Mind-Body-Chi – Dr. Wen B-Chen’s Relaxation Exercises, Part 1 of 2

Chi gong is an ancient Chinese exercise that people practice to cultivate the chi – the vital life-force all around and within us. It utilizes meditation, controlled breathing, guided visualization and movements to stimulate the flow of chi throughout the body, thus assisting one in self-healing and preventing illnesses. Tai chi, a popular form of chi gong exercise, is now regarded as a health-promoting activity worldwide. This five-part series features our interview with Dr. Wen B-Chen, the creator of the marvelous Mind-Body-Chi (MBC) relaxation exercise program that incorporates the essence of chi gong, tai chi, yoga and meditation. He will present a unique interpretation of MBC’s various health benefits from a Western medical perspective and give demonstrations of the MBC exercises. Dr. Wen is a former radiation oncologist at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami, USA. He was also the radiation oncology medical director at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Florida, USA. “For people at the age of 30 to 55, that’s my target. Some of them really don’t have time to do exercise to maintain their health. I put together these movements and breathing to help those people. As long as they carve out a certain portion of time for themselves during the day, then their health gets maintained.” “MBC stands for Mind, Body, Chi, and Chi is c-h-i. In our (Chinese) culture, chi represents air, or spirit, or breath, or vitalities. We were taught in our culture that chi exists everywhere, in the universe and in our bodies. Inside the body, chi is supposed to follow the blood, or even go with the blood and nurture our internal organs and extremities, joints, and muscles.” To cater to senior citizens, Dr. Wen has recently expanded the MBC program from the original 6 exercises to 10, with the sequence rearranged. In our series, we’ll cover all 10 exercises. Let’s now see Dr. Wen's demonstration of exercise #1 and #2 of the MBC program.