Chronic Disease

Do you or someone you know have Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic disease with many symptoms. It makes you feel tired and sore all the time. You don’t sleep well and you may also suffer from headaches, food allergies and irritable bowel. In addition, you may have fibro-fog a symptom that affects your ability to think. The research is mounting to support practicing qigong to relieve symptoms and two people have been cured by practicing qigong. Several studies were examined in this review. Here are the findings from the studies: Practicing Qigong can improve: pain sleep fatigue physical and mental function These improvements were achieved in many of the studies – even though the studies were very different. The time spent practicing and type of qigong practiced was different in the studies. The authors of this research focus on 4 random controlled trials (considered the gold standard for research) to make recommendations. They highlight that practicing qigong 30-45 minutes daily for 6 to 8 weeks consistently produces results. These benefits were constant after 4 to 6 weeks. In addition, study participants continue to practice Qigong! It is interesting to note that it does not matter what kind of qigong you practice. This validates what many of my teachers have said, bad qigong is better than no qigong. What is important is that you do it, and you do it every day. I teach some of the qigong that was mentioned in the studies. I have introduced qigong to my fibromyalgia clients who take an aqua-fitness class with me. The class is 60 minutes long. The first 10 minutes is range of motion exercises followed by 20 minutes of gentle cardio. We then practice qigong for 30 minutes. The ladies love the class, [...]

6 REASONS TO LEARN QIGONG FROM MONICA MARQUIS

1. I practice daily! This is a feat in of itself. Half of the population in Canada is not active enough for health. In addition to my Qigong practice I swim, walk, hike, inline skate, cycle and I teach aquafitness. 2. I am passionate about movement and I believe movement is medicine, taken daily you can ward off most ailments including aging. 3. I am a fitness and physical activity specialist. I have worked in the fitness industry for 25 years. I have many certifications including: aquafit( instructor, trainer, therapist), Bone fit certified, Watsu 1,11,111, Ahi chi, Tai chi, Yoga, and Qigong teacher training. 4. I am a health promotion specialist who worked in public health promoting physical activity and chronic disease prevention. If you live in Halton, you may remember me as the coordinator for Active Halton, a group of government and private organizations dedicated to increasing the physical activity levels of Halton residents. We did some amazing work that still influences decision making of local governments. I coordinated the Mississauga Halton Fall Prevention Initiative and promoted the Home Support Exercise Program to Mississauga and Halton residents. I ended my career in the health sector (public health, and the Mississauga Halton LHIN) after spending 18 months with a non government organization - Osteoporosis Canada. While there, I encouraged health care professionals (surgeons and physicians) to implement best practices in Osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment. I assisted with best practice implementation at 3 hospitals in York Region - all three implemented the best practice guidelines and received awards. 5. I know chronic illness, if there is something I don’t know I am good at finding out causes, treatment and best practices. In addition, [...]