NEW EDITION RELEASE!

June 26, 2023

The New Edition of The Power of Tai Chi Yoga is available now at Amazon.com in Paperback (both in full color and black & white) and eBook. Get your copies today!

AGE IS RELATIVE

April 28, 2023

As a society, we seem to obsess over age. We tend to worship youth and youthfulness. Except for perhaps our own grandparents, we too often disregard what others can do or contribute – simply because of their age.   Consider these few questions we routinely hear or encounter:

1.    Is 82 too old to be President?
2.    Is 97 too old to lead a church with millions of members worldwide?
3.    When do we begin to encounter age discrimination? In our 40s or 50s?  

Granted, our bodies and minds deteriorate as we age, although at rates that differ from person to person. Nevertheless, instead of looking at where an individual’s physical and mental well-being is, too often we judge everyone simply on the basis of age. It seems ingrained in our culture.

Having just turned 75, I have experienced this type of stereotypical treatment many times. Granted such stereotyping is more minimalized in my case, as others say I look 20-30 years younger than my age. However, hearing that one has reached a certain age too often triggers preconceived notions of “there has to be something lacking in him because of his age.”

I am here to declare that “age is indeed relative.” It is not one’s age that should be the defining criteria of judging what a person lacks or can do; but how well he or she functions at whatever age one may be. There are two factors to consider in coming to appreciate that “age is relative”. First is how we view ourselves. Secondly is how we view others.  

VIEWING OURSELVES: Are we one of those people who define themselves based upon their age; such as “I’m too old to do that,” “I shouldn’t do that at my age,” or “I am too past my prime to learn something new.” With such attitudes, then we become “too old for that,” “too unwilling to do that,” and “too past our prime to learn something new.”  

We ought to consider our journey thru this life (also referred to as mortality) as one of continually acquiring new knowledge, pushing ourselves gently to do more than we thought capable; and caring for the gift of this sacred body and spirit with which we have been blessed.  

There is no one formula for changing our own “age” prejudice. But I have found that the daily practice of Tai Chi Yoga helps us maintain a youthful perspective. It keeps our minds more fully engaged. We can focus and concentrate better. We feel better, despite the nagging aches and pains that come with aging. Most importantly, as I have said before, we feel better while we do Tai Chi Yoga; not just after.

There is a sense of inner victory that comes with being able to do many things physically that those 30-40 years younger can no longer do; that comes with still being mentally sharp and engaged; that comes with being able to defy limits society seeks to impose upon us.  As Tai Chi Yoga helps us change our own age prejudice, it is also the starting point for judging more favorably others.  

VIEWING OTHERS: As we learn to realize that “age can be relative” in our own lives, it can change how we view others. Because Tai Chi Yoga has helped us learn to focus on “what we can do” in our own life instead of “how old we are,” this newfound sense of freedom becomes something we want to apply to others. We now want to view another more from the prism of how they think, act, and live, and less from the prism of how old they may be.  

Yes, I get it. Dementia is more common as we age. Physical deterioration creeps into our lives with each passing day. But do we, therefore, allow that to cause us to shrink from pursuing new dreams, from taking new chances, and from helping others? We don’t apply for that job? We don’t write that book. We don’t go to that new class.  

One of the core principles of Tai Chi Yoga is being gentle and kind; gentle and kind with how we treat our own bodies and minds; gentle and kind in how we judge others. There is a quote I love from an unknown author: “Be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle.” So let’s not make life harder than it is by automatically judging others through an “age-only” prism.   Age becomes relative when we make Tai Chi Yoga a daily part of our lives – at any age.

THE LEGACY AND DOING WHAT’S RIGHT

April 28, 2023

In early 2022, I was on the phone with a client of my John Neubauer Inc business (www.johnneubauerinc.com), the founder and CEO of the TV business reality show America’s Real Deal. He was lamenting that he needed to find one more compelling contestant for his upcoming season. With tongue-in-cheek, I said what about a business in which the founder could stand on his head in a business suit in front of the show’s judges and cameras. He said, “You know such a person?” I laughed and said, “Yes! Me.”

With that exchange, I was invited to become one of the 16 national contestants. The winner to be judged by the TV viewers would win a $100,000 prize and get exposure in front of millions of people. The show would be filmed in May and air late that year.

I had already been thinking about what kind of a legacy I might leave – given that I was 74 at the time. I had devoted my life to helping others work toward realizing their business dreams. But what about me? As I pondered, I realized that the formation of Tai Chi Yoga was a gift from the Lord inspired by Him. But what had I really done over the years to share that gift beyond the thousands I had taught in the 1970s and the hundreds since?

I decided that my Tai Chi Yoga being showcased on America’s Real Deal might be the vehicle for a legacy of bringing the benefits of Tai Chi Yoga to millions around the world. Having been a college basketball player, I decided if I was going to be on the show – I was going to be “in it to win it”. So I invested in redoing my website (www.taichiyoga.com), producing a 30-second and 60-second promo the show asked me to do, retaining a social media company to generate interest in voting for him, and all the legal paperwork that goes with such an undertaking.

The filming went well. People loved my headstand in a business suit in front of the judges and cameras. I spent the summer building up modestly my social media following. Then came time for the premiere of the show in LA in which each contestant got to be interviewed for his/her red carpet moment.

Just as I was waiting to be interviewed, my hands started to shake with uncontrollable Parkinson’s tremors – a real shock as neither I nor anyone in my family had ever had Parkinson’s. I really knew nothing about Parkinson’s or even if it could be treated. Having been involved in starting and building many businesses over the years, I knew what an “all-in” proposition it was. Suddenly I had doubts about being able in good conscience to ask people to vote and invest in my business (one of the judging criteria of the show) if I didn’t even know if my Parkinson’s could be successfully treated.

After praying and pondering for a few days, I did what I thought was right. I withdrew from participation in the show and refunded all the money that some had already invested. The show’s sponsors said that was not necessary as they said the SEC (the US Securities and Exchange Commission was watching over the investment claims of the contestants) did not require disclosure of major health changes. But that did not feel right to me.

I could not in good conscience continue to promote people voting for me and investing in my business if I did not know if I could successfully succeed in doing so. That withdrawal however cost me the loss of the tens of thousands of dollars I have invested in preparing for and competing in the show. How the Lord might judge me someday was more important than how those around me might judge me. So I accepted the loss gracefully.

Since the withdrawal, I have found a doctor who was been able to successfully treat my Parkinson’s to the extent that I seldom have any tremors, have regained my energy level, and still have all my physical and mental faculties. Actually, my doctor said that one of the reasons for its delayed onset and my recovery has been my years of practicing Tai Chi Yoga. Here is his opinion expressed on my website:

“I have treated thousands of patients over the years with medical ailments, including Parkinson’s. One of my more recent Parkinson’s patients has been John Neubauer. As I learned of his having innovated tai chi yoga nearly 50 years ago and practiced it faithfully every day since I came to appreciate that his tai chi yoga was likely a major contributor to delaying the onset of his Parkinson’s for so many years. I also believe that his special application of its principles during my treatment of him contributes to his progress and recovery. As a Regenerative Medical Doctor for many years, John’s tai chi yoga helps preserve one’s health and accelerate one’s recovery as well or better than other disciplines I have been exposed to.  The principles of his tai chi yoga help the major concepts of slowing down the pace of aging. The mindfulness, the exercise/mobility component, and the nutritional aspect all combine to slow down aging and keep you young and healthy.” Dr. Steven E Warren, MD DPA, Longevity Research Center

While my hope for a Tai Chi Yoga legacy may not have been realized thru America’s Real Deal TV show, perhaps there is yet another path to be followed to do so. For as, US Senator Ted Kennedy declared in 1980, “The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”