Well, I’m guilty – I say that all the time. “I’m so busy…I’m so busy…I’m so busy….” For goodness sake, it’s turning into my mantra!

And yes, I am busy (but then again, who isn’t). Juggling my freelance work with housework, caring for Mumsie, going for various appointments, finding time for Hubby – it all keeps me busy and out of mischief. While working from home has its obvious benefits, I find it requires a lot of discipline on my part, especially if I have a deadline to meet, because that means I have to ignore all the laundry piling up, the layer of dust on the furniture, the carpet that badly needs vacuuming…and believe me, that’s hard because I’m kind of a neat freak.

But I digress (so what else is new)….

As I was rushing about the other day doing my “chicken without a head” bit, I noticed that Mumsie was sitting in her chair, flicking through channels on the television, and looking a little pensive. Just watching her made me realize that lately I’ve been so involved in being busy, busy, busy that I’ve kind of neglected poor Mumsie. Not in a “leave me alone” Greta Garbo kind of way but more in a “I’m too busy to spend time with you” way.

Well, that’s not right. Mumsie’s 92, so any time spent with her is precious since she may not be around for too many more years. Of course, if it were up to me she’d live forever, but she says that sounds far too exhausting! Then again, I might go out tomorrow and get hit by a bus, so there’s no guarantee – anything can happen in this crazy life! The important thing I’ve found is to share it with people you love who love you.

Anyway, the gist of all this rambling is that I want to spend more time with Mumsie. So, with that in mind, I’ve designated a “Mumsie Day” once a week. This doesn’t mean I won’t spend time with her on any other day, but that one day a week will be entirely focused on what she wants to do – go to a movie, play a cribbage game (the few times we’ve played, she’s absolutely creamed me!), visit a friend, go shopping, walk around a garden or plant nursery, have lunch in her favourite restaurant, or just reminisce about the past….

Mumsie’s already decided what she wants to do next week – visit a nearby garden, have lunch and walk around the garden, admiring nature in all her glory.

Sounds like a plan, so the next time the sun shines, we’ll be off and running…can’t wait!

Tags: mother’s day, mommy and daughter, spending time with family, busy life

We began the year building the 1st Virtual World Yoga Conference in 93 days. Yes, that was quite the whirlwind. Then we had to spend time in post-production, rebalancing ourselves from all the wonderful but swift flow.

In June, we began inviting speakers for the next conference, scheduled for February 2011. So it has been a flurry of movement that has not stopped. . . not even a pause.

Some have asked why we are working so hard and for so long?

My answer is the same every time – because it’s such an honour to have created the platform for the masters, experts, and professionals of all these modalities to come together to share their expertise and their experiences. It’s like being in a room where every wall is vibrating with energy and wisdom.

The most important piece to all this gathering is creating the space, the HUB for others to join us in sharing these vibrations. It’s offering the opportunity for everyone to learn and experience for themselves the different dimensions of awareness and consciousness in finding balance.

Tags: virtual conference, health conference, teleconference, annual conference, wellness conference, teleseminar, yoga conference

Now think of a one-celled organism (I know I am). It has essentially two functions: survival and growth (in order to propagate).

When this one-celled organism is exposed to toxins, either environmentally or directly, it will go into survival mode and attempt to escape , mutate, weaken or die. While in this mode, most of its energy is spent on survival and not on growth. On the other hand, in a nurturing environment or with healthy nutrients, most energy is spent on growth.

Now think of your body again but this time imagine it as made up of a really large number of one-celled organisms (I’m picturing it now). From this perspective, review your environment and the things you directly put on or in your cells. Realize that you have influence and responsibility for these little hard working cells. Do you want them in survival mode where they may malfunction, mutate into something like a cancer cell, or die? Or, do you want them in a healthy, nurturing mode for growth and repair?

Sometimes things are out of your control and your cells need to be in survival mode. This could be during a course of chemotherapy, or simply a viral upper respiratory infection.

When you do have to go into survival mode, help the cells do their jobs by resting, taking appropriate nutrition, limiting toxins, and nurturing yourself a lot.

Honor your cell mates. They are working hard to keep you healthy and happy.


Stay tuned for the next blog covering other aspects of my Magical Medical Tour.

Tags: cell, organs, magical medical tour, Dr. Glenn Wollman, Glenn Wollman M.D., nervous system, chemotherapy

As I mentioned in my last blog, Hubby’s cousins from Portugal stayed with us recently – seven in all, which made for a full house (mild understatement)! Hubby hadn’t seen them for quite a few years and I’d never met them, so it was a matter of getting to know one another. They’re all lovely and we got along remarkably well right from the start (just as well, seeing they were staying with us for two weeks).

One morning, I was chatting with one of the cousins, Luiza, who mentioned that she’s a yoga practitioner and enthusiast. Well, that connected us both pretty quickly – and off we went on our own yoga journey.

It turned out she was missing her daily practice as well, so we decided that we would carve some time out in the morning to practice. We agreed to take advantage of the lovely weather by having our yoga sessions in the garden every morning.

So that’s what we did – we met in the garden every morning, unfurled our mats, and went through a restorative yoga routine. Neither of us put any pressure on the other – by the second day, we both seemed to be able to just flow into our practice. After our yoga, we would prepare our cappuccinos and have some breakfast out in the garden – bliss.

A few days later, we were joined by Luiza’s sister, Marianna, a willing “newbie” who, after some initial reluctance, took to yoga like a fish to water! And of course she joined in our post-yoga breakfast, which is when we got to learn more about each other and share memories of their growing up with Hubby, some of which were hysterical (and will be filed away for later use on Hubby)!

What a difference that morning yoga practice made for all of us! It helped Luiza and Marianna shake off the jet lag that had been plaguing them and gave me a renewed energy and enthusiasm. We all felt rejuvenated, energized and ready to go out and have fun!

My newly found friends have gone home now but we’re continuing to keep in touch. Hubby jokes that, considering they’re his cousins, I’m in contact with them more than he is but, thanks to yoga, I feel blessed to have been given yet another gift of two new friendships to cherish.

Tags: yoga connection, yoga in the morning, yoga in garden, yoga daily practice

We have visitors staying with us again – seven in all this time. My sister and her family left a couple of weeks ago and we had just a few days’ break before Hubby’s cousins came. And while they are wonderful and easy going people, there’s still a lot to do and there are times when I’m not sure which “cap” I’m wearing (chauffeur, tourist guide, chef, etc). I also have to take Mumsie into account to make sure she’s not overdoing it or encouraging me to overdo it. As I think I’ve mentioned before, she’s from the old school of hosting, so she thinks it’s only natural for me to add “personal slave” to my already full repertoire. Bless her – she tries her best to help but, at 92, there’s not much fetching and carrying she can do.

I recently realized that all the juggling I’ve been doing this summer has left me in a constant state of imbalance. I haven’t had a chance to go to my yoga class and I miss it – oh boy, do I miss it! As for meditating, I was doing really well for a while but these days I’ll be lucky if I have two minutes to contemplate my navel, never mind meditate for twenty minutes…

Ah…such is life. But you know what? I’m happy – exhausted but happy. There are so many people in this world who have nobody to care about them or share their lives with, whereas I am blessed to have so many loved ones who want to spend time with us.

Yes, my cup is more than half full – but living in an occasional state of imbalance is not necessarily a bad thing. So I’ll just go with the flow right now and find my balance in enjoying the company of loved ones.

Tags: imbalance, meditations, loved ones, daily yoga practice, visitors

Something happened back in April. Something that affected my back. I could not release it for months, no matter what I did. I knew that it meant I had to be still. . . physically still. An energetic force was holding every joint of mine together, like ties binding my muscles, joints, and tendons.

I knew I had to honor it. I was frustrated as I love being physically active. My lower back and sciatic nerves were resonating until I could hardly roll out of bed or pick up my child.

I attempted to stretch it out on an inversion table ,which helped a bit, but there was still no release in the lower back. I could not even do a “Child Pose”. My back just chose not to release in any way.

I finally went to see my chiropractor, who is much more than just a chiropractor to me. She is an amazing individual who works with all the energetic levels of the being.

She was not surprised. She knew how hard I have been working, how determined and focused I am. She confirmed that this was all a manifestation of movement and flow in life. She also could not adjust my lower back as it refused to unlock. She tested my body and the “lock” was actually at the base of my neck. So she had me do the “Child Pose” and while I was holding the pose, she made the adjustment. I immediately felt the energies begin to explode. I continued to move from the Child Pose to the Cat Cow in a constant flow, breathing the breath back into my lower spine and hips.

It’s been a week since then and I am back to my daily practice. Today was a joyous first day. I feel so blessed to be able to enjoy being in the simplest asanas again, and feeling the nurturing breath energize every cell in my body.

Tags: child pose, cat cow, lower back pain, yoga practice, daily yoga, chiropractic, yoga for healing injuries, yoga for healing pain

1. taking a good history,
2. doing an appropriate physical examination, and
3. finally ordering specific laboratory tests and imaging studies to confirm or change our presumptive diagnosis.
We look for SIGNS which are objective, visible and measurable, such as pulse, blood pressure, a rash or lesion or a lab value.

We also need to be very clear on your subjective SYMPTOMS, which are things that you feel but we don’t and we can’t see. This is where communication becomes critical and you play a very important role. Because I can’t feel your pain, it behooves you to give me the best picture possible. Of course, the more KNOWLEDGE you have of your body the more accurate and helpful you can be. Sometimes I have to make a decision over the phone without the benefit of a physical exam or other tests.

So here are some of the important points I will need to know and descriptive examples you can give me to conjure up the best virtual image of your pain. Make it magical and accurate and specific.

ONSET of pain:
When did you first notice it (date and time)?
What activity were you doing when you first noticed it, i.e. eating food, conducting physical activity, following a new dietary supplement, sleeping, etc?

LOCATION including RADIATION:
Where it hurts and where the pain travels to.

DESCRIPTION:
Burning, tearing, cramping, crushing, heaviness, sharp, dull, thunderclap. (This is one where you can be creative)

Things that RELIEVE the pain:
Medication and other treatments, body position, rest, or cessation of specific activity.

Things that AGGRAVATE the pain:
Eating certain foods, body position, exertion, medication, worry.

Accompanying SYMPTOMS and SIGNS:
Nausea, vomiting, sweating, respiratory distress, change in bodily functions and activity, fever.

PRIOR HISTORY of a SIMILAR PAIN:
Did you ever have the pain before, with or without a diagnosis? What was done and what was the outcome?

A GRAPH plotting the onset, course, duration and intensity can also be most helpful.

Imagine the vertical side of a graph as the intensity of the pain (scale using 0 [no pain] at the bottom up to 10 [worst pain ever] at the top.

On the horizontal line is the time, which will show the duration and frequency of each episode of the pain. The measurement will be based on how long the pain has been there. If, for example, it started instantly and was a 10 in one second ,the line would go almost straight up. If the pain started very slowly and gradually over days went from a 3 to an 8, the line would coincide. If episodes are frequent, intense, and of short duration, the line will look like multiple spikes.

I don’t really want to feel your pain but I do want to help you diagnose and resolve it. Participate in your own healing by communicating accurate, pertinent information.

Stay tuned for the next blog covering other aspects of my Magical Medical Tour:

Tags: pain, magical medical tour, Dr. Glenn Wollman, Glenn Wollman M.D., symptoms, livingsuite, diagnose, scale your pain

I know, I know – we can all get upset about things said or not said at any given time, but some people manage to shrug it off and forget about it. Me? Not so much. I mean, I remember something insignificant that my sister did to me when we were kids, for goodness sake, and I still feel that twinge of a grudge…

Unhealthy? Of course – but until recently I didn’t realize how much it has affected my emotional and physical health over the years.

That’s where Meditation comes in. Now that I’ve started meditating again, certain unpleasant and long-suppressed memories are surfacing. It’s funny but I don’t recall this happening when I first started meditating years ago, but I didn’t take it all that seriously either – it was more along the lines of “let’s just throw in a few minutes of meditation today” sort of thing.

These days, I choose to take my meditation far more seriously. I make sure that I meditate every morning – and that’s when all these memories start to surface. The funny thing is that they don’t make me feel bad or angry anymore. It’s as though I’m expelling all the grudges as I exhale…and when I’m through with my meditation, I feel wonderful – refreshed, renewed and invigorated.

I’m learning to let go – and it’s an amazing feeling.

Tags: meditation, healing the emotion, emotional health, meditation everyday, meditation in the morning

This whole month of July has just swept by, filled with the illusions of life that surrounded every situation and moment. The illusions have flowed like dreams, from one scenario to another. Like a river as the water trips and falls over stones and boulders, never knowing where it is going to end up. That was my month of July.

Still moving forward with many “Celebrations of Life.” The exodus continues. The birthdays and marriages also continue. So many events, so little time.

My goal is to stay focused on completions in the month of August. Completions that will continue to move life and business forward. It’s all moving fast and furiously so I might as well steer it in a direction that will continue to keep it flowing smoothly.

I am so grateful for my acupuncture and chiropractic treatments, which I only do at most once a month or so. This makes all the difference in supporting me with clarity and balance. Of course, our walks every morning are also a must to ground that family time together as well.

Tags: balance of my life, acupuncture, chiropractic treatment, family time, flow of my daily life, celebration of life

I like the blank pages bound with a beautiful cover. It holds potential. It’s unencumbered with rules, responsibility and “shoulds.” It’s filled instead with “can-be’s.”

We all need a pathless place to explore—like a coloring book without lines, an empty book, a blank canvas, a walk through the uncharted woods.

Maybe the infamous mid-life crisis comes when we deprive ourselves of a space to just create. When we keep reaching outward for satisfaction – a fancy new car, a thrilling young relationship – we miss the creative inner spark that is the sustaining, interesting and intriguing juice of life. We ignore the capacity to be led from inner motivation versus outer expectations. It’s not easy to meet the blank page; it’s scary and at times cumbersome. But it’s infinitely more satisfying over time and is a consistent validation of who you are. The satisfaction lasts longer than the fleeing high of the shiny new thing used as a distraction.

If you looked at your day today, would you find space for a blank page? Is there room in your mind for creative expression without boundaries? What would you do with that space if found?

Tags: blank page, mid-life crisis, creative expression, my life