Greetings to the Ageless Athletes!

[SteveB]

Steven Barnes here, proud CST instructor and creator of the Five Minute Miracle system. Aliveness and energy aren't just a goal or quality--they are a DUTY to ourselves, our families, and the world. We over-fifty folks have spent a half-century gathering wisdom, and the best way we can share with our loved ones is to lead by glorious example. For twenty years I've felt that I wouldn't really hit my stride until my mid-fifties, and darned if I'm going to slack off at fifty-one! Anything that I can do to help guide you toward health, fitness, and just flat more joy in life, let me know! The whole RMAX circle is an incredible resource, genuinely valid information that can make a serious difference every day of your life.

Enjoy!

Steven Barnes

[James Boelter]

..nothing you can have which I cannot take..." Oh, wait. I was in the wrong mode of thinking there. Allow me to reset...

Anyway, I quite liked the 5MM, and consider it a useful and valuable addition to the training library. And I was very impressed by your expansion of the 5 Rites, and your suggestion for a beginning meditation regime in the I.D.E.A. portion of the tape. Excellent, excellent stuff.

Just as a matter of opinion...your bio material says you are an instructor in Wu style Tai Chi. How would you say Tai Chi for health compares in terms of time investment and in terms of overall lifetime benefit as compared to the Rites? As compared to chi kung?

I practice the classic Yang Family Tai Chi Chi Kung set which is much easier to learn than most classic TCC and really gets the chi going in short order, but the experience of chi flow I get from it 'feels' different than what I experience from practicing the Rites. Would it be possible to maybe expand a bit on the intents and benefits of one vs the other based on your experiences in Tai Chi? Either here on the forum or in your column in CST magazine?

Anyway, count me as a satisfied customer, and I hope you have future products in mind for the future.

[SteveB]

Thanks for the kind comments! I suspect that the Tibetans are a set of very simple biomechanical exercises chosen and choreographed by some ancient enlightened soul for specific health benifits. They have the advantage of actually being simple enough to learn from a book, but also powerful enough to have a genuine effect in about ten minutes. I think they lend basic physical integrity and overall strength. Not "conditioning", per se, but a good basic safety net to build your other fitness upon. Tai Chi can go beyond this to grace and sensitivity in interaction, as well as other qualities. "Chi cultivation" is so dependant upon one's definitions and intents that it is difficult to speak of, but I think that the Tibetans include an aspect of ground engagement that activates the upper body--and that if you go from the Tibetans into the body-flow movements, you are thinking in the right direction. With any of these profound arts, the important thing is to love it enough to do a lot of it, and continually refine form.

Have fun!
Steve

[rbibbs]

Thanks Steve, for the 5MM production. It highlights some things I was doing almost instinctively, after much exposure to Coach's philosophies, that are enormously beneficial, especially to anyone getting "off the couch" for the first time in a while. I recommend it highly for its clarity, benefits, and for its proportional/incremental "doability".

Fellow boomer-readers, looking to circumvent the inevitability of "rusting in place", 5MM is a GREAT place to start. I suspect it will be so rewarding to you, you'll be drawn to follow a whole 'nother path physically from the one you may have been on.

Great work Steve, and blessings to your daughter.

Rick

[Mike Baldwin]

Evening Steve,

Received your videos this arvo and viewed them tonight. Classy stuff !!!! Our group greatly respect people who can process material, go lateral to other stuff learnt ( compare, contrast, synthesize etc etc - Bloom's Taxonomy ) and present material in a new, sometimes more brain/body compatable way. You "stand on the shoulders of giants ", ( readily giving credit to them ) and we are all richer for your journey. Much respect from us to you. With this sort of approach to life, we are sure you, just being you, are the greatest gift you could share with your daughter and loved ones.

Cheers
Mike and the crew. :D

[SteveB]

I prayed that 5Mm would find receptive hearts. More than anyone, I'm aware that it sounds "too good to be true"--but then, the quality of REAL information out there...and in HERE, is just that. We have a treasure trove in Coach Sonnon and the folks he's gathered around him. Our Tribe. If we just continue to work hard,and support each other, and take this one careful step at a time...it is just possible that we can make a significant impact on the world, one heart, mind, and body at a time.

Steve

[Scotty D.]

In the past I have been told that the 5 Tibetans are an exercise for beneficially and specifically stimulating the endocrine glands. I would personally say that my experience with them could concur this (they do feel great), and in logical appraisal, the movements do seem to target the endocrine cavities. It is also my understanding that healthy and sensitive endocrine glands are of greatest benefit in achieving longevity, which Tibetan yoga/5 Tibetans are often associated with.

Do folks have any information that adds to this idea?

[KEVIN TEAGLE]

Hello Steve, I don't know if you remember, but a number of years back in a dusty garage we were involved with a fellow by the name of Steven Plink. Eric Cobb brought me and I was in chiropractic school at the time and since have been practicing in Grants Pass. I have enjoyed keeping up with your books and am looking forward to the movie coming out. Congratulations on your CST status, and I send well wishes to your family.

If your still not sure who I am, I was the silly one.

Kevin Teagle DC

[ocianain]

Steven Barnes here, proud CST instructor and creator of the Five Minute Miracle system. Aliveness and energy aren't just a goal or quality--they are a DUTY to ourselves, our families, and the world. We over-fifty folks have spent a half-century gathering wisdom, and the best way we can share with our loved ones is to lead by glorious example. For twenty years I've felt that I wouldn't really hit my stride until my mid-fifties, and darned if I'm going to slack off at fifty-one!


Anything that I can do to help guide you toward health, fitness, and just flat more joy in life, let me know!

More alt. history writing. You are that Steven Barnes I hope? William Saunders has gone silent, please don't let me down!

[SteveB]

Definitely that Steve Barnes. Good to have you here!