Tai Chi was introduced into my exercise program before I was diagnosed with cancer.  I was living on Vancouver Island and could see myself doing tai chi on the beach.  It was fabulous.

As a dancer, tai chi fit my psyche well.  It’s a moving meditation, much like dance.  The gentle flowing movements, so graceful when done well, work the whole body.  The chi (energy force) winds its way through your torso and out through your limbs creating a full body workout, internal and external.  No pain, no stress, no push.  It just is.

Once diagnosed with cancer, I was so thankful I had learned tai chi because I credit the movement with keeping my body supple and strong while going through treatment. It was gentle enough for me to do on the days I had low energy. The movement also helped move the lymph fluid through my arm after radiation and kept me from getting frozen shoulder.

At night, when I went into stress mode, I would quietly go through the gentle movements, expending excess toxic emotional energy which then allowed me to sit quietly in meditation.  I slept!!

It’s a practice you can do for a lifetime, in any circumstance, anywhere, at any age, in any physical condition.  I recall a lady coming to class who had Parkinson’s.  She would sit at the back and work through the moves from her chair.

In summary, Tai Chi is a very beneficial exercise for cancer.  It will help improve strength, provide mediation, be a gentle full body workout, reduce your risk of lymphedema, help prevent frozen shoulder, help you feel better, stand taller physically and emotionally as well as sleep better.

There are a few key elements that are always recommended in a cancer healing program.  They are meditation, journaling, diet and exercise.  Research also suggests engaging in exercise to prevent cancer.

Given that cancer cannot survive in an oxygenated environment, it makes sense that exercise would be incredibly important for anyone diagnosed with cancer.  Exercise oxygenates the body.

There are many ways you can incorporate exercise into your regime.

• One of the simplest is walking.  You can adjust your pace and length of walk according to how you feel no matter whether you are in the treatment phase or post treatment.
• Join an exercise class – yoga, tai chi, dance, gentle aerobics – and be encouraged by the social aspect and support of others.
• DVDs – there are many programs available to be used in the privacy of your own home.  This gives you flexibility of time and can be done if mobility or transportation to a class is an issue.

The main thing is to get moving.  It’s easy to get stuck in a ‘I don’t feel well’ mode.  Getting out and moving your body will dispel this feeling and help you move through your healing program much quicker.  Having the company of a buddy is also great incentive and makes exercising more fun.

Many studies have been done on the benefits of exercise to prevent cancer and also facilitate healing from cancer.  Exercise for anyone is beneficial, but what kind is most helpful when going through cancer – and even after treatment is finished.

Some of the best forms of exercise for achieving the goals listed below in a gentle way are yoga (look for yoga forms that are gentle – i.e. restorative yoga) and the ancient Chinese way of staying healthy, tai chi.

Yoga and Tai Chi provide many benefits of exercising during and after cancer, such as:

• increasing range of motion
• stretching out scar tissue
• reducing the risk of lymphedema
• increasing self esteem
• increasing energy
• improving posture and
• increasing strength.

Both of these forms of exercise to prevent cancer or heal from cancer can be done in a group or alone, inside or outside, without any equipment and special attire.  These, together with walking, are easy, gentle yet incredibly effective and efficient ways to create an exercise program that will feed your body, mind, and spirit.

Not sure what winter is like where you live, but I think a lot of people are experiencing an unrelenting winter.  Lots of freezing cold with snow and ice.  When it warms up, the snow melts during the day.  Then at night, it freezes.  When the snow comes again, it just covers up the ice making for treacherous sidewalk and road conditions.

For those of us who like walking, it sure has put a damper on our enthusiasm.  Two people close to me have broken legs by slipping on the ice.  My dog limps at night on her surgery supposedly healed leg from slipping and sliding on the ice.

Okay, enough about ice.  The point is exercise still needs to happen.  Whether trudge to the nearest mall to do your mall walking or stay at home to do tai chi or yoga inside, you need to stay active to keep the energy and oxygen coursing through your body.  Oxygen heals..

Here’s to spring  – when it finally arrives.  We’re about to have a warming trend in Alberta in a couple of days.  Will be absolutely wonderful to take off a few layers and get outside in the fresh air.  My dog will love it too.

There is a lot of research on this topic.  For sure, exercise is healthy for everyone.  Our bodies are designed to move and stay active.  This is what’s sad about today’s lifestyle – we spend way too much time sitting – in the car, in front of computers, watching TV, etc.  You know how much you sit.  It’s being identified as the ‘sitting crisis’.

Exercise aside from strengthening our body, keeping us flexible so we move with ease and improving posture, it builds our oxygen capacity.  Cancer cannot survive in oxygen.  It would stand to reason that having a body whose cells are full of oxygen would discourage the growth of cancer cells.

One great exercise I still do that helped me through cancer was tai chi.  It was slow, graceful, and gentle.  Yet at the same it, it connected my body/mind/spirit, created flexibility, and became a moving meditation.  I loved its ability to calm me down..  I now teach tai chi and do it regularly along with walking and teaching dance classes.  At my age, 70, I intend to keep agile and able to keep up with my grandchildren, plus travel and do all the things I enjoy in my life.  What about you?