T'ai Chi: It can cure what ails.

I was recently sick...and then soon after I was sick again!  It was horrible.  First I had a virus that began as a sore throat and then felt like the flu for about 2 days.  By Day 4 I felt normal again. And on Day 3 I was able to get up and go through my full 30 minute T'ai Chi routine.   So, that wasn't so bad.  I was healthy for the next week week (thankfully it was the week I traveled to Ireland to visit Jackson, my oldest son).  The day before we left to come home, I felt a tightness in my chest and began coughing.  It was the kind of tight, deep cough that really hurts.  By the next day (unfortunately for my fellow travelers on the plane) I was feeling VERY sick.  It was the worst day of traveling I have ever experienced and the one and only silver lining from the experience is that I can be assured that air travel will NEVER be worse for me than it was that day.  This virus felt different than the one I had two weeks prior...it felt much WORSE!  The next day in bed it hurt to move.  I just laid in bed.  Sleeping didn't come easy so I watched mindless TV shows on Netflix - kind of phasing in and out of wakefulness.  The next day I did actually manage to get out of bed and I forced myself to do about 10 minutes of T'ai Chi - very easy breath guiding movement.  It was exhausting!  The next day I did the same and felt slightly less exhausted.  I continued to practice T'ai Chi-as much as I could manage-each day and once a week had passed I felt almost normal again.  I even went on a very slow jog.  I'm sure what I had was the flu.  By the way, I did get the flu shot this year AND last year and I got the flu this year and last year.  I guess my point to writing about my illness is to sing the praises of T'ai Chi.  My husband also got the flu - two days after I came down with it.  He continued to feel sick well into his second week with the virus.  I encouraged him to do just a little easy movement and deep breathing.  I told him that as difficult as it was to get up or even just sit up and move he may feel better if he did just a little bit.  I told him that I felt normal again after a week and reminded him how long he had been feeling sick.  It had been 10 days for him when I decided to suggest he move and breathe (aka T'ai Chi).  But, alas, he was not the least bit interested so, finally, after about 2 weeks he was feeling almost normal but what still isn't back yet (16 days for him since he started to feel sick) is his energy!  My energy is FANTASTIC!  Last week I took it slow but by the end of the week I was up to my normal hour long swim and hour long run which included intervals!  I can't help but attribute my Great Energy to my T'ai Chi practice.  I can't help but attribute getting over the flu in just under a week to my T'ai Chi practice.  And I can't help but wonder if my husband's illness would have been shortened and his energy back had he done what I suggested - easy movement and deep breathing.  I would love to prove my theory but that would mean getting sick again...NO THANK YOU!!!