Friday in the Park

by Daniel Loney (Israel)

It’s Friday morning and I meet my fellow Tai Chi practitioners in the park. As we stand silently in Wu Ji, among the budding rose bushes and almond trees, I struggle to empty my mind. I feel nervous: will I be able to get through the sequences? Will the others notice my trembling hands? Will I lose my balance doing the Golden Pheasant Stands On One Leg? Will I be able to do the kicks?

My Tai Chi instructor, Arieh Breslow, slowly takes a deep breath, exhales and sinks into his right leg. We all begin to follow as he starts the exercises, known as ‘form’. I take a deep breath of the cool Jerusalem air and exhale as I sink, telling myself to relax, relax. As I progress through the form, I begin to gain confidence in my body. Breathing deeply into my Dantien (about three fingers below my navel), sinking, flowing, relaxing, releasing tension, I realise that I can still do this. I feel good. I feel wonderful.

Starting the form was not always filled with such trepidation. There was a time when I felt completely confident. But, Parkinson’s disease has changed that. I had my first symptoms of Parkinson’s at the age of 49. Arieh's wife, Anne, noticed that my left shoulder wasn’t moving easily during warm-up exercises and my left hand wasn’t always in the correct position when doing the Tai Chi form. At the time, I shrugged it off as stiffness. A year later I developed a small tremor in my left hand and my arm didn’t swing properly when I walked. It was then that I decided to see a neurologist. After an examination and a few tests, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

My mother passed away two weeks after my initial diagnosis. I entered a short period of depression, feeling that I had been given a death sentence. My future looked bleak as I became worse. During that year of mourning, I think that I was mourning the loss of my own life as much as the loss of my mother.

I knew that if I wanted to maintain the highest quality of life possible and get the most out of my remaining years, I would need to develop a program for coping with this disease. I had already been doing Tai Chi for eight years and knew that it would play a large part in my dealing with Parkinson’s. My doctor prescribed a cocktail of medications for reducing my symptoms, with a myriad of side effects. This prompted me to investigate alternative approaches that would allow me to function as normally as possible. My medical journey led me into Chinese herbal medicine and Ayurvedic treatments from a doctor in India. I also had pressure-point massage and acupuncture from a Tibetan monk, and Yoga lessons.

Throughout it all, I continued my Tai Chi practice but almost quit, as my form became frustratingly worse. After a year of experimentation with these alternative treatments, I realised that I already had the tools I needed for coping with my condition. Although these treatments gave me some relief, I felt that none of them could match the combination of proper medication and Tai Chi.

Today, my personal program is based on three pillars: minimal medication, exercise (with Tai Chi as the basis), and a low-fat vegetarian diet high in antioxidants to protect and boost my remaining brain cells. The program is by no means static - I constantly adjust it to my changing medical condition while keeping an emphasis on improving my Tai chi form. Over time, I’ve noticed the accumulative effects of my health regimen – I function better and my Tai Chi form has slowly improved as well. A good Tai Chi workout seems to be as effective for me as taking a pill and the results of a session last for hours. Tai Chi had given me the tools for dealing with Parkinson's long before I was ever diagnosed.

Tai Chi is an internal martial art form that uses the mind to control the movements of the body. It helps you become aware of your body and the integration of each part with the whole. Visual imagery is also used to help in this mind–body connection and to aid in movement and coordination. There are many ways that Tai Chi can benefit the Parkinson’s patient. The following are a few examples that have been particularly helpful to me:

Fair Maiden’s Hand

The classic pill-rolling tremor of the hand is probably the most identifiable symptom of Parkinson’s. Often, while holding the hand still, it will tremble, rotating back and forth as if it is rolling a pill between the thumb and forefinger. I am mostly aware of this symptom during Tai Chi while executing movements such as ward-off, rollback, and press. I find that the trembling greatly subsides by concentrating on relaxing the hand and wrist, while maintaining a Fair Maiden Hand (the fingers gently spread and holding the back of the hand in a straight line with the wrist). By the end of the first iteration of the form, my tremor has completely vanished with the exception of a slight trembling of one finger.

Be Still Like a Mountain

Lower body strength is one of the key ingredients for preventing falls. The constant sinking, turning, and shifting of weight is a tremendous workout for the legs and lower body, strengthening the muscles and joints. Using the image of being still like a mountain, sinking and rooting with each move aids in this strengthening process. Holding postures, that is, assuming various Tai Chi positions and holding each one for 10 to 20 seconds also provides an additional method for building legs of steel.

Standing Upright Like A Column

I am constantly dealing with the problem of balance. Just standing still on one leg is difficult enough, so just imagine what it’s like to do a movement on one leg, the other leg in the air and the arms moving at the same time! The two most difficult positions for me in this category are White Crane Spreads its Wings and Golden Pheasant Stands on One Leg. When doing these forms, I imagine myself standing upright like a column, letting the weight drop down into the area of the foot just in back of the ball of the foot known as the "bubbling well point". I use my hands as a counterbalance when lifting my leg. I’m not always successful, but I’m able to cope fairly well.

Rooted Like a Tree But Bending in the Wind

Parkinson’s also causes rigidity and stiffness. Tai Chi is an excellent way to develop flexibility and open the joints. The stepping and turning and constant transitions from move to move (such as StrikeOut into Single Whip, or Maiden Works the Shuttle) opens up and stretches the hip and groin areas. Rollback and press emphasize relaxing and dropping the shoulders and keeping the elbows in close to the body. In all of these moves, we end in a Tai Chi stance with roots sunk deep into the ground, while remaining flexible like a tree in the wind.

String of Pearls

Another symptom of Parkinson’s is a stooped posture. This is caused primarily by the tightening of the chest and shoulder muscles, pulling the chest inward. In Tai Chi, the vertebrae are compared to a string of pearls. Proper alignment is obtained by tucking in the chin, raising the back of the neck slightly, and elongating the spine as if it is suspended from the top of the head like a string of pearls. The head and shoulders are aligned over the hips. This “string” imagery relieves the stress on the back muscles, relaxes the shoulders and improves posture. I experimented with this concept after reading about it in The Tai Chi Falls Prevention Manual by Arieh Breslow. I discovered that proper alignment makes walking much easier – my legs almost seem to propel forward on their own, helping to correct my problem of shuffling.

Flow Like a River

It is not unusual for a Parkinson’s person to suddenly become stuck in their movements. It's as if the brain abruptly disconnects and the body becomes frozen in movement. This has happened to me while doing Tai Chi. My mind tells my body to move, but my body just doesn't respond. When this happens, slightly increasing the pace of the form and concentrating on flowing like a river gives me a beautiful even flow that is thrilling to experience.

In addition to the form, there are other aspects of Tai Chi that are worth mentioning. Push hands has always been one of my passions since entering the world of Tai Chi. The concept of investing in loss, learning to be soft in order to neutralize the opponent's push, and using your hands and body to follow and "listen" to your opponent is an invaluable skill. As my body becomes weaker from Parkinson’s and aging, I have learned to rely more on developing my softness and staying soft in order to maintain my advantage over my partner. This has been a valuable experience that I may not have learned until later in my life had it not been for Parkinson's. I have also learned the sword form in the past couple of years and the fast pace of sparring with a partner is a real boost to maintaining a fast reaction time and quick reflexes.

Through Tai Chi, I get a sense of accomplishment and well being, knowing that I can still function relatively well and, in some cases better, than a person with no physical limitations. I use it as my golden standard to measure my progress in dealing with my Parkinson’s. It has given me an acute awareness of my body, which parts are out of alignment and how to bring them back into the whole of the body so that it functions as one unit. Tai Chi has helped me to cope with Parkinson’s and has heightened my enjoyment of life. I have learned when to push and try to overcome my disabilities and when to yield and compensate for them. Above all, Tai Chi has taught me how to live, how to love life, enjoy life, and be satisfied with my portion. Everything in my life is related to Tai Chi and the balance that it brings.

I am fully indebted to my teachers, Arieh and Anne Breslow, who have taught me how to live a balanced life, a life of Chung Yung (as expressed by Confucius in The Doctrine of the Mean).

I do not know how long my health will hold out. I do not know how long I will be able to continue with the outward form of Tai Chi, but it will always be with me internally. As for the present, you can find me on Friday mornings in the park among the roses and almond trees, doing Tai Chi with my fellow practitioners, living fully and enjoying every moment.

 

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