Yesterday marked the halfway point of my 30 in 30 writing assignment. I began it as a way to bring more structure and discipline to my day and as a way to reconnect with my blog after neglecting it for much of the month of April. So far my assignment has reinforced my desire to write and my love of my blog, and I am right on track with what I was hoping to achieve. But I have recently become aware of a benefit of my assignment that I had not consciously intended. Friday I attended an introduction to meditation class at The Chopra Center. The instructor guided us through the history and … [Read more...]
Are You Aware? Fibromyalgia Awareness Day is May 12
History of Fibromyalgia Awareness Day from the NFA In 1993, May 12 was designated as the International Awareness Day for Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND) by Tom Hennessy, the founder of RESCIND, Inc. (Repeal Existing Stereotypes about Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases), to memorialize the birth date of Florence Nightingale, the English army nurse who inspired the founding of the International Red Cross. Nightingale contracted a paralyzing, CIND-like illness in her mid-thirties and spent the last 50 years of her life virtually bedridden. Despite her … [Read more...]
A Look Into My Holistic Journey
Last week was a busy week. I had a lot of events and appointments related to my Fibromyalgia support group and my own personal Fibromyalgia health plan. It was a great week full a little epiphanies and I am excited to share them with you. On Wednesday my support group had our laughter meditation (referred to as laughter yoga in my previous post) session with Sarito Sun, Laughter Healer and Coach, Hypnotherapist and Meditation Instructor. Now I have to admit I was a little skeptical about the evening. I watched the videos on laughter yoga and I wondered if I would be too self-conscious to … [Read more...]
Fibromyalgia and Qigong
Several weeks ago I wrote about research results which claimed that Qigong can decrease pain levels and improve the quality of life in patients with Fibromyalgia and chronic pain. It took me this long to finally take a class, and after just one session I am convinced Qigong is a compatible and beneficial exercise for me. The Wellness Center I recently joined offers Qigong (pronounced chee-gong) in addition to many other mind and body disciplines. Fay McGrew is the instructor and this is how she describes Qigong: The practice of Qigong is used for stress reduction, to enhance the body's … [Read more...]
Fibromyalgia Pain Breakthrough: Qigong
Last week the Chronicle Herald published an article about the results of a recent Qigong trial done on people living with chronic pain. According to the researcher, Dr. Mary Lynch at Quenn Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, “their quality of life and their level of pain got better. And this is just through a simple series of gentle, dance-like moves.” What is Qigong? From the Qigong Institute: Qigong (chee-gong) is “Energy techniques” or “Energy Skills,” the ancient Chinese internal arts used for over 5000 years to promote health, emotional happiness and spiritual … [Read more...]