Those who’ve known me the longest and those who know me the best sometimes express surprise or amusement when I am described as shy or introverted. I don’t blame them for being befuddled really. When I was a little girl, everyone was a potential friend, and I wasn’t afraid to go up to strangers and talk a mile-a-minute in their ear, occasionally with a foreign accent. My mom, I think, is still … [Read more...]
Even when it can seem like the vast majority of my dystonia symptoms are in a strong remission, there is no guarantee that that they will stay that way. Just because I am able to do a two-hour intermediate yoga practice one day does not mean I will be at all steady on my feet the next day—or even later that night. While this reality can be disappointing for friends and family who are counting on … [Read more...]
Lately, I've been doing a lot of meditating on whether there comes a time in your life when it's too late to shift gears and move in another direction. While sometimes it can feel like we've gone too far down the wrong the path to turn back now, I have seen so much evidence of people being able to reinvent themselves, to learn and grow, to evolve toward a better version of self. I have long … [Read more...]
I often tag my yoga pics with #PracticeMakesProgress to remind myself that the goal of my practice is NOT perfection. The reason I get on the mat is to express my dedication to healing and healthy living. I get on the mat to Embody My Body, to feel all the sensations that sometimes get buried in the harried activity of day-to-day life, to listen to the messages the body is trying to tell … [Read more...]
My life revolved around gymnastics for much of my childhood, as I proudly grew from a tiny tumblebee of age 4 to a competitive gymnast in adolescence. As the type of athlete who thrived on strength and speed, one of my absolute favorite things was to go whipping through the air backwards. At the request of my friends, I would not-so humbly tumble through a succession of back handsprings and … [Read more...]
Has anyone else been feeling out-of-sorts today leading up to tonight's full moon? Other folks have been describing the unexpected fatigue I woke up to, as if needing to cocoon ourselves for a spell before opening up a fresh pair of wings once again to embrace the sky. As we shift into a new cycle, a new month, it is a perfect time to let go of what no longer serves us. To let go of self-doubt. … [Read more...]
This very special guest post was written by Gene Klein, one of the few surviving survivors of the Holocaust, with his daughter Jill Klein (author of We Got the Water: Tracing My Family's Path Through Auschwitz). Klein was liberated from Auschwitz in 1945. It has been 70 years since I was liberated from a Nazi concentration camp. I was just a teenager then. I’m 87 now. Today, on Holocaust … [Read more...]
Poetry in Motion for World Poetry Day The Journey By Mary Oliver One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice-- though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles. "Mend my life!" each voice cried. But you didn't stop. You knew what you had to do, though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the … [Read more...]
This Friday, we celebrate the onset of spring with the rare astronomical occurrence of an equinox, solar eclipse and supermoon all on the same date. During this symbolic period of rebirth and transformation, we take time to say goodbye to what no longer serves us—harsh winter weather, physical clutter and the limiting thoughts of fear, doubt and regret that may have been holding us back from a … [Read more...]
The doctors of the band N.E.D. (No Evidence of Disease) are turning up the volume on the healing power of music by reaching out to women with gynecologic cancers and raising awareness of these lesser-known diseases. The Emmy Award-winning, self-titled documentary, which follows the six gynecologic oncology surgeons who span the country and the women they treat, aims to educate an even bigger … [Read more...]