I practice a very martial oriented form of Tai Chi Chuan and I had an attack of shingles several years ago. Of course at fifty I don’t think I was elderly so that might have something to do with it. You don’t have to be old to get them but i guess being elderly makes it worse.
I can tell you this, shingles hurts.
Pilates cures cancer.
http://www.innvista.com/HEALTH/herbs/lemonbal.htm
N”ew research has proven the polyphenols in lemon balm to be antiviral and effective against the herpes simplex virus, Newcastle disease, mumps, and vaccinia.
http://www.lycos.com/info/shingles—treatments.html
wont cure it, but:
“The anti-viral properties found in Lemon Balm (Melissa) may suggest a supportive holistic treatment of shingles. Drinking Lemon Balm tea daily, as a preventive, is excellent support since Lemon Balm is a tonic herb and safe to use long term.”
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/41/102.cfm
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis). Herbalists recommend many herbs that are members of the mint family, especially lemon balm, or melissa, to treat herpes. There’s good reason for this. Lemon balm has been proven to have some effect on viruses of the herpes family. Varro Tyler, Ph.D., dean and professor emeritus of pharmacognosy (natural product pharmacy) at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, suggests using lemon balm to treat viral infections.
Herpes cold sores are caused by a virus that behaves much like the virus that causes shingles; in fact, both viruses belong to the same genus. In one well-designed study of 116 people with herpes sores, a lemon balm cream healed the sores substantially better than an inactive cream (a placebo).
Shingles hurts badly
It’s a shame that the self-defense aspect of Tai Chi is downplayed. It’s every bit as potent as other martial arts if it is taught properly.
Is that “tai chi”, or “Chai tea”?