TCCKF May Gathering 2007
The event took place in Harborne Hall in West Birmingham on 12/13 May 2007. This substantial facility is a training centre for the Voluntary Service Overseas.
My arrival at 9:30am was very warm and right away I got the impression that the organisers were both on the ball and enjoying what they were doing. We sat in a circle and I could sense that most of the people already knew each other and were glad to be back together. There were about 26 people all together. Six people involved in the special contributions came and went as the weekend progressed and two more participants arrived on Sunday. The participants had come from all over England, Wales and Scotland with one woman travelling from the south of France.
The first session was a lesson in Dao Yin, with Dominic Rushmore. This is short for Dao Yin Bao Jian Gong which roughly translates as Exercises for Health. In contrast to most Chinese Martial Arts Dao Yin doesn’t claim an ancient heritage dating back into the mists of time being instead developed by the health department of a Beijing University for the Chinese government about 30 years ago. The accompanying handout is both an aid memoir and a guide to the specific and the general benefits of doing the exercises. Some of these are in some ways simpler than many I have been doing at the ABI and I may well begin to incorporate them into the work we do there.
Ian Moody put on the next session for and hour and a half from ‘Different Strokes,’ an organisation supporting younger stroke survivors, i.e. under sixty. Having suffered a major stroke two years ago, Ian, who was accompanied by his wife, a nurse was able to give graphic demonstrations of what it was like to suffer a stroke. First he got us to run around and hug everybody. Next he told us to go around and do the same thing with our arms behind our backs. Very different. Only 30% of our communication is verbal the rest is in body language. That disappears even if the survivor retains speech which is often not the case. Some 20% become blind as well.
He then gave some of us white balloons to blow up and asked us to write the name of something very important to us on the balloon. He then went around with a sharp object and popped our balloons. Suddenly such things as love of nature, walking, dancing, working and family had disappeared. Ian pointed out that most of the 30,000 under sixties that survive strokes each year are part of a nuclear family. That is about 120,000 people whose lives are dramatically affected per year.
Ian then went on to describe the rediscovery, regrowth and recreative process. He also began to describe how movement techniques could be used to help as well as an attitude shift from ‘Why Me? to ‘Why not me?’ Together with Andrew, a physiotherapist from Newcastle who uses Chi Kung and Tai Chi extensively in work with stroke survivors, a number of very specific techniques and guidelines were taught. The use of visual cross-referencing and symmetrical actions beginning with the strong side and repeating with the weak side were real insights for me. I think we will see some significant changes in what I do at the ABI as a result of these and a number of other pieces. Ian emphasised the recovery gradient is not a smooth line but a very erratic one where there is cumulative effect over longer periods of time. He also said not to take the six-month or the twelve-month rule too seriously, there is always opportunity for development.
The TCCK Forum and Different Strokes are planning to work more closely together as a result of this event.
After lunch was a two and a half hour session with four staff from the Wings School in Cumbria. This school has some forty pupils from 12 - 16 all with Emotional Behavioural Difficulties. Tai Chi has been used very successfully with these young people. It is done on a voluntary basis and fifteen of the forty participate with quite amazing results. We saw some videos taken of the pupils performance and followed one pupil as she did a series of interviews with her fellow pupils on their views of Tai Chi and the benefits thereof. The staff was very enthusiastic. They must be to have come all the way down from Cumbria. One of them gave us a lesson as he would do to the pupils. We all noted the enhanced use of kinaesthetic and feeling input into his teaching as distinct from visual and auditory. It was all about the feeling of doing it rather than the shapes or postures. We thought that this was probably the key to why it was working so well.
Later in the afternoon was the AGM of the TCCKF. It has a steering group of about eight and they have undergone some stringent reorganisation that has brought them back from the brink over the previous couple of years to now being a financially healthy and dedicated group of professionals.
The rest of the day was taken up with sharing practices and members’ presentations. Gareth Davy gave a presentation on chronic stress and the physiology of the Stress Response and how it can be calmed especially through the use of visualisation and ‘tagging.’ This is imaging the feeling of hugging your favourite person. He also showed how some of the cranial nerves are directly linked to the skeletal and trapezium muscles in the back. Relaxation and movement techniques on this area can directly affect the cranium.
I did a presentation on Endorphination and how there are receptors for neurotransmitters on all cells of the body not just nervous tissue. Another presentation was on group work and another on the essential use of humour and laughter in physiotherapy. Actually this last these kept popping up again and again throughout the weekend. These are very fun people! We ended with members’ videos of styles and forms. These were good and were still going on when I went to bed at ten.
The following day began with Dao Yin and was followed by a very significant (for me) presentation on Epilepsy by Fergus Ryan. Fergus had a large benign brain tumour removed from his upper right hemisphere when he was 21 and has experiences dramatic epileptic episodes ever since. Fergus went over the new Classification of Epileptic Seizures. These replace the old Grand and Petit Mal with a more accurate and detailed set that cover the range of General, Partial and Status seizures. Fergus described the strong and inaccurate belief that the only way to manage epilepsy is with medication. The medication however has side effects and in his case, and in many others, does not eliminate the seizures, it just reduces their number. On the other hand he emphasised the weaning process to reduced or come off of medication must be carefully supervised by the medical profession. He described how unique the trigger, onset symptoms and pattern of seizures is for each individual. No two people with epilepsy are alike. He described an attitude change that must take place of no longer seeing the condition as an enemy but as something to live and blend with. He also found that there was a cleansing element to having a seizure that he would miss if he didn’t have it. The recognition of the onset symptoms are essential as if you are alert to them, you will usually have warning. He went on to describe the use of Tai Chi and Chi Kung to develop a sense of walking a path where the way you walk is the destination. The paired work in ‘pushing hands’ techniques are a preparation for doing the same with the seizure. If you fight it, it will get harder and stronger. If you yield and blend with it, it will open and soften and you can join with it. The Tonic Clonic (Grand mal) seizures are often perceived as a huge force coming in from one predictable side and the falling and loss of balance comes from a reaction to that. By practising these paired ‘wrestling’ techniques with another person, the epileptic can learn to handle what is happening more like a dance than a seizure.
Later in the morning was a class on Fa Soon Gong exercise techniques by Andy Wright. Andy has Cerebral Palsy and his demonstrations are somewhat jerky and erratic. The miracle is that the learners all end up doing beautiful, smooth and accurate renditions of his teaching anyway. An inspiring man who uses this art to teach young people suffering with depression and addictions.
After lunch was more Dao Yin with Dominic Rushmore, this time accompanied by the official Chinese Government video of the new art form. A little scary I must say but Dominic’s presence made it seem all right.
The rest of the afternoon was taken up my short members presentations. These included a session on learning theory (VAK) and using Tai Chi with people suffering from Alzheimer’s. The last of these was a session on more techniques for working with stroke survivors.
The final plenary session was lively and fun, and dwelt on more thoughts about having regional sections around the country. The gathering finished with the presentation of Certificates to five people who have completed the Teacher’s Certificate Course. I have met three of the people who will be on the teacher’s training in September as well as the
two presenters. I am quite excited about doing the course and I’m looking forward to next years annual gathering, which will be in the same place.
Bill Bird
Tai Chi and Chi Kung Forum: May Gathering 2007
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