Female trainer recovers from stroke thanks to gym and yoga

Hanoi Once paralyzed on one side, Xuan, 38 years old, recovered thanks to physical therapy combined with exercise, becoming a fitness trainer with a toned body.

12 years ago, Vi Thi Thanh Xuan suddenly had paralysis on the left side of her face, her left side was weak as if paralyzed, and her left arm lost feeling after waking up one night. At the hospital, the doctor diagnosed her with a mild stroke and she had to undergo long-term physical therapy. At that time, her father was seriously ill, her mother was a construction worker, and the family was in financial difficulty. The woman borrowed money from friends to go for acupuncture and acupressure.

At first, Xuan practiced holding and grasping light objects and chewing to regain her senses. Because she took a lot of medicine, her body became weaker and she often had pain, especially when acupressure caused "bone-chilling pain". She limited going out, was afraid to meet friends, and focused only on treatment in the hope of improving her condition.

After that, Xuan was invited by a friend to practice yoga. Because her body was still weak, she had suffered a stroke, and her breathing was irregular, the woman refused.

When she got home, she took the initiative to learn more online. "The more I watched, the more interested I became," Xuan said, and tried some simple exercises such as breathing and standing up and sitting down. Due to her body being asymmetrical on both sides, especially her left side being very stiff, Xuan could not bend or flex like other people.

After a few weeks of practice, the woman ate well, slept soundly, her left side no longer ached as much, and she could hold things easily, so she decided to continue practicing every day. She divided her practice time into small parts to avoid overexertion, prioritizing warm-up and breathing.

"Practicing yoga therapy is not difficult but requires perseverance, instead of chasing difficult movements that can easily lead to injury," Xuan said.

Yoga therapy is an ancient method that brings balance to the body and mind. According to the book The Best Alternative Medicine by Dr. Kenneth R. Pelletier , yoga therapy helps stabilize the musculoskeletal system, makes breathing smooth and deep, improves circulation, muscle strength and motor control. Yoga therapy is suitable for people with health problems such as joint pain, spine, blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, vestibular. In addition, this subject can help improve mental health, increase relaxation, and improve mood in practitioners.

Thanks to yoga, Xuan gradually regained the feeling in her muscles. She can practice difficult movements such as hand balancing more professionally. Xuan often shares pictures and videos of her practice on social networks, receiving many compliments.

"Everyone's encouragement made my dream of becoming a coach stronger and stronger," she said.

In 2018, Xuan became a professional yoga instructor. From a skinny, unattractive body, she "transformed" with a full butt and a toned waist. Xuan confidently teaches yoga, guiding many students to change and live healthier lives. She accepts online instruction for students who live far away and do not attend classes directly.

For Xuan, yoga helps her eat well, sleep deeply, and keep her body flexible, but it does not give her a beautiful figure. She continues to learn about the gym to improve her "flat butt, fat belly" appearance.

[Caption]ffffff — After 12 years of practice, Xuan became a yoga instructor and can do difficult contortions. Photo: *Character provided*

Like yoga, Xuan learned about gym online first. At first, she prioritized exercise to gain muscle, paying attention to proper technique instead of heavy lifting. Xuan's goal was to increase her butt, so she prioritized glute exercises, three to four times a week.

"At first, my family objected because the gym focuses on strength and exercise, and I was afraid of getting injured," Xuan said, but she couldn't resist her passion for bodybuilding and decided to pursue it.

Normally, to lift muscles, people will actively lift weights. Xuan spent three years training with resistance bands first to get her body used to it. Only using elastic bands with elasticity and stretching force helps the female trainer increase muscle endurance. She combines three gym sessions and three yoga sessions to avoid boredom.

According to experts, regular exercise brings many benefits such as improving cardiovascular health, bone development, reducing lower back pain due to arthritis, fibromyalgia, preventing the risk of diabetes, lowering blood pressure, reducing harmful cholesterol, and fat.

She combines nutrition to have enough energy to exercise. Xuan prioritizes brown rice, brown rice noodles, consumes a lot of fruit and limits greasy foods, abstains from sweets. Currently, she is 1.62 m tall, weighs 57 kg, and has a 98 cm waist, 10 cm larger than before. However, Xuan's face is still not balanced, the left facial muscle has reduced sensation, and no longer responds like a normal person.

Xuan's current figure after more than 10 years of training. Photo: Character provided — Xuan's current figure after more than 10 years of training. Photo: *Character provided*

After 12 years of practicing yoga and 4 years of going to the gym, Xuan said she felt like she was "reborn" even though her body still had many defects after the stroke. She said this is spiritual food, helping her to become healthier, happier and more useful.

"Smart people use money to invest in their health, instead of letting their health deteriorate just to make money. Only when you are healthy can you do what you want," she said.

Thuy An

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