Bindy finds tetherball for Asthma
Laura Salinger is
a freelance
writer based in
Madison, Wis.
a freelance
writer based in
Madison, Wis.
the mild exercise she is getting while opening up her chest and lungs) and eventually becomes very skilled at this playground game.
In sixth grade, she is dubbed the school’s tetherball champion after she beats the tallest boy in the class.
The moral of the story is not only that Bindy was able to find an exercise despite her asthma but also that she was able to
overcome her sense of failure and succeed at something physical. She found an outlet for her emotions and a way to engage with
other children in sport and play.
Lindloff-Shegonee’s experience mirrors Bindy’s journey. Throughout her childhood and adolescence, Lindloff-Shegonee suffered
from severe asthma and bronchitis. By the time she was five, Lindloff-Shegonee had endured pneumonia three times. She constantly
lived in fear of another asthma attack.
“You don’t feel like you can do anything; you are kind of held back,” Lindloff-Shegonee says about her childhood experience with
asthma. “You are always scared that will you have an attack, you don’t want to exert yourself.”
Still, she longed to follow her inner drive to do well in sports and found a way to do so with tetherball. Like Bindy, in sixth grade
she became the tetherball champion at her school. More importantly, her confidence increased and she found a physical and
emotional outlet. Lindloff-Shegonee says that tetherball gave her the physical, mental, and emotional confidence she needed to
succeed in many other areas of her life. It also helped diffuse what she calls toxic emotions.
“Tetherball is a simple, safe, and direct-action antidote to toxic feelings,” Lindloff-Shegonee says in the foreword of her book. “I
believe hitting the tetherball each day at my own pace helped me to handle these emotions.”
It also provided the much needed exercise that every child needs but that children with asthma often struggle to get due to their
illness.
“Another benefit of this exercise is (that) the winging of the arms (actually) opens the diaphragm; ‘inhaling and exhaling’ provides
a breathing exercise for good health and discourages oncoming attacks,” she says.
Lindloff-Shegonee knows that tetherball is not a cure for asthma, but she believes it played a large role in her growing out of her
asthma (which was not allergic, or extrinsic, asthma). By the time she was around 16, she was no longer suffering from asthma
attacks.
“I just know that tetherball helped me, as an exercise, to get better,” she says.
Lindloff-Shegonee hopes her book will help to instill confidence in children with asthma. “The reason I want to do this is to give
hope to young kids,” she says.
She advises children with asthma to experiment with tetherball at their own pace, slowly hitting the ball daily until they work up
to being able to play more aerobically.
She stresses that exercise does not need to be an enemy to those with asthma. Like tetherball, there are numerous exercises
that can help asthmatics. She points out Heidi Pascual’s (our very own Asian Wisconzine publisher) experience with asthma. Heidi
began eating more fruits and veggies (and less processed food), exercising with the Wii, doing yoga, and getting acupuncture, with
the result of a significant decrease in the use of her inhalers. Lindloff-Shegonee, who participated in a cold study conducted by Dr.
Bruch Barrett, also mentions the potential that exercise and meditation can ward of colds and flu outbreaks.
Tetherball for asthma is one more tool that children (or adults) can use in the hopes of managing their asthma and getting
exercise. Lindloff-Shegonee hopes to bring this message to a large audience and is planning to have her book in print by the end of
summer. “The book will include a "Dreamcatcher" cutout to inspire your hopes and dreams to come true!” she adds.
For more information or to help sponsor this project, call Dawn at (608) 256-7808 or e-mail tetherballforasthma@yahoo.com.
Editor’s note: Indeed, my experience with regular exercises, particularly with the winging of the arms and yoga’s deep-breathing,
helped me get back to health. Since August of last year, I haven’t had any asthma attack, and have stopped using daily asthma
inhalers. My immune system has never been better, and I feel very energetic. I join Dawn Shegonee in encouraging our youth,
especially those who are asthmatics, to start getting physically fit through tetherball or other related sports that strengthen lungs,
arms, and the general body. Since we could barely get out during winter in Wisconsin, I chose doing yoga and Wii Active exercises.
An added benefit to me personally was that I have lost 17-plus pounds since August. Steroids from asthma inhalers kept me bloated
and heavy for quite a while. Now I like what I see when I’m in front of the mirror.
In sixth grade, she is dubbed the school’s tetherball champion after she beats the tallest boy in the class.
The moral of the story is not only that Bindy was able to find an exercise despite her asthma but also that she was able to
overcome her sense of failure and succeed at something physical. She found an outlet for her emotions and a way to engage with
other children in sport and play.
Lindloff-Shegonee’s experience mirrors Bindy’s journey. Throughout her childhood and adolescence, Lindloff-Shegonee suffered
from severe asthma and bronchitis. By the time she was five, Lindloff-Shegonee had endured pneumonia three times. She constantly
lived in fear of another asthma attack.
“You don’t feel like you can do anything; you are kind of held back,” Lindloff-Shegonee says about her childhood experience with
asthma. “You are always scared that will you have an attack, you don’t want to exert yourself.”
Still, she longed to follow her inner drive to do well in sports and found a way to do so with tetherball. Like Bindy, in sixth grade
she became the tetherball champion at her school. More importantly, her confidence increased and she found a physical and
emotional outlet. Lindloff-Shegonee says that tetherball gave her the physical, mental, and emotional confidence she needed to
succeed in many other areas of her life. It also helped diffuse what she calls toxic emotions.
“Tetherball is a simple, safe, and direct-action antidote to toxic feelings,” Lindloff-Shegonee says in the foreword of her book. “I
believe hitting the tetherball each day at my own pace helped me to handle these emotions.”
It also provided the much needed exercise that every child needs but that children with asthma often struggle to get due to their
illness.
“Another benefit of this exercise is (that) the winging of the arms (actually) opens the diaphragm; ‘inhaling and exhaling’ provides
a breathing exercise for good health and discourages oncoming attacks,” she says.
Lindloff-Shegonee knows that tetherball is not a cure for asthma, but she believes it played a large role in her growing out of her
asthma (which was not allergic, or extrinsic, asthma). By the time she was around 16, she was no longer suffering from asthma
attacks.
“I just know that tetherball helped me, as an exercise, to get better,” she says.
Lindloff-Shegonee hopes her book will help to instill confidence in children with asthma. “The reason I want to do this is to give
hope to young kids,” she says.
She advises children with asthma to experiment with tetherball at their own pace, slowly hitting the ball daily until they work up
to being able to play more aerobically.
She stresses that exercise does not need to be an enemy to those with asthma. Like tetherball, there are numerous exercises
that can help asthmatics. She points out Heidi Pascual’s (our very own Asian Wisconzine publisher) experience with asthma. Heidi
began eating more fruits and veggies (and less processed food), exercising with the Wii, doing yoga, and getting acupuncture, with
the result of a significant decrease in the use of her inhalers. Lindloff-Shegonee, who participated in a cold study conducted by Dr.
Bruch Barrett, also mentions the potential that exercise and meditation can ward of colds and flu outbreaks.
Tetherball for asthma is one more tool that children (or adults) can use in the hopes of managing their asthma and getting
exercise. Lindloff-Shegonee hopes to bring this message to a large audience and is planning to have her book in print by the end of
summer. “The book will include a "Dreamcatcher" cutout to inspire your hopes and dreams to come true!” she adds.
For more information or to help sponsor this project, call Dawn at (608) 256-7808 or e-mail tetherballforasthma@yahoo.com.
Editor’s note: Indeed, my experience with regular exercises, particularly with the winging of the arms and yoga’s deep-breathing,
helped me get back to health. Since August of last year, I haven’t had any asthma attack, and have stopped using daily asthma
inhalers. My immune system has never been better, and I feel very energetic. I join Dawn Shegonee in encouraging our youth,
especially those who are asthmatics, to start getting physically fit through tetherball or other related sports that strengthen lungs,
arms, and the general body. Since we could barely get out during winter in Wisconsin, I chose doing yoga and Wii Active exercises.
An added benefit to me personally was that I have lost 17-plus pounds since August. Steroids from asthma inhalers kept me bloated
and heavy for quite a while. Now I like what I see when I’m in front of the mirror.
By Laura Salinger
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, asthma is the most common
chronic condition among the nation’s children, affecting nearly five million young people. It is
the number one reason that children miss school in this country, resulting in 20 million lost
school days a year, and nearly 30,000 people in the U.S. will have an asthma attack every day.
But, asthma can be manageable with the proper asthma plan (treatment, diet, exercise,
recognizing triggers, etc.) in place.
Taking a holistic approach (that recognizes alternative practices and techniques) to
controlling asthma is what Call for Peace founder Dawn Lindloff-Shegonee recommends. The
exercise she highly recommends for asthmatic children is tetherball; so much so that she has
gone as far as to write a children’s book, complete with dynamic illustrations by Robin Transo,
about using tetherball as a way to manage asthma. The book is based on a true story; her own
story, in fact.
The book, “Bindy Ko-ala Discovers ‘Tetherball for Asthma,’” follows a young girl facing the
limitations of her illness. When children go outside to play in the winter, Bindy Ko-ala must stay
inside for health reasons. She can’t run and play like the other children. She can’t realize her
innate dream of being a figure skater. She has a hard time understanding why she simply
cannot be normal and she faces emotions that are hard for her to express.
All that starts to change when Bindy’s brother surprises her with a tetherball set in their
yard. What Bindy eventually discovers is that she can exercise, at her own pace, with the
tetherball. Slowly, Bindy Ko-ala plays more and more tetherball (without actually realizing the
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, asthma is the most common
chronic condition among the nation’s children, affecting nearly five million young people. It is
the number one reason that children miss school in this country, resulting in 20 million lost
school days a year, and nearly 30,000 people in the U.S. will have an asthma attack every day.
But, asthma can be manageable with the proper asthma plan (treatment, diet, exercise,
recognizing triggers, etc.) in place.
Taking a holistic approach (that recognizes alternative practices and techniques) to
controlling asthma is what Call for Peace founder Dawn Lindloff-Shegonee recommends. The
exercise she highly recommends for asthmatic children is tetherball; so much so that she has
gone as far as to write a children’s book, complete with dynamic illustrations by Robin Transo,
about using tetherball as a way to manage asthma. The book is based on a true story; her own
story, in fact.
The book, “Bindy Ko-ala Discovers ‘Tetherball for Asthma,’” follows a young girl facing the
limitations of her illness. When children go outside to play in the winter, Bindy Ko-ala must stay
inside for health reasons. She can’t run and play like the other children. She can’t realize her
innate dream of being a figure skater. She has a hard time understanding why she simply
cannot be normal and she faces emotions that are hard for her to express.
All that starts to change when Bindy’s brother surprises her with a tetherball set in their
yard. What Bindy eventually discovers is that she can exercise, at her own pace, with the
tetherball. Slowly, Bindy Ko-ala plays more and more tetherball (without actually realizing the