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.

PURSUIT OF THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

The pursuit of the fountain of youth is a time-honored tradition dating back hundreds
if not thousands of years, especially by royalty and the rich or wanna-be rich. It has picked up even greater steam today. Consider this lead sentence in a
 recent article by Megan...

HOW DID HE KNOW?

I was in a health food store in Germany one morning in July 1977. I had been hitchhiking in Europe since February. On the bulletin board was an announcement about a tai chi retreat being taught in the Swiss Alps by Gia Fu Feng, renowned tai chi master of my friend...

WRINGING OUT THE TOWEL

TAI CHI YOGA PRINCIPLE # 8 Twisting – One of the 5 Types of Yoga Movements Consider what we do when we wring water out of a towel. We grip the end and turn the hands in opposite directions. When we do, the water is squeezed out. When done, the towel feels lighter and...

EXTREME YOGA

August 2022 TAI CHI YOGA PRINCIPLE #6: Stretching Only as Far as Is Comfortable for You This was me 46 years ago at the age of 28. Most would agree. This is EXTREME YOGA. Few would ever be able to do a balancing folded angle balance from a full lotus position.  At the...

BALANCING ON LIFE’S ROCKS

  TAI CHI YOGA PRINCIPLE # 8: Balancing , one of the 5 Types of Yoga Movements My mother wanted me as a child to learn ballroom dancing. At the age of 11, I agreed. I signed sign up to make her happy since making my mother happy was more important than my own...

1+1 = 3

1+1 = 3 by John C Neubauer, Founder of Tai Chi Yoga Aug 2022   TAI CHI YOGA PRINCIPLE #2: Floating of Tai Chi and Unwinding of Yoga John doing yoga in the backyard in 2019 at 71 The very first question I get when I say, “Tai Chi Yoga” is “What in the world is...

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.”

WHY UPSIDE DOWN?

January 21, 2023 

I am often asked, “Why is regularly being upside down for a time so important?” Let’s examine the picture below to help us understand.

Consider the sagging chin and the sagging skin on the face. All are gravity’s assault on the body as we age. Yes, gravity keeps us attached to the Earth. But it also constantly pulls us down. Our skin wrinkles and sags. The chin sags. Our stomach sags. Our legs take on varicose veins as the blood struggles over time to flow back up to the heart and brain. Our hair turns gray. The brain weakens in its ability to concentrate and remember as the rich, oxygenated blood is first drawn down to the legs, diminishing the brain of life’s replenishing nutrients.

Then consider how we shrink in height and stature. Gravity pulls the head and shoulders toward the ground as we age, some more dramatically than others. There are those who say such “shrinking” has caused them to lose inches to their frame, as they are unable to stand straight and erect any longer. Consider one of the more pronounced effects of this in the photo below.

The next question I often hear after answering the question of why regularly being upside down is so important is, “Do I really have to stand on my head?”

Of course not. The purpose of being upside down for seconds (and then minutes) each day is that more rich, oxygenated blood flows to the head and the hair bringing more of its nutrients there. It relieves the pressure on the veins of our legs. It pulls the skin, stomach, and chin in the opposite direction. One can do a shoulder stand to create the inverted position. One can support themselves on a wall for greater balance and protection when doing an inverted pose. The importance is not how cool we look or how much we can do, but that we find a way to invert our body each day and combine it with proper stomach breathing while in an inverted position.

Finally the question of “How long should I remain in an inverted position?” That will vary with each of us. But I recommend counting the number of breaths you feel comfortable with in the pose. Never do it (or any tai chi yoga movement) longer than you are comfortable! Over time, you can increase the number of breaths you remain in an inverted position. I could tell you how many breaths I take while in an inverted position, but that is not what’s important. Your body will tell you what’s best for you. But anything is better than nothing.

ORIGINS AND IMMERSIONS

People from time to time ask me, “What are the origins of tai chi and yoga? How did it come into being?”

The tiger is blissfully stretching his back and John imitating.

Word of mouth passed down over the centuries says that ancient masters observed the natural stretching and movements of animals and sometimes even trees. They would then ask themselves, “If these are natural to animals, shouldn’t they be natural to people?”

Who would have imagined that a bear stretching on his butt would be the source of inspiration for a person imitating an angle balance? But the origins are much broader than just the bear.

Each morning, I watch as the first movement my Shih Tzu dog Nancy makes as I lift her out of bed, stretching like this stock photo:

Then there is the amazing one-legged balance of a chicken with mine and Angie’s imitation of it:

May we observe our animal and plant friends such that we learn how to live in better harmony with life around us. May we immerse ourselves in it and let Tai Chi Yoga help us in that pursuit.

DEFY LIMITS

November11, 2022 

When we add the daily practice of Tai Chi Yoga™️ into our lives, we retain more youthful flexibility. We are able to keep more of our balance from the one-legged yoga poses and the one-legged movement balancing of tai chi, help our mind stay sharper and healthier from inverting our bodies while keeping more of our hair and its natural color, preserve more energy and enthusiasm for life, feel lighter and less stress from the movement meditation of tai chi, and look and feel younger.

Plus, we can realize health and wellness benefits no matter what age we begin.

One benefits no matter how far or little they can stretch; no matter how limited their balance may be, no matter what shape or size their body may be, and no matter whether debilitating accidents have already limited what one can do. It’s about learning how to integrate proper stomach breathing with movement, stretching, and relaxation.< So why not start today to DEFY LIMITS with Tai Chi Yoga ™️?

Above: John doing a back bend at the age of 71 in 2019

How is it possible for a 71-year-old to do a back bend like that above when most 71-year-olds who try might end up with a serious injury? Aren’t most 71-year-olds more likely to resemble the gentleman below?

Because, isn’t that what life tries to tell us that as we age, our bodies degenerate such that we should not be able to do what we did in our 30s for example? Life sets limits on us. Gravity drags us down. Diet and sedentary lifestyles transform too many of us into couch potatoes. Our mind loses too much of its ability to concentrate and remember. Thus, life sets limits on us if we allow it to.

When we add the daily practice of Tai Chi Yoga™️ into our lives, we retain more youthful flexibility. We are able to keep more of our balance from the one-legged yoga poses and the one-legged movement balancing of tai chi, help our mind stay sharper and healthier from inverting our bodies while keeping more of our hair and its natural color, preserve more energy and enthusiasm for life, feel lighter and less stress from the movement meditation of tai chi, and look and feel younger.

Plus, we can realize health and wellness benefits no matter what age we begin

One benefits no matter how far or little they can stretch; no matter how limited their balance may be, no matter what shape or size their body may be, and no matter whether debilitating accidents have already limited what one can do. It’s about learning how to integrate proper stomach breathing with movement, stretching, and relaxation.

So why not start today to DEFY LIMITS with Tai Chi Yoga?

Senior man is suffering from problems with digestion at home.

SO RELAXED

I hear the complaint frequently that “I am too old to learn Tai Chi Yoga.” The excuses run the gamut from “I had surgery 20 years ago,” or “My body is too arthritic,” or “I don’t learn as well as I did when I was young.” The list of excuses is endless. The simple fact is that we are never too old to learn to do that which gently promotes our health and well-being.

When we are young, our enthusiasm to learn is boundless. Like Toby in the picture above at the age of 2, we tend to love to try learning new things. But with each passing year, we find ways to discourage ourselves from stretching our limits and knowledge.

We let life slowly take control of our physical and mental decline, unwilling or unable to fight back to defy the limits life seeks to impose upon us. Consider these examples:

·      Can a person in a wheelchair learn to do Tai Chi Yoga? Yes – by learning proper stomach breathing and doing limited upper body movements (both yoga stretching and tai chi floating).

·      Can a person riddled with arthritis learn to do Tai Chi Yoga? Yes – by learning how to gently stretch with integrated breathing only as far as is comfortable for his or her body.

·      Can a person with aging, stiff limbs and poor balance learn to do Tai Chi Yoga?
Yes—especially stable, simple yoga stretches and flowing tai chi movements.

We Americans are mostly unaware that tai chi is the most widely-practiced form of exercise in the world, mainly due to all the elderly Chinese (like this couple above) who practice daily well into their 80s and 90s. We tend to be enamored with “no pain—no gain” forms of exercise, which as we get older, discourage us from continuing as we already have enough emerging pains within us that make us shy away from learning and doing things that will in our minds add to those pains.

When a tree approaches the end of its life, its limbs get brittle. They-re easy to break off. Our bodies are no different. Without proper care and nurturing, our bodies become brittle and more susceptible to breaks, falls, and similar misfortunes.

While Tai Chi Yoga does not stop this aging process—it does prolong
our youthful natures, outlooks, and conditions. It helps us break out of that dismal feeling of decline—that sense of having no influence over our diminishing capabilities. It helps the mind stay alert and sharp. It helps us maintain greater flexibility, energy, and balance. It allows us to feel moments of floating freedom. In short, it allows us to defy the limits life tries to impose on us.

Whether we begin to learn Tai Chi Yoga in our teens, or in our 90s, or somewhere in between, we can deny this one statement at our own risk: “We are never too old to teach a dog new tricks.”

John C Neubauer innovated Tai Chi Yoga 46 years ago and has practiced it daily ever since.

POWER TO OVERCOME INJURIES

November 4, 2022

“Power comes from the stomach; love from the heart; wisdom from the mind.”

John, Thanksgiving 2014 at the age of 65, a few weeks after shoulder rotator cuff surgery.

No matter how well we take care of our bodies, injuries, illnesses, and physical deterioration are a part of life. For example, mine seem to come in bunches.

At the age of 12, it was stitches in the mouth from a flying baseball bat. Then, I suffered a concussion and a lasting eye injury from a football collision. Then it was more stitches after stopping a baseball with my mouth.

At the age of 65, I had my right hip replaced due to inherited arthritis and too much heavy lifting over the years. Then a few months later, I had surgery to repair a 95% tear to the rotator cuff in my right shoulder while trying to lift myself during recovery from the hip replacement. Then, just a few months later, the left hip had to be replaced.

This year, at the age of 74, I have had prostate surgery for an inherited condition, hernia surgery to fix an injury from heavy lifting, and nasal surgery to repair an injury from my college basketball playing days. Today, I walk around with inherited arthritis and bone spurs in my lower back which surgeons are salivating to operate on, but only in their dreams.

The older we get, the slower and harder it is to recover from injuries, illnesses, and surgeries. While we may have exercised over the years, the lack of the “right exercise” makes it more difficult to overcome surgeries and setbacks.

Full shoulder extension only a few months after shoulder rotator cuff surgery.

Yes, I have been blessed to be able to do so. For example, I was walking without crutches within 48 hours after both hip replacements. I was standing on my head only a few days after the shoulder rotator cuff surgery. The picture above shows the recovery of full shoulder extension after only a few months of surgery.

What I relearned during those surgeries at 64 and again this year at 74 is that the power to overcome injuries and heal more quickly comes from the stomach and its proper breathing. For example, even though I was hooked up to IVs and machines, I would still do Tai Chi Yoga in my mind in rhythm with powerful stomach breathing.

When I say powerful, I am talking about squeezing the stomach in on the exhale forcefully and expanding it outward on the inhale. As I am doing that, I walk my mind through stretching yoga movements and then the flowing tai chi movements.

Once I was disconnected from machines and catheters, I practiced with very limited movements combined with the powerful stomach breathing. I was careful to adhere to the Tai Chi Yoga principle of “only stretching as far as the body is comfortable.”

I discovered and rediscovered that the power from the stomach seemed to send out healing and faster recovery to the ailing parts of the body. Moreover, employing the power of stomach breathing, I have been able to mostly avoid triggering painful spasms from the arthritis and bone spurs in my lower back, thereby keeping my trips to the chiropractor and acupuncturist to just a few times a year.

Consistent daily practice of Tai Chi Yoga, I found, was the best preparation for surgery, as the flexibility and relaxation from doing so helped facilitate faster recovery time and healing.

In the case of my hip replacements and shoulder surgery, I have lost no flexibility, although I have had to make a few minor adjustments to accommodate the invasiveness of surgery. Sometimes though, that invasiveness can leave lasting changes to our bodies. For example, in 1983, my stomach blew a hole from the inside from a perforated ulcer. It required major surgery to repair the hole with a 6-inch incision through stomach muscles as laser surgery was not available then. The result from my stomach muscles being cut was an immediate change to my waist from a size 32 to a size 36 where it has been since. While I could not alter the lasting impact on the stomach muscles being cut, Tai Chi Yoga has made it possible to maintain powerful stomach muscles around the incision. The consistent daily practice of Tai Chi Yoga can provide you too with the power to overcome and recover from injuries.

TEACHING AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS

August 2022

John (the old dog here) at the age of 69 with Toby who is trying to learn a headstand in 2017

I hear the complaint frequently that “I am too old to learn Tai Chi Yoga.” The excuses run the gamut from “I had surgery 20 years ago,” “My body is too arthritic,” or “I don’t learn as well as I did when I was young.” The list of excuses is endless. The simple fact is that we are never too old to learn to do that which gently promotes our health and well-being.

When we are young, our enthusiasm to learn is boundless. Like Toby in the picture above at the age of 2, we tend to love to try learning new things. But with each passing year, we find ways to discourage ourselves from stretching our limits and knowledge.

We let life slowly take control of our physical and mental decline, unwilling or unable to fight back to defy the limits life seeks to impose upon us.

Consider these examples:

·      Can a person in a wheelchair learn to do Tai Chi Yoga? Yes! By learning proper stomach breathing and doing limited upper body movements (both yoga stretching and tai chi floating).

·      Can a person riddled with arthritis learn to do Tai Chi Yoga? Yes! By learning how to gently stretch with integrated breathing only as far as is comfortable for his or her body.

·      Can a person with aging, stiff limbs, and poor balance learn to do Tai Chi Yoga? Yes! Especially stable, simple yoga stretches and flowing tai chi movements.

We Americans are mostly unaware that tai chi is the most widely-practiced form of exercise in the world, mainly due to all the elderly Chinese (like this couple above) who practice daily well into their 80s and 90s. We tend to be enamored with “no pain—no gain” forms of exercise, which as we get older, discourage us from continuing as we already have enough emerging pains within us that make us shy away from learning and doing things that will in our minds add to those pains.

When a tree approaches the end of its life, its limbs get brittle. They-re easy to break off. Our bodies are no different. Without proper care and nurturing, our bodies become brittle and more susceptible to breaks, falls, and similar misfortunes.

While Tai Chi Yoga does not stop this aging process—it does prolong
our youthful natures, outlooks, and conditions. It helps us break out of that dismal feeling of decline—that sense of having no influence over our diminishing capabilities. It helps the mind stay alert and sharp. It helps us maintain greater flexibility, energy, and balance. It allows us to feel moments of floating freedom. In short, it allows us to defy the limits life tries to impose on us.

Whether we begin to learn Tai Chi Yoga in our teens, in our 90s, or somewhere in between, we can deny this one statement at our own risk: “We are never too old to teach a dog new tricks.

John C Neubauer innovated Tai Chi Yoga 46 years ago and has practiced it daily ever since.