Ted Cibik's Inner Strength

AutoImmune Disorders Worse in Fall and Winter

Well
it is that time of year again. I am sure that all of you are thinking the same
thing….the time of the Kidneys in Classical Chinese medicine! Many people
become acutely aware and worried this time of year because the immune system
becomes severely challenged; especially for asthma, COPD, Emphysema, common
colds, flus and even panic attacks ….. all do increase this time of year.



In
a recent article in CHEST it states: “Health-care utilization for children with
asthma changes with the seasons, peaking in the fall. Using data from the
United Healthcare database, researchers from the University ...<< MORE >>

Posted by Ted Cibik at 10/29/2008 2:54 PM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment

Multiple Sclerosis From a Integrative Medicine Perspective

Incorporating Medical QiGong and food therapy are the ultimate way of controlling inflammation-based diseases like Multiple Sclerosis. Through pro-active means and support, the M.S. patient can begin the journey of healing from within, the place where the true journey lies in all of us.

Dr. Ted J. Cibik, ...<< MORE >>

Posted by Ted Cibik at 9/23/2008 6:50 AM | Add Comment

Asthma, Allergies and Staph Infections

As a
researcher at Inner Strength, one of the activities I like to do is to pull together information
that has not been previously linked together or perhaps not linked together in
a helpful organized manner to the consumer. This is true with a very common
condition linking asthma and allergies, which I have been researching for many
decades.



My
observations have lead me to believe that people who are afflicted with asthma
should be checked for Staphylococcus aureus (SA) on a constant basis to make
sure that the ratio of this bacterium, that is normally on the skin and in ...<< MORE >>

Posted by Ted Cibik at 9/5/2008 12:39 PM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment

Alternative Medicine vs. Biomedicine

I have been meaning to write about this for a long time,perhaps this is a bigger project than just an entry on the Blog, but here are some thoughts on the “two camps.”

Like all literature, scientific or otherwise, it is dictated and written by ones experiences, education, political climate (consider writing during the time of the Inquisition or in China during the Cultural Revolution), as well as the period of history we are in (blood tests are normal now - 200 hundred years ago we could not see aspergillus niger (a fungus that can grow in the ...<< MORE >>

Posted by Ted Cibik at 8/31/2008 12:42 PM | View Comments (6) | Add Comment

QiGong, Exercise and Cancer

Cancer and your QiGong Workout

 

I have been a proponent for QiGong as a therapeutic modality for cancer patients for over 10 years now and I would like to offer some tips on your QiGong practice for those teaching QiGong and exercise in general for cancer patients regardless of the phase of cancer they are in.

 

The American Cancer Society states that at least 30 minutes a day of dedicated exercise above and beyond the usual activities of daily life on five or more days a week is needed to really reduce your cancer risk.  Most of us could use more activity in our day and QiGong is another way to provide that daily recommended dosage. So whether you have cancer, want to prevent cancer or just want to add another aspect your workout these tips and ideas are for you!

 

Recent research has found that exercise is more effective at combating cancer-related fatigue than the usual care provided to patients. I have a special program called QiGong Exercise Specialisttm that teaches QiGong for cancer as well as other autoimmune diseases. The Exercise Specialist program teaches all of the below tips plus much much more on movements that could be contraindicated in cancer patients (and other diseases) and how to adapt the movements for safety and actually make them more effective saving time, energy and risk of injury.

 

If you have had a lot of vomiting or diarrhea from your chemotherapy, for example, – this could lead to the level of minerals in your blood, such as sodium and potassium, not being balanced. So, ask your doctor about your blood tests. If it is ok with your doctor (hopefully he/she is a progressive thinker), drink plenty of fluids before during and after exercise – mostly just water with a little fresh-squeezed lemon juice in it (it has an alkalizing effect). Think sips – not gulps.

 

If you are very tired and don't feel up to exercising for your normal length of time  -cut the exercise session in half or a third of what you plan to do that day.

 

If you still have a catheter (tube that goes into your body), avoid swimming in pools, lakes and wading in the ocean etc as this could cause the site to become infected. Additionally, certain resistance training that uses muscles in the area of the catheter may dislodge it, so make sure you talk with a professional prior to just “trying” something.

 

If you have had radiation therapy, don't expose skin that has had radiation to the chlorine in swimming pools and be careful about exposure times to the sun as well.

 

If you have cancer that has spread to the bone, perform only weight bearing exercises and avoid machines, barbells and dumbbells that could put too much stress on the bones and potentially break them. In reality, I like bodyweight exercises as a preferred method of fitness even for those without cancer for the quickest results (more on this in another Blog).

 

And of course, if you notice swelling, pain, dizziness, or blurred vision, or bleeding (from blood thinners or otherwise) call your doctor right away.

 

Buy a heart rate monitor and have a fitness professional set up a routine for you. It will be your best friend and will, without prejudice, show you if you are exercising too much or too little.

 

Any questions please email me at ted@inner-strength.com.

See our website at www.inner-strength.org for private training on becoming a QiGong Exercise Specialist.

 

 

 

Posted by Ted Cibik at 7/13/2008 1:30 PM | Add Comment

Circle of Life

Part of the marvelous experience of taking some time off from work, is to relax and (hopefully) let events slow down enough so that you can enjoy some of what are called life's simple pleasures. Me, I am the observer. I like to watch and then dissect and contemplate about what I had just witnessed, as though I were seeing it from some else’s mind or perspective.

 

<< MORE >>
Posted by Ted Cibik at 6/5/2008 8:36 AM | View Comments (3) | Add Comment

Ignorance and Wisdom



Excerpts from Dr. Ted Cibik’s ongoing Taoist Lecture series at Inner Strength
Retreat Center in Leechburg, PA on Wisdom and Ignorance



Two of the greatest detriments to our sanity, peace and
happiness are Ignorance, and through Ignorance, the inability to manifest our
Wisdom. This creates, what I like to call, being off-center.



As His Holiness the Dalai Lama Stated, ”…..I believe that
all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the
selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction.”



In this regard, Ignorance causes reality of situations to
become distorted – especially in ...<< MORE >>

Posted by Ted Cibik at 4/22/2008 2:43 PM | Add Comment

Simplicity

The following is an excerpt from Dr. Ted Cibik's classes on Formless
Taoism which are held the third Saturday of every month here at Inner Strength in
Leechburg PA. Previouse topics have included Fear, The Warrior and the Priest,
and Being in Center. Some of these are recorded and can be found at www.inner-strength.org





One of the special features of true Taoism is that is
support the value of simplicity. As we become more technologically advanced
with nanobots and Richard Branson (founder of Virgin records) speaking of
building a team to inhabite Mars (yes, the ...<< MORE >>

Posted by Ted Cibik at 4/9/2008 3:20 PM | Add Comment

Death and Transition

It has been a very sobering week for me as I have had 4 people I cared about - die within 5 days. Like most deaths, these were sudden, out of the blue, that leaves you shocked and at a loss for words. My training (mind) tells me that we are all born to die - however my human-ess (heart) feels the pain of loss. No matter how well read you are, how versed in your particular faith and its practice, I believe we all feel this pain when the person who passes on is close enough to you to affect your heart. Yes, dying is a part of life – I understand, but it does cause you to reflect on the things that are non-tangible and omnipotent - Love, Compassion for the living, and Spirit.

As we open our hearts more in our practice, it also allows us to become more vulnerable in a sense to feeling pain. First, we feel the pain of those around us - those we are closest to. Later, as we go deeper into practice, we begin to feel what the world would call strangers. We begin to realize that all human beings share this understanding of death and loss - and in a strange way perhaps – it makes us all connected. As we come together in loss, we feel the love that each individual had for the departed, and through this unification find compassion for each other.

I believe that this unification is the final and greatest gift offered by the one who has transcended the confusion between the left and the right brain. Let me explain. The left brain is the about the worry and predictions of the future. It is the brain that sorts the details out and itemizes them into categories of time. Our left hemisphere thinks in language - that ongoing brain chatter we Taoists call monkey mind. It is also the side that causes us to be that individual that says I need to do this and that and I should be doing this or wonders how other people perceive us.The right brain is about the present moment. The right side thinks in pictures and kinesthetic movement like when you fall in love and the whole world feels right in that moment - with love and connectedness for everyone. 

I am not unfamiliar with dying, or even death. As a child and teenager, I was “pronounced dead” twice in hospitals respectively, and had my last rites (Catholic) performed twice. The first experience was written up in JAMA and the Lancet, two very prestigious medical magazines. According to records, I was “dead” almost 14 minutes before “Coming back to life.” This intrigued so many physicians, psychologists and clergy that my case was followed for almost 10 years thereafter – becoming one of the leading case studies for Near Death Experiences – Only, I argue that I was not near dead – I was dead. You can read more about this in my book “Air Passages Surviving Asthma Naturally.” I do not, however, write anything in the book about what I seen after death or what happens to you when you die – as the book is about what I did to survive, when all the physicians were in agreement that I could not live.

Once people hear my story they ask, what happens after you die? What you see after you die? What is heaven like? Are your pets and loved ones there etc.?Many have also asked, so why don’t you go public about this, write a book and become famous like so many others who reported their experiences?

The truth is, I answer these questions privately, as death or dying is a solitary act in itself – very sacred. As a Taoist priest, I believe in affinity, that those who need to speak with me - will find me. Patients, who come to me with MS, ALS or phase IV cancer for example, always ask these questions and we have lengthy conversations and how to prepare for the inevitable (We all die – but for each person it is different). 

I will tell you this – That I do not fear death – as I have been to the “Valley of Death” and back. Upon returning, is when I knew I was to become a healer – but I had to heal myself first – and most of my youth was figuring out how –this was the greatest education that I could ever hope for - and it was all self-directed.In retrospect, it is always the living that has to heal and have to suffer. And so, my real compassion at the funerals - were for the people who were living.

Posted by Ted Cibik at 3/18/2008 4:01 PM | View Comments (3) | Add Comment

QiGong Exercise Specialist

I caught a news report the other day that made me
shake my head. A recent report spoke about how a Chicago High School improved
students grades from C’s to A’s by just including exercise before the acedemic
day. By providing exercise before classes, the students added one year of
reading level and a twenty percent increase in math scores! Although extremely
news worthy, doesn’t this just make common sense to those of us in the exercise
world?



So young and not so ...<< MORE >>

Posted by Ted Cibik at 2/12/2008 8:00 PM | View Comments (9) | Add Comment
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