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...]
I am super jazzed to announce that I will be attending the Accessible Yoga Conference in NYC at the Integral Yoga Institute NYC on May 19-21 of this year! The aim of the Accessible Yoga Conference is to provide education, supportive resources and community for those who seek to increase the accessibility of yoga to meet the needs of people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, seniors, and … [Read more...]
Recently, I posed the following question to my friends and family: So what’s menopause really like? What I found was that the breadth of experiences during “The Change” is as diverse as my friends’ personalities. “Sailing through it,” one friend said. “It's effing hot,” another added. Ah, yes, hot flashes! That and weight gain seem to be the most common menopausal complaints of women in my … [Read more...]
Tai Chi and Qigong practitioners from all over the world will be celebrating World Tai Chi & Qigong Day on Saturday, April 26. This is the sixteenth year of the global event dedicated to these healing arts, which always takes place on the last Saturday of the month of April at 10 a.m. local time. More than 80 countries will participate in this special event, which educates the public about … [Read more...]
A new study suggests more evidence that yoga is good for your heart. Researchers from the University of Kansas Medical Center, aware of the significant benefit of yoga on cardiovascular health, studied the affect of the practice on atrial fibrillation (AF). They found that yoga reduced symptomatic AF episodes. According to the study report, AF is the most common cardiac arrhythmia. An arrythmia … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada When I was in the clock-ticking years of my late 20s, I happily watched a number of my friends and former classmates become mothers and fathers. Ironically, while I was probably expected to be the first of my group of friends to have children, it was turning out that I would be among that last, even after those friends who had vehemently declared they would never be parents. Yet … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada Tonight, while brushing my teeth, I slammed down on my derriere for the umpteenth time in the last year. My head fell back until I was laying flat on my back, eyes closing as I temporarily lost consciousness. When I came to, I crawled back to my room. Each movement hurt, as I swayed unsteadily, my knees, back and ribs aching from previous falls and my consciousness once again … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada Last week, I finally took the big step of firing my rheumatologist. I decided to stop the chemo that I've been on for four months with no significant improvement on my dystonia or the autoimmune diseases we thought were causing it. There had to be a better alternative. After our recent appointment, I told my neurologist that I wanted to try treat my disease naturally. After … [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 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...]