Tai Chi Reported to Ease Fibromyalgia

[charityfundraiser]

The NY Times has been publishing some interesting articles in the health section about chronic illnesses lately.

Tai Chi Reported to Ease Fibromyalgia
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/health/19taichi.html

And a somewhat related blog post:

Acupuncture, Real or Fake, Eases Pain
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/acupuncture-real-or-fake-eases-pain/


I find that the stretching motions in tai chi and yoga are different from plain stretching in Western exercises. They seem to release trigger points and are more thorough and insightful about how the body is aligned.

 

[Melodie]

If I lived in Melbourne I would give this yoga a go:

http://ekagrayoga.com/cfs-yoga.php
(for the stretching, the other stuff not)
ME/CFSvic members get a discount:

http://www.mecfs-vic.org.au/yoga-people-mecfs-and-fm

You would want a comfy non-toxic yoga mat.

 

[Lassie54]

Yes, it got a lot of attention! My older son and a cousin e-mailed and called me about it and my husband is convinced that Tai Chi is IT! He's a big believer in both the "magic bullet" school of thought and the "exercise cures everything" club. He's just been looking for that magic form of exercise to validate his thesis...But I digress. I myself, in spite of the fact that there are days that leaving the house IS my exercise, would love to find something that I can do that A. will not make me bedridden for two days afterward; B. won't require expensive equipment, C. does not require me to wear spandex, and D. will ACTUALLY, MEASURABLY make me FEEL better, either through easing pain, helping me to sleep, clearing the brain fog....Pick a symptom, any symptom. And if I can do anything that will help and doesn't have unbearable side effects, sign me up! That said, I'd be interested to know if anyone has tried Tai Chi and if, taking in to account my aforementioned requirements, it had done you any good.

 

[hoMEy]

hi, tai chi is excellent for health in general and enviromental illness in my oopinion. i have even heard of folk remitting from m.e. and m.s. whilst doing it. a class is certainly best as you also have the "energy share" from other folk. i used to feel quite rough following classes for a couple of days and then much better. it may depend on how good/bad your digestion is, whether or not you can tolerate or ground a session of tai chi...if you can't it will be counter-productive and one should concentrate on diet etc until such a time as the body can ground such exercising. my personal feeling is that yang or chen tai chi are best with yang being better for the infirm.

here is a complete and free youtube playlist of erle montague teaching the yang cheng-fu form...