Chuck's Story: The Benefits of Mindful Movement

Chuck Lamb attends the YogaReach Mindful Movement classes at InMotion twice a week. Elizabeth Grepp, a yoga teacher and mentorship student in the YogaReach program, interviewed Chuck.

Q: What is your diagnosis story?

A: I thought I had a bad shoulder. At work, there was an incident where I was slipping and bracing myself while I was coaching my high school basketball team. My shoulder really hurt after that. When I went to the doctor, I figured I needed shoulder surgery. My physician told me I had Parkinson’s. Was he kidding?

When I was diagnosed, I didn’t know much about Parkinson’s. I didn’t react one way or the other. I asked them, “What’s the cure?” and the doctor responded, “There isn’t one.”

I thought, “You need to find one!”

I’ve never been sick a day in my life. The disease just came out of nowhere.

Q: What skills have you acquired in the Mindful Movement class?

A: I’ve learned about the importance of practicing balance, and how significant it is to breathe and use my core. (Incorporating all of) these things have helped me so much. When I first began the Mindful Movement classes, I knew nothing about yoga. Now, every class builds on the last one.

Q: Do the YogaReach movements help tremors, balance and fatigue symptoms?

A: I know it’s helped me with fatigue and hand tremors. The balancing is coming along nicely, but the breathing helps the most. When I want to relax and calm my body, I try to focus on the breath. One breathing technique I learned from Mindful Movement is inhaling and exhaling through my nose. It really makes a difference.

Q: Does the Mindful Movement class improve your daily life skills?

A: Stretching, breathing, and zoning in on something makes so much happen during the hour. Mindful Movement instructors show us that you take what you learn in that hour, and carry it over to your daily life. Life changes with PD. The class helps me deal with the different things that come up. I learned to teach my mind and body to connect, and that improves me from within and in my daily activities