Abdominal and breathing exercises for FSHD

Disclaimer: Not every exercise is appropriate or safe for every individual, so please use your best judgement and consult your health care provider.

We’re excited to launch Feeling Fit with FSHD, our new Gathering Place Zoom group. So many of the questions we get from the FSHD community are about exercise and physical therapy, and we realized that there is a tremendous wealth of knowledge within the community itself. Feeling Fit is a space where members can share their knowledge, invite trainers and therapists to demonstrate various techniques, and discuss their experiences as they try out various techniques.

For our inaugural session, Frank Hanley, a Qi Gong instructor and former director of the FSHD Society’s South Carolina chapter, introduced Qi (pronounced “chi”), a Chinese concept referring to the circulating life force or energy. He led a series of abdominal and breathing exercises, all of which can be done while seated. If you would like to do these exercises yourself, follow along in the video above. In addition, you can consult these resources:

• Feeling Fit – FSHD Society Workshop – Lesson 1 Handout
• Frank’s website www.qigongcanchangeyourlife.com
• You can also contact Frank by email.

For more blog posts and videos about exercise and fitness, visit FSHD University.