Tai Chi and Me

I started taking Taoist Tai Chi’s Health Recovery class in mid November of 2010. It was, and is, fantastic. This is a sit-down class for the most part but it has helped my balance immensely. Within 5 weeks I was able to stand up by myself and to walk more normally. I tried the Beginner’s class in January, 2011 and was totally lost. My brain cannot translate front to back and right to left. It was a huge class and on the second night I fell three times so cannot take it again. I still hope to learn the stand-up version of the moves (we do them sitting down right now) but it will have to be one on one with the instructor telling me which foot to move which way as I move my hands in which way. I can do the hands, to some extent, in the seated set, but they move very differently in the regular version. I still cannot determine if a hand if facing me or facing away from me. It helps when the instructor tells us which way to turn our hands.

We are having an open house for our center on May 21 and our Health Recovery class is going to demonstrate what we do in class. I am also going to give a testimonial of how much it has helped me. I just hope that is not one of my bad days when I am too dizzy as that is always a factor regardless of the Tai Chi’s balance influence. When my brain is messed up so goes my body.

Anyone who has a Taoist Tai Chi center near you, I recommend it. I don’t know anything about other Tai Chi forms, but I expect they would be equally good for you. I don’t know if anyone else has the Health Recovery class. In the Taoist Tai Chi, the instructors are all volunteers and I find that to be a factor in what makes the interaction between student and instructors more meaningful, I think. They are there because they want to help you and not to make money from you. There is a small fee to help pay the lease on the building where we meet, but if you are unable to pay there is no stigma or harassing you to pay. You pay what you can. We have a wonderful time and our group is tightly bonded. We go to lunch together every month which has deepened the bond.

The USF Movement Disorder Clinic which is part of the Neurology Department in the College of Medicine, covers the cost of the Tai Chi for those of us with Parkinson’s Disease or Parkinsonisms of any type if you belong to a support group. Since I started our support group for the greater Tampa Bay area it has grown to 14 people with more expected in our next class. We are also going to meet more often than quarterly (probably every other month). The Movement Disorder Clinic has recognized our group as a legitimate Parkinsonism group and the Parkinson’s Foundation will pay for my cost in the Tai Chi class.

This disease sucks but there are good people out there who care and who will treat you as a “normal” person, despite your handicaps. I have found such a group in Tai Chi so I now have three: my Lunch Bunch, my Atypical Parkinson’s support group, and Tai Chi. I also have a number of good friends with whom I can talk to about even the most embarrassing aspects of the disease.

So, I recommend Tai Chi for those of you who have MSA or any Parkinson’s variation.