Kasey Cox
For nearly the past decade, the following books have been sitting on my shelf: Taking Control of TMJ: Your Total Wellness Program for Recovering from Temporomandibular Joint Pain, Whiplash, Fibromyalgia, and Related Disorders, by Robert O. Uppgaard, D.D.S.; TMJ: The Self-Help Program, by John Taddey, D.D.S.; and Fibromyalgia and Chronic Myofascial Pain, by Devin Starlanyl and Mary Ellen Copeland. As you may have deduced, I suffer from chronic jaw, face, neck and back pain. So, from time to time, when my neck or face is especially troubling me, I get one of these books down, begin reading about exercises and treatment options and muscle insertions, and … zzzzzzzzzz. The next thing I know, I wake up, drooling on the book, with a giant crick in my neck.
While my jaw problems may be a little more unusual, I’m certainly not alone in my complaints about neck, shoulder and back pain. As we spend more time on the computer and phone, our work days taken up by long drives and even longer lists of emails in the inbox, our collective shoulders can handle less weight. (And you thought it was just the economy weighing on you.) The truth is, chronic pain is not just an annoyance: it’s distracting, fatiguing, depressing. If only we could “fix it”, we could live happier, more productive lives, both at work and at home. Like countless advertised products in our society, many books (as well as exercise tapes, doctors, therapists, classes, supplements, and spiritual rituals) promise quick relief. I’ve tried several of them; you may have, too, to varying degrees of success. As for me, I’m still looking for longer-term solutions.
When DiaMedica Press recently sent me a review copy of their new book, The Neck Pain Handbook: Your Guide to Understanding and Treating Neck Pain, by Grant Cooper, M.D. and Alex Visco, M.D., I felt fairly skeptical. I’m pleased to tell you, however, that this slim but efficient volume is NOT just another snorefest, nor is it “Neck Pain for Dummies”. Both of these physicians specialize in spine and musculoskeletal medicine. In their preface, they explain how they decide to co-author this book to address the increasing number of patients coming to them with neck pain, whether occasional nuisance or debilitating presence.
In a mere 126 pages, divided into four main sections, these docs cover learning the basics about the neck – including the nattily-titled chapters “Learn to Appreciate Your Neck” and “When Good Necks Go Bad” – how to care for your neck, when it’s time to see a doctor, and various treatments available. They advocate a more conservative approach first, including waiting before getting an MRI, unless you have one or more of the “red-flag” symptoms they list, which might indicate a much more serious ailment, such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, or severely impinged nerves. Drs. Cooper and Visco list some of those red-flag symptoms not to scare people, but in order that the reader, too, may determine when it’s time to insist on more attention from the doctor.
Otherwise, the chapters on taking care of your neck include such keywords as posture, computer work station, stretching and strengthening exercises, Thera-Bands, movement, posture, exercise, walking, and posture. The drawings of key neck muscles and joints, as well as photos of people sitting at their desks, talking on the phone, or doing the recommended exercises are helpful. Discussions about trigger points, injections, X-rays, and the efficacy of oral medications and/or supplements add to the text without bogging the reader down in too much medical jargon.
The author’s bottom line, and conclusion to the book, gives me a lot of hope – the reminder that neck pain is usually very responsive to treatment, over time and with the correct diagnosis, AND the reminder that above all, I must respect my neck. Forget the current rude saying, “Talk to the hand.” My new mantra is “respect the neck.” Or, “free your neck, and the rest will follow.”
Hobo says he enjoys sticking his neck out for his friends, family, and fans. If you’d like to stick your nose, or your neck, into Hobo’s old business, check out his archived articles at his blog, http://frommyshelf.blogspot.com. Stop by the store this summer when Hobo’s around, and he’ll tell you exactly where he likes his neck scratched. Look for Hobo’s new line of fashion neckties, available at Garrison’s Men’s Shop this fall!
Showing posts with label yoga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yoga. Show all posts
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Cup Size, or don't get down in your cups....
Kasey Cox
I’ve signed up for the Yoga Challenge at Main Street Yoga this April, the purpose of which is to encourage people to increase the amount of their yoga practice, to see how many benefits this practice adds to your life. I signed up for Belly Dance classes, meeting Tuesday nights in Wellsboro. On facebook, I signed up for a “virtual rally” of sorts, sponsored by the American Heart Association: April 8th was to be “National Start Walking Day!” and I was to be in attendance, sneakers at the ready.
I’m 36 years old and I already have chronic neck and jaw pain that will probably only worsen with age. My doctor tells me that exercise will help increase my energy, improve the quality of my sleep, and help me with anxiety, depression, and irritability. I always feel great when I do yoga, or go for a long walk under a blue sky or in a warm wind.
Nevertheless, in spite of all these good intentions and wonderful reasons to get into a regular exercise routine, my participation can only be described as sporadic, at best.
With all the exercise opportunities out there, you’d think I’d be able to find one I can stick with on a regular basis. Sometimes, though, the sheer number of classes, and books, and experts, and equipment, and advice, and blabbety-blab-blah is what actually gets in my way (or so I’ll rationalize). In looking for something simple, portable, easy to learn, easy to do, easy to keep doing, I am pleased to report my discovery of the “Morning Cup” series. The encouraging subtitle on each book in this series begins with “one 15-minute routine for a lifetime of …” stuff I want, like “health & wellness” or “strength & stability”.
These little books feature writing with a friendly, casual tone that is nonetheless informative. They are beautifully-illustrated, hardcover for durability, with a spiral binding for ease of use (fold it over; lay it flat, while following the exercise or pictures). For the great price of $12.95, the reader gets a lovely book of 80 or so pages, and a CD to listen to as one becomes more familiar with the suggested routine. This “Morning Cup” series includes “A Morning Cup of Balance”, Stretching, Strengthening, Meditation, Massage, Yoga, Tai Chi, Qigong, and Pilates, as well as four different devotionals.
The “Morning Cup of Prayer” subseries has books focusing on specific groups, such as mothers or friends. I am already imagining not just the possibilities – as I do when I sign up for a class – but the wonderful probabilities of my spending 15 minutes each morning learning one of these routines for myself. Furthermore, I can’t wait to give some of these as gifts! (Sorry, Mom, I just ruined the surprise for Mother’s Day, unless you happen to miss my column this week!)
I decided to first investigate first “A Morning Cup of Yoga” by Jane Goad Trechsel, since I can’t seem to get myself organized enough to attend yoga class. Jane’s introduction is inspiring, since she reveals that, although a long-time practitioner of yoga, she did not begin training to become a yoga teacher until she was in her mid- to late-fifties – as she says, she was twice the age of most of the people enrolled in the teacher training class. This training, besides teaching her how to be a teacher, taught her how to be gentle with herself, especially in facing immense challenges.
I love her perspective: instead of telling herself that a task will be too difficult, she now asks herself, “what part of this can I do?” In asking this, she allows herself to remain open to experiences that may have once seemed impossible. So, with this introduction, I find myself more open to learning from this book, as from a friend, and that’s before I even get into the routine that Jane suggests establishing.
My experience so far with Jane Trechsel’s “One 15-Minute Routine” feels pleasant, simple, and manageable, mirroring the approach taken by Richard Hittleman’s classic book that introduced yoga to the masses in the 1970’s – “Richard Hittleman’s Yoga: the 28-Day Exercise Plan”. Teaching one pose a day, for 28 days straight gave people a firm foundation of exercises to use in beginning to construct a yoga practice. I think Treschel’s book takes this one step further with colorful pictures, the audio CD, and her personal testimony of how she didn’t change to do yoga, but how doing yoga changed her. I’m looking forward to testing out other titles in this series. Now, where did I put my tea kettle?
Cat-cow pose, or downward dog? Strengthen or stretch? Hobo’s favorite pose is re-pose; too bad there’s not “A Morning Cup of Sleep”. Maybe that will be Hobo’s next book, a self-help guide to getting good rest, since he’s an expert. Check out his advice in other areas in his archived past column, at his blog: frommyshelf.blogspot.com or write him with some of your own, at frommyshelf@epix.net
I’ve signed up for the Yoga Challenge at Main Street Yoga this April, the purpose of which is to encourage people to increase the amount of their yoga practice, to see how many benefits this practice adds to your life. I signed up for Belly Dance classes, meeting Tuesday nights in Wellsboro. On facebook, I signed up for a “virtual rally” of sorts, sponsored by the American Heart Association: April 8th was to be “National Start Walking Day!” and I was to be in attendance, sneakers at the ready.
I’m 36 years old and I already have chronic neck and jaw pain that will probably only worsen with age. My doctor tells me that exercise will help increase my energy, improve the quality of my sleep, and help me with anxiety, depression, and irritability. I always feel great when I do yoga, or go for a long walk under a blue sky or in a warm wind.
Nevertheless, in spite of all these good intentions and wonderful reasons to get into a regular exercise routine, my participation can only be described as sporadic, at best.
With all the exercise opportunities out there, you’d think I’d be able to find one I can stick with on a regular basis. Sometimes, though, the sheer number of classes, and books, and experts, and equipment, and advice, and blabbety-blab-blah is what actually gets in my way (or so I’ll rationalize). In looking for something simple, portable, easy to learn, easy to do, easy to keep doing, I am pleased to report my discovery of the “Morning Cup” series. The encouraging subtitle on each book in this series begins with “one 15-minute routine for a lifetime of …” stuff I want, like “health & wellness” or “strength & stability”.
These little books feature writing with a friendly, casual tone that is nonetheless informative. They are beautifully-illustrated, hardcover for durability, with a spiral binding for ease of use (fold it over; lay it flat, while following the exercise or pictures). For the great price of $12.95, the reader gets a lovely book of 80 or so pages, and a CD to listen to as one becomes more familiar with the suggested routine. This “Morning Cup” series includes “A Morning Cup of Balance”, Stretching, Strengthening, Meditation, Massage, Yoga, Tai Chi, Qigong, and Pilates, as well as four different devotionals.
The “Morning Cup of Prayer” subseries has books focusing on specific groups, such as mothers or friends. I am already imagining not just the possibilities – as I do when I sign up for a class – but the wonderful probabilities of my spending 15 minutes each morning learning one of these routines for myself. Furthermore, I can’t wait to give some of these as gifts! (Sorry, Mom, I just ruined the surprise for Mother’s Day, unless you happen to miss my column this week!)
I decided to first investigate first “A Morning Cup of Yoga” by Jane Goad Trechsel, since I can’t seem to get myself organized enough to attend yoga class. Jane’s introduction is inspiring, since she reveals that, although a long-time practitioner of yoga, she did not begin training to become a yoga teacher until she was in her mid- to late-fifties – as she says, she was twice the age of most of the people enrolled in the teacher training class. This training, besides teaching her how to be a teacher, taught her how to be gentle with herself, especially in facing immense challenges.
I love her perspective: instead of telling herself that a task will be too difficult, she now asks herself, “what part of this can I do?” In asking this, she allows herself to remain open to experiences that may have once seemed impossible. So, with this introduction, I find myself more open to learning from this book, as from a friend, and that’s before I even get into the routine that Jane suggests establishing.
My experience so far with Jane Trechsel’s “One 15-Minute Routine” feels pleasant, simple, and manageable, mirroring the approach taken by Richard Hittleman’s classic book that introduced yoga to the masses in the 1970’s – “Richard Hittleman’s Yoga: the 28-Day Exercise Plan”. Teaching one pose a day, for 28 days straight gave people a firm foundation of exercises to use in beginning to construct a yoga practice. I think Treschel’s book takes this one step further with colorful pictures, the audio CD, and her personal testimony of how she didn’t change to do yoga, but how doing yoga changed her. I’m looking forward to testing out other titles in this series. Now, where did I put my tea kettle?
Cat-cow pose, or downward dog? Strengthen or stretch? Hobo’s favorite pose is re-pose; too bad there’s not “A Morning Cup of Sleep”. Maybe that will be Hobo’s next book, a self-help guide to getting good rest, since he’s an expert. Check out his advice in other areas in his archived past column, at his blog: frommyshelf.blogspot.com or write him with some of your own, at frommyshelf@epix.net
Monday, January 28, 2008
Breathe easy into 2008
Kasey Cox
Too often, once the merriment and bustle of December has passed, the long winter months seem to loom before us. Instead of seeing New Year’s Resolutions as the grim tightening of the belt on pants that already feel too tight from holiday celebrating, I encourage all of us to see New Year “Resolutions” as a promise to ourselves: this is how I will take good care of myself and the people I love in the coming year. Think of it not as a deep breath so you can cinch in that belt, but, instead, a deep, cleansing breath. Like crisp winter air on a beautiful walk in the woods, or at the top of the ski run. Like the breath you take before you laugh. Like the breathing you practice in meditation or yoga.
To help you get started with this breath, I recommend “Babar’s Yoga for Elephants”. Whimsical and practical, Babar explains how yoga has helped him, as well as his wife, Queen Celeste, and all their citizens. There’s a pullout poster with 15 postures, all detailed further in the book, and instructions for breathing exercises. Hopefully we needn’t worry much about our trunks getting in the way. If yoga sounds too much like something only young, really bendy people can do, Babar will set you at ease – but long-time practitioners will enjoy it, too. For those considering yoga or wanting to learn more about it, I relate this tidbit to you: my sister (Hatha and Ashtanga-certified yoga teacher) gave my parents the “KISS Guide to Yoga” when she first began to get serious about her practice and her certification. More friendly than any “Dummies” or “Idiots” books – the last “S” stands for “series”, not “stupid”, as in the original mnemonic – this wonderful book introduces some of the history of yoga, its various forms, the meditation part, the nutrition guidelines suggested in yoga practices, and then focuses the majority of the book on wonderful poses, complete with color photos and explanations.
Now, if your breathing is becoming panicked every time you look at your bank statements, perhaps budgeting help will usher in slower, more regular breathing while you teach yourself slower, more regulated spending, saving, and bill paying. Include at least one of these books in your budget planning: “America’s Cheapest Family Gets You Right On the Money”, by Steve and Annette Economides (yes, that is their real family name!). “Your Money or Your Life”, by Joe Dominiquez and Vicki Robin. “The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Living on a Budget”, by Peter and Jennifer Sander. In each of these books, you’ll find certain suggestions that don’t fit for you, that seem extreme, hard-handed, or even downright wrong. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, though – overall, each of these books offers helpful advice, practical suggestions, a beneficial and perhaps very necessary change of perspective for the reader.
The Economides husband and wife team have been featured numerous times on TV and radio talk shows, most notably Good Morning, America. Woven through the book is their personal story of raising five children while still paying off a mortgage, taking family vacations, and eating healthy. The book itself is very efficiently and practically laid out, with chapters on groceries and meal planning, budgeting, saving, and big projects. The advice is gentle but firm, clearly written, humorous and inspirational. The best part is the options given at the end of each section, allowing you to choose just how frugal you will be. As an important contrast, “Your Money or Your Life” differs from “America’s Cheapest Family” in that Dominiquez and Robin encourage the reader to examine their money attitudes, not just their specific actions.
If you’re looking for motivation to get out in the crisp winter air, try Stackpole Books’ “Discover Nature in Winter: Things to Know and Things to Do”? Part of a fantastic series, including “Discover Nature in the Rocks” and “Discover Nature in the Garden”, these books give literally hundreds of suggestions for outdoor activities, as well as explanations for the things you may find. Although the books are short on color photos, they are perfect for families and for teachers. Supply or make your own “color views” on this one, just by being there, or by taking along your own notebook to draw, or camera to capture your findings.
So, grab a book, a New Year’s party hat, and take a deep breath. Welcome to 2008!
Respire or inspire? Hobo has the answers and wants to hear your opinions, at frommyshelf@epix.net. Get inspired by Hobo’s own stories, archived at http://frommyshelf.blogspot.com
Too often, once the merriment and bustle of December has passed, the long winter months seem to loom before us. Instead of seeing New Year’s Resolutions as the grim tightening of the belt on pants that already feel too tight from holiday celebrating, I encourage all of us to see New Year “Resolutions” as a promise to ourselves: this is how I will take good care of myself and the people I love in the coming year. Think of it not as a deep breath so you can cinch in that belt, but, instead, a deep, cleansing breath. Like crisp winter air on a beautiful walk in the woods, or at the top of the ski run. Like the breath you take before you laugh. Like the breathing you practice in meditation or yoga.
To help you get started with this breath, I recommend “Babar’s Yoga for Elephants”. Whimsical and practical, Babar explains how yoga has helped him, as well as his wife, Queen Celeste, and all their citizens. There’s a pullout poster with 15 postures, all detailed further in the book, and instructions for breathing exercises. Hopefully we needn’t worry much about our trunks getting in the way. If yoga sounds too much like something only young, really bendy people can do, Babar will set you at ease – but long-time practitioners will enjoy it, too. For those considering yoga or wanting to learn more about it, I relate this tidbit to you: my sister (Hatha and Ashtanga-certified yoga teacher) gave my parents the “KISS Guide to Yoga” when she first began to get serious about her practice and her certification. More friendly than any “Dummies” or “Idiots” books – the last “S” stands for “series”, not “stupid”, as in the original mnemonic – this wonderful book introduces some of the history of yoga, its various forms, the meditation part, the nutrition guidelines suggested in yoga practices, and then focuses the majority of the book on wonderful poses, complete with color photos and explanations.
Now, if your breathing is becoming panicked every time you look at your bank statements, perhaps budgeting help will usher in slower, more regular breathing while you teach yourself slower, more regulated spending, saving, and bill paying. Include at least one of these books in your budget planning: “America’s Cheapest Family Gets You Right On the Money”, by Steve and Annette Economides (yes, that is their real family name!). “Your Money or Your Life”, by Joe Dominiquez and Vicki Robin. “The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Living on a Budget”, by Peter and Jennifer Sander. In each of these books, you’ll find certain suggestions that don’t fit for you, that seem extreme, hard-handed, or even downright wrong. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, though – overall, each of these books offers helpful advice, practical suggestions, a beneficial and perhaps very necessary change of perspective for the reader.
The Economides husband and wife team have been featured numerous times on TV and radio talk shows, most notably Good Morning, America. Woven through the book is their personal story of raising five children while still paying off a mortgage, taking family vacations, and eating healthy. The book itself is very efficiently and practically laid out, with chapters on groceries and meal planning, budgeting, saving, and big projects. The advice is gentle but firm, clearly written, humorous and inspirational. The best part is the options given at the end of each section, allowing you to choose just how frugal you will be. As an important contrast, “Your Money or Your Life” differs from “America’s Cheapest Family” in that Dominiquez and Robin encourage the reader to examine their money attitudes, not just their specific actions.
If you’re looking for motivation to get out in the crisp winter air, try Stackpole Books’ “Discover Nature in Winter: Things to Know and Things to Do”? Part of a fantastic series, including “Discover Nature in the Rocks” and “Discover Nature in the Garden”, these books give literally hundreds of suggestions for outdoor activities, as well as explanations for the things you may find. Although the books are short on color photos, they are perfect for families and for teachers. Supply or make your own “color views” on this one, just by being there, or by taking along your own notebook to draw, or camera to capture your findings.
So, grab a book, a New Year’s party hat, and take a deep breath. Welcome to 2008!
Respire or inspire? Hobo has the answers and wants to hear your opinions, at frommyshelf@epix.net. Get inspired by Hobo’s own stories, archived at http://frommyshelf.blogspot.com
Friday, November 23, 2007
Peace, Comfort & Joy
Kasey Cox
No, I haven’t been spending too much time looking at holiday greeting cards. Although I did start putting up Christmas lights in the windows last night, I’m not in a hurry to begin the busy-ness of the holidays. In times (thankfully) past, I have not been well during November and December. The stress, the travel, the added hustle & bustle, and the encroaching darkness have often made this time of year more difficult than joyful.
So, what have I been doing these past couple of weeks to ease my way into the holidays? After my work is done for the day, I climb into bed, snuggle down with Hobo, turn out the lights, and listen to Elizabeth Gilbert tell me her story. I have indulged and soothed myself with the audio version of the best-selling memoir “Eat, Pray, Love.”
It’s unusual nowadays to find an audio book that is read by the actual author of the book. The trend now is to have award-winning actors give us their voiced versions, of everything from Thomas Hardy’s “The Return of the Native” (delectably delivered by Alan Rickman) to Dr. Seuss favorites like “Horton Hears a Who” (served with a smile by Dustin Hoffman). And there’s no denying, these audios are treats. However, no one knows the “voice” of a story better than the one who wrote it in the first place – especially when it is a collection of stories from her own life.
So we come to Liz Gilbert’s travellogue/collection of essays/memoir. Liz found herself, as she approached her 35th birthday, with a seemingly perfect life. Her books had twice been finalists for such prestigious awards as the PEN/Faulkner Award and the National Book Award. Gilbert and her husband had just purchased a beautiful house. Her family and friends kept waiting for her to announce a pregnancy. Nevertheless, after a kind of mid-life crisis on her part, combined with problems in their marriage, Gilbert found herself dealing with a nasty divorce, life-threatening depression, and huge financial woes.
In the introduction to the rest of her tale, Gilbert recounts this time in her life with sensitivity, rueful insight, and aplomb. She refuses to drag her husband over the coals, gracefully declining to give the kind of lurid personal details we find all-too-often in contemporary memoirs. Elizabeth Gilbert tastefully explains how, in writing this book, she chose to keep the story of the disintegration of her marriage discrete, since it involves another human being, one whom she had deeply loved. Gilbert’s writing about herself – her thoughts, her idiosyncracies, her faults, her bodily functions – is open and humorous, but I really respect how her story is not told at others’ expense.
At the end of her bottoming out, Liz Gilbert did what so many of us fantasize about, but in reality, are too frightened to do. She, too, was terrified. But she left anyway. To heal, to learn, to explore, to find herself – Elizabeth Gilbert sold her stuff, quit her job, and moved away for a year. She decided to live for 3 or 4 months in each of these countries – Italy, India, and Indonesia. In each place, she hoped to dedicate herself to an aspect of health, in a place in the world that was well-known for that particular piece. In Italy, she nurtured herself with pleasure, eating and walking and looking at beautiful things. Next, she went to India, to practice devotion, discipline, and spirituality in the ashram of the yoga master who mentored her. Lastly, she went to Bali, in Indonesia, to find balance. Along with balance, she found love again.
Listening to Liz Gilbert tell me pieces of her story every night as I relax toward sleep, I shared in the comfort of feeding oneself well -and feeding oneself in many ways; of partaking in silence and calming one’s spirit; and of striving for balance and purpose in life. What better way to usher in this season?
No, I haven’t been spending too much time looking at holiday greeting cards. Although I did start putting up Christmas lights in the windows last night, I’m not in a hurry to begin the busy-ness of the holidays. In times (thankfully) past, I have not been well during November and December. The stress, the travel, the added hustle & bustle, and the encroaching darkness have often made this time of year more difficult than joyful.
So, what have I been doing these past couple of weeks to ease my way into the holidays? After my work is done for the day, I climb into bed, snuggle down with Hobo, turn out the lights, and listen to Elizabeth Gilbert tell me her story. I have indulged and soothed myself with the audio version of the best-selling memoir “Eat, Pray, Love.”
It’s unusual nowadays to find an audio book that is read by the actual author of the book. The trend now is to have award-winning actors give us their voiced versions, of everything from Thomas Hardy’s “The Return of the Native” (delectably delivered by Alan Rickman) to Dr. Seuss favorites like “Horton Hears a Who” (served with a smile by Dustin Hoffman). And there’s no denying, these audios are treats. However, no one knows the “voice” of a story better than the one who wrote it in the first place – especially when it is a collection of stories from her own life.
So we come to Liz Gilbert’s travellogue/collection of essays/memoir. Liz found herself, as she approached her 35th birthday, with a seemingly perfect life. Her books had twice been finalists for such prestigious awards as the PEN/Faulkner Award and the National Book Award. Gilbert and her husband had just purchased a beautiful house. Her family and friends kept waiting for her to announce a pregnancy. Nevertheless, after a kind of mid-life crisis on her part, combined with problems in their marriage, Gilbert found herself dealing with a nasty divorce, life-threatening depression, and huge financial woes.
In the introduction to the rest of her tale, Gilbert recounts this time in her life with sensitivity, rueful insight, and aplomb. She refuses to drag her husband over the coals, gracefully declining to give the kind of lurid personal details we find all-too-often in contemporary memoirs. Elizabeth Gilbert tastefully explains how, in writing this book, she chose to keep the story of the disintegration of her marriage discrete, since it involves another human being, one whom she had deeply loved. Gilbert’s writing about herself – her thoughts, her idiosyncracies, her faults, her bodily functions – is open and humorous, but I really respect how her story is not told at others’ expense.
At the end of her bottoming out, Liz Gilbert did what so many of us fantasize about, but in reality, are too frightened to do. She, too, was terrified. But she left anyway. To heal, to learn, to explore, to find herself – Elizabeth Gilbert sold her stuff, quit her job, and moved away for a year. She decided to live for 3 or 4 months in each of these countries – Italy, India, and Indonesia. In each place, she hoped to dedicate herself to an aspect of health, in a place in the world that was well-known for that particular piece. In Italy, she nurtured herself with pleasure, eating and walking and looking at beautiful things. Next, she went to India, to practice devotion, discipline, and spirituality in the ashram of the yoga master who mentored her. Lastly, she went to Bali, in Indonesia, to find balance. Along with balance, she found love again.
Listening to Liz Gilbert tell me pieces of her story every night as I relax toward sleep, I shared in the comfort of feeding oneself well -and feeding oneself in many ways; of partaking in silence and calming one’s spirit; and of striving for balance and purpose in life. What better way to usher in this season?
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