Dr. John Horton on The Inner Game of Stress

Dr. John Horton M.D. talks about his book “The Inner Game of Stress” and how stress attacks every aspect of our well-being. Dr. Horton also gives some tips about how we can tap into our own inner strengths.

Dr. John Horton on The Inner Game of Stress-oomphTV.com from oomphTV on Vimeo.

My Journey with MS by Garth McLean

It was a hot day in May 1996 when I found myself struggling to walk. Over the course of the previous month, I had been slowly losing feeling throughout my limbs and torso. With the heat, the tingling and numbness I had been experiencing spread to envelop my face and skull…I had lost feeling in my body from head to toe. It wasn’t just a pinched nerve as first suspected. Something was very wrong. After various medical texts, I was admitted to UCLA Medical Center where I was clinically diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. Lesions had been detected in my cervical spine, thoracic spine and on my brain.

As I have always been a physically active person and not one to accept the role of victim, I asked my then doctor’s recommendation for my physical protocol. He suggested swimming and yoga, as long as I don’t overheat the body.

The initial protocol of intravenous steroids helped to get my symptoms into remission but along with the other medications prescribed for MS management, they do not offer a cure. With a pocketful of meds, I was released from the hospital and decided to explore some yoga – Iyengar Yoga to be specific – as the Iyengar system employs props to help the practitioner gain access to the poses in order to glean their potential benefits. So I made some necessary dietary and lifestyle changes, started yoga and chose to forego the medications.

The daily practice of Iyengar Yoga has had a profound effect on my course of the condition. However, my journey has not been without setbacks, as anyone’s might be who deals with relapsing-remitting MS, whether or not they are on the medications. The symptoms I have experienced over the years include: loss of feeling throughout my body, numbness and a banding sensation in the torso and limbs, difficulty walking, compromised gait, loss of motor skills to the point where I could not use a pen or use a fork to feed myself, optic neuritis (loss of vision in my right eye and compromised vision in my left); bowel and urinary incontinence; the L’Hermitte’s symptom (a symptom where electrical charges are felt throughout the body when moving the head in a forward fashion); fatigue and depression.

When I had two severe exacerbations within months of one another in 2001 – loss of eyesight in January 2001 (which returned within a couple of months) and loss of feeling from the navel down in June 2001, fear and doubt crept in and I started with the weekly protocol of interferon beta 1-A. As no medications offer a cure for the MS, I found the ongoing side effects of my weekly injections to be more challenging than the condition! While I am not advocating that people with MS ignore the benefits of the pharmaceutical approach in managing their course of MS, I personally opted for the side effects of a daily practice of Iyengar Yoga over the meds. In January 2004, I chose to once again forego the medication.

My agreement with my neurologist is to have an annual MRI to monitor the lesions on my brain. The MRI reports over the last five have been promising, showing a reduction in size of the brain lesions as well as consistently showing no change in activity – which is really good news. I have been able to successfully overcome the symptoms listed above and remain symptom free, with the exception of fatigue and the residual loss of feeling in my right leg and foot which results in strength and balance challenges on my right side. I see my doctor (Dr. Hart Cohen, Director of Multiple Sclerosis Research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles) semi-annually to continually monitor my course of the condition.

With these results, I am hopeful and my outlook for the future is positive. Undaunted, I carry on with “courage and caution” as encouraged by Yoga master, BKS Iyengar.

Courage and Caution

We profile Garth McLean and his unconventional battle with Multiple Sclerosis through Iyengar Yoga. The title “Courage and Caution” refers to the advice Yogacharya BKS Iyengar offered Garth upon learning of the challenges he faces with MS.

Courage and Caution from oomphTV on Vimeo.

The Roots of Food Addiction

I am Linda D. and I am a food addict. When and where did this addiction come from? Aren’t we all food addicts to some degree or another? Everyone has to eat, right? These are some of the questions I’ve pondered during my meditation, during conversations, and on hundreds of other random occasions during the course of my working the FA- Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous program over the past 15-months.

Realizing that I was, in fact, an addict was the first step in my recovery. To these following questions, published in FA approved literature, I answered YES, YES, YES, YES…!

•    Have you ever wanted to stop eating and couldn’t? “Yah!”
•    Do you find yourself attempting one diet or food plan after another, with no lasting successes? “Totally!”
•    Do you eat differently in private than you do in front of other people? “U-ha.”
•    Has a doctor or family member ever approached you with concern about your eating habits or weight? “Yup.”
•    Do you eat large quantities of food at a time? “Sure.”
•    Is your weight problem due to “nibbling” all day long? “Partly.”
•    Do you eat to escape from your feelings? “Sometimes.”
•    Do you eat when you’re not hungry? “Often.”
•    Do you eat in secret? “I have.”
•    Do you frequently feel guilty or ashamed about what you’ve eaten? “Sadly.”
•    Are you waiting for your life to begin “when” you lose the weight? “Yes.”
•    Do you feel hopeless about your relationship with food? “I surrender!”

When I finally surrendered and said, “Enough is enough!,” that’s when my weight loss started. For me, and I think for countless other people, my addiction was in my head. I’m hard wired for flour and sweets. My problem default was to run to food when I was happy, sad, lonely, excited, celebratory, nervous, and God forbid, hungry. When did this chaos start? Well, let’s put it this way…as a child I named my first dog “Ralph” (named after the supermarket in my neighborhood.), my tortoise’s name is “Steak” (Yes,  “is” Steak because I still have him. He’s over 45-years old.), my baby doll’s name was “Sugar,” and I even named my cat after a popular cat food brand, “Frisky” (Wow! I just remembered that I used to sit and eat his cat food with him too. Ooooa!) I named things I loved after things I loved…food! My food addiction started a long time ago. Sugar and flour are drugs. They altered my chemistry. I felt different after eating them but I always wanted more.   How did I get it more? Being 7 years-old, what did I have to offer?   Boobies! The neighbor boys had candy cigarettes and I had boobies. It was the perfect barter. I carried that shame around for years. Food addiction started a long time ago for me.

Even with over 50 pounds of weight loss, I am still a food addict. With help, I have it in check one day at a time. There is no longer shame around my food or the way I look. The meals I make are made with ingredients that God intended me to eat—fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy and grains. Today, I cook better and more exciting meals than I did when I was heavy. Dinner used to be a bag of tortilla chips and salsa. Thank God those days are over.

If you think that you may be a food addict, there is a solution. Please visit foodaddicts.org to find a local chapter close to you and attend a few meetings.

A Metaphor for Permanent Weight Loss

I’m Linda and I’m a food addict. Saying this statement to others and myself is a gentle reminder of who I am, where I’ve been, and what I could easily revert back to if not mindful. My food program is something I work on daily. Thank you fellows, family, and friends for all you have done to support me on my daily journey with food addiction. I did not and do not do this alone! Doing it alone NEVER worked before, so thank you!

While backpacking in the high country of Yosemite with a friend, the topic of my dramatic weight loss came up and an interesting metaphor for life materialized. As I stated before, I did not achieve my weight loss alone. Standing in the forest, below a vast expanse of hearty Douglas Firs, I realized the tremendous power in numbers. A mature forest stands strong as a whole. Seedlings are protected. When I started FA, I was a seedling, so vulnerable. My fellows and a veteran sponsor, with 5-years of abstinence, showed me the way and helped me weather many a storm. In recovery, I began to grow strong emotionally, spiritual cornerstones were put in place, and my healthy, new body started to appear. I was a maturing tree reaching rapidly towards the life giving sunshine. However, even in nature, not everything is perfect. Early on those storms happened almost daily, usually manifesting in the form of some floury and sugary product seen on TV, in a store, at the gas station, at work, and even in my dreams. I realized the power it had over me. Experienced fellows shared that these “cravings” weren’t hunger, rather “feelings” that churned away in my stomach and mind. My natural default was to reach for food, which worked but left me numb, fat, and unhappy. Getting support was the only way to get to the next day. Some days, it was difficult to see beyond that. But with help, especially from my sponsor and fellows, the storms passed without me picking up a floury or sugary item. What I now eat are vegetables, fruits, meats and grains in a kaleidoscope of amazing colors, of which I love! Thank God!

Today, I am amazed to say, that my seedling has turned into a tree. I am firmly planted in a forest where I have been given the opportunity to shield and guide others during storms and bouts with uncontrollable cravings. Do I still suffer with cravings at times? Yes! However, abstaining from flour, sugar, and quantities is my first choice. My new lifestyle affords me oomph that I only imagined before.

It’s Monday, August 24th. I am 40 years old, 5’8” tall, and weigh 139 pounds. I have 54 pounds of permanent weight loss and have been in Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) for 13-months. To learn more about my food program, please visit  www.foodaddicts.org and attend a meeting near you.

Next Page »