Best Injury Prevention Con't

The best injury prevention is your mindset. I'm not sure if this is what you were expecting or if this statement sounds oversimplified but I'll relate a quick story testifying to this personal truth.

When I was training in the circus school I was very lucky to be surrounded by coaches, medical staff, and access to hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. The irony of the situation was that I often found myself needing a band-aid over some part of my body. If my ankle wasn't recovering from a sprain, then my back was in spasm. If my neck wasn't sore and stuck, then I was plagued with the latest seasonal flu. It was a circular type of affliction, a merry-go-round of injuries and illnesses.

The eye-opening experience came when I left on tour finally as a professional performer. On tour you don't have the luxury of being pampered with emergency services, on-staff therapists, and most importantly, time off. You perform out of sheer necessity, and especially in smaller casts, there are no backups and no understudies. Just you.

I never once missed a touring show ever for an injury or a cold. I remember thinking at the end of a year long tour once that I was only sick once and that was because of some bad water in Mexico. But I never hurt myself. I was fascinated and puzzled by that fact since what I was doing involved extreme acrobatics, heights, and plenty of exhausting touring.

The only answer I figured out was that injury prevention was entirely a product of necessity and will. I couldn't get injured because 1) no one could replace me and 2) I wouldn't get paid. (Forget workers compensation!) And so, out of sheer will, I stayed healthy.

But aren't some injuries fluke accidents? I can't answer that. I think yes... and I also think the majority of injuries serve a purpose. It may be there to slow you down or help you realize a very important aspect of your life. The meanings are as varied as the injuries, but uncovering its message requires artful observation and most importantly, honesty with oneself. It's easy to deny an ugly truth, and sometimes only an injury can jar you and create awareness.

Like I said in the last post, there are many physical remedies to raise your chances of preventing injuries, like sleeping enough, eating well, taking your vitamins. Beyond the obvious physical preparations, think of all the reasons why you would benefit from an injury. That's right. I said "benefit." It's a twist on perceiving injuries, a change in the way we think of injuries. If you realize what you can "get" from being injured, then you are already 50% there to preventing it.

Health and Peace,
Alvin.

PS: The ENERGY Accelerator book will not be available for another few weeks. That's why, as I mentioned in the email, we're going to be making our 5-Part FLIP Matrix e-course available this Friday.

Best Injury Prevention

This is such a great question. Not only have many people asked me about it but I've had to ask myself about it also. At the moment that I write this, I am getting over an ankle sprain that has left me training-less for the last 2 weeks.

There are thousands of vitamins, supplements, ointments, and other treatments that you can take to brace your body against potential injuries. Obviously I don't know all of them so I can't recommend a particular brand, a gel, a pill, a patch, or a cream that will make it all go away, or at least stay away in the first place.

As an acrobat for the last 15 years, I've had the time to see when injuries occur, how they occur, and most important WHAT THEY MEAN. There is no definition for injuries but each person has his own way of interpreting an injury. What am I saying?

I am saying that injuries are - you guessed it - a result of a mindset. This is not to say that you cause ALL your own injuries, or that you should feel guilty if you did get injured. What this is saying is that injuries serve a purpose, and it is essential to dive into the meaning of that injury - what it means TO YOU.

Some injuries are your body's way of saying slow down. That is an obvious "meaning". You might approach this whole concept on injuries by seeing them not as nuisances, or troublesome events, but as nature's way of sending you a message to become more aware of something in your life.

But aren't injuries some random occurance? In my years of training, I've noticed how un-random they are. There are many times I've taken a hard fall, jumped too high, or tripped, and I should have been injured. But I wasn't. And then there were times when I was stepping off a mat, running on a trail, or falling off a 3 foot high table, and I ended up injuring myself the most.

The most important thing about preventing an injury is to ask your body EVERY DAY what it needs. When you ignore its needs (not enough sleep, not enough food), you force it to communicate to you in harsher and harsher ways, until you finally experience an injury.

There is so much more to written and said about this topic so we'll continue in the next blog. For this week however, keep your awareness open to your body and ask: what does it need?

Health and Peace,
Alvin.

PS: By the way, the ENERGY Accelerator book is now over half done! Coming very soon...

New Website!

Take a look at the new website! Redesigned so it makes more sense...

www.soulacrobats.com

Also, we are now releasing our new FREE REPORT: THE 5 BEST COACHING LESSONS. Here's what's inside:

Coaching Lesson 1: THE BEST WAY TO IMPROVE CREATIVITY

Coaching Lesson 2: HOW TO LIVE WITH JOY

Coaching Lesson 3: THE POWER OF PURPOSE

Coaching Lesson 4: THE TRUE MEANING OF FEAR

Coaching Lesson 5: HOW TO INCREASE YOUR ENERGY

Click here to get your FREE REPORT: 5 BEST COACHING LESSONS.

And our latest excerpt from the ENERGY Accelerator:

"You are constantly using and projecting energy at all times, whether your thoughts are positive or negative. When a person claims to lack energy, there is in fact no such thing as a lack of energy, only a misdirection of energy. The same energy that went into creating a negative thought can instead by used to create a positive thought. This is the main principle of "directing your energy" first."

Acrobatic Demo by Alvin at Martial Arts School

It's been 2 weeks since our last blog because I was up in Canada getting married! Jaime and I had a wonderful wedding on 8-8-08 and, if any of you are interested, please email me and I'll send you a photo. (alvin@soulacrobats.com).

Our last blog had to do with INCREASING YOUR ENERGY. Coincidentally I did an acrobatic demonstration for the Las Vegas ATA Karate for Kids School which have monthly themes and their theme this month is POWER.

Watch this 1 minute video now:

In this short video I mention very briefly about how to raise your power, or your ENERGY. I don't get into in the video but I'll explain quickly what I was talking about:

Raising your energy is about knowing where to put your energy. A common misconception is that increasing your energy is about GETTING MORE energy. The truth is that we are surrounded by nearly limitless sources of energy and the focus is on knowing WHERE to put your available energy.

The first step to knowing where to put your energy starts with building awareness. For example, if you consistently lack power when you play sports, you need to become aware of where you are exerting power. Do you use energy while you should be resting? Do you use energy to activate muscles that have nothing to do with the movement? Do you waste mental energy by projecting your focus into the future or the past instead of being present?

I hope this short blog has sparked a few answers for you regarding energy and power.

Health and Peace,
Alvin.

P.S.: These are the questions that we address in The ENERGY Accelerator which we are still working on. As soon as it is ready in a couple of weeks, we'll let you know first!

By the way, the next blog will be a posted video of an improvised Drum and Dance workshop that Jaime and I did for Lululemon Athletica while we in Canada last week.

Increase Your Energy

We had many great responses from you. Some of your questions were:

1. “How do I stay motivated to be more active (not necessarily exercise - just move)?”

2. “What can I do to have more energy (what food, stress relief strategies, self talk, etc)?”

3. “My biggest obstacle is procrastination. I need help with disciplining myself... help with focusing on the immediate that requires attention.”

4. “I just think you all are amazing - you say you are are going to do something and it happens - so I guess a question would be - does it all just flow or do you really have to get creative to make your life move forward like you do?”

I wanted to share with you a few of the excerpts from our book in development, called The ENERGY^TM Accelerator. Here's a few excerpts:

Excerpt 1 from The ENERGY^TM Accelerator:

You are constantly using and projecting energy at all times, whether your thoughts are positive or negative. When a person claims to lack energy, there is in fact no such thing as a lack of energy, only a misdirection of energy. The same energy that went into creating a negative thought can instead by used to create a positive thought. This is the main principle of “directing your energy” first.

Excerpt 2 from The ENERGY^TM Accelerator:

Most people say that they want to have an even, consistent energy level. If you want to have an even, consistent level of energy, the first thing to do is to change your perception of what energy is and how it is acquired.

Excerpt 3 from The ENERGY^TM Accelerator:

Much of our societal teachings encourage us to work harder, study more, or become greater, in order to achieve goals. These teachings assume that you begin at an inferior level and must rise to a superior place in order to be successful. In other words, you begin with little and must accumulate more and more until you are “complete”. We naturally carry this mindset over to the concept of energy as well.

I was planning to release the book by early August but there is so much more material to cover than I thought. Also (P.S.) I have some important dates coming up (I'm getting married next Friday to lovely Jaime) so I will be a little occupied! If you haven't had a chance to meet my lovely soon-to-be wife, you can click here for a picture of her.

Thanks for your patience, I hope you enjoyed these short thoughts on energy!

Health and Peace,
Alvin.

Soul Acrobats Art At Las Vegas Lululemon Yoga Store

Las Vegas Lululemon welcomed Soul Acrobats photography by Marylene Hickok, currently a Cirque du Soleil artist in KA. Here's a video of the great event, featuring performances by former Cirque du Soleil artist Alvin Tam and dancer-painter Jaime Tam.

You can visit Marylene's gallery at Soul Acrobats here.

CLICK BELOW TO WATCH A VIDEO OF THE EVENT.



Health and Peace,
Alvin.

P.S.: Thanks for all the responses we've been getting from our last survey. We are still developing the product, but it'll look something like an e-book with audio interviews and will be somewhere between $60 and $70. It will definitely focus on increasing energy in mind and body and managing and overcoming fears. Thanks for all your feedback -- the product will be out within weeks!

Deeper Truths

As some of you may already know, I am training for my very first adventure race. What is an adventure race you ask?

Well it is a 12 hour or more trek across barren desert on a mountain bike and whatever is on your feet. The event is mixed in with bouts of swimming and kayaking. This is not a solo sport - you have team members, navigation skills, and immense strategy.

My realization that I want to share with you this week is that I fell into the trap of telling others about the adventure race because it would feed my ego. In fact, whenever I told somebody I was going to do this race, I emphasized how little I knew about it, thereby magnifying the WOW factor of actually doing it.

My dear guide Carrie and my lovely fiancee Jaime turned the mirror quickly in my face and made me ask myself, why am I doing this race? Why would I want to push myself so hard? Is it all just for momentary admiration or is there something deeper?

I realized there is greater depth in doing this race but I let ego take over for a while - like a cloud obscuring the true radiance of the sun. I realized that I really do love to explore, mountain bike and be in nature. That is the reason I am doing this race.

So... I leave you with this thought. What do you brag about, boast about, talk about repeatedly that is merely a way to reinforce your ego? Your sense of status, achievement, power? And then... what is the true motivation behind those activities? You may discover something quite sincere, quite true, yet covered by a different (and false) story.

Happy Uncoverings,
Alvin.