With an estimated 1.6 million people living with either Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis in the United States, there is increasing need to research safe and effective ways to manage debilitating symptoms that–pardon the expression–hit patients right in the gut. Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis are considered the two main types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and they manifest differently … [Read more...]
Dr. Joaquin Farias, a leading specialist in treating dystonia, has been helping people with this debilitating movement disorder to recover control over their brains, bodies and lives for more than 20 years. As a featured speaker at the 2018 international conference on Movement: Brain, Body and Cognition, held July 27-29 at Harvard University School of Medicine, he gave an enlightening talk that … [Read more...]
It's been a tremendously empowering and emotionally stirring week of Sounds True's The Healing Summit. At the start, Peter Levine, PhD, coached listeners on how to "tune in and drop into" the body–through the gentle presence, compassionate awareness and rhythmic movement of Somatic Experiencing–in order to dislodge the "tremendous compression of survival energy" locked into the physical form by … [Read more...]
When what to wear while doing yoga, my number one concern is comfort. If yoga pants or shorts grip my gut too tightly, they limit my range of motion in forward folds, and if they are riding up my crotch or straining against my thighs, it impedes my extension in lunges and splits. Breathability of the material is my second big concern. When I flow through a very active yoga practice, I definitely … [Read more...]
With an extremely active mind and the constant distraction of chronic pain, for many years I felt that the practice of meditation was off-limits to me. Coming to so-called quiet standstill released a seemingly endless flow of thoughts upon thoughts. And when I wasn’t struggling to silence those, I was coaxing my defiant body to release tension and pain from tight and spasming muscles to slip into … [Read more...]
Cynthia Toussaint was a promising, 21-year-old ballerina when she was struck by a seemingly simple hamstring injury that ultimately led to a lifetime of widespread pain. After being a performer for so many years, Toussaint was accustomed to the bright lights and action of the stage. Now she would have to learn to manage the burning heat and immobility of chronic pain. “I had just had gotten a … [Read more...]
As temperatures drop here in the northeast United States and more of us develop the sniffles, the cold and flu season is definitely on the mind of a lot of folks. Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of speaking with entertainer and fellow “lupie” Nick Cannon about the flu and his partnership with the makers of TheraFlu® and the national nonprofit organization, Families Fighting Flu. Cannon is now … [Read more...]