"Exorcise" Three Times A Week For Better Health

I have been wondering what it is about exercise that so many people resist. Last week I had two patients look me squarely in the eye and admit that it was unlikely they would perform any recommended exercise once I left their home. ” Now, while I appreciate their honesty, it is nevertheless perplexing to me. In particular, one patient has just completed chemo-radiation for head and neck cancer, and his swallowing problems are likely to progress without exercise. The other patient, has had 7 hospitalizations in the last year for breathing complications, including aspiration ( liquid getting into her lungs), which are also, likely to worsen without her engaging in some swallowing exercise. Today, at a Parkinson’s support group meeting, a woman , whose voice was barely a whisper and who admits to choking on her food, said to me: “I hate to exercise. “

So, is it the word “exercise”, itself that creates such resistance? After all, a glance in the dictionary, and you quickly notice the words that surround it:

exhaustion: extreme weariness; excrutiating: intensely painful or distressing; exasperate: irritate

But wait, what about: exhilarate: enliven, stimulate; excite: increase the activity of; excellent: first class

Perhaps what I need to recommend to my patients is that they “exorcise” three times a week.”
exorcise: to free of an evil spirit. That is, they rid themselves of the evil spirits of: excuses, bad attitudes and habits that have become obstacles for their self-care and healing.

The real challenge with exercise, is that no one can do it for you. Oh, a good coach, therapist, spouse or partner can encourage you, but only you can do it.

“Sure,” you may be thinking,” easy for you to say, you don’t have Parkinsons’, you haven’t had a stroke, head and neck cancer, etc.”

I would never underestimate the challenges that some of these diagnosis present, but, I also know what’s possible when desire and commitment meet. Actually, this past year, for the first time in about twenty years, I fell off the exercise wagon. Overwhelmed with beginning a new private practice, and exhausted by a heavy seminar travel schedule, I stopped going to the gym. I wouldn’t say the changes happened over night, but eventually, I began to notice the loss of muscle tone and mass. This month, I have committed to get back into the habit of regular exercise. I joined a gym near my home so I can build it into my schedule and even get there by bike . I have only been a few times this week, but, already I am feeling better. Proud of myself for being true to the commitment, particularly on days when I am tired, and also enjoying seeing some of the muscle definition return to my body. I saw these words on the t-shirt of a guy in the gym this week: Discipline, Desire, Determination. Sounds like a winning combination!

Where Can You Learn More About Voice Aerobics?

PARKINSONS DISEASE: NEW HOPE

Fourth Annual PRF Parkinson s Disease Conference


Sponsored by University of South Florida and the PRF Center of Excellence,

Teva Neurosciences and UCB


Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel Tampa, Florida


Saturday, April 24, 2010


Program Co-chairs, Drs. Juan Sanchez-Ramos and Theresa Zesiewicz

For further information:
rseminario@parkinsonresearchfoundation.org or call (800) 869-1551 ext