What exactly is Self-Care? Years ago I used the term, Self-Management Health Behaviors to identify everything I did to enhance my health given that I was diagnosed with a chronic, progressive neuromuscular disease. Some of the…
You know when you have a progressive disease sometimes it seems like the next step — the new normal — is dramatic? It seems to come out of nowhere…whether it’s your mobility, your energy, breathing…
I am so grateful for the move I made to Northern California in 1989…even if it included experiencing the Loma Prieta earthquake. This is really one of the most inclusive areas in our country, especially…
That Peaceful Easy Feeling
- March 24, 2018
- Tagged as: massage, meditation, nature, self-care, silence
To celebrate my birthday, one of my requests was a day at the spa. Not just any spa but this Zen-style spa out in the woods about an hour and a half from where I…
My mother was diagnosed with myotonic dystrophy (DM) circa 1990 before there was a DNA test available. When my parents told me of this diagnosis they never mentioned it was a genetic condition nor that…
We’re a week into the New Year. As I understand, it’s still acceptable to talk about the new year and even make resolutions throughout the month of January. There is no mandate that this must…
I’m not a very sentimental person but sometimes something triggers that emotion and tears are shed. That happened today in my car as Frank Sinatra’s voice came on the radio singing “I’ll be home for…
Pranayama
- December 16, 2017
- Tagged as: breath awareness, meditation, pranayama, respiratory, yoga
Yesterday I went to my second Pranayama class at a well-respected yoga institution celebrating 40 years of yoga education in the San Francisco Bay area. It’s a monthly session focused on different methods of yogic…
A few weeks ago I attended a free resource fair in San Francisco at the Jewish Community Center. The event is called Embracing the Journey: End of Life Resource Fair. All of the resources —…
Annual Neurological Exam
- November 9, 2017
- Tagged as: diagnosis, exercise, neurologist, self-care, strength, stress
This week I had an appointment with the neurologist who diagnosed me twenty years ago. (I talk about my diagnosis in the first podcast episode.) It’s really been great having the continuity but three years…