It has been nearly two months since I started my yoga teacher training program and I have learned so much. The Benefits: Yoga heals. A recent study on yoga for fibromyalgia conducted at Oregon Health & Science University confirms what I have been experiencing since beginning my yoga practice 18 months ago - "yoga appears to assist in combating a number of serious fibromyalgia symptoms, including pain, fatigue, stiffness, poor sleep, depression, poor memory, anxiety and poor balance. All of these improvements were shown to be not only statistically but also clinically significant, meaning … [Read more...]
Why I Keep Showing Up
There are times in this journey of mine that I am simply tired and depleted, and I have brief moments of defeat when I think - "What is this all about? Why do I bother? Who am I kidding?" Sometimes they happen when, after several days of feeling good, I wake up in the kind of pain that is impossible to reason. Or they happen when I reflect on how long I have been sick, and how long it is going to take me to heal. Sometimes they happen for no specific reason at all. I just get tired of the work, tired of the journey, and I just want to stop. But I don't stop - for too long anyway. And … [Read more...]
What is Your Voice Telling You?
I was standing in my favorite Starbucks last week. My mood was heavy and pensive - wondering about my current path and recent choices, lamenting my time away from FibroHaven - and then I read this on the cover of a beautiful book of quotations: Throughout your life there's a voice that only you can hear. It's a call to the true value of your life - a call to make a difference that only you can make. If you never hear it, something magical will be lost. But if you hear it and heed it, then your life will become a wonderful romance and adventure. Now is the time. Jump in. Make a splash. Change … [Read more...]
The Potential of Today and the Promise of Tomorrow
I am thankful. I am thankful for my smart, funny and charming husband. I am thankful for the years he selflessly held us together while never making me feel inadequate. I am thankful for his companionship, his commitment to our partnership, and his unending loyalty, support, and love. I am thankful for my parents. For all the words of wisdom and encouragement when I need them most. For instilling in me the belief that there is nothing I can't do. For loving me unconditionally. For letting me find my own way, but always being there for me when I need them. I am thankful for my sis. … [Read more...]