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April 24, 2009

Quick Bites – a postscript

Two additional non-protein food groups need mention: 1)    Chocolate: I didn’t list it among the PDQ snacks. Silly me. It’s a given – the darker, the better. 2)    Rice milk: All the calcium and none of the protein make this a real find for my refrigerator. I’ve yet to drink a glassful, so I can’t attest to it as a chaser after a few Oreos. But, it’s just right over a bowl of cereal. It’s nice to be able to increase the breakfast menu beyond toast and fruit.
November 22, 2009

Nuts and Raisins

I need to cut nuts out of my diet. Cheese, too. Sadly, red wine as well. Ditto on the avocados, soy products, vinegar, dried fruit. If I included any of the above in meals or snacks, a monstrous migraine ensued. This recent phenomenon of light-sensitive, eyeball-searing pain was a tag-along side effect of one of my meds. I hadn’t expected such a severe reaction to what was considered beneficial to take. Emerging from a particularly nasty skull-exploding episode, I shuffled into the kitchen, slumped at the counter, hungry, drained, and wondering what I could possibly eat that wouldn’t, quite literally, go to my head. Crackers? No, there are nuts and soy it the ingredients list. PB&J? No, the protein in the peanut butter would battle with my meds, not to mention nut’s place on the anti-migraine list. I boiled a pot of white rice and daringly added a touch of […]
January 25, 2010

When Life Hands You Lemons . . .

. . . don’t simply make lemonade. Bake. Baking is about creation. It’s about changing a list from flour to nuts into a dessert or breakfast treat. Whether it’s melding butter with chocolate or combining raspberries with ground almonds, the result enhances the finest flavors of each ingredient. Yoga. like baking, is about transformation. This shift can happen in my body when I’m molding myself into into hero pose, or in my mind when I’m gazing at the flicker of a candle. The rigidity in my Parkinson’s muscles lets go of some tension, and the chatter – from fears of future symptoms to frustration with the current ones – empties from my thoughts.  This change, this shift, maintains the essence of who I am – my list of ingredients – drawing out what’s most flavorful. Sometimes, a cool glass of lemonade can be refreshing.  But, making it is less a […]
March 15, 2010

Post to Post

I’m a Facebook junkie. I post. I read recent posts. I send messages, upload photos, visit walls. I like how I can keep up-to-date with my nieces or college friends, logging in at any time of day, even at the insomnia hour between 3:00 and 4:00 am. Something yogic exists in the in-the-moment aspect of reading and writing FB posts. I feel I’ve been invited to share where someone goes, what his or her current status is, what’s going on. A letter from my niece, Kate,  however, is shedding light on my view. A letter, yes. The kind written by hand with a pen on sheets of paper, folded into an envelope that carries a stamp and gets delivered by actual post to a real mailbox with a hinged metal door. The difference between posts and the letter I received by post, besides the tactile feel of holding the words […]
August 1, 2010

Less Is More

All it took was one email in my inbox to make me smile. Oh, there were plenty of other messages there, from spam and scams to Facebook notices and must-see YouTube links. But this one I read and read again. Like discovering a lone poppy in bloom among the mounds of crab grass, I paused and savored what I saw. Here it is, from guest blogger Debbie Flamini, who shares her insights into the essence of living your yoga while living with PD. Enjoy. FINDING BALANCE by Debbie Flamini Less is more, is more or less What my body needs, to not feel stress No body stress leads to Cinderella Days How do I get there?  Let’s count the ways! Consider less is more in everything you do From yard work to exercise, even laundry too Stop competing with the body you owned before Your current one still works, right […]
October 13, 2010

A Glimpse of Glasgow

From the Opening Ceremony right through to the final playful Brain Game session, the World Parkinson Congress in Glasgow, Scotland, elicited laughter, tears, and much thought. Opening Ceremony Attendees included health professionals as well as those living with PD. At the opening ceremony, those who’d conceived and created this summit of minds and bodies gave a brief history and announced that the third Congress is scheduled for 2013 in Montreal. Another speaker focused on the future, with a plea for urgency. This thirty-nine-year-old father of two young  children called for urgency toward  awareness – this is not a disease of the elderly, he’d said – as well as urgency toward better treatment, toward a cure. The two winning entries from the video conference, shown on a huge screen, each gave those in the auditorium without PD an inside look at living each day. And to those of us living with […]
October 28, 2010

Gratitude Additions

Maple trees Fuzzy slippers Leeks Watercolor paints Tuesdays and Fridays, yoga class days
January 17, 2011

Shell Shock

I think I’m in love. The way he moves with a dignified slowness, each step a concentrated effort, draws me to his side. Small obstacles cause a moment’s hesitation, but he makes it past them. Sometimes by backing up before turning, sometimes by stumbling onward. Not entirely graceful, but I admire how he forges ahead with a certain determination. I can relate to it. It amuses me how he eats with gusto. Not always the tidiest diner, scraps of a salad remain on his chin a bit before he wipes them away. And given options at dinner, he reaches for the sweet items first. Why munch first on lettuce when mango and kiwi are available? I can so relate. Did I mention that he also prefers warm temperatures and particularly enjoys basking in the heat following a good meal. Oh, how I can relate. My affections came as a surprise […]
April 27, 2011

April Showers

April, even in these last days as we edge toward May,  showers each day with so much. Admittedly, the start of the month held little magic with its umpteenth snowstorm here in New England. Yet, the white clung to the trees just long enough to admire before melting in the promisingly warm sun.  It came as a gift of a reminder that what we dread can hold beauty and that all things change with time. Travel to New York City brought much better weather and an invitation to the annual Team Fox dinner. The evening’s events centered  on thanking Team Fox fundraisers. What a sprinkling of delights! A sense of pride swelled for our efforts — Team Fox’s  New England Parkinson’s Ride raised more than $100,000  for the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2010. We’re dedicated to doing it again in 2011 (I’ll be posting a link to sponsor me and […]
July 16, 2011

I Love It When I’m Right

It’s a good day when science backs up what my heart knew: Yoga improves balance, endurance in stroke recovery: Indiana University  Study on Yoga and Stroke .