About a year and a half ago I was approached by a psychiatrist from UCLA (Dr. Ishak) about writing a chapter for an upcoming book on "Wellness Medicine". The project was going to include chapters on various wellness-related topics written by integrative physicians and other experts in the field. The contributors were going to be from several continents, and the book would be intended for a professional audience (physicians, PAs, NPs, therapists, health coaches, and others trying to make their practices more holistic). Sounded awesome, so of course I said YES!!
My proposed chapter was on "Mindfulness, Meditation, and Yoga". I lived at a yoga ashram in my 20s and have been a certified instructor since then. I also have had a near-daily yoga and meditation practice for 20+ years. And, at the time of the request, I was also working at the Chopra Center, a yoga and meditation center in San Diego. I was doing Ayurveda, Integrative Psychiatry, and Intuitive Astrology there, but yoga- and meditation-related philosophy absolutely infused my every moment.
The chapter I wrote is a review of all the most compelling scientific evidence for mindfulness, meditation, yoga. I spoke about specific conditions that were benefitted by each of the three modalities. I also included a few personal stories from my time at the ashram and from my experience leading a mind-body spirit group (meditation, yoga, dance, mandala art, poetry, biofeedback, mindfulness education, and more) with teenaged women in Telluride, CO (also in my 20s). The rest of my chapter dives into some Buddhist and yogic theories and teachings that really resonate with me and have helped me personally and professionally (in my work with clients) over the years.
Here are a few excerpts from the yoga section:
(...anyone interested to explore the Yoga Sutras of Pantajali translated by Swami Satchidananda.)
Hated to leave you hanging. There's more, of course, but that at least finishes the sentence.
I was even able to include one of my original poems, which was awesome! I'll attach it below:
The book, The Handbook of Wellness Medicine, is available on Amazon for about $62 for a print copy and $39 for Kindle. It's quite a large book and includes the work of several well-known leaders in the field (Dan Siegel from UCLA, Mimi Guarneri from Pacific Pearl in San Diego, and more). Even though I receive a copy for contributing, I paid to download the Kindle copy because I was eager to reread my chapter and also read some of the other authors' contributions. It really is a wonderful resource, and I am honored to be a part. It was also an honor to be asked to write my chapter solo. Many of the other chapters have 2 or more contributors. (Thanks Dr. Ishak!) And thank you (as well) to Cambridge University Press for this opportunity. I love the thought of some slightly more mainstream (but curious!!) physicians and health care providers reading this book and receiving way more than they bargained for if they read my chapter. It is full of little nuggets of wisdom and inspirational love messages. That's my way! Slowly infusing the world with stealth sparkles.
Check it out! And let me know what you think of my chapter if you do!! Hari Om!! ❤️ 📿 🧘♀️
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