Muireann, I am very interested in the lady who does Chi Kung. I learned and practiced Tai Chi Chuan from 1981 onwards, only becoming unable to practice because of balance issues in around 2006. Chi Kung was an integral part of classes, as were a fantastic set of warm-up exercises. At one time I attended 3 taught sessions a week, and for many years practiced indoors and outdoors on a daily basis, and incorporated many of the moves into daily living.

I can still do a complete 360 turn in two moves if I think 'tai chi', and it is one reason that I did not progress fast, I was able to function reasonably till relatively recently. I also practiced a yoga until that too became impossible because of creeping rigidity. And other Chi exercises, diet, and chinese herbalism.

This did not prevent me developing the early symptoms of PD. Within 3 years I was no longer able to sit cross legged, I fell backwards. A wall was a useful prop, but I was getting less and less mobile and nothing that I was doing made a bit of difference. I had acupuncture weekly prior to diagnosis, it would last about four days then wear off. The only time I would take western medicine was if I got a migraine.

For a while Tibetan medicine helped in a limited way. The best advice that I was never able to follow came from my Tibetan doctor, who told me I needed to walk slowly, every day for at least five hours. Given the 18 hour working days I was putting in nearly everyday of the week, and bringing up a child on my own, this was not possible, but may have been the best 'alternative'.

I underwent a whole bombardment of tests for all sorts of things between 1996 and 2003. Reluctantly I tried a few muscle relaxants, no result, and eventually a doctor decided I had fibromyalgia. A treatment for this at the time was a low dose of amitryptilline. It nearly killed me.

The only thing, western or otherwise, that made any difference at all was a small oval pill, sinemet 50/12.5, given to me as a trial, which I took with little real hope of it doing anything at all. By the time I saw the doctor a second time two weeks later I was so grateful I could have kissed him.

I understand all the problems with PD medications, and why and how people are looking for something better, but the face I wake up with is unfrozen by sinemet, and underneath the PA I have also developed, the slowness and rigidity is also very much helped.

I have not been able to square any of this with my own natural inclinations to self care like Tai Chi and Chi Kung. The fact is though that they have not protected me from either of my conditions, nor did the mindful way I was leading my life.

Today, with increasing impairments I am less picky. I use what works, and do what I am able to do, which is relatively little, and hope that I can wangle my B12 jabs a week or two early, because it looks like they work too, if I can get them often enough.

I watch the video with the lady who is doing chi kung, and know that I wish I still believed it would help me. I started a course of chi kung around two years ago, and was completely unable to sustain it.

Maybe these things are very useful to people who have not encountered them before, and who are perhaps not particularly body aware. I know they are designed to work that way. For instance Tai Chi was designed for older people, to help maintain flexibility, and health.

I loved watching clips of people in the parks in China practicing, and once thought that would be me in old age, doing the same here in England. I still think it is brilliant for maintaining general health and flexibility, but do not believe it will bring recovery or a cure. I wonder how many people there are in China who look out of their windows and wish they could do the same things, but cannot because of degenerative conditions that neither western or eastern modalities yet have answers for.

Lindy