Hey everyone!

I like to discover and learn new things and being stuck at home with pericarditis does not give me many learning opportunities. I had to stop the sport, and I took this opportunity to experiment with what is called the Nadeau Technique.

It is a form of gentle gymnastics that was created by a Canadian, Henri Nadeau, in 1972. Its goal is to promote health through movement and daily physical exercise. It is designed as a fitness method, especially for those who have had heart problems (which was the case of its inventor).

It requires little space and no special equipment. These are 3 very simple exercises that you repeat as many times as you can (from a few dozen times to several hundred times for the most trained). The goal is to untie and move the whole body.

The 3 exercises are:

o   The pelvis rotation (the upper body rotates in large circles)

o   The vague (the whole body moves, neck, shoulders, hips, legs)

o   The swimming (it's like swimming the front crawl)

You will find videos on YouTube that demonstrate these exercises (Christine Boukhalil offers an interesting presentation). There are also books explaining the technique.

In my opinion, the Nadeau Technique can be adapted for people with pericarditis. Always be careful and listen to your body (and your heart).

I practiced this technique for several months at the end of 2018 – beginning of 2019. I was on betablockers at the time, so my heart rate did not exceed 100 beats per minute even when standing up.

Here is my opinion.

PROS:

You can start with 5 or 10 minutes. In terms of time, space and material, the method is very economical.

There are paid courses, but its simplicity means that you can learn it on your own by watching videos and getting information on the internet.

We move all the joints and work the muscles, including the heart, in a gentle way.

I find that the movements of the rib cage can be interesting to, perhaps, avoid adhesions of the pericardium (but this does not constitute a medical opinion).

It moves all the joints, and its purpose is also to slow down the effect of aging or the lack of sufficient physical activity.

It is practiced standing, but it can be adapted to practice seated. Moreover, its inventor started this way because he had heart problems and was unable to stand.

Its evolutionary aspect is rather motivating. You can create small challenges by gradually increasing the number of repetitions of each exercise, which allows you to feel an evolution over the medium or long term.

CONS:

When I stopped betablockers, it became more difficult to stay below 100 heartbeats per minute.

The ultra-repetitive side of the exercises and the predictability of the session. I get bored quickly and doing the same thing every day for 15 or 20 minutes became boring after a few months.

I stopped for the above reasons, but telling myself that one day I would come back to it because I think these exercises can be beneficial.

This is why I wanted to share this information on the Nadeau Technique.

LIVE LEARN LAUGH.

Pericordially yours,

Vali