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Follow The 80 Percent Rule

follow the 80 percent rule

Follow The 80 Percent Rule for Optimal Health

Only go about 80% of your ability. Leave some room to avoid overdoing it. More than 100% means you reach a breaking point. That’s not where we want to be when it comes to natural prevention and optimal health.

I always use the 80% rule in the practice and teaching of Tai Chi and Chi Kung but it can apply to all things in life. In today’s fast-pace lifestyle everything is go-go-go trying to fit as much stuff as we can into a single day. When holidays like Christmas comes along do we cut out activity to make room for a festive holiday? No no noooooo! We try to jam the holiday activities into our already-busy and hectic schedule inviting more grief! Obviously this is bad form if you’re trying to be preventative and take measure to promote health and wellness naturally for you and your family.

Tai Chi and Chi Kung develops a higher level of awareness and more deeply solidifies the mind-body connection. Intensely focusing on what’s outside of yourself inevitably leads to a disconnect for what’s going inside yourself. Developing awareness in how your lifestyle and routines influence your health can give you early warning signs on how to adjust course towards a better path for self-care. Following the 80% rule will give you space to mentally stay focus and centered. A mind full of irregular thought patterns will manifest into irregular health and body function. A steady mind will reflect more stable health and steady body function.

Navigating through life headstrong and blind to your limits will be problematic. The no-pain-no-gain mantra will reveal limits and all too often will result in injury and setbacks. The 80% rule allows room for error. With 20% extra space you can even out the bumps and make your daily routines flow more smoothly. The body runs on cyclical patterns like activity and rest that need regularity and consistency not jittery, hectic patterns of irregularity. Traveling through life is like riding in a car. Irregularity is like driving on a bumpy road with lots of turns and lots of ups and downs. Regularity is a smooth steady ride along a flat road traveling at a steady speed. Which ride would make you anxious and which ride would give you peace of mind?

I often see excessive actions that create setbacks when improvements are experienced with acupuncture. A patient with chronic pain through treatment begins to see improvements. They feel more energetic and spend 10 hours straight over the weekend cleaning the house. When they return for a follow up acupuncture treat they feel terrible – they overdid it, beyond 100%. A long-term, chronic condition is a sign that the body has low healing abilities. Under acupuncture treatment, any excess energy that is experienced should be conserved to deeply enable the healing process more efficiently. It shouldn’t be drained away senselessly as if the body has no limits. The 80% rule needs to be accessed daily or even moment to moment. The expression living in the moment hold true value. Pacing yourself throughout your day with a deeper level of awareness will help prevent setbacks.

Good health, as I always say, is about good circulation or functional flow. When we drain ourselves we lack the energy to keep our body functioning at its optimal levels. No amount of exercise or healthy eating will make up for an overwhelming and hyperactive lifestyle that drains the life force right out of you.

Without sufficient energy maybe your body decides to cut off optimal function to the elimination process. You experience a slow increase of toxins in the body that will eventually lead to all sorts of health issues. Maybe lower than optimal energy means your digestion doesn’t work as well. All that money you spend on food becomes a waste because you don’t have sufficient energy to efficiently digest those all-important nutrients. Maybe without enough functional energy, or qi as we acupuncturists like to say, it diminishes your ability to focus and concentrate. This may lead to poor work efforts, lack of patience and bad relationships and on and on and on.

Follow the 80% rule and be aware of your limits and conserve your energy. Awareness is the key to prevention. The more you understand about yourself and your surroundings the more you can make better choices. You’ll be able to regulate your energy levels and experience smooth, supportive transitions (cycles) in your daily or even yearly routines. Instead of reacting to problems you can make preventive choices and be ahead of the game. You can make choices that will put you on a better path for greater health.

Design your day with about 20% room to move. Make some space so when problems come along you’ll have the capacity to handle them better. Think about the activities and choices you make that pushes your limits to the extreme. Make a conscious effort to moderate them. Perhaps you’re overeating? Only eat until you’re about 80% full. Digestion won’t be overwhelmed. You may feel less bloated with more energy. Perhaps you’ve over-committed yourself and need to reassess your capabilities and the time you can afford to spend to maintain balance in happiness and health. In the game of life, health and longevity following the 80% rule is a great strategy to moderate and conserve your qi for optimal health.

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How Is Your Energy Level?

How Is Your Energy Level

How is Your Energy Level? High? Low? Irregular?

Awareness and Prevention Series: Diagnose Yourself Naturally

How’s your energy level? Do you feel you have low energy? Do you have high levels of energy that others surprisingly comment on? Are your energy levels inconsistent? Are there some days when you feel more energy than other days. Do you feel lower or higher energy levels at different parts of the day, month or year? Do you feel your energy level has changed with age?

This article is part of a collection of articles entitled: Diagnose Yourself Naturally – an Awareness and Prevention Program based on the healing principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tai Chi and Chi Kung. If you’re interested in taking control of your health naturally then you’ll want to take in the information presented here.

Qi (chee) is a concept in Traditional Chinese Medicine also talked about in health-rejuvenating practices of Tai Chi and Chi Kung. Let’s define Qi as ‘functional energy’. The meaning of words from other languages can get lost in translation. I think of Qi as something that flows to promote function and can be evaluated subjectively through feeling.

The body has many functions. Eating, digesting, sleeping, eliminating waste, thinking, moving, breathing, circulating blood, making blood, healing and so much more. All these functions require Qi (functional-energy).

Imagine that your house required 200 amps to power all electrical devices. Now image how your house would function if the electric company could only supply 100 amps of power.  You begin to realize you will not be able to fully run all your appliances. The same goes for the body. Less qi can degrade or even turn off necessary body function. Poor energy levels can lead to weight gain and a buildup of toxins in the body that can lead to all kinds of trouble.

Your Qi (functional energy) needs to be sufficient and flowing to maintain body function at the best level possible for optimal health. Low energy, irregular energy, excessive energy… all can have an adverse effect on body function. Balance and consistency are the keys to regulating qi.

Regularity builds momentum – optimal body function requires momentum. The body runs on cycles. When I think of a cycle I think of a regular pattern that turns on and off or has peaks and valleys. Sleep cycle, digestive cycle, activity vs rest, inhaling/exhaling, blood circulation from contracting and relaxing heart muscles and so on.

tai chi chi kung yin yang

The necessary balance required in these natural cycles are captured in the spiraling Yin Yang diagram.

This diagram depicts the harmonious integration, support and transformation of two opposing forces for optimal function.

This natural truth, captured in this ancient Chinese symbol, is also confirmed in the ancient Greek saying – everything in moderation, nothing in excess. Regularity seeks to balance both extremes through moderate cycles that gradually gain momentum. A lifestyle in the extreme lacks the supportive cycling momentum and eventually becomes unbalanced and leads to burnout.

Imagine journeying through life like riding a bicycle. You get to choose which path to ride on. One path is easy to ride, straight and smooth with very little ups and downs. The opposite path, like the roads in Rhode Island, has an uneven surface filled with pot holes, and lots of ups, downs and crazy turns.

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The former path will prove to be easier because it promotes consistency, regularity and allows you to build momentum for future efforts. The latter path will drain you of energy and leave you deficient. You energy reserves are depleted. During stressful times, when you need a boost of energy, it just won’t be there.

A medical doctor explains to me once that stress is good and it makes you stronger. I say stress needs to be clarified because there are limits. Stress in short, temporary burst, like exercising at a gym 3 times a week can be strengthening. The constant drip, drip, drip of stress through everyday life is unsustainable. Your mind may convince you that everything is good but your body will show the truth.

Stress reveals itself in a multitude of chronic ailments that people struggle with today such as weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, digestive disorders, poor sleep, anxiety, depression, hormone irregularities, chronic fatigue, asthma, allergies and more. Stress creates chaos in body function. When you experience multiple signs and symptoms that don’t seem to tie together consider the possibilities that stress could be the root cause.

Low energy – tiredness can be normal when you work hard. Get a good night’s sleep and your back in the game. Chronic tiredness may start to affect how the body functions. Sore muscles and injuries may not heal completely. Toxins that seem to be everywhere nowadays cannot be eliminated properly.

Appetite is low. Your ability to take in nourishment to support your body is reduced. You may even have trouble sleeping because tiredness creates irregularities in the natural cycles of body function including the sleep cycle. Insufficient sleep leads to more tiredness, low function and imbalances in the natural cycles of the body.

high energy

High energy – feeling anxious, moving fast, talking fast, talking loud, shouting, aversion to heat, hot-headed temperament, excessive appetite, feeling nervous, difficulty falling asleep, always staying busy, can’t stop thinking, too much mental chatter and more. There are many signs of high energy to observe but subjectively high energy can make you feel anxious, hyperactive, unrealistically super-strong, overly excited or nervous. We don’t have an infinite supply of energy.

Burning a candle at both ends is not a practice in longevity. It may offer more light but not for long. Practices in conserving energy can be a better plan for longevity and optimal health.

If you want to increase vitality, experience greater health and develop practices in longevity for life you’ll need to regulate your energy.

When I ask a patient about the level of daily energy they experience and they respond, “I have lots of energy”, I put a question mark there. I wonder if that’s truly a healthy level being experienced.

If you experience a frantic pace to your daily activities you may be overdoing it. You may be excessively draining your energy and developing a bad habit. In the long run you won’t be able to maintain this pace. Your mind will say go-go-go but your body will try to slow you down when excess is present.

I’ve seen high energy people come into my clinic in their 40’s and 50’s complaining about fatigue and seemingly inexpiable and uncontrollable weight gain. This is the body’s way of slowing you down before you blow a fuse. Or it’s your body’s way of saying, “I am exhausted and I’ve had enough”.

Your inner strength needs to be recharged and that can take a lot of effort.

The first step is to identify any bad habits that are draining your energy. Next, get realistic as to what you are capable of accomplishing. I see many lifestyles that are excessively busy and overwhelming. Just when this busy body gets an extra 30 minutes in their day they pile on another thing to do instead of taking a break.

Pacing yourself and knowing when to relax (restore) will better promote natural cycles and gain momentum for upcoming efforts.

Is your mind constantly in go-mode? Do you worry a lot? Do you ruminate often? Do you have difficulty trying to get to sleep at night because you can’t shut your mind down? Do you have digestive problems? In the practice of Tai Chi we say the Mind leads the qi. Is your mind writing checks your body can’t cash? Is your mind spending qi your body can’t supply?

Activity and rest compliment and balance each other. Mental activity needs to be balance with the opposite – rest. One type of meditative practice is to try not to think or at least quiet the mind and think less. This is a practice in turning off your mind. Some have difficulty with this because they are not use to stillness but stillness is the exact medicine that needs to be applied here.

Activity without awareness in relaxation is like mastering only 1 side of the equation. You have mastered a busy mind and have lost the ability to relax, rejuvenate and restore. Regulating your mind means becoming comfortable in stillness. A calm and focused mind will manifest into healthy body function.

I’ve heard patients say they find it difficult to relax. Relaxing is a practice in stillness. Developing a habit requires practice. Spend time feeling comfortable in stillness can restore balance. This is not about being lazy or doing less. This is about being smarter and building momentum to naturally support cycles in body function. Your natural level of energy should support your daily activities without leaving you exhausted.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, ruminating thoughts and constant worry drain the qi (functional energy) specifically needed for digestion. Chew on that for a while. Now isn’t that an interesting expression? The energy pattern used for thinking and eating correspond to each other. Overeating and overthinking will lead to imbalances in health.

The mind needs to be regulated. Mental activity needs to be organized. Meditation and stress relief techniques, particularly in breathing, are essential for the busy mind. Herbal formulas can nourish the body, clear heat and bring about a healthy sense of calmness but practices that are excessive will always lead to exhaustion. Regulating the mind gets to the root of the problem.

Irregular energy – consistency is the key to optimal health. Consistency builds momentum. Less energy is used when continuous cycles are built and supported by regularity and momentum.

Imagine your body burning fuel like an automobile. Everyone knows you get better gas mileage on the highway compared to city driving. Why? Powering up from a low speed to a high speed requires more power and burns more energy than the power required to maintain a constant speed. “Stop and go” is irregular and more rapidly depletes energy.

Daily routines that are well organized and seemingly flow without much effort will conserve energy. A day full of poorly organized routines, unknown or high expectations, and irregularities is a day of frustration, tension and unnecessary stress that will exhaust energy and will manifest into irregular body function.

consistent energy

Consistent energy – The goal is to promote regular consistent energy to support body function and daily routines. Take note of these words – regular, consistent, routines vs irregular, inconsistent, chaos. Consistency builds momentum. Consistency allows you to be more focused. When trouble comes along you can handle it better. When you’re stressed out and your daily habits are chaotic you will struggle. Stress and chaos will drain your energy and leave you in a survival state that dysregulates body function and leads to all sorts of confusing health issues that are hard to figure out and unravel

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Defining Stress

Defining Stress

In Traditional Oriental Medicine stress can be viewed as an excess condition like fire that overheats the body and causes dis-regulation to many major body functions including digestion, sleep, mental focus and stamina.

Body function is based on a natural rhythm of cyclical patterns – sleep, activity, eating, inhaling, exhaling and so on. Moderation and consistency is the key. Excessive or irregular patterns become stressful and can cause health imbalances. Regularity is the key to good health. A consistent schedule is required, for example; going to bed and getting up at the same time, eating at the same times each day, regular exercise, right down to simple patterns of inhalation and exhalation all can have an impact on health.

Basically, there are two types of stress – physical stress and mental stress. Most people today, particularly in the USA are stressed mentally. In older time’s people didn’t need physical exercise because they were already physically stressed walking everywhere, building their own home, growing and gathering their own food and cooking from scratch and so on.

Stress is a state of being overwhelmed to a point of affecting natural body function. Look at children for example. Young children, particularly toddlers, act very natural. They don’t understand what is socially acceptable so when they are upset or feel overwhelmed they cry out. Their feelings create an excess of qi or energy in the body like a pressure cooker. This pressure is naturally released from the body. Kids are loaded with energy and burn it out by running around and being very active but a situation that requires them to be still can be challenging. Their mind is not mature enough to regulate their energy or their speed – they tend to go full throttle until they exhaust themselves.

An adult tends to act differently. In a stressful situation, say at work, an adult needs to maintain composure. It’s not acceptable to cry out although every now and then someone is bound to snap. When a person is stressed their mind is racing – multitasking. Their mind is like a fire in the body but the body and the breathing doesn’t express this activity. This leads to what I call dis-regulation. The mind is racing and the blood pressure is probably up but if the person started breathing heavy this might look weird to co-workers. Remember the saying, “don’t let them see you sweat”? So unconsciously the breathing becomes shallow and very controlled. The body isn’t getting enough air and starts to overheat. Also muscles in the body become increasingly tense. That racing mind wants to be expressed physically but flailing arms again might look a little weird so this stressed-out person tightens up the body muscles a bit to maintain composure.

When the mind, body and breath are synchronized the body works well. This unification is something we, as Tai Chi & Qigong practitioners strive for. These health rejuvenating exercises are often referred to as a moving meditation. Conversely, when the mind, body and breath are out of sync they work against each other. This stress impairs body function and leads to disorder and disease.

Over time stress can affect other major body functions like digestion and sleep. When digestion and sleep are affected you are in big trouble health-wise. They are core functions for rejuvenating and recovering from stress and to maintain health. Some people reach for prescription drugs to aid digestion and sleep which never gets to the root cause of the problem and the person continues in a downward spiral of poor health. Chronic aches, pains and fatigue become the new normal.

Some stress we can avoid but some stress we can’t so what do you do? Support your body as best you can. A more natural approach to support health under stress is to nutritionally feed the body with highly nutritious foods and supplements to support a person’s individual needs. There’s no “one size fits all diet for stress”. Each individual has individual health challenges and therefor needs selective advice on diet and supplements to be supportive.

A professional diet consult can be very helpful in addressing such support. Acupuncture can also be helpful. Acupuncture is a very gentle, safe and effective way to deal with pain and stress and promote relaxation. In addition, you may consider learning Tai Chi or Chi Kung (Qigong) to really get to the root of the problem. Tai Chi & Qigong can train you to form a deeper level of awareness that can regulate and unify the body, mind and breath. This unification strengthens the body against chaotic patterns of stress that adversely creates a consuming fire in the body and leads to so many health issues. These are what I call natural solutions to healing and optimal health.