Whatever the level of your disability, there's an exercise suited to you. FIONA TARRANT and GEMMA SIMMS talk to two women whose lives have been changed...

Vivien Davies lost all her energy when she was struck down with multiple sclerosis. But the ancient movement of tai chi has helped put her back on track.

Vivien, 52, of Hamilton Road, north Oxford, has had the debilitating condition since she was 17 but doctors didn't tell her for years because they feared it would ruin her teaching career.

"I didn't know I had it for a long time. At the end of the year at college, we had a Christmas review and I couldn't see anything on the stage as I had double vision.

"I went to an eye hospital and they said I possibly had MS, but told my doctor not to tell me because I was starting a career in teaching. They thought that if I knew about it, it might stop me from carrying on," Vivien explained.

"I had several attacks with numbness being the worst one.

"The worst thing is that people don't believe you have got it. Most people with MS have it mildly. It can progress and few people have it badly." Vivien had to give up her job a few years ago and now relies on support from her husband Gordon, 51.

"Although I have it mildly and am very lucky, I get very tired and my co-ordination is bad. Someone spoke to me about tai chi and said it was terrific.

"I knew I needed to relax but I can't really balance and I bump into things, yet people think that because I'm walking around and happy, I can't possibly have MS," said Vivien.

But Taoist tai chi, which Vivien goes to at Summertown church hall in Portland Road, Oxford, has been a big help.

"It has really helped me to relax and has given me energy. The other day I did it for an hour and a half and afterwards I felt terrific and energised.

"Tai chi is definitely worth going to and I'm glad I've found it.

"At first I felt very self-conscious when I thought everyone was watching me as I did the wrong movements, but of course they weren't really watching me.

"It's a very slow form of exercise and that's the beauty of it. It's the satisfaction of being able to do the moves," Vivien added.

WHAT IS IT?

Taoist tai chi is becoming increasingly popular with people of all ages who want to regain or maintain their health.

It was developed in China by Taoist monks to complement their sedentary lifestyle of meditation and to enable their bodies to become healthy.

Taoist tai chi recognises the importance of mental as well as physical well-being and therefore incorporates involvement of the mind as well as the body.

Tension blocks the natural flow of energy - or chi - and by integrating relaxation into the gentle moves, this form of exercise can reduce stress at the same time as it improves health.

TABLES HELP TO SET TONE

For years Barbara Minter had to accept that her legs would never work like everyone else's. In fact, seven years ago a specialist suggested she should wear a calliper on her left leg, where the hamstring muscle was so wasted.

Barbara, of West Adderbury, near Banbury, was adamant that it would never come to that.

Since she contracted polio in her 20s, Barbara has worked hard to keep in good shape. Today she walks with a slight limp but with excellent deportment. Spotting her disability is not easy and it's all down to a kind of exercise Barbara discovered soon after the consultant's calliper warning. She said: "I saw an advertisement for toning tables and decided to give them a try.

"Polio is a virus which attacks the central nervous system and affects the muscle.

"There's nothing wrong with the muscle but it wastes away because it can't read messages from the central nervous system. It's like cutting off the electrics," she explained.

Although Barbara, a chiropractic, had to wear a calliper when she was younger, she has never felt any bitterness about contracting the disease.

"Sympathy lasts as long as a bunch of flowers. I just got on with it."

Months of physiotherapy helped Barbara gain back some of her muscle. Immediately after she caught polio, she had spent some time in a wheelchair.

She continued to improve but knew her muscles were severely wasted.

"I knew my hamstring muscles were wasted but I couldn't find an exercise to strengthen them up. My legs had enough trouble just supporting the bone. "When I started using the toning tables, I couldn't believe the difference. I went three times a week to see what would happen. It took about three months before I noticed a difference but it definitely happened.

"I felt the back of my leg one day and was amazed to feel a lump the size of a plum. It was the belly of a muscle and was very exciting."

Seven years on, Barbara's leg has 50 per cent of the muscle it should, which is a vast improvement on the way it was before. She believes her success is all down to the ten toning tables she works out on twice a week at Belle, in Bicester.

"I have in the past dropped down to one session a week but if I do, I pay for it. Twice a week suits me well," she added.

Barbara cannot praise toning tables enough. "I wish I'd known about them years ago. Ideally, I'd like to see them form part of the rehabilitation programme in hospitals. The toning tables can help develop muscles you simply can't work on on your own."

And Barbara's message to anyone else with a disability who is looking to build up their strength is simple: go for it.

"There's no doubt that this has built up my strength and mobility."

*Barbara uses toning tables at Belle in Bell Street, Bicester. Other toning table centres in Oxfordshire include FitKit in St Clements, Oxford.

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