wasn’t about attaining mastery as a martial artist, it’s just to live with more comfort and improve his quality of life. So, while the teachings might not be 100% traditional, what truly matters is the persons intentions, goals, and how they resonate with the practice.
I've come to realize that much of the criticism towards more accessible teaching styles might stem from a place of competition.
As skilled practitioners, especially those from renowned lineages like the one I come from, in my humble opinion, we need to rise above such sentiments.
Embracing different methods will not only enrich our understanding but also help us attract students genuinely meant for our teachings.
With all of that benign said and just to be clear, I do not condone people taking a few classes or workshops and then going out and trying to teach the masses. But when a dedicated practitioner chooses to modify what they’ve learned, I’ve come full circle and can see the value.
Does Your Back Hurt Because You’re Getting Old?
I just had a long talk with my barber about how his back has been hurting for the past few years, and he doesn't know why.
He tells me, "Jonathan," (in an Italian accent, he's from Sicily), "I used to play soccer every week, I used to go to the gym, then during COVID, I gained about 15 lbs, and now I'm in my mid-50s, and at the end of the day, my back is in pain."
He says it's not that bad, but it does hurt.
I said, "Anthony, this ain't rocket science. You used to do all those things, and now you don’t, and now your back hurts. Do you think if maybe you got back to being more active and lost a few pounds, things might start to feel differently?"
In my experience, people love to blame age. Maybe because it's convenient. But if age were the reason, then literally everyone would have the same issues as they got older.
And even if it seems like everyone over 40 that you know is struggling with something physically, it's not everyone.
But staying out of pain is not always convenient, although with practices like Qi Gong, Tai Chi, and Ba Gua, it can be.
It takes a committed effort to start something new. And then to keep it going!
The key is to find something that's enjoyable for you, so at least on those days you REALLY don't want to do it, once you get started it's not so bad.
It's also helpful to find something that can check off several boxes at once. It should be efficient and convenient.
That's why I love the internal arts like Qi Gong and Ba Gua.
I think a few of the main reasons why a lot of my clients love it are: you don't need to go anywhere to practice, you don’t need any equipment, you can knock out your daily session in under 20 min if that's all the time you have, it integrates with the rest of your life so normal activities become opportunities for therapy, it feels good and makes you feel more balanced, aligned, and decompressed, it both energizes me and calms you down, it helps improve physical aptitude, increases agility and sharpens your mental focus to name a few.
It's hard to find another physical therapy approach that even comes close to that. And those aren't even all of the benefits.
If you’re thinking you're getting old and that's the reason you're experiencing orthopedic pain, you're mistaken. I mean, age is a factor, but it's literally the only one you can't control.
There are a plethora of other things you CAN control, and I highly recommend getting started on them so the next 10, 20, 30 years plus of your life aren't riddled with more discomfort.
If you want more information on a movement therapy approach like Qi Gong in New York City, Ba Gua in NYC, or Tai Chi in NYC, or if you're interested in online training, schedule a call to speak with us today.
Qi Gong: A Vital Practice for Professionals Who Depend on Their Bodies
As someone who worked in a physically demanding job for years as an electrician, I get it. Over time, your body begins to protest. You wonder - is this just a function of aging?
I thought so too, until my own journey led me to discover a unique practice known as Qi Gong (pronounced 'chee gong').
If aging were the only culprit, everyone growing older would be in constant pain, right? But that's not the case. Not everyone in a physically demanding job lives with pain. A secret to this? Good body mechanics combined with a balanced and aligned skeleton.
A few years ago, I was introduced to Qi Gong, a practice that forever changed my understanding of the body and my approach to physical well-being.
This practice not only gave me a unique perspective on how I was holding and moving myself throughout the day but also helped me suss out the root of my chronic wrist pain.
Qi Gong creates a new level of awareness that helps you identify what's misaligned before it turns into pain.
And if you're already struggling with unresolved pain - be it back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, or wrist pain like me - it can be a game-changer.
Most people living with chronic pain don't get the lasting relief they hope for from conventional therapies like physical therapy, cortisone injections, chiropractic adjustments or even surgery. It's because these modalities don't always educate the person about the origin of the issue.
Building strength and creating space are essential, sure, but without understanding why things have become weak or imbalanced in the first place, it's a band-aid solution.
This is where Qi Gong shines.
It's not just a practice; it's a daily ritual for self-calibration and rebalancing. A timeless technique that's been evolving for thousands of years, Qi Gong brings your body back to a state that feels familiar, one you might have lost due to years of injury, bad habits, and lack of awareness.
Qi Gong shows you how to move in accordance with your body's natural design.
Most tension and pain result from muscles not firing sequentially in the right order. Qi Gong helps you reconnect with the different areas of your body and understand how they should connect.
It's as simple as it sounds and feels like a massage from the inside out. It doesn't need to take long. I noticed significant improvements in a few weeks, and you could too.
If you're like me, having tried everything but still not where you want to be, Qi Gong could be your missing link.
As a professional instructor and coach now, my greatest joy is empowering others to take control of their physical well-being, just like Qi Gong did for me.
New York City Qi Gong - The Practice You Need to Survive NYC
Clearly, NYC isn’t your average city. Living here is like nothing else, anywhere else.
We're basically piled on top of each other, living in a shared bubble of personal space.
The city noises - streets, subways, shops, neighbors - they sneak into your world whether you're on the clock or just kickin' back at home.
As you know, the smells, they're something else. Some will stop you dead in your tracks (not always in a good way) and they come from everywhere - weed, restaurants, bakeries, trash, you name it.
The streets? A circus of phone-gawkers, cyclists, grumpy walkers, loonies, and clipboard-wielding folks trying to sell you something.
This is where Qi Gong steps in. If you translate it (very) roughly, it means 'energy work.' It's like a daily reset button for the stress of city living, and it helps you become teflon to the everyday grind.
The crazy thing is, when you're swimming in all this chaos day in, day out, you start to tune it out. Your mind and body cover it up so well, you might not even realize the impact it's having.
You know when you finally escape the city for a vacation? It can take days to fully shake off the city's imprint.
I remember one night, my cousin had just moved back to NYC from LA. This guy bleeds NYC pride, he loves this city like a second skin. But, as we walked to the subway after dinner, he winced at a passing ambulance siren. His brother and I just shrugged; we hadn't even registered it.
We'd become city zombies, immune to the chaos. Not exactly the recipe for long-term wellness.
That's where a NYC Qi Gong practice can help. It’s like an ongoing tune-up for your senses so you don't get bogged down by the unnoticed craziness.
Qi Gong is like giving yourself a daily massage. It feels awesome, it’s super relaxing and yet reviving. It brings you back to the 'now,' centering your mind while you focus on your body alignment, movement, and breathing. It’s a full body tune-up promoting harmonious blood and energy flow.
It’s something you can squeeze into as little as 10 minutes per day. The more you practice, the more potent the benefits. It's infinite and intended to be a lifelong journey. That’s why it's seen as a longevity practice.
Plus, it's a powerful method of physical therapy and injury prevention.
So, whether you're a bustling professional, an ex-athlete, performer, or a new parent living in NYC, Qi Gong is the self-care ritual you didn’t even know you needed.
Dive in today and trust me, you won't want to look back!