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16 saturday nov 302002 economist sun stouffville tribune healthy living method cures body soul program such a success for york resident shes studying to become feldenkrais instructor by kristin mackey special to the economist suntribune after more than 17 years of battling bulimia and anorexia friederike bental is finally com fortable with her body and she credits much of her willpower to the feldenkrais method it has really deepened my faith in a higher being ms bental said how mind body and spirit all work together and how tremendously powerful the human nervous system and skeleton is the whitchurchstouffville resident was first introduced to the feldenkrais method in 1995 it was a lifechanging experience the method which has about 1000 practi tioners in north america is not about strengthening stretching or flexing instead it teaches the brain to reorganize stiffened body parts for easier movement and then integrates them back into full use usually performed lying down the method explores other forms of movement to mini mize pain and discomfort while forcing the participant to be aware of his or her body whatever we do in feldenkrais we antici pate the reaction of the nervous system said ms bental 52 everything is generated by the nervous system the method helped her become more con nected with her body it also helped her recov er from a sportsrelated shoulder injury ms bental was so moved by her experience that in 2000 she began a fouryear training pro gram to become a feldenkrais practitioner strict guidelines limit students to what and how they instruct all movements can be taught only when the training program is com pleted now in her second year of study ms bental recently began teaching a limited number of movements where she can assist or touch stu dents while laying on mats she teaches specific movements and instructs students to keep their eyes closed to prevent any influence by their neighbours the process can be frustrating with some students lashing out or crying but when the position is achieved the result is usually grati fying i am not really one to meditate explained beginner student bev gordonfreeman but feldenkrais puts you in a different state of mind because you are paying attention while blocking exterior stimuli whitchurchstouffville resident lisa mcgill 39 has been attending ms bentals ses sions fv four years she has chronic pain from fibromyalgia an incurable form of arthritis we are made to look at how our bodies are lying on the ground ms mcgill said and at staff photosjoerd witteveen friederike bental of whitchurchstouffville helps pain sufferers overcome their affliction by helping them practice the fendelkrais method the end of the session we see how it has shift ed and how things are balanced i find you come away feeling better after trying massage yoga tai chi and chi ropractic work to alleviate pain she has noticed a huge difference since learning the feldenkrais method my body selfconsciously desires to do this it knows this is the right thing to be doing said ms mcgill who practises many of the movements at home but ms bental says the feldenkrais method is more than just pain relief we learn to cope with everything around us she said weight control comes beautifully without any power struggle feldenkrais makes you want to eat better and there are less cravings leona ronco agrees during a recent visit to the doctor she was surprised to hear she had lost two pounds i had quit smoking after more than 30 years and thought well i can eat to get through this said the 53yearold whitchurchstouffville resident she credits the method with sticking to her ban on cigarettes and says she couldnt have done it otherwise dogs help woman deal with seizures by lisa queen staff writer preying on the vulnerable doesnt get much lower than this twice while susan hoffman was hav ing a severe epileptic seizure she was robbed the first time a thief stole her purse while she convulsed on the sidewalk near the corner of finch avenue and yonge street in north york the second time an offender made off with her purse and a package after she fell to the floor at markville shopping centre in markham it wasnt just the robberies that made ms hoffman fearful of leaving home people were becoming afraid of me and afraid to be with me anywhere in public during seizures over the years the 42yearold has fallen down stairs bro ken her foot and been hit by a car friends and family nervous about how to react during a seizure were becoming increasingly leery about going out in public with her but since ms hoffman got an epilep sy service dog first seiko and now cherokee she has the confidence to venture out again the bolton woman who now helps train dogs to assist people with seizure disorders will talk about how her dogs have helped her cope with her illness at an epilepsy york region meeting wednesday night ms hoffman originally began having seizures at age 12 the first time she had just received a vaccine at school she did not experi ence convulsions but seemed to go into some kind of trance at first the vaccination was blamed for the seizures but eventually her disor der was traced back to a fall off a play ground slide when she was four year old the tumble on to concrete left the see agency page 17 wmsmsbmmimmmm dr h h walji optometrist hons bsc msc od fios end your computer vision syndrome cvs our eyes are not suited to staring at a computer screen for very long eyes cannot properly lock focus on pixels or tiny clots of light that make up computer screens or video display terminals vdts a computer users eyes must continuously focus refocus and focus again on tiny dots of light on the vdt in order to keep its images sharp this process results in repetitive stress disorder of the eye muscles not unlike repetitive strain injury that contributes to carpal tunnel syndrome in the wrists if you use a computer for one hour or more each day you will benefit from specialized eye tests needed to diagnose and treat problems related to computer vision syndrome in the interest of your better eye health from the practice of dr hh walji 6633 hwy 7 at ninth line 90s471s7bs 3937 website dr waljicom email drwaljidrwaljicom 3 yesresfarow