{"id":827,"date":"2013-12-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-12-02T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jeremusic\/51-and-just-starting-to-learn-tai-chi-youve-got-to-be-kidding\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T04:21:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T04:21:27","slug":"51-and-just-starting-to-learn-tai-chi-youve-got-to-be-kidding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jeremusic\/51-and-just-starting-to-learn-tai-chi-youve-got-to-be-kidding\/","title":{"rendered":"51, and just starting to learn Tai Chi? You’ve got to be kid"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n
\n<\/p>\n

Nope! I’m not kidding. Hello. i just thought I’d share this with you as it’s a factual actuality (!) and yes I am 51 so really over a half a century old, but this, from my point of view, has only been the first <\/em>half.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, I do in fact fully intend to live to at least a hundered years old, and to do so in good shape.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

My journey back to health began in earnest about 2 years ago.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I was walking about on a sunny day, enjoying being out and about, and I was just taking a step forward and I sneezed very hard.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

BAM! I felt the pressure explode in my lower abdomen and I froze. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I couldn’t move!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I yelled to my wife to come to my aid and she helped me stabilize and get my self together. I had SUCH a pain in my back I couldn’t even think.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually it had subsided enough that I could bring myself to take a few steps to the car and sit down in total agony, but I just had to get home.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I remained conscious until we got to the house which was up a flight of very slow and painful stairs to get in the front door.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I hobbled to my bedroom and just lay in the floor, thinking (in error) that I’d just lay there for a while and let the crisis pass and maybe get up later.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I lay there for about 3 hours and then figured I needed to go to toilet. I gradually climbed up the door jamb and slithered gently along the wall until I got to the toilet door.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I ventured one pace forward into the loo and BAMMMMM! The pain hit me like I’d been knifed between the lumbar vertebrae and I literally crumpled in a groaning semi-unconscious heap on the floor.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually the pain subsided again enough that my wife could slip a bowl under my belly and I could relieve my bladder pressure.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I literally slithered like a slug along the hall floor to the bedroom and just lay there, practically paralysed.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

My wife called the Doctor and he called for an ambulance, which in France (where I live) is a service provided by the Firemen.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I a few minutes they had arrived and four guys put me on a stretcher and agonisingly tried to get the stretcher out the front door and down the stairs.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

About half-way down as the stair turns a corner one of the younger lads lost his grip and I was jolted to the side, with shards of pain searing through my spine.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Somehow they got my 95kg carcass to the ambulance and we headed off, siren wailing, to the hospital.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To wrap up this first episode, I was put on an intravenous drip of pain killer and left in the corridor with the drunks and toxico’s for a few hours until the pain had lessend and the tests had been done.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually I was able to take a few steps into a wheel-chair and then into the car to go home.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That was over two years ago and a lot has happened since then.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Suffice it to say I did recover and slowly got back on my feet and returned to work.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After a few weeks of physio therapy I could walk, sit and ride my scooter and climb stairs…<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

About a year later as bad luck would have it, I had a re-lapse.A siesed back again and two more weeks off work, then hobbling around for several more weeks and 3 months of physio. As I was doing the physio I asked the therapist all the questions I could think of to finding what could be causing this situation to occur and recur and took her advice to get in an excercise program for the following several months to actually build up the muscle groups need for proper back support.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I coupled this with a study of several nutrition\/diet methods and found one recommended to me by my father who had also had great weight-loss success following a low-carb higher protein diet, that didn’t leave you starving in order to lose weight.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I lost 10kg in a few months and kept them off for over a year now.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There was a point however, lying on the floor in total agony the second time, that I had the thought “what if I didn’t recover\u00a0and I ended up being wheel-chair bound?”, I was in real trouble! With bills to pay and the benefits run out after a year , then you’re on the welfare line from then on out.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This night-mare scenario was so close to becoming a factual possibility, that I was sickend to the bottom of my gut to think that this could actually happen to me<\/strong> if I didn’t make some definite permenant changes in my life.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It was at this point that I decided to do whatever was necessary<\/strong> to A) recover my strength and flexibilty and B) continue to surpass that level until I was in far better shape than I’d ever been in, in order to set myself up to happily live life and work and play with my family.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I have kept the weight off and this year, now that my exercise routine has brought me to a point of sufficient strength and flexibiltiy, I felt up to taking on beginning Tai Chi.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I love the slow, stable, fluid movements and the increasing of certainty of body control that we learn, and the fact that I CAN do the movements and that I have no back pain while doing so<\/em> is really amazing for me.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When I think of the crippled state I had been in and now how I can balance on one leg and do these movements, I feel really grateful,<\/u> that this is possible.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0I owe it to myself my family and my friends to keep myself in good shape to be useful and not a burden for \u00a0the rest of my life. That thought was enough to keep me doing my exercises and stick to my diet, to absolutely ensure that I would not have weak back problems again.<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Of course I don’t lift weights or do stupid things with my back, but I am fully mobile and I am very thankful for that.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

With that in mind I fully intend to be in better shape in 2014 than I have been since my late thirties.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That’s my goal!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I hope this story has been somewhat inspirational or at least mildly entertaining! \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Until tomorrow.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Flourish and Prosper!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jeremusic AKA Jeremy Feldmesser<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nope! I’m not kidding. Hello. i just thought I’d share this with you as it’s a factual actuality (!) and yes I am 51 so really over a half a century old, but this, from my point of view, has only been the first half. Yes, I do in fact fully intend to live to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":215,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jeremusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jeremusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jeremusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jeremusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/215"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jeremusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=827"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jeremusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":836,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jeremusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827\/revisions\/836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jeremusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jeremusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jeremusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}