Community Concepts (May 2024)

Community Concepts (May 2024)

05/01/2024

Dojo Philosophy for Everyday Life

When the founder of Cuong Nhu made a philosophy about staying safe in his ultra-running hobby, he wrote this:

5 S’s for Safe Running/Training
Sane-sight, Stretching, Stamina, Strength, Speed

For most people, the first two look like the safety part and the last three look like the benefits of running. Many would agree that being sensible about your goals (Sane-Sight) and Stretching before running are a good way to stay safe, but what he was getting at with this list are the many ways that we fortify ourselves outside of running in order to make our time running safe and successful.

We are often counseled after an injury or surgery to take it easy before returning to our normal activities. While it would definitely be injurious to jump right back in as if nothing had happened, inactivity also creates its own mess. We often find after resting from an injury that there is new tightness and scar tissue that leads to new misalignment of the body, and if we’re not careful, to new injury. In fact, the best path to recovery is with daily movement under the care of trained professionals. This will increase healing and blood flow, and reduce the buildup of scar tissue.

At Unity, we’re lucky to have two people on staff that excel at keeping people moving safely despite the age or injury they bring, and through their training keep people safe by building their body’s capabilities and natural resistance to injury.

Martin Eisele is the Head of our Tai Chi program and is also a Doctor of Chinese Medicine, and owner of Evergreen Acupuncture. The Tai Chi program on its own promotes fitness and longevity, but with Martin’s added skill set, there is also an avenue for the treatment of injury, pain, stress, and fatigue. His treatment was vital in recovering fully from my ACL replacement many years ago.

Martha Richardson is the Head of our Iyengar Yoga program. She is one of two certified Iyengar instructors at Unity and only six in the state of Arkansas. Martha is able to advise students of all ages how best to practice in a way that not only prevents injury, but allows training and recovery through injury and a variety of limitations. Under her careful guidance, we can train through all manner of difficulties while increasing recovery time, longevity, and fitness.

The farther we progress into any challenging endeavor (living life is included!) the more we realize that additional training is required in order to progress and to stay safe and healthy as we challenge ourselves and as increasing challenges find us. Be sure to keep moving, add practices that fortify you, and seek out the help of the best trained people you can find. If Unity’s 130 years of combined teaching and training experience can be of help to you, please give us a call!