Dear
all, welcome to April and the 63rd edition of the Taichido
Newsletter. I came across an interesting article the other
day on Yahoo News via Shoutwire that indicates that recent
studies show that tai chi may help prevent cases of shingles.
Shingles is a resurfacing of dormant Chickenpox virus in an
adults body where their immune system has not created enough
antibodies to ward the virus off again, and manifests itself
usually as a painful skin rash. It often has serious consequences,
causing major problems such as sight or hearing loss, Bell's
Palsy (facial paralysis) etc.
What the study at UCLA has found that older people who regularly
practised tai chi had better immune responses against the
virus than those who didn't. In combination with a vaccine,
tai chi produced a 40% increased immune response than just
the vaccine alone. It makes interesting reading, check it
out at http://www.shoutwire.com/viewstory/61899/Tai_Chi_May_Help_Prevent_Shingles
Regular readers of this newsletter will know that I have
a consultancy with regional group of the Parkinson's Disease
Sufferers Society. We meet together once a month. The group
is mixed about 50/50 sufferers and careers/partners. I think
it is fair to say that we are all over 50 in years! Of the
sufferers some are in the early stages of the onset and others
far more progressed and control the disease with a drug regime
that has its own 'symptomatic' side effects.
"There is no known cure for Parkinson's disease. The
goal of treatment is to control symptoms. Medications control
symptoms primarily by increasing the levels of dopamine in
the brain. The type of medication, the dose, the amount of
time between doses, or the combination of medications used
may need to be adjusted as symptoms change. Many medications
can cause severe side effects, so monitoring and follow-up
by the health care provider is important." http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000755.htm
In consideration of all of this - and with the evidence of
my own eyes at our first session together it became obvious
that strict Form practice - as a group - was not a realistic
possibility. And whilst on the subject of realism I should
say right now that I did not expect to be curing any disease's!
No, all that I was doing was just putting together a sequence
of some simple posture, movement, limb coordination and breath
exercise that I hoped might be just a small step in the right
direction! I did some homework and research and concluded
that if Tai Chi could passably help - it would only do so
if I were sympathetic to - or at least at first tried to understand
the following:
1. Communication: The condition can (due to lack of muscle
control in the face - see "Muscle Cramps" below)
create a misleading impression, leading incorrectly to being
perceived of as being difficult, deaf, disinterested, drunk
or unintelligent. As a consequence many people with Parkinson's
feel very isolated.
2. Speech: Can be slurred. Monotonous with lack of variation
and expression. Hoarse and tremulous. Disordered in rate or
rhythm. Responses may be very slow. Leads to similar misunderstanding
as those detailed above.
3. Freezing: About 30% of people suffering from Parkinson's
will at some times experience "Freezing" - which
can also lead to an increased risk of falling.
4. Muscle Cramps:
A. Dystonia: Movement disorder. Involuntary contraction of
the muscles, causing spasm. Muscles become hard due to contraction
without relaxing (not the same as "cramp").
B. Akinesia: Reduction in or absence of movement, muscular
rigidity, "cramp". Muscles become hard and less
elastic. In Parkinson's, most common in the feet. Spasm in
the calf muscles can cause the toes to curl into a claw like
position. In other cases the big toe hyper-extends - pointing
upwards.
5. Smaller Muscles:
'A. 'Blepharospasm': Intermittent or sustained eyelid closure,
caused by the contraction of the eyelid muscle. Aggravated
by stress, looking up or down, reading, driving or bright
lights (photophobia: abnormal intolerance to light).
B. Sialorrhoea: Drooling a.k.a. dribbling. Saliva pooling
and trickling from the mouth. Not because more saliva is produced
but because the tendency to swallow every now and again (even
when not eating) is slowed down (See "4B. Akinesia"
above).
Aggregated by poor (stooped) posture and inadequate lip seal.
Everyone has difficulty in swallowing if they cannot close
their lips tightly. You try! Try to swallow with your mouth
open.
In some cases, simply improving the posture can alleviate
Sialorrhoea.
An apparently small and insignificant thing like swallowing
and consequential eating problems can have a tremendous negative
impact upon a person's quality of life at home, and in terms
of their social life.
Those with the problem can become anxious about swallowing
anything for the fear of choking. Many eat less than normal
and loose weight. They do not enjoy eating and feel embarrassed,
or experience panic or anxiety attacks at mealtimes. All of
this has a demoralising effect; because eating and drinking
are essential parts of life and the social aspect is as important
as the practical, biological function.
Therefore, in regard this "apparently small and insignificant
swallowing and eating problem" my first prescription
was a series of "Head Nodding" exercises.
Pages with illustrations detailing these exercises now online
as " Head Nodding " [http://www.wheelswithinwheels.net/headtotoe/headtotoe_1neck_e123.htm]
These exercises formed the basis of our first two sessions
together.
Further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_disease#_note-55
http://www.emedicine.com/neuro/topic304.htm
As a follow on from that - It is now my pleasure to share with
you Part One of my "REVISION AND CONSOLIDATION" NOTES
as presented to the P.D.S.S. TAI CHI GROUP on the occasion of
our Third Monthly Meeting together on 22.03.07.
COORDINATED BREATH AND MOVEMENT.
To properly or fully benefit from Tai Chi it is important that
we understand the breathing technique involved - and coordinate
our movements with these breaths.
Tai Chi functions (when done much faster) as a martial art fighting
form - and in this respect - individual postures may be identified
as either 'offensive' or 'defensive'. Accordingly, all defensive
postures (or 'moves') are performed on an in breath - and all
offensive postures/moves are made on an out breath. Furthermore,
a defensive move is classified as a "Yin" and an offensive
as "Yang". So the theory is: Defense on the Yin or
In breath and offense on the Out or Yang breath.
THE YIN YANG SYMBOL.
On the grand scale, the interlocking black and white shapes
within the circumference of the circle are representative of
the cyclical nature of the natural world. Day becomes night,
summer becomes autumn, hot becomes cold … and life becomes
death. The day is represented by the white section and night
by the black. The dot (or 'seed') of black in the white and
the seed of white in the black implies that 'nothing is all
black and nothing is all white' … and therefore it follows
that there is nothing that is 'all good' and there is nothing
that is 'all bad', 'all right' or 'all wrong' … …
… and so on.
Essentially - the black section of the Yin Yang represents the
YIN - or as I call it, the Down and In. The black/Yin represents
the passive, the slow, the quite and withdrawn. The thinnest
part of the black is 'minimum Yin' and the thickest maximum
Yin. Maximum Yin moves on to 'minimum Yang i.e. the thinnest
white bit.
The white YANG section represents the aggressive, the quick,
the loud and bright - with the thinnest being just 'dim' or
'lukewarm' and the thickest being dazzling or 'white-hot'. Thus,
the 'not very loud' and 'not too bright' or 'minimum but more
than nothing' Yang more or less overlaps (or is the same thing
as) the maximum 'just a little muted or slightly dulled' Yin.
CHI IS MOVED BY THE MIND - i.e. thought or intention.
You won't 'accidentally' or without intention push open a stuck
door! You will need to put your mind to it. And should the door
remain stuck shut after an initial effort, more Chi may be naturally
applied to the task and power increased with the addition or
coordination of breath with movement.
The natural and instinctive way to add power to you push is
to first set your self, breathe in and then … puuuussshhhhhh
on the out breath. This here then is the physical enactment
of the Yin Yang symbol - and if this breathing technique can
be understood or 'felt' directly and on a personal or internal
level then further technical or intellectual analysis is not
at all necessary.
THERAPEUTIC TAI CHI.
Whist this "coordinated intention, breath and movement
is natural and instinctive this function may for various reasons
(stress, disability) be impaired. Tai Chi is an exercise designed
particularly to improve coordination and encourage instinctual
movement with positive intention triggered by breath alone.
All of the exercises that we have done together during our first
two sessions (see "Head Nodding" - with introductory
notes http://www.wheelswithinwheels.net/headtotoe/headtotoe_1neck_e123.htm
were prescribed as excellent all round and easy to do and within
the capability of every member of the group. Over and above
this great emphasis and thought has been put into the CIRCULAR
BREATHING TECHNIQUE intrinsic to them - and it my sincere hope
that the correct understanding of the theory behind all Tai
Chi movements be the key to the unlocking of hitherto unrecognized
'inner strength' that might a provide a certain kind of spiritual
assurance ("nothing is all good, nothing is all bad")
that is beyond potions and pills.
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