Mr. Ma's Hand Tapping

So I learned this hand tapping routine from one of my clients last year, and have been sharing it with friends, family, or anyone who will listen {with symptomatic and asymptomatic hand dysfunction}, and I try to do the exercises on a daily basis. Mr. Ma, a very friendly elderly gentleman originally from Taiwan taught me this tapping routine. He also sent me a website with more information that I will link below {if anyone can translate, I would love to know how it reads in English}. One thing he did tell me "It good for Bowel movement." Thats a plus!!

http://www.360doc.com/content/15/0606/08/21796938_476016147.shtml

Amazing exercise clips, am I right!?!?! I put together a video below of my routine, just a few of the hand exercises. It is simple and takes very little time. When performed daily, you may notice decreased pain, tension, or disability of your hands. I like to do these in the morning when making breakfast, or in the shower. As a manual therapist, my hands are my livelihood, taking care of them is of upmost importance,  should be the same for you. 

Everyday do 50 TAPS of each exercise below {if this is too much start with 30 and work your way up}. 

I did a little research on these techniques, they seem to be based on common acupuncture points, while the technique is similar to acupressure as no needles are involved. Depending on a practitioners background they may have different reasons for the effectiveness of a technique like this: 

• Acupuncture/pressure- or stimulation of acupressure points

• Tapotement- massage tapping technique, rhythmic percussion

• Myofascial Trigger point release- tight area in the muscle, can refer pain throughout the body

• Muscle Adhesions- thick "knot" of muscle fiber

• Meridian Tapping Therapy- focus on a thought or intention while tapping

• Tai Chi- I've tried similar techniques during Tai Chi practices

Relaxation/Mindfulness- Let's go with this, just be mindful of the sensations in your hands, recognize how valuable they are in your daily life. Try to relax as much as possible, and move with mindful intentions. Feel the relaxation move throughout your fingers, hands, wrists, arms, elbows, shoulders, neck, and head. Try not to rush through this routine, breathe slowly and focus on the activity. Use this time to relax the brain and be mindful of all the goodness in your brain and body. 

~Take Care!!

Broga

Let’s talk flexibility/mobility

• We all know how important it is. 
• We all know we should do it more. 
• We all have excuses as to why we don’t spend the time on this area of fitness. 

These are very important components of fitness, health and wellness. Many professionalsmistakenly use the 2 terms interchangeably, when in fact they affect the body in different ways. 

MOBILITY: Ability to move a joint, Range of Motion {ROM} of a joint

FLEXIBILITY: Ability of a muscle to lengthen

When a muscle is “stuck” “tight” “contracted” “limited” or “shortened” this affects mobility of a joint {or multiple joints}. Other factors that affect mobility can be joint structure, strength imbalance, atrophy, motor control, faulty movement pattern, balance, just to name a few. 

The other difference is that Mobility typically involves “Active” range of motion while flexibility is often “Passive.” When preparing the body to move whether going for a run, lifting weights, warming up for an athletic event, or just to make your body feel better for the day, you shouldwork on improving overall mobility. 

These days I try not to abuse my body as much as I did in high school, college, and throughout my 20s. Today being my 32nd birthday, I reflect on how my training {and diet} have changed as my body has become less resilient. I’ve never been what someone would consider “flexible” and there are definitely mobility restrictions that I try to address most days of the week. One of my favorite forms of fitness that addresses the mind/body mobility/flexibility connections is YOGA.

Yoga is a great way to check in with you body, your brain, your awareness, its just plain awesome. If you’ve never tried yoga it would be in your best interest to take a couple classes, get some feedback from an instructor, and become familiar with some of the basic poses. 

For those of you who have experience in yoga feel free to try my favorite daily routine….we call it BROGA. 

I’m not really sure where I learned or developed this routine a few years ago, but I’ve grown to love it as a warm-up, a morning ritual, or as a teaching tool. Many of my professional dancers like this 10 minute routine to prepare for a show. Shoutout to @the502kid @ianj_mckenzie @asielhardison @nick_guerts @kidperu @karenschuang

I would recommend watching the entire video OR watch each pose, hit pause, practice that post, then move to the next. Over time you will become familiar with the routine and it will flow nicely. Magic number here is 5:

• For the repetition exercises- perform 5 reps on each side
• For the static poses- hold the pose for 5 breaths. Try to inhale deep into the lower part of your lungs, as you exhale sink deeper into the pose. Release slowly and with control 

Have fun and keep this quote in mind when working on your mobility/flexibility:

“Flexibility is a function of releasing and relaxing rather than forcing change. Stretching is de-contracting" 

-Take Care!!