Chair yoga pose to start your week off STRONG! Inner Leg Stretch

1.Sit tall at the edge of chair, (hold on to back of chair for support) extend the left leg to the left side so it is straight and the foot remains fully on the floor. Raise the right arm straight toward the ceiling, keeping the bicep near the ear.
2. Pull up through the right finger tips while keeping the left leg extended.
3. Breathe in, hold breath for 5 to 10 seconds
4. Exhale, lower arm & bring in leg
 5. Repeat on other side.
You should feel this stretch in the inner thigh as well as the sides of the upper body. This exercise can also strengthen hip muscles, shoulders and abdominals.

2014 TPWHL Registration Day October 4th!

Source: TPWHL  

Get ready for another exciting season of TPWHL PowerHockey! Come out for registration day next Saturday, October 4 from 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM. Three exhibition games will be played on that day. New players are always welcome to try out!

The games are as follows:
12:30 PM to 1:30 PM Lake Raiders v. Bulldogs
1:30 PM to 2:30 PM Saints v. Mustangs
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM Kings v. Wolves

If you love hockey and have a physical disability then PowerHockey is the game for you! We play out of Sunnyview Public School at 450 Blythwood Road. Hope to see you there!

For more information regarding the hockey league go to http://www.tpwhl.com/

Electric Hockey Royalty at Evergreen Brickworks

It was truly an honour to have the royal couple from Denmark to be at the Electric Hockey demonstration yesterday at the Evergreen Brickworks in Toronto. The four players selected to participate were Owen McGonigal, Karl Ludwig, Erin Vassilakos and Brent Alexander Lyon.

The goal of Electric Hockey is to grow in North America and to become a Paralympic sport which I believe will be big due to the fact that the sport chair is standardized and creates an equal playing field no matter the ability of the player.

For someone with Muscular Dystrophy that may have limited upper body strength, it's great that Electric Hockey is another option that I can compete in. Watching Owen play throughout the event made me believe that the sport can enable a person with a disability.

For more information on Electric Hockey check out http://www.hockeysportinternational.com/

Electric Hockey Demo at Variety Village

It was the first day of electric hockey demos at Variety Village, we had a PowerHockey and Electric Hockey scrimmage which was a lot of fun and a different experience. It was neat to see the electric hockey chairs created by UB-Let in action. What impressed me most even though I didn't use them is that they look cool.

The TPWHL players that were present testing out the electric hockey chairs had a good time. From the participants this evening, some would be open to playing on a regular basis if they were given a chance while others weren't as enthusiastic about playing the sport.

The speed of the chair is faster than typical power wheelchairs, and more aerodynamic much like go-karts. For the participants that were use to controlling the ball with the stick in hand, it took some time to adjust to the ball control solely with the electric chair. The electric chair can be customized to those that require a headrest or additional body stabilizers.

The electric hockey chair was created by the proceeds from the 18th birthday of Frederik, the crown prince of Denmark. This Friday, September 19, there will be a demo of Electric Hockey as a thank you to the crown prince with Sledge Hockey Paralympian Karl Ludwig, and Muscular Dystrophy Canada Ambassador Owen McGonigal participating in the exhibition game.

Watch our interview with Allan Johassen of UB-Let below.

Chair Yoga Pose to Start Your Week off Strong- Outward leg stretch

1. For this exercise you can place back on back of chair, still maintain a strong core
2. Place legs/feet firmly on ground inline with shoulders
3. Exhale bring leg up, stretch out in front of you
4. Inhale, hold for 5secs, exhale lower leg down to floor
5. Repeat on opposite side, do at least 3times each side

What is Electric Hockey?

Source: http://hockeysportinternational.com/

Electric Hockey is a sport similar to Powerhockey except the sport uses their own specialized chairs called the Hockey Sport Chair instead of a regular power wheelchair. These chairs are lower to the floor, and athletes requires upper body strength and good balance to play the sport. Electric Hockey also differs that the game is played three on three with one or two substitutes on the bench per team, and two 15 minute halves are played. The sport is played by Scandinavian club teams from Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.

Canada and Denmark will be hosting a special event called the Denmark Canada Electric Hockey Practice and Demonstration (Invite Only) for three days this week in Toronto. It will be held at Variety Village on Tuesday September 16 and Wednesday September 17 from 4 to 6 PM. On the final day it will be held at Evergreen Brick Works On Friday September 19 from 3 to 4:30 PM With special guests the Crown Prince Couple of Denmark. We will be there covering this special event!

Chantal Petitclerc named Canada's Chef de Mission for Rio 2016 Paralympics

Source: CBC.ca

After leading Canada to a successful 3rd place finish at the latest Commonwealth Games as Chef de Mission. Wheelchair Racer Chantal Petitclerc will be Chef de Mission once again, but this time for the Rio 2016 Paralympics as she was recently named by the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

 

Chair Yoga Pose to Start Your Week off Strong with the Seated Pigeon!

IF YOU CAN NOT LIFT LEG NO WORRIES CAN BE MODIFIED

1. Sit up straight in chair or wheelchair, with back off chair
2. Make sure feet are shoulder width apart
3. Bring left leg onto right knee
4. Inhale push knee downwards with left hand & with right hand lift foot upwards, feel a good stretch in your hip & leg
Hold for a slow count of 5
5. Exhale, slowly release leg down
Repeat on other side, do 3times each side

 *if you CAN lift leg but need a little help, use a stretchy exercise band to help lift leg, just place under foot securely & lift*


MODIFICATION

1. Sit up straight in chair or wheelchair, with back off chair
2. Cross feet at ankles, place one hand on each knee
3. Inhale push down lightly on knees to give hips a nice stretch, let legs hang open
4. Release pressure of hands, Exhale
5. Repeat 3-5 times

Chair yoga pose to start your week off strong- Cat/Cow Stretch

This will be our last 'upper body' exercise for this year, there are so so many you can do! If moving your legs is impossible or difficult for you, let me know if you would like some more 'upper body' poses!








1. Sit straight up, place hands just above knees if in a wheelchair place back off chair if possible & feet on floor, if using foot pedals, it's OK you may just not get as 'deep' of a spine stretch
2. Inhale, move hands forward on knees, bring head down & arch back
3. Exhale, move hands back to starting position & bring head slowly back up & spine straightens
4. Repeat 3-5 times slowly

Benefits- Makes spine more supple & gets you to relax back & shoulders