by Renée Canada You can hardly go anywhere public these days without seeing hand sanitizers in every corner. They are at the entrance of your local grocery store. They are in museums. Of course, they are on every floor and wing of hospitals. It becomes almost like an addiction: even when you know your hands are clean, if you see that familiar Purell dispenser, you have to get your fix, squirt and … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada We are more than overdue for a change in modern Western medicine. Rather than just focusing on the use of pills to block or slow the symptoms that signal disease, we need to start looking at the root causes of disease. This requires a total revolution in the Western model of medicine. It is time we learn from our neighbors in the East and not just focus on the body, but also the … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada Steven King, one of the modern American masters of storytelling is quoted as saying, “If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time—or the tools—to write. Simple as that.” There is a breed of writers who believe that one should simply focus on jumping immediately to the page and churning through the act and practice of writing. “It's hard for me to believe that people … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada Imagine being driven by the desire for connection and love, yet finding yourself nearly incapable of sustaining either. Some struggling single folks might relate to this feeling in some bittersweet way. Yet for those born with the rare genetic disorder, Williams Syndrome, this is not the material for self-deprecating, bitingly humorous blogs or heartbreak-with-a-happy-ending … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada There are the mothers who ignore the claims that you are fine, despite the out-of-nowhere, repeated falls you’ve just taken and seizure-like jerks in your body, and insist on taking to you to the ER. There are the mothers who are by your side, night and day, during the scariest week of your life in the hospital when your body has decided quite violently that you are no longer its … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada I remember the days of high school lunches consisting purely of those Friendly Sundae Cups. As an high honor roll student all through sophomore year, I would just flash my proudly earned "golden" card, which was basically a free pass to goodies at the school store and treats at lunch, and voila, I would have a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae in hand. I felt like I was doing … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada The brain is a fascinating and complex organ. Not only is it in charge of our body's breathing, heart rate, and other autonomic functions, but it controls our body's balance, posture, and coordination of movement including for vision. Even more fascinating is its role in mood, reasoning, decision-making, and abstract thought. Despite the protection of a hard skull, the brain is a … [Read more...]
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by Renée Canada With the multiple, daily episodes making stone slabs out of my muscles, I decided it was time to start treating my body with more love. A couple weeks ago, I got my first massage in about two years (had it really been that long?) My wonderful bodyworker Deanna, who has grown used to the ebbs and flows of my body over the more than six years that I've been seeing her, was of course … [Read more...]