Life as Rehab

Robin
Rocky Mountain Stroke Survivor

June 24, 2013

My perfect day: Having slept in as late as I wanted, I woke up in my beautiful and peaceful bedroom to the feel of a light breeze coming through the open window.  I close the window and curtain before the heat of the day and pad into the kitchen where my husband has breakfast waiting for me.  Everyone smiles at me and I at them as I walk into the room.  The kids are already diapered/pottied and dressed for the day.  They are each settled into an age appropriate, interesting, and educational activity.  My husband is wiping down the completely clear table after their breakfast (did I mention they were already fed too?) and as soon as I finish my breakfast, my dish is whisked into the dishwasher in order to not dirty the freshly scrubbed sink. Supper is already in the crock pot and my husband announces that he has a picnic lunch already packed so the kids and I can go on a little jaunt while he finishes up a project in the back yard.  I put on the clothes that were laid out for me and away we go.  When we get home an hour or so later, my husband has gotten an amazing amount of work done around the house and yard; he takes over the kids while I take a 2-3 hour nap.  I wake up refreshed.  We spend a little time together as a family before supper and everyone stows themselves neatly in bed nice and early.

My real day: Our daughter, age 1, has a fever and wakes me up with her piteous cries at 4am.  I kick my husband until he wakes up enough to understand that I need him to fetch the infant ibuprofen from the bathroom.  By the time he comes back, I’ve fallen asleep in an uncomfortable position holding my daughter.  As soon as he wakes me up and hands me the syringe of medicine, he’s konked out (in an uncomfortable position).  I dose the baby and spend the rest of the night in that weird sort-of sleep that only parents of sick kids and political prisoners understand…you’re exhausted so you fall asleep instantly but the instant you fall asleep, you are awoken by kicks and screams.

Therapy 1

Steven H. Cornelius
Music and Stroke

February 7, 2012

When released from intensive care, I was moved Mass General’s neurology ward. Things were coming along nicely. Already I could raise my left shoulder, slowly bend my elbow, and even move my thumb.

That day, a physical therapy intern came in to see me. After few niceties, she put a comb on the bed table, and then asked me to comb my hair. If I could have spoken more than a couple words at a time, I would have tried to explain why hers was a stupid request. (Nearly 30 years of college “professing” makes ideal teaching moments hard to pass up.) But alas, I could manage neither the words nor organize the concepts.

So being a good sport (and appreciating her attention), I gave it a try. After some struggle, I captured the comb between palm and thumb. With much shoulder raising, head lowering, and eventually some elbow bending, I eventually got comb to head, which knocked the comb out of my hand.

So I tried again, and again, and for what seemed like an eternity, as she looked on encouragingly. I could go through the gory details of the repeated attempts, but not much changed.

So, the teaching moments…

Community Ambulation Falls Thru the Cracks

Rebecca Dutton
Home After a Stroke

August 16, 2014

Walking in PT gyms and on a deserted sidewalk did not prepare me for walking in community settings, like maneuvering around carts and people in a grocery store, squeezing past closely placed chairs and tables in a restaurant, and dealing with children in a shopping mall who do not look where they are going.  PTs do not know walking requires divided attention because they walk clients in wide empty spaces that provide no cognitive challenges.  Equally unfortunate, OTs who are trained to assess and treat cognitive issues do not assess community ambulation because walking is PTs domain.  So community ambulation falls through the cracks.  Stroke survivors are left to figure out how to walk safely in the community.

A recent study addresses the unpredictability of walking in the community.  Inness learned what stroke survivors did when they were not told they were about to experience a fall hazard (1).  Stroke survivors were asked to stand with each foot on one of two force plates.  At an unexpected time the two force plates were tipped forward and subjects had to recover their balance by stepping forward onto a third force plate.  Clinical tests like walking speed and the Berg Balance Test did not have a significant correlation with the unexpected stepping test results.  Subjects who did poorly or did well on the unexpected stepping test had a similar range of Berg Balance scores (25-55 and 20-56).  The Berg Test does not measure real world balance because clients can concentrate fiercely on their own body and get to decide when they want to initiate movement.

Bottom Line: Being afraid to walk in crowded environments is a major barrier to participating in valued community activities.  Limiting gait training to walking in the home contributes to social isolation and depression.

1. Inness E, Mansfield A, Lakhani B, Bayley M, McIlroy W. Impaired reactive stepping among patients ready for discharge from inpatient stroke rehabilitation. 

See the original article:

Community Ambulation Falls Thru the Cracks

in

Home After a Stroke

Wii Fit: Fun Therapy

Jeff Porter
Stroke of Faith

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

While I don't need a Wii Fit for physical therapy, I'd love to try one out just for the sheer fun of it. It sounds like a way to help some recovering stroke survivors. This one is from The Plain Dealer, in Cleveland, Ohio.

From the article in The Plain Dealer in Cleveland:

▶︎ Physical therapy is best served with a little camaraderie and light conversation, but therapist Nancy Ditzel also dished out some fun to recovering stroke patient Marilyn Smigelski recently.

▶︎ The LakeEast Hospital therapist put Smigelski to work on the latest Nintendo Wii video system game, called Fit. While the American Physical Therapy Association magazine recently reported widespread use among members of Wii games that simulate sports like tennis and bowling, the Lake hospital system is the first locally to use the Fit game in physical therapy.

See the original article:

Wii Fit: Fun Therapy

in

Stroke of Faith

Physical Therapy - Again

Andrea
A Year of Living In My Head

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Went to a new physical therapist yesterday.  As part of my wrapping up medical things while they are fully paid for before the divorce... I went to this PT for getting my lesser muscles back online.  I notice my muscle mass is decidedly different on the left side of my body. After the ever-fun assessment it was decided, yes, my left leg and torso have lost strength.  He gives me such simple exercises.  Ridiculously easy and slow and they don't take much time.  And, after, I feel like I have run a marathon and swam the English channel AND climbed Mt. Rainier.  My body has been slacking big time.  (Really, I wonder why.)  Once I get over the shock that I have no strength (what is getting me up in the morning? because it is obviously not muscles) I do my exercises and freak out my body.  Connections. All about those connections. Thank god I am such a stubborn person.

See the original article:

Physical Therapy - Again

in

A Year of Living In My Head

Mixing It Up

Pamela Hsieh
Rehab Revolution

20 May 2010

A key strategy to ward off that dreaded plateau -- that point of flatlining improvement everyone hates -- is to vary your routine.

Variety?! But my routine knows not that word! In fact, that is exactly the opposite of routine!

Not if you don't let it. What I do is have my physical therapist write me a new full-body program every eight times I've gone through one. Now, this tip is clearly aimed at people farther along in their rehab, where independent and/or more advanced techniques are part of their daily gig (because earlier on, your rehab is more or less guided completely by your therapists).

If you keep your body guessing, you'll keep it on track rather than getting bored with the same-old, same-old.

An easy way to implement a regular mix-up? On a drizzly day you feel too sluggish to hit the gym yet feel guilty for playing hooky (um, like today, for me), stay in and pop in an exercise video or DVD. I've got them all: yoga, dance, capoeira, Bosu Ball, Bender Ball, pilates. (Apparently, there's a whole rehab aspect to pilates that I've never officially tried with a practitioner before, but I'll definitely get more information on that for you.)

Experience

Amy Shissler
My Cerebellar Stroke Recovery

October 18, 2014

The first couple of years that I was a practicing physical therapist, I was scared of everything.  It’s really scary when someone that’s already in a lot of pain and coming to you for help tells you that the exercises that you asked them to do caused more pain.  That’s a scary thing.  That’s when confidence and experience become critical.  Now, I only have 4 years of work experience so I don’t want to give the wrong impression but that being said, I kinda know a lot and I was really good at what I did.  I only have 4 years of work experience but I have personal experience now that most health care practitioners with decades of work experience don’t and never will have.  It took a few years after getting a lot of good results with people to have the confidence to say to someone “I know it hurts a little more or in a different spot, that’s ok.  Keep doing the exercises and I promise you’ll feel better.”  That wasn’t always the case of course but I knew what to do and how to deal with it after a while.

When I got sick, and when I was doing inpatient rehab, I could have done a whole heck of a lot more than I was asked to do.  But I’m sure my therapists were absolutely terrified of me.  First of all, I was the youngest person in the stroke unit so that alone probably scared them.  I was bald, I had an enormous scar on the back of my head, I was shaking uncontrollably due to my tremors and ataxia, I could barely speak.  I looked like absolute, utter hell.  So I’m sure they were scared shitless and were terrified to ask me to do any real exercise. It’s not their fault, it’s what they were taught and how they’re told to treat.  In therapy I was tired as hell because I wasn’t allowed to sleep when I needed to be asleep.  I was scheduled to go therapy based on THEIR schedule, not mine.  I wasn’t AT ALL getting what I needed.

Unbrace Yourself

Marcelle Greene
Up Stroke

Wednesday, October 5, 2011











I left rehab with an Ankle-Foot Orthosis (left) to support my ankle and keep my foot from dragging. I hated it. I hated having to wear long socks in hot weather. I hated having to put on a brace and shoes in the morning just to walk to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. I hated wearing shoes that were two sizes too big so they could fit the brace.

I googled alternatives and found the Freedom Soft Footdrop Brace (center). I discussed it with my since-dismissed physical therapist who said it wouldn’t give me enough support. I ordered it anyway (July 2010, $120). By allowing more ankle flexibility, my muscles strengthened.

When I started with Arbi (Feb. 2011), he said, "Marcelle, why are you wearing shoes that are too big for you? No wonder you walk funny." He directed me to a  sports brace (right). It was only $20 and I could wear it with my regular shoe size!

The first few days wearing that brace my foot felt like it was going to roll over and break off at the ankle. I questioned Arbi – but he was firm and so was the brace. Within weeks, my ankle strengthened and, in July 2011, I stopped using a brace. Period.

I read in a fellow survivor’s blog that she had become dependent on her AFO because it had prevented her muscles from developing. I don't know if what I did would work for everybody. But I am glad I ignored the skepticism of my first PT and trusted Arbi enough to follow his advice. Half the battle is knowing who to listen to and when to listen to yourself.

See the original article:

Unbrace Yourself

in

Up Stroke

Goodbye, Urvashi

Grace Carpenter
My Happy Stroke

Monday, August 23, 2010

Torturer. Slave-driver. These are some of names I call my physical therapist, Urvashi. But actually, she's been great. She works me hard but always makes me laugh.

So I'm a little sad that Thursday I finished with PT.  I'm also worried: I still have a lop-sided gait; a ten-minute walk exhausts me; and my knee is very, very wobbly. But Urvashi says that I'm much stronger, and I can do most of the exercises by myself. She also said that my gait will improve as my sensation returns, and maybe I will need more PT down the road.

I will miss her.

See the original article:

Goodbye, Urvashi

in

My Happy Stroke

Dangerous Phrases

Peter G. Levine
Stronger After Stroke

Friday, August 22, 2014

In the Seinfeld episode "The Kiss Hello" George Costanza describes his physical therapist as “… so mentally gifted that we mustn't disturb the delicate genius.” This could describe many of us involved in neurorehabilitation. We assume that we’re making the treatment choices for stroke swurvivors because we have a lot of experience. A lot of experience is a good thing, right?

Not necessarily.

“It works in my patients”

Neurorehabilitation research is now in a “golden age” with an exponential rise in diagnostics. This allows researches to test new treatments ever more accurately. We can now see, with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the work of the brain as it attempts to control movement. Triangulate changes in fMRI with computer-driven kinematic data capture, movement outcome measures and algorithmic data analysis and a three dimensional view of patient progress become startlingly clear. But like the proverbial tree falling in a forest, are therapists listening?

Elliptical Timeline

Joyce Hoffman
The Tales of a Stroke Patient

Oct 25, 2012

There's an old joke: Call me anything, but please don't call me late for dinner. And please don't call me a hypocrite, either. Three days a week, I have done physical therapy at Rehab X, twelve times so far.

If you read my book, "The Tales of a Stroke Patient," though I said horrific things about my stay there for seven weeks, I didn't say one bad word about the physical therapists. So I was not being a hypocrite when I returned to Rehab X for physical therapy. That's a roundabout way of saying the physical therapists were the best, at least according to the sign they have plastered in the therapy window for winning the local newspaper's award.

Anyway, there were three parts to the routine that lasted for about an hour and was the same every time. First, I got stretched on the mat with the physical therapist helping me lift, spread, and bend my legs. My hamstrings, quadriceps, and ankles were challenged, and though it hurt, it was a good hurt. Next, I went on the elliptical, a cardio training machine that mirrors walking up the stairs and running, working large muscle groups, in my legs and one functional arm in a continuous movement.Finally, I used the parallel bars, with exercises like side-stepping and lifting my leg on the affected side as high as it would go.  My therapist gave me all her time, but occasionally, when the therapy center was crazy busy, the therapist at most had two patients.

In The Swim

Barb Polan
Barb's Recovery

1st February 2013

Last summer I met a woman at a friend's party; she was kind and friendly, and quite deaf, so we sat in chairs next to each other and had a very loud conversation. She told me about a nearby pool (that I didn't know existed) that has a wonderful aquatic physiotherapist. Every therapist I ever worked with plus my physiatrist and my husband have encouraged me to go to aquatic sessions because, they said, it would be easier for my weak muscles to bear my weight if I were buoyant; made sense to me. But my only opportunity (I thought) was at the Y, where the buoyancy theory did not work for me - in fact, none of them could even get me set up to keep me afloat. All through the fall, my torn meniscus kept me from looking up this newly recommended therapist because in the pool I tend to put more weight on my unaffected leg, which aggravates my knee (and me). I finally started sessions with her (twice a week) about a month ago. I LOVE the therapy; I LOVE the therapist. She was the very first to get me to keep my head out in water over my head - floats around my arms just under my armpits work. Even then, I had trouble controlling my leg, so instead of making my leg lighter to help my atrophied muscles, she put a 2-pound weight around my ankle. How counter-intuitive was that? It kept my leg extended down and gave me far more control over it. From the first session, I've been able to "run" in the deep end. I'm heading to one later this morning. Next post, I'll have to rant about bathing suits!

See the original article:

In The Swim

in

Barb's Recovery

The Rest of the Story…

Robin
Rocky Mountain Stroke Survivor

December 31, 2014

I started my stroke blog in the weeks after my strokes as a way to process everything that happened.  Since that time, it has grown to be so much more.  In 2014, over 13,000 views provided thousands of people with a personal view of life after a stroke.  I receive touching emails from stroke survivors and loved ones thanking me for helping them explain to their family what it’s like.  It’s really rewarding to know that I’ve been able to make a difference in this way.  This blog will always be here for people who need it.

At the same time, life is complicated.  A year ago, I started a different blog to write about what was going on in the rest of my life.  It didn’t seem right to clutter up my stroke blog with information about my kids and work.  But I desperately needed to write about it.  Initially, that blog was almost exclusively about some very specific struggles at the time.  But it has gradually evolved to be about everything, including my strokes and my life post stroke.  I recently realized that it was time to bring it all together and invite all my readers here to go visit there.  I did mention it in a comment at one point, and a couple astute readers noticed and have been over there.  But I feel as if I’ve kind of left everyone else hanging.

I’ll still post here once in awhile when I am itching to write about something so strokey that it just doesn’t fit on the other blog, but most of the time the other blog is where you’ll find me: Our Own Flavor: Creating Our Family with Some Unexpected Ingredients.

See the original article:

The Rest of the Story…

in

Rocky Mountain Stroke Survivor

PEI Stroke Care Model "Caregiver Handbook"

Gary Gray
PEI Stroke Recovery

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Did you know that over 300 strokes occur on Prince Edward Island every year?

Are you a family member, caregiver or friend of a stroke survivor on Prince Edward Island.

Here is a valuable information resource for Prince Edward Islanders seeking information about recovering from stroke on Prince Edward Island.

PEI Stroke Care Model  "Caregiver Handbook"

• Click Here to open the "Caregiver Handbook" PDF

and Heart & Stroke's "Let's Talk About Stroke" booklet

• Click Here to open the "Let's Talk About Stroke" PDF

Both of the above PDF's can be downloaded to your computer's hard drive and/or printed out on your printer as handy reference material.

Please share the link to this post with others who may need this information.

Thanks,
Gary
Stroke survivor since 2002

See the original article:

PEI Stroke Care Model "Caregiver Handbook"

in

Prince Edward Island Stroke Recovery

Time to Reflect

Sas Freeman

December 29, 2014

Stroke Awards 2015

With Christmas now behind us and the New Year fast approaching people have many mixed emotions, some people love New Year while others feel the exact opposite and even find it sad. This can be a particularly difficult time for some stroke survivors, particularly those affected by Post-Stroke Emotionalism (PSE). This causes uncontrollable, unprovoked crying after having a stroke and feeling depressed and or anxious. There is still very little known about how and why it can continue so long after stroke.

The Stroke Association has funded a study to learn more about this condition, which will be led by Dr Niall Broomfield – Head of Stroke Neuropsychology at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. He is confident the findings will help overcome this impact in the future.

For now I think it is important we stop and remind ourselves, especially as stroke survivors of exactly what we have done and enjoyed this year and celebrate all our personal achievements each and every one of them. This way we go into 2015 with the fighting spirit and self-belief required to continue our journey of recovery and to begin the year in a positive frame of mind.

With this thought for most in mind: how about nominating someone for the ‘Life After Stroke Awards 2015’. Think of someone you have perhaps met at a stroke group, a fellow survivor who you believe to be truly inspirational, a healthcare professional, or a carer, that person who really has gone that extra mile to help you.

You can get your form at stroke.org.uk/lasa but it will need to be completed and submitted by 30th January 2015. Start the year by making someone happy, if they were to win you then would go to the awards ceremony in London.

Let’s start the year by continuing the progress positivity and helping one another.

I wish you all and your families a healthy and happy 2015.

See the original article:

Time to Reflect

in

Sas Freeman

A Caregiver's Christmas

Diane
The Pink House On The Corner

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Thursday was Christmas Day, but my day started out as usual, with me leaping barefoot out of bed to catch the feeding pump before the alarm goes off, then, on my way, slipping and sliding in a pile of wet dog poop.

So I dashed to the kitchen to grab some paper towels, only to find that one of cats had left me a Christmas present on the counter -- a long, snaking tube of hairball puke.  Ho ho ho!

After cleaning up all that, and after disconnecting the feeding pump, flushing Bob's tube, giving Bob his morning meds, feeding the cats and going for a long walk with the dog, I decided to treat myself to a frothy cup of cappuccino (the instant kind) and a couple of my mother's famous "ice box cookies" (great for dunking) that she sent in her annual Christmas care package and peruse the Sunday newspaper and, in that way, I prepared to spend a quiet, calm Christmas day watching sappy holiday specials on TV with Bob...

But alas, it was not meant to be, at least not yet. For not a half hour later, I hear a cry for "HELP!" from Bob's corner of the room.

And when I go to investigate, I find myself face-to-face with the mother-of-all-monsters and OMG, I nearly fainted straight away.  But let me back up a bit here --

Mentoring: Speech Therapy for Aphasia/Developmental Language Delay

December 29, 2014

Definition:
      An experienced teacher, advisor and supporter

During 2014 I’ve had the pleasure to mentor some awesome, astounding, surprising, breathtaking, remarkable, extraordinary, incredible, unbelievable, phenomenal and mind-boggling caregivers and therapists who have been exceptional students of The Teaching of Talking Method. They can stimulate speech and language very well, and their loved ones and clients have been making exceptional progress overcoming aphasia, dysarthria, and developmental speech and language difficulties. Why am I writing about this? Is it to blow my own horn? No. Is it to try to get others to learn the Teaching of Talking Method to help their loved ones speak again? Yes. Why would I want to do such a thing? Financial gain? Not really. Then why would you want to share with others a method that really gets results?

If you went to a great doctor, and you got well, or a great restaurant, would you want to tell friends about it? Yes. If you tried a new food and loved it, would you tell others? Of course! Why would you want to tell others about a doctor, restaurant or a new food? Because, you want them to benefit and enjoy something you experienced, right? Right.

Top Ten Brain Posts 2014: 1-5

Bill Yates
Brain Posts

Dec 29th 2014

Brain Posts on diet and exercise lead the list of topics with the most page views in 2014.

Here are the top five most viewed blog posts. Merry Christmas to all and best wishes for a productive and peaceful 2015.

Clicking on the title will link you to the full Brain Post blog on the topic.

5. Aging, Exercise and Brain Plasticity

This post examined a review of the effects of aging and exercise on the brain. Exercise appears to reduce the rate of atrophy of the brain hippocampus with age. Enhanced brain blood flow with exercise may provide a boost in brain plasticity needed to deal with vascular degeneration.

4. Lo Carb-Mediterranean Diet Combo Sheds Fat in Trial

A research team from Greece published results of a trial of a very low carbohydrate diet alternating with low carbohydrate Mediterranean style diet. Over one year subjects in this study lost an average of 35 pounds. Metabolic changes including lower cholesterol levels were favorable in the study subjects.

Weekly Columnists

Sunday Stroke Survival: I Got One, But Not the Other

Jo Murphey
The Murphey Saga

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Today's post is on therapists. Actually, a specialty with a field of therapy...it's the physiotherapist. What I didn't know, before I asked, is there are two different types. I just assumed that you went the extra mile after your masters + got your doctorate= physiotherapist.  Well, you know what they say about assume. The short of it is I was right and wrong.

Carol (not her real name) does the women's health, evaluates all incoming P.T. clients, and a host of other functions. I asked her if she had her doctorate. She said, "Yes, but not the PhD."

This confused me because when I entered the doctorate program upon graduating, I became known as Dr. Murphey. After my ordination, I became Reverend or Dr Murphey. I thought it was the same for all degrees...NOPE.

At my puzzled look, Carol explained that there were two tracts of schooling for physical therapy. One is sort of like a vocational versus academic versions of PhDs. She chose the vocational path. She does all the hands-on, practical stuff, while the doctor type can write prescriptions and stuff like that.

That made sense to me. It's a question of boards and licensing. It's a personal decision dependent on where your heart lies and what you want to do. Like I could have remained Dr. Murphey sans ordination, but chose to go through ordination. So I've got a physiotherapist with a doctorate, but not a doctor of physiotherapy.

Jackie The Jester: Okoboji Museum

Jackie Poff
Stroke Survivors Tattler

Lake Okoboji is a popular vacation and recreation spot in northwest Iowa, including an amusement park named Arnold’s Park. It has some beautiful old cars in it, along with recreations of storefronts and the way Arnold’s Park looked in the ‘50s and ‘60s. The Roof Garden was a well-known dance hall, drawing people from long distances to dance to big-name rock & roll bands.

Okoboji Classic Cars. The Ultimate Man Cave.

Standard YouTube License @ Okoboji Classic Cars, LLC

TED Talks - Michael Rubinstein: See Invisible Motion, Hear Silent Sounds. Cool? Creepy? We Can't Decide.

Published on Dec 23, 2014

Meet the “motion microscope,” a video-processing tool that plays up tiny changes in motion and color impossible to see with the naked eye. Video researcher Michael Rubinstein plays us clip after jaw-dropping clip showing how this tech can track an individual’s pulse and heartbeat simply from a piece of footage. Watch him recreate a conversation by amplifying the movements from sound waves bouncing off a bag of chips. The wow-inspiring and sinister applications of this tech you have to see to believe.


Standard YouTube License @ TED

Rick Mercer Report: Rick and Jann Arden on Tour

Published on Oct 15, 2014


Rick takes Jann paintballing and then helps out at her concert in Edmonton, AB.



Standard YouTube License @ Rick Mercer Report

Daily Comics

For Better and For Worse
Lynn Johnston

Canada Family Events

Dilbert
Scott Adams

Dilbert Office Events

Edmonton Journal
Malcolm Mayes

Politics Views from Canada

Doonesbury
Garry Trudeau

Politics Views from USA

  

** I tried to get low or free price at the people http://www.UniversalUclick.com/ for the images for the cartoons. It was too high for Stroke Survivors Tattler i.e. we are not a regular newspaper and our budget is very, very low. Fortunately, you will have to do only 1-click more to see the cartoon image, it is legit and it is free using GoComics.com, Dilbert.com and EdmontonJournal.com.

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Saturday News

Contents of This Week Saturday News:

• Headline - Mindfulness
• Eclectic - Many articles from many Guest Bloggers about Stroke
• [Spirit September] Repost: Works Like a Charm
• You're Already Awesome. Just Get Out of Your Own Way!
• Mindfulness and You
• Mindfulness
• Taking It In
• Happiness is Biochemical
• Mindfulness
• Guidelines for Treatment of Problem Gambling
• Statins - Again.
• Poor Taste Public Service Announcement!
• Busier Than A Cat Covering --- Well, You Know the Saying
• Keeping One's Word: Speech Therapy for Aphasia
• Positive News for New Stroke Treatment - Clot Removal
• A Peaceful Christmas by Design
• Entitlement
• Weekly Columnists
• Sunday Stroke Survival: Wake Up and Smell the Coffee!
• Jackie The Jester: Lettuce, Whores and Hockey Players
• TED Talks - Verna Myers: How to Overcome our Biases? Walk Boldly Toward Them
• Rick Mercer Report: Rick Goes Ballroom Dancing
• Laid-Back Administration: City / Sub-Continent for Jan-1 to Dec-10 This Year
• Daily Comics: FB Or FW, Dilbert, Mayes, Doonesbury

Definition: Mindfulness

Mindfulness From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is "the intentional, accepting and non-judgmental focus of one's attention on the emotions, thoughts and sensations occurring in the present moment", which can be trained by meditational practices derived from Buddhist anapanasati.

The term "mindfulness" is derived from the Pali-term sati, "mindfulness", which is an essential element of Buddhist practice, including vipassana, satipaṭṭhāna and anapanasati.

Mindfulness practice is being employed in psychology to alleviate a variety of mental and physical conditions, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and in the prevention of relapse in depression and drug addiction. It has gained worldwide popularity as a distinctive method to handle emotions.

Translations and Definitions

Buddhism

Sati and Smṛti

The Buddhist term translated into English as "mindfulness" originates in the Pali term sati and in its Sanskrit counterpart smṛti. The Abhidhammattha-sangaha, a key abhidharma text from the Theravada tradition, defines sati as follows:

The word sati derives from a root meaning 'to remember,' but as a mental factor it signifies presence of mind, attentiveness to the present, rather than the faculty of memory regarding the past. It has the characteristic of not wobbling, i.e. not floating away from the object. Its function is absence of confusion or non-forgetfulness. It is manifested as guardianship, or as the state of confronting an objective field. Its proximate cause is strong perception (thirasaññā) or the four foundations of mindfulness.

Video: Mindfulness

SSTattler: Five YouTubes about Jon Kabat-Zinn (and a brief introduction). There are more YouTubes about "Mindfulness", total 12 in this article. A little Jon Kabat-Zinn biography:

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., is a scientist, writer, and meditation teacher engaged in bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society. He is professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he was founding executive director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society, as well as founder and former director of its world-renowned Stress Reduction Clinic. He is the author of Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness; Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life; Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness; and co-author, with his wife, Myla, of Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting. He lectures and leads retreats on mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for health professionals worldwide. He received a Pioneer in Integrative Medicine award from the Bravewell Collaborative in 2007 and the 2008 Mind & Brain Prize from the Center for Cognitive Science at the University of Turin, Italy. His books are in print in more than thirty languages.

Mindfulness

Dec 14 / 2014

Anderson Cooper reports on what it's like to try to achieve "mindfulness," a self-awareness scientists say is very healthy, but rarely achieved in today's world of digital distractions.

The following is a script from "Mindfulness" which aired on Dec. 14, 2014. Anderson Cooper is the correspondent. Denise Schrier Cetta, producer. Matthew Danowski , editor.

Our lives are filled with distractions -- email, Twitter, texting we're constantly connected to technology, rarely alone with just our thoughts. Which is probably why there's a growing movement in America to train people to get around the stresses of daily life.

It's a practice called "mindfulness" and it basically means being aware of your thoughts, physical sensations, and surroundings.

Tonight, we'll introduce you to the man who's largely responsible for mindfulness gaining traction. His name is Jon Kabat-Zinn and he thinks mindfulness is the answer for people who are so overwhelmed by life, they feel they aren't really living at all.

SSTattler: This is a link to 60 Minutes - Mindfulness. A couple of annoy commercial but the rest is very good program. Just click-it below:

Eclectic Stuff

Definition: Eclectic(noun) a person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.

[Spirit September] Repost: Works Like a Charm

Pamela Hsieh
Rehab Revolution

04 September 2013

I came across this article in Mind Body Green, and it was so lovely I just had to repost it to share with you.

A bit about the author: Shelly Bullard is a student and teacher of Love. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (CA#51081) turned Love Coach. She believes romantic relationships are the way in which we spiritually transform. Our most profound growth comes from evolving through issues that arise in relationships, leading us to a deeper sense of joy, connection, and fulfillment in love. Shelly's purpose in life is to guide people through this process.

There are some people who just have it. You know, that thing . . .

They illuminate a room. Eyes follow them. The spotlight naturally and effortlessly is drawn to them.

What’s their secret? I know, and I’m going to tell you.

It’s called soul.

People who embody soul are irresistible. Seriously irresistible. Like, I-can’t-take-my-eyes-off-you irresistible. Uh-huh, it’s that good.

You're Already Awesome. Just Get Out of Your Own Way!

Ramon Florendo
Life after a “STROKE"

Published on May 11, 2013

SSTattler: Re-published on Oct 25, 2014 You're Already Awesome....

By Judson Brewer MD, Ph.D.

We have all experienced moments in our lives where everything just comes together in some almost magical way --whether playing music, participating in a sport, or just getting totally absorbed in a project. These moments are timeless, effortless, completely free of worry and delicious! As described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, this is "flow" and is often a hallmark of exemplary performance -- whether it is Michael Jordan scoring 50 points in a basketball game, or someone rising to a challenge that they never thought they would be able to handle.

We're lucky if we get into this "flow state" a few times in our entire lives. Is this flow state that hard to achieve? Is it more accessible to all of us than we think? And are we the only barrier that is keeping us getting into flow?

Judson Brewer MD PhD, an addiction psychiatrist and neuroscientist at Yale University outlines several common ways that we get in our own way. Using examples such as Lolo Jones tripping on a hurdle in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and smokers resisting their cravings, he describes how we can get caught up in thinking, as well as resisting our own body sensations as ways that we prevent ourselves from performing optimally, in whatever situation arises.

Mindfulness and You

Dean Reinke
Deans' Stroke Musing

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Just in case you want to try this. I am 100% certain you won't hear about this from your doctor. But don't do this dangerous meditation without your doctors ok.

• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
• 7 Myths About Mindfulness
• Mindfulness exercises
• Quotes About Mindfulness
• 20 Awesome Quotes about Mindful Living
• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression

See the original article:

Mindfulness and You

in

Deans' Stroke Musing

Mindfulness

Grace Carpenter
My Happy Stroke

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Many times a day, I remind myself that I have to put weight on my right leg and hip when I am getting up from a sitting position. If I forget, I often sit down and try again.

Is this mindfulness? If not, what is it?

See the original article:

Mindfulness

in

My Happy Stroke