People are talking about mindfulness as if it’s the latest fashion trend: mindful eating, mindful communication, mindful movement, even mindful business management. The explosion of books, CD’s and videos on the subject now includes weekend seminars and lengthy meditation retreats. Leaders of this new field articulate the merging of mindfulness, technology, and ancient wisdom traditions to rapt audiences. Academies are dedicated to its study. An industry has been born.
With seemingly clear boundaries between our bodies and the world through which we move, it’s easy to feel separated from everything outside our skin. But as physical, chemical, emotional, and energetic beings, this perception belies our true nature.Read the rest of this entry »
You’ve been at the computer for six hours and feel that familiar tug. From your upper back, spreading slowly to your neck and grabbing the base of your skull, stiffness turns to pain and the dull ache turns sharp. Your movement becomes restricted. Unable to turn your head, you tell yourself that it is time to see your chiropractor. You remember that it has been a year since you saw him last.Read the rest of this entry »
Most people come to see me because they have pain: neck pain, lower back pain, head pain. And they want relief.
I first take a history. How long have they had the complaint? What makes the pain worse? What relieves it? Have they had any car accidents or sports injuries? What kind of work do they do? Do they exercise? And so on.Read the rest of this entry »
The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has profound implications for the future of American health care. Of course it will lead to changes in how care is delivered. But it will also lead to a transformation in our perception of the meaning of health and healing.Read the rest of this entry »
I worked at the Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic from 1986 until 2001. With the exception of the medical director and a few nurse practitioners and physician assistants, the providers–psychologists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, podiatrists, physical and massage therapists, and a variety of medical specialists—were all volunteers.Read the rest of this entry »
I just finished reading The End of Illness, a provocative new book by David Agus, MD. Agus is a medical oncologist and a leading cancer researcher. The focus of his research has been the varied mechanisms of cancer development.
One of the simple, profound conclusions he reaches, is that we must stop thinking about cancer as a “thing” to be cut out or poisoned, but as a pathological systemic process. Cancer, he believes, should be seen as a verb. We don’t just “have cancer.” Instead, we “cancer”.Read the rest of this entry »