As we shiver out of another Michigan winter and into warmer weather, I am building my usual short list of activities to keep myself sane. This list has become shorter than usual due to pandemic safety precautions. Ordinarily it would include more frequent visits with extended family and more friend get-togethers. My sticky note sanity plan has become heavier on more practical reminders like “Sleep more regular hours!” “Take Vitamin D!” and “GO OUTSIDE” which is written in all caps.
Posts filed under Health
Sustainable Health: Bacteria and Viruses — Essential to Human Life
Bacteria and viruses have always gotten a bad reputation in our modern society, but these microscopic microorganisms are essential to human life and can quite literally be a key aspect to our optimal health. In fact, trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microbes live all over our bodies, with the largest concentration in our intestines.
Scratch That! Tips for Cooking Real Meals at Home
Want some good news about the pandemic? Apparently, it’s finally gotten us to cook from scratch and eat at home more often.
Healer of Ann Arbor: When is a Massage Not a Massage?
Lisa Teets is a local Bowenwork healer, Tai Chi instructor, and fan of wellness modalities in general. I met her in a local Tai Chi class several years ago, and we hit it off. As many of us struggle with stress into year three of the pandemic, I wanted to learn more about her primary modality—Bowenwork—to ask what makes it different from a massage and how people might know if they would benefit from trying it.
Leaps of Faith, Spring 2022, Winewood Organics
This column is a look at a brave soul who took a leap of faith to open his own businesses. What follows is a personal profile of Eric Parkhurst who is following his dreams and thriving despite the odds—and Covid.
The New Context of Essential Oils
Take a moment to imagine a beautiful rose garden. Notice your surroundings. Feel the sun warming the surface of your skin, as a gentle breeze dances by. Listen to the sounds of nature around you. The leaves on the trees sway in the breeze. Birds off in the distance. A sense of stillness within the activity of nature.
Moving Meditations and Comparative Prayer Forms: An Exploration of Altering One's Consciousness Through Movement
One day while teaching Tai Chi—somewhere between forms—I was no longer cognizant of my body, my students, the studio, not even time! There was suddenly nothing except delightful whiteness, bliss, and an ethereal consciousness. When I came back to the immediate physical surroundings, I admitted to my students, “Ummmm I lost count. Was that two or three Part the Horse’s Mane?” We all laughed. Later, I recalled having had other similar experiences during movement as well as sitting/lying inert.
What We Can Predict
The Farmer’s Almanac predicts a colder, flakier winter than usual for those of us who live in The Mitten. Normally this would not be worth noting, but there is no “normally” anymore, and so I do note it.
Maybe I note this prediction because at a time when truth seems to be elusive, and not being prepared threatens to be deadly, The Farmer’s Almanac is a reliable source when it comes to foretelling the weather and helping people prepare. And it tips its hat to inclusivity, in that anyone is welcome to read and heed its advice—not just farmers. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac website, it is North America’s most popular reference guide and oldest continuously published periodical.
Talking While Walking
My name is Fran Adler, and I’ve been a licensed therapist in private practice for over two decades. Over the years there have been many aspects of this work that I’ve greatly enjoyed. But, there is one thing about being a therapist that I’ve never been crazy about—too much sitting!
Collaborative Therapeutic Massage
I view what I do as a collaboration between myself and my client—and sometimes, indirectly, between my client, other practitioners, and me. I expect my clients to work alongside me to ease their muscles, take further steps in their own healing, and work at shifting their posture.
Healing Hands Physical Therapy: Amira Tal-Henig's Labor of Love
The caregiver’s heart is characterized by a few simple, yet powerful traits: empathy, commitment, and action. This holds true across diverse homes, occupations, and settings. The call to nurture another being is one of humility and hope. It is knowing that even when logic says nothing else can help, there is still love and presence to provide.
Mind and Spirit — A Return to (Psychedelic) Plant Medicine
If you live in America today, you might have noticed a mental health epidemic unfolding. While debate rages over the cause of the decades-long upswing in depression, anxiety, and PTSD, one thing is clear: most of us know at least one person who has been, at some point, dangerously depressed. Worse still, we probably all know someone whose depression has not responded to first-line medications like SSRIs.
CW Kids in the Community: Finding an In-Person Meditation Class for Your Kid
Kids who have been isolated this year might benefit a great deal from a meditation practice in the fall. Meditation is not just a way to relax—it gives kids a toolkit for handling stressful situations that life brings. It can be tricky to figure out which programs are going back to in person and what options are out there, so we did the digging for you to help families find some popular and newer meditation classes around town. Many of the meditation teachers featured graciously explained what a class with them is like, so you can get a sense of whether this is a fit for your little one. Namaste, fellow parents. It’s been a long year, and you’ve done an amazing job holding it all together for your family.
Looking at Death, Finding the Heart
This is a falling-down life. It changes, we change, everything changes! Worst of all, we have almost no control over how our life unfolds on a day-by-day basis, and so it becomes essential to learn how to deal with the basic facts of impermanence and no control without resorting to a kind of indifferent resignation. It’s not so easy, is it?
Angels On the Surgery Critical Care Ward: Ice Water, Warm Blankets, and 24/7 Prayer
It all started from eating bad chicken, or so I thought. I lost everything in my stomach over a period of three hours, and the pain was only getting worse, so I called the answering service for my primary care doctor. It was early in the morning on May fifth, and a nurse instructed me to go to the U-M Hospital ER right away. I had a lot of misgivings, mostly because I knew from a doctor friend that the U-M was still treating a significant number of people for Covid-19.
Sustainable Health: Ask for Help!
The weeks and months after my first child was born were some of the most difficult I have ever experienced. I was depleted from blood loss, and it felt like all the nutrients in my bones and muscles were being concentrated into the growing baby and breastmilk. For the first few days, my husband carried me down the stairs. He changed every diaper for the first month. However, the sleep deprivation, the intense emotional changes, and continual nutritional depletion converged to bring me to a point of stress in my system I was unprepared for and had little facility to manage.
A Physician’s Journey: Yoga & Meditation to Holistic Medicine-- Excerpts From a New Book by Dr. Dennis Chernin
Excerpts From Yoga & Meditation to Holistic Medicine: A Physician’s Journey, a new book by Dr. Dennis Chernin.
Healers of Ann Arbor: HeartMath™ with Rachel Egherman
“HeartMath™ is heart-focused breathing, or breathing through the heart space,” Rachel Egherman said of the gentle form of self-care that helps you check in with your body, your heart space, and feel supported. “This is something you can do yourself in the grocery store line. It’s a way to quickly self-regulate.”
Back to Basics Health with Julie Johnson
Imagine receiving results from an air quality and blood test showing that your home needs remediation—and so does your body. There were astronomical levels of mold and fungus in your blood. You suffered from pneumonia and had so many x-rays taken that you almost glowed in the dark. The medications prescribed were barely treating the symptoms but were further depleting your already near-extinct immune system. Your doctors finally admit that they have no effective options for your condition; their final suggestion was to wait and see if your body began to win the fight on its own.
Namaste, Katie...Our Yoga Column, Spring 2021
Whether you're a seasoned yogi or getting ready to roll out your mat for the first time, here you'll find a variety of useful tips from local yoga instructor, Katie Hoener.
Dear Katie,
My family and I have had a challenging time, which we agree is a shared experience, and are wondering if there is a posture we can share that can bring us together, and bring our stress levels down.
Marcus, Ann Arbor
Dear Marcus,
I agree this year has been unbelievably challenging, with multidimensional trauma, and challenges coming from all directions. It can be challenging to feel reset, and at times to be set at all. Through yoga there are a number of ways that we can come into our bodies and do our best to work toward a sense of balance, even if only for a moment. One key path is to slow down, focus, and reset, through an inversion. These spaces, where the base of the spine is elevated above the base of the skull, signals to the parasympathetic nervous system to kick into gear. This part of us is the ‘tend and befriend’ part of the nervous system that cares and comforts. A delightful way to come together in an asana place is through a Salamba Sarvangasana, a supported shoulder stand.
Here, I offer two versions. One is using your own body, and strength to support yourself, and the other is settling into supports. Whether we are using props, or using our own body is often dependent on the day. To come into Salamba Sarvangasana we want to be comfortable on our mats, with arms planted into the mat close to the body. On an inhale, core muscles engaged, we lift the legs toward the sky, planting the hands on the low back, and cradling the pelvis. The amount of lift through the pelvis is very much up to you. There are many variations of supported shoulder stand, and you will see many that show legs and body in one line, and others with more of an angle. The most important thing is that your core muscles are engaged, and feel lifted through the legs.
The other option, often called Candlestick, places a blanket or pillow under the pelvis, and allows the legs to reach up toward the sky. If you need a bend in the knees, take that adaptation. This variation is quite restorative, and is something that I practice for a few minutes before bed on most days. Though children may love a supported shoulder stand, you may find that family time holding Candlestick can be held for a little longer, and can offer you a space to offer balance to one another.
Namaste Katie,
You talk with many readers about the challenges of meditation, and I have been struggling. I am looking for something that I can use while at work when I cannot play a guided meditation, or use one of my other go-to tools. Do you have any suggestions during this hectic time?
Liz, Ann Arbor
Dear Liz,
This has been a time when meditation has been recommended a lot and has been more challenging than ever. I have found myself going back to the basics in many cases, as practices that are complicated or involved have, for me, felt overwhelming. In The Science of Breath by Yogi Ramacharaka there is a wonderful practice of pranayama that is itself meditative and fits the situation you are describing. It is called Yogic Rhythmic Breath, and involves connecting with your own heartbeat, and connecting your breath to the pace of your heart.
Find your pulse, perhaps on your wrist, or on your neck. Take a minute to find a place where this is easy, so that when you start the practice you are not searching or struggling. When you are ready you will begin counting the inhale to match six beats of your heart, allow the exhale to match six beats of your heart. Take ten breaths to feel comfortable with this practice, and if this is where you want to start, stay here. This is a beautiful way to connect deeply with yourself. If you would like to continue the practice, the space between the breath is half that of the length of the inhale and the exhale, so at this point, the count of three pulses. If the location and time allow, the length of the breath can be increased, as well as the space between. Check in that as you expand the breath you remain comfortable.
Yogi Ramacharaka recommends that we start with twenty rounds of this breath practice, adding more rounds if time and space allow. This connection with our own rhythms draws us into a place of concentration and can become a meditative place. Connections to the breath are the foundation of a mindful practice.
Dear Katie,
Recently as part of a workshop on positive psychology we were all assigned to start a gratitude journal. I was discussing this with my partner, and they suggested that I also look into other heart chakra practices. Are there ways to expand on this gratitude work?
Dan, Saline
Namaste Dan,
I am a big fan of gratitude journals and keep one myself. As you mentioned they are a part of a growing amount of research in a number of fields, including positive psychology. The Anahata Chakra, or the Heart Chakra, is the midpoint in the traditional chakra system, with three below and three above. Gratitude work is important to cultivating an open heart and forming connections with others.
To build on your work of gratitude journaling, transfer this intention and energy to a meditation practice, or into an asana practice, if you find that more accessible. Breathing in feelings of gratitude and opening ourselves up to recalling moments when we feel grateful builds our own abilities to come to these feelings and sensations over and over again. As discussed in positive psychology and in yoga, there are so many negative influences and attachments impacting us and attempting to steer us away from a compassionate and loving mindset. Gratitude is a powerful way to stay open and connected to others, and to our own ability to forge deep bonds. Whether through meditating on a particular moment of gratitude, or using a gratitude mindset as a sankalpa, see if there are ways to infuse this mindset into other practices to make your heart center shine!
Katie Hoener is an RYT 500, receiving her 200 and 500 hour trainings. She is also a Licensed Master Social Worker and a partner at Verapose Yoga in Dexter (veraposeyoga.com). Please send your own yoga questions to katie@verposeyoga.com.
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I also adore leading, or more often being led by, these foundational elements of yoga. This is That: Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras Padas 1 and 2 by Anand Mehrotra, gets right to the heart of your question when he writes “… it is very dangerous to translate it merely as “Thou shall speak the truth and only the truth.”” He goes on to explain that all of our truths are subjective, based our own experiences, and not based on any universal or unbiased truth. He extrapolates that if we are in conflict, our truth is filtered through the lens of that conflict.