Is jumping rope a good idea for those with orthopedic problems in their knees and hips?
I do not encourage it, especially when you’re dealing with a bone-on-bone situation.
You may be able to use a rebounder or mini-trampoline – but that’s something to discuss with your physician.
It’s important to know what is good for you to do and what isn’t.
As an example, I recently got on Instagram – (you can follow me @fureycatmatt) – and there’s a Cirque du Soleil performer who can contort her body in ways that defy the imagination.
As I watch her, I think to myself, wouldn’t that be cool to do that?
Then I return to reality. I could work on some of the twists and bends she does for 20 years and still not be even close to what
she’s doing.
There are elements of the flexibility training she undergoes that I could model, but not the whole shebang.
This is one of the reasons I believe the Neck Qi Gong I teach on the FureyFaithful.com membership site is so important.
It’s not difficult to do whatsoever (for almost all of those reading), and it helps to relax and adjust the rest of the body.
To put it in Taoist health parlance, your head/neck are the mountain peak, packed with ice and snow.
When you melt the ice and snow at the top, energy (blood and qi) flows downward benefiting the rest of the body.
Most people who exercise their necks do so in a way that adds tension (ice and snow). Their necks and traps may be huge
but without mobility and flexibility, they’re actually harming themselves long term.
One member of the FureyFaithful.com site is a baseball coach. He told me recently that he goes to the site often just to do the Neck Qi Gong – especially at the end of a long, stressful day.
“It’s the perfect way to end the day,” he mentioned. “All the stress of the day fades away. It feels like I can see better after doing the exercises. And my thinking is definitely clearer and sharper.”
I’ll have more on working with your neck in the days ahead, but for now, you can really get a feel for what I’m talking about by doing the exercises on the member’s site.
Matt Furey
