Cell 2 Soul: The Humane Health Care Blog

Mind, Body, Breath: The Balanced Life

Thousands of years ago, yoga was developed in India by Hindus as part of an eight-limb discipline to help achieve a balanced life. 

As a certified yoga teacher, I am often asked,  “There are so many yoga classes, is it normal to be confused?”  “Will my religion fit in with yoga”  “I'm not flexible, can I do yoga?”  The one answer to all these questions is, “Yes.”  Consider that the word “yoga” literally means to unite and what we're uniting is our mind, body and breath - no matter what condition our minds, bodies and breath may be in.  Yoga helps develop flexibility and strength.  But perhaps more importantly, it can boost your self-confidence.  So, even if you never touch your toes, you'll be more accepting of yourself.  For more details read:  Download Beaudin Yoga

Author Bio:  Paula Boyajian-Beaudin is certified in Interdisciplinary Yoga and Yoga for the Special Child.  Currently she is part of the palliative care team at St. Mary’s Hospital for Children (Bayside, NY) and The Sunshine Rehab Center and Hospital (Ossining, NY).  She also works with Community Access to the Arts and Berkshire County ARC in Massachusetts.  A more complete bio is on the pdf.  You may contact Paula at paulabeaudinATyahoo.com

Melodies of Healing and Caring

Recently, I was visiting Kauai, that magical Pacific island, and some friends took me to their favorite Indian restaurant in Kapaa town.  There, I chanced to meet my old friend, Tim Lee, an ophthalmologist and an accomplished pianist.  During our brief conversation, he told me about work he’s been doing with other physician-musicians in Hawaii, particularly, his partner on Kauai, Dr. Jean Shein, and Honolulu ophthalmic surgeon Dr. Jorge Camara. 

If you want to read more about music and medicine please:  Download The Music of Healing. Your comments will be appreciated.

  Drs. Jorge Camara, Jean Shein and Tim Lee

The Good Doctor

a poem by Aaditya Shidham

The good doctor's
famous mustache and bow-tie
quivered with every sorrow
and every joy.

His empathy was such that
he lost and gained organs
after his patients' transplants,
felt every bloody nose
and broken ankle.

Author, Aaditya Shidham was born in the foothills of northern India, then moved to Arar, Saudi Arabia, New York City, Milwaukee, WI and Columbus, OH. He currently is a sophomore at Stanford University studying computer science and biology. He has been fascinated by poetry ever since he was a sophomore in high school. Email Aaditya.

Full Poem:  Download Aaditya.

Marginal Notes: Help me not to be afraid

 

Like all 4-year-olds, Skipper had his likes and dislikes, his favorite activities and things he would rather not do. Like most 4-year-olds, Skipper’s world consisted of family, friends, pre-school and home. And like few 4-year-olds, Skipper’s world came to a grinding halt when his doctor diagnosed him with a brain tumor.  more»

 

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."

Yom Keeper

Today is the holiest day of the Jewish year.  Today is for reflection;  for Awe. Most religions have a similar day.  

Today, sheer chance directed me to an amazing video.  Most of you will like it.  It's a real "keeper" -- perhaps it is a "Yom Keeper." Click on the image and wait a few seconds for it to load up.  The video is six minutes long.

For this video's credits, see:

 

 

Marginal Notes: Anger, Hatred and Reconciliation

As human beings, we have a need to commemorate those fellow creatures victimized by some tragic event—a war, an attempted genocide, a terrorist attack.  In some ways it does us good to ponder and reflect.  It helps us work through our collective grief—something we need to do in order to heal as a community, as a society, as a nation.

Yet there is a danger in revisiting such events ad infinitum.  That danger has to do with rekindling our anger and hatred for those who perpetrated the horrendous act.  When our collective anger flares, we relive not only the trauma of the historical event itself—it also serves to harden our hatred and prevent us from allowing ourselves to heal as a community, as a society, as a nation. >>more

 

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."

Doc Brownstein's Vision

    "The optimism of a doctor is not based on the naiveté of a schoolboy-a notion often predicated by the public at large-but rather on the commitment to a practical ideal, an ideal strengthened by the rough and rocky road of personal experience.

    In day to day practice a doctor learns to recognize not only angels, but demons of darkness also; for in his job he daily descends into that gloomy and confused underworld of suffering which masks the light of the human soul..."

for more, read Doc Brownstein's essay: Download From Darkness to Light 

 

Doc Art on Kauai, teaching and recharging his batteries.

Bio: Art Brownstein is a physician, a writer, a yoga practitioner, a surfer, and more.  He lives with his family on Kauai.  To learn more about dakine or to contact him, see his website.

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Marginal Notes: Wounded Healers

Henri Nouwen coined the phrase the wounded healer in reference to individuals who have developed the ability to empathize with the sufferings of others through sufferings that they have experienced themselves. >>more

 

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."

Another Dream

Frank Cavano, a retired psychiatrist, writes poetry when moved by his own life experiences or by those of his patients. His poems and short stories speak to what he has learned about the healing process. They emphasize the importance of being there for those who are hurting, the importance of non-judgmental listening and the key role the Spirit can play in healing.  You may reach him at: frankcavano@hargray.com

Another Dream

drowning, drowning in this dream she sought another
another dream absent of black roses and the twenty-five
hours the sixty-one minutes and the single second that
strangled hope dragging the tragic past into a future
now made of that past that blackened rose memory of
loss which had made of her life a Dali-Bosch painting.

clinging, clinging the barnacle of grief was her solitary
rudder through storms she hardly noticed except for the
rain pouring from swollen, reddened, handerkerchiefed
eyes, the rain still feeding the blackened rose memory
until finally, finally and as if by accident she brushed
into a gentle man whose strong arms held her fast in the
present and there the past receded just enough for her to
smile and with her heart paint for herself another dream.

Another Dream:  Download Another Dream

The Third Presence:

One week had now passed since the tragic loss of his daughter, Julie. Dressing for work this morning, Jonathan, a tear-stained automaton, moved from one task to another until he was “ready” to face his first day back at work since the accident. The steps on the stairway made no discernible sound as he pounded them on his way down to the first floor where he kissed Rachel quickly and headed for the garage. What words could possibly suffice in the face of her loss, their loss?  Download Third Presence

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Marginal Notes: Requiem for a Flower

 

 Sixteen years ago on my desk it appeared:
A gift from my parents
To celebrate my new position,
A fresh chapter in my medical career—
A peace lily plant, young and tender,
With one newly formed white flower. >>more

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."