Maxim-izing the collective power of yoga

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This article was published 29/02/2012 (5275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A movement of Winnipeggers will harness its collective power on the yoga mat.
The Power of Movement — billed as Canada’s largest fundraiser for arthritis and autoimmune research with more than 20 sessions across the country — will take place at the Fort Garry Hotel on Sun., March 4 at 11 a.m.
The class will be 60 to 75 minutes long and participants are asked to arrive between 10:30 and 10:45 a.m. to ensure they have registered, dropped off donations and found their ideal mat location in time.

Whyte Ridge resident and yoga instructor Shawn Flaman will lead the Winnipeg mega-session, while Winnipeg Blue Bombers Joe Lobendahn and Marcellus Bowman will also take part.

Flaman’s son, Brian, now 23, is proof that arthritis is not just a disease suffered by the elderly. He was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis at 18 months. It’s estimated that approximately one in 1,000 Canadian children under 16 live with juvenile arthritis.

Among them is Angela Asselin’s son, Maxim, who is two years old. Asselin, a massage therapist at Howdle McLean Physiotherapy in River Heights, said Maxim was diagnosed in 2010 after she noticed swelling in his joints.

“After his first birthday, I noticed the joint on one of his middle fingers was swollen,” said Asselin, who lives in Windsor Park. “Eventually the same thing happened on the other hand. The joint was substantially bigger.”

After weighing up their treatment options, Asselin and her husband sought the help of a naturopath, who explained the potential link between autoimmune disease and food sensitivities.  

A blood test revealed Maxim was sensitive to numerous foods including eggs, dairy, gluten, beef, rice, red grapes, avocados and asparagus.

“This was overwhelming, life-changing. We had to cut these out of his diet and look at gluten-free products. But some of those contain rice, so I had to make a lot of food from scratch,” said Asselin, who has almost reached her fundraising goal of $1,000 for the event.

With the help of Chinese acupressure, weekly chiropractic visits, cod liver oil and probiotics, Asselin has been able to reintroduce some of the foods back into Maxim’s diet.

She said Maxim can’t close his fist completely and suffers some swelling in his toe joints. But apart from that, he’s a regular kid.

“He understands pain. If he hits his head, he knows it hurts. But he doesn’t seem to complain about pain in his joints. He’s an outgoing, rambunctious two-year-old. And if I can help one person by telling his story, that’s awesome,” Asselin said.  

Charleswood resident Pam Saldivar, the event’s community co-ordinator for Winnipeg, said participating studios include Bikram Yoga Winnipeg in Osborne Village, St. James Hot Yoga and LL Yoga, which has Transcona and Wolseley locations, as well as St. Boniface-based Manitoba Fitness Council.

Participants can register online, for $20, until the morning of the event. For more information, visit www.powerofmovement.ca.

simon.fuller@canstarnews.com