Mindful Exercise - by Peter Anthony Gryffin (Paperback)

About the Book

This groundbreaking book demonstrates the link between health and metarobics, the author's term for slow, meditative exercises that enhance blood oxygen saturation, diffusion, and oxygen-based metabolism. Metarobics-- including tai chi, qigong, and yoga-- focus on movement, relaxation, and deep breathing. Dr. Gryffin's research shows that mindful exercises offer a wide range of benefits for treating chronic disease.--Publisher.

Book Synopsis

Today, more doctors than ever are prescribing tai chi for patients recovering from injury, illness, and surgery.

This book presents over ten years of research into how and why tai chi benefits health from an evidence-based, medical perspective.

Dr. Peter Anthony Gryffin demonstrates the link between health and metarobics, his term for slow, meditative exercises that enhance blood oxygen saturation, diffusion, and oxygen-based metabolism. Metarobics--including tai chi, qigong, and yoga--focus on relaxation and deep breathing. Dr. Gryffin's research shows that these exercises offer a wide range of benefits for treating chronic disease.

Dr. Gryffin cites numerous scientific studies as well as testimonials from patients who have experienced the natural healing benefits of metarobic exercise. Many have surmounted chronic health problems to improve their quality of life. Some even overcame grave diagnoses.

This book features:

• More than 120 scientific studies on tai chi and other metarobic exercises
• More than 50 case stories from tai chi qigong, and yoga practitioners
• Clear, straightforward language
• Tested guidelines to improve your metarobic exercise and maximize health benefits

"This book presents over ten years of research into how and why tai chi benefits health from a physiological perspective," Dr. Gryffin says. "The links I discovered will allow everyone from novice students to veteran teachers to maximize benefits for health and chronic conditions."

In 1968, Dr. Kenneth Cooper's book Aerobics changed the world of health and fitness. Mindful Exercise: Metarobics, Healing, and the Power of Tai Chi is the next step in this evolution.

Review Quotes

A persuasive picture of tai chi's healing effects bolstered by compelling data and enlivened by an array of personal testimonials. In this debut mind/body guide, a tai chi instructor details the unique physiological benefits of the technique's slow-moving exercises. For tai chi instructor Gryffin, what has been "missing in the research" in studies of the wellness/healing power of tai chi and similar exercises (qi gong, some forms of yoga, etc.) "was why these exercises were having such benefits." Here, he seeks to remedy this perceived gap by presenting research supporting his observations that, in conjunction with slow abdominal breathing, these kinds of exercises can relax the body and enhance blood oxygen saturation, diffusion, and metabolic function. Such enhancements create an "effect unique from other forms of exercise" to prevent or combat hypoxia, a reduction in the amount of oxygen reaching various areas of the body, a condition that can lead to cancer; heart, kidney, and lung diseases; stroke; asthma; diabetes; and other chronic ailments. Given tai chi and similar activities are neither aerobic nor strength-based, Gryffin coins these exercises "metarobics" and asserts that they deserve the same kind of attention and uptick in popularity that aerobic exercises have achieved. Alongside his research discussions, first detailing the overall physiological effects, then going deeper into specific health conditions, Gryffin includes an array of first-person testimonials regarding these exercises' lifesaving effects and psychological benefits. Debut author Gryffin, who holds a Ph.D. in health and human performance from the University of Florida, makes a convincing case to draw more people to both practice and advocate for metarobics. He includes an extensive reference list to support his assertions and is careful not to tout his ideas at the expense of traditional medicine; at one point, for instance, he notes that boosted oxygen around tumors allows for more efficient chemotherapy treatments. The various testimonials, some 50 in all, also support his cause while offering readers relief from the occasionally dry, repetitive detailing of data.--Kirkus

Dr. Gryffin sums it up well. 'This is an exploration of a new science of an old tradition.' Ancient mind-body practices can benefit our health and prevent disease in exponential ways through complex relationships, and Dr. Gryffin has a compelling theory of how Tai Chi does just that. He creates space for an additional type of exercise, beyond aerobics and anaerobics. This is a fascinating book that adds to the emerging paradigm shift in healthcare away from surgery and pills and back to the wisdom of our bodies. This book will likely be a primer for deeper explorations into the Metarobic concept. I for one intend to use it in my course at Saybrook University.--Natasha Edwina, LMFT

Merges meditation and exercise ... may well lead to a new definition of optimal well-being.--Rudolph E Tanzi, PhD, Author of The Healing Self

Mindful Exercise and the metarobic approach opened my eyes, and they can open yours too.--Dr. John Day, Author of The Longevity Plan

Will surely become 'the prescription' of choice for all responsible medical providers! I am enthusiastic about recommending it!--Roger Jahnke, OMD, From his Foreword

Metarobics is a new spin on validated evidence-based research on the healing abilities of Tai Chi, Qigong and Yoga. This approach is excellent. Your research and anecdotal vignettes supporting these practices will have a positive impact on health, with the idea of oxygen perfusion being a vital component for their healing abilities.--Denise DeForest Pastoor, MEd, APRN, CS, CHTP/I, CWP, RYT, Organizer of the Integrative Health Academy for the National Wellness Conference

This book is a portal that will change the way Tai Chi and Qigong are approached so that modern medical science can join hands with these ancient-mind body sciences to become co-evolutionary. This seminal work should be read, not just by all those in my own hospital classes, but by every Tai Chi and Qigong student, by every teacher of the arts, by every health professional and government health ministry or department employee, and by everyone seeking a more enjoyable and profound life, and a more abundant, clear, and healthy society.--Bill Douglas, Founder Wold Tai Chi and Qigong Day "Authr "Tne Complete Idiot's Guide to T'ai Chi & Qigong" "

About the Author

Peter Anthony Gryffin, PhD, MS, has over thirty years of experience with tai chi, qigong, yoga, and gongfu. His research includes implications related to hypoxia (oxygen deficiency in the body), cancer, and tai chi; the development of the theory of Metarobics; and the application of mindfulness-based practices for dealing with stress, trauma, addiction, and destructive behavior. Dr. Gryffin holds a PhD in health and human performance and a master's degree in kinesiology and health.