In the Tai Chi community in Prince George there is one name that sparks enthusiasm and gratitude.
Tom Hynd is the Tai Chi for Arthritis certified instructor that presents eight classes a week in seniors centres across the city where everyone is welcome to attend.
The most rewarding part about teaching the classes is the response Hynd gets from participants.
"A person told me that they were able to save themselves from a fall," said Hynd. "A 92-year-old lady told me the doctor just cut her blood pressure medication in half."
Other people talk about range of motion improvements like being able to reach up to brush their own hair again, put on their own sweater, scratch an itch on their own back.
"The only reason I keep teaching is to help people," said Hynd. "To hear about how it helps people makes it all worthwhile."
Willa Osis, a faithful student of Hynd's, has severe arthritis throughout her body.
"It was 16 years ago when doctors told me that I would be in a wheelchair within a year," said Osis, who has been doing Tai Chi since about 2005.
"At that point I could barely walk, I couldn't lift my arm past my shoulder and the range of motion in my neck was very limited so I had to retire from a job that I liked and that I was good at."
Osis was in charge of the blood bank at the hospital.
When arthritis forced the retirement she accessed the arthritis class offered at the hospital where she did range of motion exercises and during the class it was mentioned that Tai Chi was very good for arthritis and Hynd's name came up, said Osis.
"And that's when I scouted out Tom," she added. "After I retired I had this flash and I thought OK, now I have time to look after myself."
Osis, who first came to classes bent at the waist, shuffling her feet, said it took about six months and her range of motion had improved considerably and her pain had diminished. She tried other forms of exercise but found it too hard on her arthritic joints, she added.
"In my very first Tai Chi class I said to myself, I can do this," said Osis, who used to have to go down stairs backwards. "Anybody can do it. There's no equipment and you only need a tiny bit of space. You can do it on your back deck, apartment balcony, you can do it in your bathroom if it's big enough and it's just wonderful."
It's part of every day for Osis and if she doesn't do it, she feels like something's missing, she said.
"So you can see why I keep teaching," said Hynd, who has had participants as old as 104 attend classes. "This becomes every body and it's an extension of themselves."
Each participant must put in the extra work, said Osis, who can now lift a full gallon jug of plant food over her head to see if the mixture is all dissolved without a thought or hesitation.
"I just love Tai Chi so much that I did it at home," said Osis, who attends class three times a week. "I would go to class to learn one step and go home and do that for the whole week, come back and learn the next step. It's just so doable."
Tai Chi for Arthritis follows the Sun forms and shortens the version of the forms to make it easier on the joints for those with physical challenges.
"Dr. Paul Lam is the person that put it together," said Hynd.
In 1996 Lam led a team of tai chi and medical specialists, according to Lam's website, to create the program that offers pain relief for people with arthritis, improve quality of life, and prevent falls.
"For me it improved my shoulders and then it brought balance, core strength and it improved my joints," said Hynd.
Hynd started teaching Tai Chi in 2001 and teaching Tai Chi for Arthritis in 2003.
He began his own practice back in the late 1990s when he had damaged both of his rotator cuffs packing gyproc and chucking hay, he said.
Through years of physiotherapy and Tai Chi practice he was able to regain function.
"I can do this for the rest of my life and I'll still be learning something new," said Osis, who is 66.
"One of the most important things is that I can garden again. I can lift a five-gallon pail of compost now. I just love Tai Chi so much. It's feels like I got my life back."
