Journey to Wellness
  June - July 2011
  THE GOOD NEWS, NATURALLY HEALTHY NEWSLETTER
  _______________________________________________________

Hello to everyone from Davis, California, U.S.A.  Welcome to this issue of Journey to Wellness.  I hope everything is well in your part of the world.  Actually everything is always well in our world, even though sometimes it is difficult to realize that as we look at the various kinds of natural disasters that abound all around us.  Floods and tornadoes of monumental proportions have been plaguing the US in recent weeks, and many have found their lives torn apart.  Other parts of the world have similar challenges. 

In the last month I have found myself humming Summertime, and the Living is Easy, from George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.  I suppose that song is sort of like wishful thinking on the part of my subconscious.  Just yesterday as I sat at my desk and looked out the window onto my patio, it was pouring down rain, and then suddenly there was lightning and thunder, and a great downpour of hail, destroying my neighbor's lovely rose garden.  I looked at the temperature and it was 50 degrees outside at 3:00 p.m.  The average afternoon temperature where I live at this time of the year is in the mid 80sF.   It seemed as though we were returning to winter.  Nevertheless, life goes on, and probably the most certain thing in our lives is that everything is always subject to change.

For my friends outside the United States, the U.S. is about to celebrate our Independence.  The masthead banner this month is in honor of that holiday on July 4.

Each month I have this unique opportunity to share my MS story.  Years ago I chose to be "enabled" by my uninvited guest (which is what I have always called my MS) rather than "disabled," and I believe that each one of us has the opportunity to make that same choice.  My task is to help you believe that also.  I believe my body is designed to be self-healing, and my challenge is to learn how to "listen" to my body and to help it turn on that innate self-healing process. 

After about 15 years on the Internet, I am still amazed at the world-wide communication made possible by this phenomenal communication ability.   Just yesterday I communicated with a newly-diagnosed person in Indonesia, and also a lady in Ireland, as I sat at my home-office desk looking out through what I call my "window on the world," onto my lovely patio.  How cool is that!

The June newsletter is very late this month, because I have been so swamped with other things, so I have decided to combine June and July into one issue.  As always I hope something in it speaks to you, uplifts you helps you to see the way forward.

If you were with me last month then you will recall that in this column I wrote about unexpected changes in our lives, and I related one in my own life.  I was suddenly thrust into the presidency of a non-profit corporation by the unexpected resignation of the former president.  It turned out that I have inherited a power struggle on my board of directors, and the stress load has been very high.  As A result I came down with a very severe case of bronchitis, and I learned anew the challenges we hand to our body when we are over stressed.

I was talking with my doctor about that just yesterday, and she emphasized that almost every dis-ease her patients encounter can be traced to stress.  Stress simply causes our body's natural self-defense system to break down.  I hope you will find my YOU ARE MUCH MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU CAN EVEN IMAGINE helpful.                                               

I am also including this month one of my favorite seated exercises by Shoosh Crotzer, the Hatha Yoga teacher who does the Yoga for MS program.  Every time I get bored with my regular exercise program - OH YES.  I SOMETIMES GET BORED WITH EXERCISE! -  This simple seated sun salute helps get me out of the doldrums and helps me remember why my exercise program is so important.

If you are not on my newsletter mailing list, or you are changing e-mail addresses, please fill in this request to join the list and you will always receive a brief e-mail when a new newsletter is available at the website.  Please also know that my mailing list is never used by anyone else for any other purpose: 

   Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Do you enjoy reading this free on-line newsletter? Do you appreciate the fact that there are no sponsoring commercial ads cluttering the pages of the newsletter and website? Then please consider making a contribution to help sustain them.  I have always wanted Betty's house to be commercial free, and that is still my intention.  Nevertheless everything connected with the website and newsletter costs money, and over time I learned that I could not do it alone.  I cannot say strongly enough how appreciative I am for those of you who help make the newsletter and Betty's House possible.  Thank you just doesn't seem adequate to express how grateful I am.

A few months ago when I learned to make a short motivation video for my personal use I showed it to friends and everyone wanted it.  Out of that came the idea of offering them as a premium when someone makes a donation of $25.00 to this newsletter and the work of Betty's House . . . Life After MS.  I then spent many, many hours over several months developing several of the videos. 

I call them LifeDesign Videos, and since I introduced them the response has been very gratifying.  Each video is from 4 to 5 minutes in length and incorporates affirmations and appropriate images, backed up with motivational music.  Two are currently offered:  Spirituality and Health and Weight Loss.

→  YOU MAY WATCH A SHORT SAMPLE VIDEO BY CLICKING HERE.  ←

If you received one of the videos before I was able to make them available
for download directly from my website, and you are still accessing them only from
YouTube, please send me a note and tell me which video(s) you have and I'll send
you download instructions so you can place an icon on your computer desktop for ease of playing.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE VIDEOS, CLICK HERE.

You may mail your contribution to Iams House, 139 Inner Circle, Davis, CA  95618, or use credit card or Pay Pal at my on-line shopping cart here.  When making your contribution through the shopping cart, please indicate under "shipping instructions" which video you would like to receive. The on-line shopping cart makes it very easy,   You will receive instructions, normally the same day, for downloading directly from my website.  If you send a contribution by mail, please be sure to include your e-mail address and video selection.  Your contributions make the website and this newsletter possible.

1. Archives of recent issues of Journey to Wellness are always available here. If you are a new subscriber I suggest you take one archived issue each week and really study the material covered.  Over a period of a year Journey to Wellness covers just about every aspect of the healthy natural lifestyle that I recommend. 

If you wish to send an e-mail to me, please be sure to use the following as the subject: From a Newsletter Subscriber and your e-mail won't be lost in the never-never land of spam.  

   Bon Appétit - Healthy Food Tips and Recipes

ALMOND CHICKEN DIJON
(4 servings)

What is Quinoa?

Quinoa (pronounced “KEEN-wah”) is one of the oldest foods on the planet — its use dates back 5,000 years. According to botanical experts, quinoa is actually categorized as a seed (not a grain), but it has similar characteristics and prep methods to most grains. The individual pieces look like tiny beads and are most commonly beige in color, but red and black varieties also exist. No matter what color you choose, quinoa has a mild, nutty flavor and pleasingly chewy (but firm) texture.

Plain quinoa makes a simple side dish, but is also a common ingredient in whole-grain breads and hot and cold cereals; it’s also ground into flour to make pasta and as an ingredient in breads. Quinoa expands to 4 times its size when cooked, so each cup of dry grains will yield 4 cups cooked.

Why Is Quinoa Healthy Eats?

Where shall I begin? One cup of cooked quinoa has 220 calories, 5 grams of fiber and a whopping 8 grams of protein (almost 50 percent more than an equal portion of brown rice.) You’ll also find hefty doses of thiamin, vitamin B6,folate, zinc, potassium, magnesium and selenium, along with 15 percent of your daily iron needs.

Quinoa is especially unique because it contains all the essential amino acids (protein building blocks) that your body needs. It’s also gluten free, so folks with gluten allergies can also enjoy this fluffy, grain-like seed.

How to prepare Quinoa

It is important to give the dry grains a quick rinse before cooking to remove a bitter residue called saponin from its surface.  To prepare quinoa, add one part of the rinsed grain to a pot with 2 parts water or broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let the quinoa sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then season and serve. You can also cook it in milk with cinnamon and honey or brown sugar for an out-of-this-world hot breakfast cereal.

Flavor up cooked quinoa with herbs, dried fruit or chopped nuts. Make a grain salad with your favorite diced veggies, beans, and crumbled feta cheese (black beans, bell pepper and diced mango is a fabulous combo). Take leftovers and combine with a sprinkle of cheese as a vegetarian filling for baked stuffed peppers.

I love Quinoa, I first started using the ground "flour" in gluten-free baking early on when practicing the BBD food plan.  It is only recently that I have begun to explore recipes using the whole seed/grain.  By trial and error I have learned to add black beans, chickpeas, pinto beans, sometimes corn and diced tomato. I also like diced bell pepper and onion.  I cannot recommend Quinoa too highly.  It is truly one of the healthiest foods on the planet.

Butternut squash, kale and shiitake casserole
Prep time: 25 minutes Cook time: 60 minutes Serves 8 to 10

Ever since I learned the nutritional wallop packed in that strange looking curly green leafy vegetable called kale, I have tried to incorporate it into my diet on occasion.  The following recipe appeared in my local newspaper.

NEWSPAPER NOTE: The Thai green curry paste in this casserole takes butternut squash and turns blah into bling. Kale provides nutrients as well as crunch, when the leaves on top crisp in the oven.    The casserole can be assembled 2 days in advance, covered and refrigerated. It can be frozen (unbaked) for up to 3 months.

        1/2 c. low-fat coconut milk

        2 T Thai green curry paste, such as Thai  Kitchen brand

        1 t. Chinese chili paste with garlic, such as Lan Chi brand

        1 to 1 1/ 2 -inch piece peeled ginger root, finely grated or puréed (1 tablespoon)

        1/4 c. cream of coconut

        2 T low-sodium soy sauce or tamari

        2 pounds peeled, seeded butternut squash, cut into 2-inch pieces

        8 ounces large shiitake mushroom caps, cut into quarters

        1 bunch (9 ounces) kale, center veins removed, leaves torn into large pieces and rinsed and blotted dry

        2 T white sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking oil spray.   Use a whisk to combine the coconut milk, Thai curry paste, Chinese chili paste, ginger, cream of coconut and soy sauce or tamari in a large mixing bowl. Add the squash pieces, mushrooms and kale; stir to coat evenly.

Transfer the vegetables to the baking dish, making sure there are plenty of kale leaves on top (so they will crisp during baking).

Sprinkle the top evenly with sesame seeds. Cover with a layer of parchment paper, then seal tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 35 minutes, then uncover and bake for 25 minutes, or until the squash is fork-tender and the kale on top is dark brown and crisp.  Serve warm.

10 calories per serving (based on 10) 
 

   

I frequently think of more effective ways to communicate with my readers.  I often wish I had the benefit of more training as a writer.  My degree in music didn't really prepare me for this aspect of my life. 

I do know, however, that some of us are left brain "just give me the facts" people, and others are right brain more emotional and creative "feelers."   Some of us learn better with a visual approach, while some are kinesthetic.   I attempt to take a middle-of-the-road approach and appeal to all aspects of the human psyche with my message that you can heal (change) your life.  And I do not write from theory - I write from personal experience.

I received an e-mail from someone recently in which she asked if I have always been healthy.  The answer is an emphatic no.  All my life I had been very prone to respiratory problems.  At least every other year I would experience an episode of an acute respiratory infection and it would take me weeks to recover.

When I first began my MS journey I was very fortunate in that the neurologist who diagnosed my primary progressive MS (after three years of searching for what was causing my illusive symptoms) told me that he had worked with many MS patients and that I should always remember that some neurologists would attempt to put me on so-called disease-modifying drugs, but that none of them would be effective against PP MS.  He said allopathic medicine could do nothing for PP MS. 

At that time I had an elementary belief that I had the ability - at some level that I did not fully understand - to create my world.  I also came to realize that I was on a long-term journey . . . no quick fixes here!    That was probably one of the most important things I accepted as I began my journey to health.  "I will until" became my attitude.

Over the years of this newsletter, I have reviewed many of the books I studied which helped me build my belief level . . . also  very important.  It is absolutely true that if you think/feel/believe that you can, THEN YOU CAN.  It is just as true that if you believe you can't, THEN YOU CAN'T!   That is such a simple concept, but for many difficult to get their head around.

When I began my journey 16 years ago, shortly after I was diagnosed, I thought the answers probably lay in physical things, like diet, exercise, and perhaps supplements, and indeed they do play a role.  But probably the most important discoveries I made were the powerful healing "tools" of meditation and Qi Gong, today commonly known as "energy" medicine.

Meditation and Qi Gong are closely related, although quite different.  Meditation is a superb avenue to healing, first because it allows us to reduce stress by slowing down the autonomic nervous system.  Medicine today recognizes that stress of all kinds is at the root of most if not all dis-ease processes in our body. 

At a deeper level meditation allows us to tap into the spiritual side of our nature.  At first I had to force myself to do my daily periods of meditation.  But after a few months of daily practice I began to look forward to slipping into what I like to think of as my meditation zone, and it became and remains today a very important part of each day. 

Spirit. God. Divine Intelligence. Universal Mind. Whatever we may call that ineffable force that beats our hearts and keeps the planets in place, it seems like a very good idea for us to align with it. The best approach I know to accomplish that is through meditation of some form.  Qi Gong, the ancient Chinese healing art, which combines gentle movement, the breath, and meditation, works with the body's own energy system that powers every aspect of human life.

What is the role of diet in all this?  Anything - including diet and a few supplements  - that helps to keep our body healthy is important.  I found that when I put these all together, I halted my PP MS progression, and over a period of a few years did indeed reverse almost all of the neurological damage I had sustained.

It took me years to discover the most important aspects of my healing program.  Some made me a much healthier person and therefore helped my body to heal itself, and some I believe were more responsible for reversing my neurological symptoms.

I think the following made me a much healthier person:

 

1. Attention to diet:  Most importantly removing processed sugar and white flour, and anything made from them, from my diet
2. Mega doses of Vitamin D (I was severely deficient in Vitamin D, which probably related to my respiratory problems)
3. Omega 3 and methylcobolamin (B-12) to support the central nervous system

I believe the most important healing tools are:

1. Daily meditation
2. Daily Qi Gong practice (and early on Yoga for MS)
3. Daily breath work (combined with Qi Gong and on its own
4. Powerful positive affirmations to reprogram my subconscious

   It is interesting to note that all four of these healing tools help us create a stress-free life.  No true healing can occur until we create a stress-free environment.
   
   Oprah Winfrey often talks and writes about "What I Know for Sure."  I have shared with you some of my certainties in the past, which include: 

   The most powerful creative energy on planet earth is the human thought.

   Your attitude, intention and belief create your personal world.

   I am a spiritual person having a human experience.

   While I cannot control everything that shows up in my life, I totally and completely control how I respond.

   I can choose to respond positively, or I can choose to respond negatively.

   As long as we are looking for someone or something outside of ourselves, we will not be successful.

   Everything in my life provides a mirror for me to see how I am doing on my own life path.

    

   I learned the power of affirmations to reprogram my subconscious early on in my healing journey, but just recently I have learned that I can reset my subconscious, like a health "switch," very effectively in about five minutes when I first awaken in the morning, and just prior to falling asleep at night, by repeating my affirmations.  By so doing we can develop powerful energies and train our brain for success.

    

   Hoping and wishing will not make it so, but changing our thoughts will change our life.  As I said in the beginning . . .

    

    You really are much more powerful

   than you can even imagine!

If you need to build up your belief, go to your local library and check out books like Wayne Dyer's The Magic of Belief, David Swartz' The Magic of Thinking Big, an older but simply written and easy to understand, or for a more scientific approach read Medical School professor Dr. Bruce Lipton's The Biology of Belief.

TIMELESS UNIVERSAL TRUTHS

                        "When you change the way you look at things,

                          the things you look at change"

                                                                                                                          - Dr. Wayne Dyer

                        "Control your attitude and you will control your life"

                                                                                                                          - Burt Goldman

                        "Consciousness is a field of all possibilities

                          where intention orchestrates its own fulfillment"

                                                                                                                          - Dr. Deepak Chopra

One of my favorite authors is Louise Hay.  She says:

                        "The body, like everything else in life, is a mirror of our inner thoughts and beliefs . . .

                          Continuous modes of thinking and speaking produce body behaviors and postures

                          and 'eases' or 'diseases'." 

Louise healed herself of cancer and I often remind myself that if Louise could heal herself of cancer, then we can heal ourselves of whatever we need to heal in our lives.  The question is do we really want to heal ourselves, and are we prepared to do what it takes? 

Self-healing is a matter of lifetime commitment to a healthy lifestyle.  Are you willing to make that commitment? 

    Developing a Daily Ritual

If you truly wish to change your life, in any area, then one of the most important things I can share with you is encouraging you to develop a daily ritual.  I first learned the power of that ritual, repeated every day at the same time of day, when I was a resident patient at Dr. Deepak Chopra's Center for Mind Body Medicine for one week, shortly after I was diagnosed with MS.   

At that Center I began a daily meditation practice, as well as being introduced to both Qi Gong and Yoga.  I was still a very busy marketing executive at that time, and in order to continue with my new ritual after I returned home, I had to get up an hour earlier every day.  It was not easy getting up at 5:00 a.m., but I did it, so I know it can be done. 

My ritual today, 16 years later, is somewhat different.  Now that I am retired I no longer need to arise so early.  But I still do half an hour of meditation, followed by deep breathing exercises, followed by watching my Spirituality and Health and Weight Videos a couple of times.  All together that ritual takes about forty-five minutes, and I conscientiously follow it every day before breakfast.   

I have another end-of-the-day exercise practice with half an hour of Qi Gong before retiring in the evening.  I do not mean to imply that your ritual should be the same as mine, but I do want to stress that an unchanging daily ritual is an important part of changing any area of our life.  

I do absolutely know for sure that before you can make whatever changes you wish to make, something INSIDE OF YOU has to change first.  Because you are the one in control of your life. You're in the driver's seat, and unless and until you understand that - REALLY GET IT - your life is not going to change. 

I find it really cool to know that I can consciously make a difference.  That to me is very empowering.  

Believe in yourself and your amazing
power to create your reality 

   FROM MY MAILBOX

   Hi Betty.  I am a long-time reader but this is the first time I have written.  I just thought I am long overdue to say thank you for all the newsletters and information, but especially all the things I have learned from you about human behavior and our connection to a greater force.  Like you I am not a religious person, but learning to get in touch with the spirit side of my nature has been a great revelation of my life.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  Oh I almost forgot to tell you how much I love my Spirituality video.  It is such a great way to start my day. /s/ Cheryl K.

Thank you so much for writing Cheryl.  I always start my day with the Spirituality video after my morning meditation.  It starts the day on a very positive note.

   Dear Betty. Thank you so much for your kind responses to all my questions regarding my daughter's MS.  Your replies are always so upbeat and positive.  My daughter continues to follow your suggestions, and she is doing well.  Thank you again so much.  /s/ Roberta K.

Hello Robbie.  I'm so glad to hear that Karen continues to do well.  I'm sure you have played a big role in that.  I'm going to send along for you a gift of my Spirituality Video.  I'll send the download instructions in a separate note.  Thank you for being such a great and loving mom.

   Hi Betty.  I loved your April newsletter . . . they seem to get better and better.  Keep up the good work.  /s/  George H.

Thank you George, and to all who wrote about the April newsletter.  The response was overwhelming.  I am often reminded of the teaching in the Course in Miracles, that . . . "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.  And we are all teachers and all students."

  FOCUS ON EXERCISE

Years ago, in a hotel lobby in San Diego, Shoosh Crotzer taught me a seated version of the well-known yoga pose called a Sun Salute.  I have given it in the newsletter before, and it remains one of my favorite ways to start my day.  Many have told me that it seemed to complicated to learn.  It really is very simple.  Just print out the instructions, place the sheet in your lap, and carefully follow them.  It is my hope that many of you who have not learned this pose previously will make it a goal to learn it now.  

Shoosh Crotzer's
 Seated Sun Salute
Adapted from Hatha Yoga

There are a total of 12 different moves, and you start first by sitting up straight at the edge of a chair, with your legs and feet about hip width apart.

Step 1: Place your palms together at chest level in the prayer position. This is position 1.

Step 2: Inhale, then as you exhale, bend at the hips and extend your arms straight out in front of you, trying to bring you entire upper body between your legs, parallel with the floor, reaching as far forward as you can comfortably. This is position No. 2.

Step 3: Keep your arms shoulder width apart, near your ears if possible, palms facing each other and feel that nice stretch in your back. Keep reaching as you begin to inhale and sit up straight, stretching your arms up towards the ceiling, still shoulder width apart and palms still facing each other. This is Position No. 3.

Step 4: Round your back now and as you exhale, slowly round down over your right thigh, dropping your arms on either side of the leg. This is Position No. 4.

Step 5: Grab underneath your right knee with both hands, and as you inhale, sit up as straight as you can while lifting the bent knee towards your chest for Position No. 5. (Try not to round your back in this position and only lift the leg as high as is comfortable.)

Step 6: For Position No. 6, release the right leg as you exhale and round down, dropping both hands and head between your knees towards the floor, as loosely as possible. Be careful not to fall off the chair!

Step 7: Next, with the inhalation, place both hands on the chair seat near your hips, slightly behind you, and roll yourself up, pulling your shoulders back and stretching your chest open. If you can, look up towards the ceiling, but only if you know if this neck stretch is okay for you to do. This is Position No. 7.

Step 8: Now round down over the left leg as you exhale (as in Position No. 4, but on the other side) for Position No.8.

Step 9: Position No. 9 is lifting this left leg as you sit up (as in Position No. 5, other side).

Step 10: For Position No. 10, round down again between both legs on the exhalation (as in Position No. 6.)

Step 11: Finally, reach straight out in front of you for Position No. 11, and continue stretching and reaching forward, lifting your arms up and sitting all the way up with an inhalation.

Step 12: On the exhalation, for Position No. 12, slowly lower your hands back into the prayer position, sitting straight and relaxed.

NOTE FROM BETTY:  When you first start to learn this, print it out and hold the printed copy on your lap as you learn the moves.  The Sun Salute is the perfect way to start our day.  I like to do it in my PJs, just after I get up in the morning.  On first glance I know this routine may seem complicated, but it is really very simple.   And it only takes 2-3 minutes.  I actually do a couple of sets.  I suggest you do it slowly and thoughtfully, and really feel the stretches. 

This is my very personal favorite modified yoga series that Shoosh Crotzer has shared with us over the years.  Please try it...I think you'll like it!  It may take you a few days to get it together, but it is worth the effort.

FROM HERE AND THERE ON THE INTERNET:

If you'd like to read more about the varying theories on the cause of MS, this link will be of interest to you.  I found it very interesting.  It is relatively short and easy to read and understand.  Check it out.

http://www.sclerosi.org/articoli/theory_attacks_ms_diagnosis.php

One of my favorite people on the Internet is Brian Johnson, author of Philosopher's Notes.  Check out his really insightful and humorous rant called Bloodletting and Modern Medicine.     Several months ago Brian did a weeks long webinar series called Optimal Living 101; out of that series came a new book called A Philosopher's Notes - On Optimal Living.  I just bought it for my Kindle reader, which makes reviewing notes from the actual webinar series a whole lot easier.  Check it out at:

http://tv.aphilosophersnotes.com/242/bloodletting-modern-medicine

Brian is a really cool guy, and what he says makes a lot of sense.

There isn't a lot of new information to pass along this month.  But do check out these items. 

The first item is from the National MS Society:

             http://www.nationalmssociety.org/research/intriguing-leads-on-the-horizon/ccsvi/index.aspx

Denise Manley sends along the following comment: 

One of the problems with the studies is that they are all being run by neurologists.  Neuro's haven't been trained in vascular disease; they are the last ones that should be doing studies in this area of medicine.  Look at who owns and operates the MS Society . . . the National MS Consortium and they are owned operated and run by neurologists and pharmaceutical companies.  The only way an MS patient can participate is by being a study rat or raising money.  We are not allowed to vote on anything that the MS society decides.  Sad thing.  Many societies are run like this.  It's a business to keep people ill.

Karen also adds:  Of course this is what they said to us last year to get us to raise money for the NMSS . . . then they stole it and gave it to pharmaceutical studies.  I trust them about as far as I can throw them! 

CCSVI:  Check out this Society of Interventional Radiology video featuring  Drs. Siskin and his associate, which also features Denise Manley.  Very good, honest information.

        http://directory.sirweb.org/videos/index.cfm?vid=SIR_CCSVI_5_5_11&title=CCSVI

I have praised the Wheelchair Kamikaze's blog in the past.  It is always very well researched and well written.  Just today I received the current issue entitled:

            CCSVI and MS: Cause, Effect, or Neither?

I think Marc has done an excellent job of summarizing what we know and don't know about CCSVI, about 18 months since Dr. Zamboni's research first appeared in the media.  I highly recommend you read this blog.  Here's a link:

             http://www.wheelchairkamikaze.com/2011/06/ccsvi-and-ms-cause-effect-or-neither.html?

 

   Featured Books, DVD Exercise Programs and Videos

Please, everyone, do not sit around and wait for testing and treatment if warranted for CCSVI. Even if that becomes the standard MS treatment down the road, you need to get moving and improve your quality of life NOW.  Even those who have the corrective procedure done still have to work to recover their quality of life. 

How do you do that? I suspect that you already know. Start a simple daily meditation ritual, and move your body with healthy exercise.

Oh you say you can't exercise? Excuse me, but that is rubbish. There is no such thing as a person who can't exercise. You can do a very effective exercise program sitting in a wheelchair, or even lying in bed.  You just begin with some simple deep breathing and very simple arm movements. EVERYBODY CAN IMPROVE HIS/HER BODY WITH A COMMITMENT TO EXERCISE.

If you don't have them, order Yoga for MS (for strength) and/or Tai Chi/Qi Gong for Seniors (for healing) or  Gentle Fitness (for overall fitness) and get moving. PLEASE DO NOT WAIT!  Then pick two or three things from one or two of these programs and get started. Soon you won't believe what a tremendous improvement you will experience. The only thing hindering you is your own lack of enthusiasm and passion. There is no person who cannot improve the quality of his or her life with exercise.  Just get moving!

I absolutely know that one of the primary reasons I live a normal, healthy life today is because of these exercise programs.  Come on. Get started today! 

CHECK OUT THE DETAILS OF THESE VIDEOS AND FEATURED BOOKS HERE

   BOOK REVIEW – Power Up Your Brain

                         David Perlmutter and Albert Villoldo, Ph.D

 

A few years ago Dr. David Perlmutter, board-certified neurologist, wrote a break-through best selling book called The Better Brain book, and since that time I have followed his research into how our brain works, and how we can change it.

 

Now Dr. Perlmutter and Dr. Albert Villoldo have written another extremely insightful book called Power Up Your Brain. 

 

As my regular readers know early on in my MS journey I first set out to teach my body how to heal itself.  After I accomplished that goal I from that time on have worked just as diligently to understand -- and hopefully be able to teach others -- how I did that.

 

The following quote from Power Up Your Brain I find very enlightening.

 

. . . This means that you don't have to use old and well-worn neural networks of distrust, struggle, or victimization.  Instead, you can direct your focused attention to creating functional neural networks for well being, happiness, patience, trust, compassion, and all of the other positive emotions - but this requires a still mind which can be attained through meditation practice and enlightenment techniques.

 

You no longer have to live your life operating from the dark recesses of your limbic brain's flawed perception that the world is a hostile and foreboding place.  Rather, you can establish new neural circuitry that will let you break free of a self-perceived destiny crafted by your family of origin, by early life trauma, and even by the states of health or disease that, according to the old, faulty medical paradigm, are preordained by your genes.

 

Drs. Perlmutter and Villoldo's work is cutting edge brain research.  In Power Up Your Brain they also give us very specific dietary guidelines for a healthy brain.  Dr. Perlmutter is internationally respected as one of the best-known brain researchers, including Alzheimer's and various kinds of dementia.

 

If you want to really understand how your brain functions in physical dis-ease, as well as in healing, you will want to get your hands on Power Up Your Brain.

 

NOTE:  A little personal aside.  I recently purchased a Kindle Reader from Amazon, so now I purchase only e-books that I download directly to my Kindle.  A printed book that would cost $25 dollars will usually be about $10 in the Kindle version. 

 

I do not take easily to new techie gadgets, but I absolutely love my Kindle!  Check them out at Amazon . . . If you read a lot as I do, you will pay for it very rapidly in money saved.  Another big plus - you can alter the text size.  

That's all for now.  Please remember to tell those close to you how much you love them.  You never know when you'll never have another chance in this lifetime. 

 

Enjoy your summer, and I'll see you again in August.

 

Sincerely,

Betty

PLEASE NOTE:   I AM NOT A MEDICALLY TRAINED PERSON, AND I DO NOT GIVE MEDICAL ADVICE.  BUT I HAVE BEEN A VERY SERIOUS STUDENT OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS FOR MANY YEARS, AND I HAVE DEVELOPED A PROGRAM THAT HAS KEPT ME SYMPTOM FREE FOR A LOT OF YEARS NOW SINCE PRIMARY PROGRESSIVE MS FIRST MADE ITS APPEARANCE IN MY LIFE.

TO BETTY'S HOUSE