Hi everyone,

I thought I should pass this along because it seems to have helped me.


In the spring of 2000, I was involved in an incident on the job. I
worked in an underground enviroment as a blasthole driller. It could
be at times a very dusty and the atmosphere can become full of
airborne dust particles and fumes, mists, and gases.

To make a long story short, I was forced to walk to safety through a
tunnel filled with fresh blast smoke with high levels of carbon
monoxide, and other toxic chemicals. I ended up in hospital on oxygen
and after some lenghty treatment and diagnosis. I was deemed to have
as a result R.A.D.S. or reactive airway disorder. Prescribed ventilin
and some other inhalers, which i absolutley detest using, although
there is no doubt at times, they did help.

But as for my condition, even though i was removed from that
enviroment and by everyone else's opinion there was nothing really
wrong with me, i was weak, i slept a lot of the time....I had very
low blood oxygen. Then one day, while walking through the local
Walmart i spied a video in the bargin bin. It was called the Balanced
Workout by Scott Cole. It is a Tai Chi/kickboxing workout tape. It
took me a year before I got around to actually watching and
participating, but after the very first workout,(I only did the first
10 minute warmup) I was so energised, so alive, I felt like a fog had
lifted from my brain. No I don't beleive it was from the mystical
ying/yang theory, but rather from the easy, and relaxing deep
breathing excercises that are involved, I felt like I had been
breathing pure oxygen for the first time. I darn near didn't sleep
for a day! I went for walks, even cleaned the house. I try now to
make it a part of my daily routine first thing in the morning, it
also helps my stiff back. My Uncle had heart surgery, and his heart
specialist told him that the Western pepole are notorotiously shallow
breathers, and gave him some other deep breathing excersises to do
after his bypass.

I have to tell you, and i am in no way related to this guy or is this
a pitch, you could learn tai chi somewhere else. I just happen to
live in a very remote part of Canada. So my options to learn it from
somewhere else are limited.


If anyone in the group, thinks that this may apply to them...I
suggest you give some form of deep breathing a try, even if you have
to use your ventilin to get started.

You have nothing to lose, except the time of your life.

Without oxygen, there is no life.


Take care, Greg