By: Miriam Kates Luke Posted in: "IN JERUSALEM"

Tai Chi and dance classes allow Parkinson's disease patients to keep moving

If you walk through the rose garden in the Talbiah neighborhood on Monday mornings, you might meet Danny Looney and his group of students in the middle of practicing tai chi in a shady corner of the garden. Although to the uninformed observer, Tai Chi looks like a graceful dance, it is actually a sequence of meditative movements that requires slow, deep breathing and much practice. Tai Chi is a Chinese practice art that has beneficial activities such as improving balance, developing flexibility and strengthening muscles and joints. Danny Looney has been studying Tai Chi in Jerusalem for 20 years. It was Arie and Anna Breslau from the Tai Chi Chuan School in Jerusalem who pushed him to continue his studies since the beginning of the early 90s. Danny was one of Arie Van's first students and continues to join Arie on Friday mornings to teach a lesson every week in the same kindergarten.

14 years ago when Danny was 49 years old, he started having difficulties moving his left shoulder during the warm-up and moving his left hand to the right side as part of the Tai Chi form. A year later he developed a slight tremor. He went to a neurologist and was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

In principle, there are two approaches in which you can react when you discover that you are ill with a serious illness that will affect every aspect of your life - either get depressed and lose all hope for the future - or fight the symptoms of the disease with everything you have to allow you to live as good a life as possible. If this disease is Parkinson's, it will help you to know that you are not alone. More than 20000 people in Israel suffer from Parkinson's disease, a disease characterized by muscle stiffness, tremors and changes in speech and walking. The disease is usually diagnosed between the ages of 50-65, which gradually changes your quality of life and makes daily activities a difficult challenge. The progress of the disease is different for each patient, and although there is no cure for the disease, there are treatments to alleviate the symptoms. In addition to medication, exercise can make a significant difference in the daily life of Parkinson's patients.

Danny Looney was determined to stay as fit as possible with a careful balance of medication, low-fat vegetarian food and tai chi combined with other exercise. The tai chi helps him control the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, maintains muscle strength, balance and comfortable walking. After realizing how much tai chi helped him control the symptoms of Parkinson's disease he decided to share his experience with Parkinson's patients. He contacted the Israeli Association for Parkinson's Disease and soon began teaching Tai Chi to Parkinson's patients. In addition to the Jerusalem group, he leads a group in Modi'in. He also travels the world to teach workshops. In addition, he became more and more involved in the association and after retiring from his job as a computer engineer in 2008, he began to fill most of his time with volunteer work for the association. "Tai Chi saved my life," Danny explains, "it slows down the rate of development of my syndromes and helps me maintain flexibility and stability in walking. Tai Chi also helps me maintain peace of mind." Danny says that Parkinson's disease forced him to slow down and evaluate his life. When asked about his goals today, he answers "to help others and show them how tai chi helped me". Danny also plans to increase the number of tai chi classes for Parkinson's patients in Israel by training instructors.

About three years ago, the dance troupe of Mark Morris from Brooklyn, New York came to Israel for performances. The troupe runs a unique dance program tailored for Parkinson's disease patients, which uses dance to help patients move and stretch their limbs so that their flexibility and muscle strength improve. While you were in Israel, they contacted the Parkinson's Association in Israel, and offered to hold a dance class for Parkinson's patients. Danny Looney attended this class. Danny was enthusiastic about the idea and recruited a yoga instructor to open a yoga class for patients. Although neither of them were professional dancers, they began teaching a joint combined class of yoga, tai chi and dance. Danny realized that they needed a professional dancer, so he turned to An Barslow from the Jerusalem School of Tai Chi Chuan. In addition to being a Tai Chi instructor, Ann Breslow is a professional dancer and dance teacher. Ann is originally from Ottawa Canada, has lived in Israel for 25 years and has many years of experience teaching dance both in Israel and in North America. She agreed to teach dance to the group of patients and at the end of 2010, began teaching dance to Parkinson's patients at the Yad Sarah Center on Herzl Street in conjunction with the Parkinson's Association in Israel. 9 months ago, the class was transferred to the congregation seeking a path at 22 Shai Agnon St.

On a rainy spring morning in Jerusalem, ten people sit in a semi-circle in front of a thin blonde instructor. The music starts soft, a little bouncy and a Chinese melody fills the air while the group members engage in deep breathing exercises and gentle self-massage. Then the music changes to jazz music, the tempo increases and the people raise their hands above their heads in a uniform rhythm. The participants in Anne's group on Wednesday mornings are Parkinson's patients with their spouses and/or caregivers. Because Parkinson's disease affects patients in a unique way, each participant has his own challenges and difficulties. But one thing unites them all, they all enjoy and benefit from their hour with Ann. Ann guides them through a series of movements that stretch and move different parts of their bodies. After 10-15 minutes of sitting, the group gets up and the music changes again, a slightly faster tempo. Individually and then in pairs they move around the room and dance.

"There are two types of Parkinson's patients," explains Professor Ilan Solomon, a professor in the Department of Geography and the School of Public Policy at the Hebrew University. Professor Solomon was diagnosed with the disease a decade ago. "The first type is characterized by muscle stiffness of the entire body, and the second type is characterized by tremors." He decided to join the dance group as part of his treatment plan, and he's glad he did. "Before that," Professor Salomon says with a smile, "I hadn't danced for close to fifty years."

The wife of a Parkinson's patient points out how wonderful what a little music and movement can do for a person. Ann, do you agree? "For the members of the group, this is a fun activity," she explains. "The music makes them happy: people who can barely get up to dance, get into the rhythm and have fun."

Movement and dance cannot stop the progression of Parkinson's disease symptoms, but they make a difference in improving the patients' quality of life. The movement releases stiffness and gives the body flexibility, giving people a better feeling, both physically and psychologically. The social benefits of the dance class are no less. There is a warm sense of camaraderie within the group, the participants notice what the others are doing, and cheer each other on.

Ann and Mart that the class inspires her, so does the progress of each member in it "It's amazing to see how they move more every week" she says. Tai Chi and dance have been studied for their beneficial effect on Parkinson's patients, and there is no need to read articles about it. Just go to class.

For more information about tai chi and dance for Parkinson's patients, contact Danny Looney by phone: 054-5767157 or Anne Barslow by phone: 052-2221157.