MyLifeYoga

At the end of a long day and a longer week in which I worked hard and accomplished a lot, I came home and poured myself a glass of champagne. The reaction from my houseguest was curiosity as to what I was celebrating. My answer, “nothing in particular, everything in general”, gleaned more suspicious looks.

Why should the champagne stay in the fridge? I don’t wait for special occasions to give myself what I like. I don’t keep my silk PJs in the back of my closet, and I wear my favorite high heels whenever the mood strikes me – even if I’m just going to the drugstore. I’d rather wear them out from overuse than never get to enjoy them because they’re being “saved” inside bubble wrap.

If you don’t treat yourself like you are worth it, who will? You don’t need permission! What are you waiting for? Here are some suggestions in honor of the fact that you are totally worth it. Think up some to add and share with me. Continue reading →

Henry is an elderly Alzheimer patient whose illness has progressed to a stage where he is unable to recognize his daughter. He spends most of his time unresponsive and stooped over, unable to answer simple yes or no questions. Then something magical happens. He is fitted with a pair of headphones and listens to music of his time. Millions have watched this video as it captures beautifully how he comes alive. After listening to music he is able to answer questions, talk about his youth, and even sing.

Henry is benefiting from the work of Dan Cohen, a social worker, who has shown how music can help people suffering from dementia. Dan’s work took off when he got funding to buy 200 iPods that he then supplied to four facilitates around New York. Soon there was a flood of stories on how music was bringing alive elderly patients suffering from dementia. The youtube video is a trailer of the documentary “Alive Inside” made by Dan that documents the stories of these patients and that will help spread the word on the power of music in helping patients. You can do your part by forwarding this on by liking or sharing this story or sending the link to someone who may benefit from it. Here are some resources that you may find useful:

Listen to NPR coverage. It also has some useful tips.
Dan Cohen’s non-profit to help elderly patients with dementia
Donate your unused iPOD/nano
How-to-Guides
The power of music on Alzheimer patients
Gil and Denise Story

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As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”

The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants we too are conditioned to believe that we cannot break free from our ego. We have grown up with our ego and believe that the ego is all there is to us. But if we look past our conditioning we can easily realize that the puny ego is nothing before our mighty soul. Once this realization takes root we can easily break free and un-tether our spirit. Just like a small rope cannot hold back a mighty elephant, nor can the puny ego hold back the mighty soul.

Note: This story has been adopted from a similar story whose original source we are not aware of.

Related: An Overflowing Cup