Category: Wellness

This excerpt is from a longer article available at PaulaDerry.com/readings.

The heart of mindfulness is relaxed awareness of the here-and-now, slowing down, taking the time to notice more and notice more deeply, allowing experience to spontaneously arise, being not doing. As new experiences arise, they can be further explored or simply enjoyed. In addition to practices like sitting meditation, there are many other ways to cultivate this. Continue reading “Make Mindfulness a Pleasure, Not a Chore”

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) there are currently more then 70 million people in the U.S. suffering with some form of Gastrointestinal (GI) disorder. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that approximately 117 million (half of all adults) have one or more chronic health conditions. In addition, GI complaints are among the top reasons patients seek health care. So, if you are an adult reading this, most likely you or one of your close family members falls into one of these categories. Continue reading “Heal the Body by Healing the Gut: The 5R Approach to Wellness”

This Spring will be like no other. Of course, each Spring is unique – in some ways. This one promises to be unlike all others in many and momentous ways.

The shoots we see emerging come Spring arise from root work that happened over the Winter. The nature of each Spring is partly determined by the nature of the root work that preceded it. Events this Winter unleashed powerful forces. So it’s easy to predict we’ll see more gusty – and gutsy – forces blowing this Spring.

Maybe it doesn’t have to be a collision course. One way to learn about conflicting currents is to watch how they play out in the natural world. This is actually the basis of Asian healing arts like acupuncture. Continue reading “Winds of Change”

Photo: Logan Ingalls / CC BY 2.0

I’m probably not the only one who flashed back to ghosts of World Series past this season. And not just as an intellectual exercise. ‘Body memory’ we call it in our biz. One minute I was watching the Cubs, next I was remembering images, sounds, and flavors from years ago, right down to the squeaks and lumps of the bar stool I sat on watching Brett Saberhagen shut out the mighty Cardinals 30+ years ago.

The Childe Harold was a dive bar near Dupont Circle. Where Bruce Springsteen played for $750 in the early 70’s and George McGovern went for solace during his doomed campaign. Best burgers ever, great beer selection. My youngest sister (may she rest in peace) enjoyed both and met us there. She was an intern on Capitol Hill that year. Before any of us had any kids. My husband and I were newly married and we didn’t own a TV. Continue reading “Body Memory”

Dramatic, isn’t it? How Autumn sneaks up on us. Suddenly, we notice a chill in the air. Or how dark it is when we get up in the morning. And the leaves – oh the leaves! – as they leave us. The edges of light and dark show up so clearly now. Dawn and dusk seem like sharper turning points. Often magnificent – ever so briefly. Now you see it, now you . . .

That’s the nature of Autumn. Bit of a sharp edge. It’s cut-to-the-chase time. Days get shorter. Plants die back. Animals look for cover. We may not be the ones bringing in the last of the harvest, but we share their primal sense of urgency. We may feel unprepared for what comes next. Or unready to let go of what’s past. Often we feel like we’re scrambling just to keep up.
Continue reading “Over the Edge – The Awesome Drop of Autumn: Part 4 of Healing with the Seasons”

Image: Forest and Kim Starr / CC BY 2.0

This is The Season of Transition. Asian healing traditions often identify the time between Summer and Fall as a fifth season, with particular healing gifts for issues around food and nourishment.

Some call this Late Summer or Harvest Time. I call it the Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer. So different from earlier Summer months! More settling – and sometimes more unsettling.
Continue reading “Crazy Daze of Summer
Transition Time: Food, Work and Music
Part 3 of Healing with the Seasons”