Claudia’s new Prana cd

Oh my. Time has marched on since my last real Blog of Substance, which was posted on Nov. 18.

Much has happened in the meantime and I would love to share some of it, and intend to, but today’s topic is a new cd, called Prana, that I recorded last Spring and it is now out and available, just in time for the holidays.

Prana

Oh. Okay. So maybe that ship has sailed. But it is just in time for helping usher in 2012. Here’s what it’s about (this is roughly what I intend to post on my website within a couple days…this is the sneak preview):

Prana, the life force present in the universe as well as in human beings, is in constant flow. Obstruction to that flow results in physical, mental or emotional discomfort for us, as well as in nature.

The purpose of the exercises on this cd, Prana, is to encourage ease and health in those who practice these exercises, and in those affected by the practitioners. The exercises serve to introduce or reinforce the listener’s relationship to—and awareness of—prana, of the pranamayakosha (life force body) and annamayakosha (physical body), encourage harmony in these koshas (bodies or “sheaths”), soften the matrix in which energetic patterns have been imprinted over the course of our lives, dissolve obstructions therein, so prana can circulate more smoothly, and enliven and balance ida and pingala, the energetic channels associated with opposite forces in our physiology. I recommend doing the exercises in the order they appear on the cd the first time you do them. After that, I find it good to at least do an abbreviated version of the “Dissolving Obstructions” exercise before doing the “Nadi Shodhana” exercise anytime you do that one.

It is possible to feel something like hot flashes occasionally when you practice these exercises. They usually pass quickly. I have found that the exercises do not create pathological heat in the body; just sometimes they release a little heat —perhaps as a result of dispersing prana that had previously been stuck.

Prana may be an especially useful cd for those who have previously practiced these exercises in workshops with me and just need a reminder, but it is designed to be easily followed by anyone, whether you have a background in these concepts and practices or not.

I have found these exercises safe for pregnant women, but if you have any question about the possibility of miscarriage or stability of your pregnancy, it is important to check with someone who can assess your condition personally and consider the advisability of these exercises. As with any breathing exercise, if you start to feel light-headed or otherwise uncomfortable, discontinue the practice and breathe normally into your lower abdomen until it passes. I have found the exercises on this cd to be safe for most anyone, nursing mothers, old, young, male, female, and at any time of the month and in any season, but it is ideal to consult with your health care practitioner before engaging in this or any exercise or breathing technique or if any uncomfortable symptoms arise.

This link should take you to the purchase page for the cd:

If that link does not work, (I know sometimes links are weird), try this one: Prana . If that doesn’t work for you, you should be able to get this from my website within a few days. If you would like to place a minimum order of 20 cds, they are available wholesale. Just contact me through the contact page on my website for details.

I have found these kinds of prana exercises to be some of the most powerful medicine I know.

I really hope you enjoy them. Happy New Year, everybody.

Wishing you a healthy, happy 2012, in Love.

cw

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas

Wishing you all peaceful and joyous holidays and happiness, contentment, health, prosperity and, if possible, bliss even, in 2012.

I look forward to writing again soon. It’s been a while.

Love all around,

Claudia

Book Tour Pt 11, 2011: Fish Consciousness and Points of Light

If I had to pick a theme for my travels this fall, it would have to be water. From the Spirit of the Lakes in Minnesota, to the weird fish consciousness of Florida to the drought in Texas. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me go chronologically.

Vermont: We arrived back in the US. First stop: Vermont and the pleasure of seeing my brother-in-law Chris Colt’s made-for-community-theatre-production of The Blues Brothers. He co-starred with Chris Miller. The production featured much other talented Maple Corner (I am not making that up) actors and musicians. “Rawhide” was unbelievably fun.

New York: I arrived in NY to Nicolai Bachman’s new book The Path of the Yoga Sutras: A Practical Guide to the Core of Yoga. I found it a kind and useful meditation on beautiful sounds and meanings from Patanjali’s sutras and a gentle, knowledgeable guide for pilgrims starting on the way of yoga and similar paths. I find the writing clear, topics and quotes well chosen and approach practical, empathic and, again, kind.

I also received a copy of Mark Kelso’s new album, Grief and Grace, which Mark was working on in the Spring, just as I lost a dear friend and the words grief and grace had consciously set up camp right next to each other in my heart. The album was recorded partially in response to a young man in Mark’s family who had committed suicide. Mark’s voice and vulnerability lend expression to what I feel sure many of us have felt at one point or another.

When I last saw Mark, he had shared a segment of another album he was recording. It was a clip of young children singing, “Dona Nobis,” a piece I really cherish. The next day, as I was with the family of my departed friend, as we stood around his body, his widow began to sing. Dona Nobis. Sometimes the strands that comprise the fabric of life are especially visible and poignant. That Dona Nobis album is now out too, and one I plan to get. It’s called, One Fire. Both should be available on Mark’s website. http://muddyangel.com/index.php?filename=discography.html

Minnesota: I’d never had the pleasure of spending time in MN before. Flying in I saw below us– forgive the syrupy sound of this–a lake in the shape of a goddess, with a snaky river running from her to irrigate the local plains. I saw many other lakes. Didn’t know that Minnesota’s slogan is “Land of 10,000 lakes,” but it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out why. I was contemplating on the “Spirit of the Lakes,” and the goddessy example we flew over, as I arrived at “Spirit of the Lakes Yoga and Wellness,” the venue for the weekend workshop, in Excelsior, MN.

Excelsior is a charming town to the West of the Twin Cities. Word has it that there was a character named Jimmy Hutmaker, who lived in Excelsior for decades until he passed away October 3, 2007. In the 60′s, the story goes, the Stones played in Excelsior. While there, Mick had tried—unsuccessfully—to get a Cherry Coke at a local drugstore. Jimmy, in line behind him, said, “You can’t always get what you want.” And the rest, as they say, is history. Fun.

Spirit of the Lakes was founded only about a year ago by the lovely Lisa Bergly, and managed by Kripalu alumnus Tricia Sletten, but has a maturity and community feel usually associated with older studios.

I had the pleasure there of seeing Southwest Acupuncture College alumnus Dr. Larry Caldwell, who is now an acupuncturist in the Twin Cities and author of Revealing Healing: 
Helping your body-mind to connect to your emotional-mind 
to relieve pain and suffering. I found it an honest, vulnerable account of how childhood patterns affect our emotions, how emotions affect our organs and how to address those imbalances.

It was an enjoyable workshop and terrific to see Ayurvedic Institute alumnus, nurse Marcia Meredith, and Dr. Kay Schwebke, a dedicated and thoughtful MD, who sports the following bumper sticker on her car: “Ask your doctor if taking medical advice from a television commercial is right for you.” Good idea.

I think if a Minnesotan-born US president were asked their profession, they might say, “I work in government.” Lisa, Tricia, Marcia and Kay in a typically Minnesotan way, are understated, modest sources of Ayurvedic and Yogic wisdom, practice and knowledge in the Twin cities.

Florida: If the Spirit of the Lakes was prevalent in MN, the consciousness of Odd Fish was prevalent in Florida. Not so much, “wow, what an interesting fish.” More like, “Wow. What an interesting fish. Let’s catch and eat it.” And mount it. This sentiment seemed to apply to other mildly aquatic creatures as well. Upon exiting the Everglades, a billboard: “You’ve seen the gators. Now taste them” advertised a burger joint where the burgers were made of, you guessed it. I was relieved to hear that the “dolphin” I was seeing on menus was not the Flipper kind, but mahi mahi, an unusual-looking fish. Mahi mahi means “very strong” in Hawaiian.

Texas: Flying into Austin from the East, I saw a couple rivers with the sun lighting them up like silver ribbons. Did you see the Harry Potter movies? Remember what the Unicorn blood looked like? That is what these rivers looked like. Flowing silver. The metaphor extends further, as this past summer, water became almost as rare, as southern Texas saw the worst one-year drought in its state history. Among other crops, even hay suffered. Prices more than doubled, forcing many ranchers to sell or even abandon all of their cattle and horses because they could not afford to feed them.

If the land was suffering from lack of moisture, the participants at the Austin workshop were anything but dry. We had a delightful weekend and I understand the Austin Ayurveda Sangha was founded that very weekend. With graduates of Kripalu (Vivian) and Ayurvedic Institute (Kerry, Dr. Steve, Melissa) to practitioners of Chinese Medicine (Lydia), to old and new friends (Melina and everyone else in the room J), it was such a pleasurable weekend of good companionship.

Confession: I had one of those almost-instant karma events shortly after leaving Austin. I had waxed overly-cocky (I heard it as the words were leaving my lips) during the seminar, about the efficacy of neti pots… and caught a cold 3 days later (admittedly the first in over a year—I still vouch for the Neti). Gratefully, I caught it after enjoying the “Heart of Texas” at Enchanted Rock, with Dr. Robert Svoboda and some of his comrades. On Wednesday, I got to lay flat at the home of the good Dr., who brought me tea at regular intervals, before I had to head to Dallas on Thursday.

Thursday night, in spite of the cold, I had the great pleasure of a sweet –if brief—reunion with Ayurvedic Institute alumnus Purvi Bhatt and to meet her adorable and very well behaved children, for the first time. By the time I had to speak on Friday, I was able to speak without sneezing and, by the end of speaking on Sunday, the cold had resolved, in part due to the kindness of the organizers of the weekend events. Yay. Friday night’s talk and book signing was at the Crow Collection of Asian Arts, a set of galleries that offered a serene and meaningful backdrop for the evening. As I was enjoying it’s exhibits before the talk, I came across two good omens for the weekend, and indeed for working with women’s health in general. The first was a Jade engraving called, Queen Mother of the West Journies in Her Chariot. Queen Mother of the West is the earliest depiction of a diety in the Taoist tradition. She was first depicted about 1600-1050 BC, but I think this engraving was from the 1^st or 3^rd century AD. On the Queen Mother’s descriptive placard were inscribed these words:

The Valley Spirit (i.e. the Tao) never dies.

It is named the Mysterious Female.

And the doorway of the Mysterious Female

Is the base from which Heaven and Earth sprang

It is there within us all the while

Draw upon it as you will, it never runs dry [emphasis mine]

-Laozi The Way of Life trans. Arther Waley

Omen #2 was the last thing I looked at before heading in to teach: a jade carving of a fish. I find this particularly interesting because of the importance of pranayama in balancing hormones. Tradition has it that the ida and pinglala, the channels associated with the left and right nostrils are like rivers—one that cools and nourishes and one that stimulates and warms.  The prana that travels on the currents of these rivers is likened to a fish. Jade is considered to be cooling and nourishing, qualities that particularly benefit ambitious, burned out modern women.

We had an enjoyable weekend at David Sunshine’s Dallas Yoga Center, a gorgeous oasis and mecca for many kinds of yoga and therapies, including acupuncture and Ayurvedic treatments. The delightful Kathleen Lohr offers Ayurvedic bodywork there and the center in general is a wonderful resource for overall health in Dallas. My friend, Dr. Renee Rossi is also in the Dallas area. She is a long-time ENT surgeon who is about to embark on the study of Ayurveda through the long distance Mount Madonna program in California. So maybe you can look her up in a year or so J

Rhode Island: A relaxing and rejuvenating visit with family, with extremely pleasant ocean walks and brief visit and book signing at Whole Foods in Providence, where I had the pleasure of meeting Allie Oliver, Renee Harrington and seeing Lisa, a Kripalu alumnus who now practices Ayurveda in Hopkinton, MA, and meeting her sister and father. (Lisa, if you read this, leave a comment letting us know your contact info for your practice, please. I neglected to get that from you.)

Also in RI: Among the treasures bequeathed me by my (late) father, I count his friend Neville Bedford: attorney with dazzling intellectual capacity, endearing honesty, brilliant children, and not-insubstantial trench coat.  He bought Balance Your Life… and had it signed. A hot shot lawyer guy interested in balanced women. Hard not to love.

So, aside from an annual weekend at Kripalu School of Ayurveda that I look forward to in early December, my autumn is winding down, circadian rhythms stabilizing and enjoyment of autumn alive.

In closing, I would like to say this to those of you who are practicing Ayurveda and good health practices in general, whether on your own or with clients or patients: you are not alone. In every state I’ve spoken in, I have found at least one, and often a few practitioners who are carrying on, practicing these solid, health-bestowing principles and, often, you are feeling like you are alone. You simply are not alone. You may be one of a small handful in your area, but there are practitioners all over the world now. Twenty years ago you may well have been alone. Now…you are not. I really can’t bring myself to say that there are “points of light” all over. It’s just too schmaltzy. So let’s just say that all efforts anywhere towards self-responsibility for healthy lifestyle and diet practices, towards conscious living…well, it all counts. It counts a lot. How do I know this? I see it.

But I’ll leave it at that and close before this becomes either too sentimental or my second book.

Happy Autumn. We have a lot to be grateful for.

2011 “Book Tour” Pt 1: The Awkward Essay and other highlights

I have begun my Autumn “Book Tour” for Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life after having a rejuvenating summer and early fall. So rejuvenating in fact, that I never did get around to writing about some of the highlights and impressions from my Spring “Book Tour” that I intended to share. (I am putting “book tour” in quotation marks because this is what I–and others–have been calling it, but really I’d just be teaching in these spots anyway and the book is simply a joyful addition to the mix).

Now I find myself wanting to share some impressions from this Autumn tour but feeling like I have to catch up from the Spring before I can freely embark on commentary on the present. So, here are some highlights from the Spring:

NYC:

• Meeting various representatives of NYC yoga schools, many of whom were together in the same room at a book signing organized by the ever generous spirited Kristen Rae Stevens, a yoga teacher herself and Kripalu School of Ayurveda alumnus. Kristen Rae managed to bring together representatives of various yoga factions with good feeling. There are many schools and types of yoga and I appreciate when unity prevails over separateness. Yoga means union after all.
• Personally, it was a rare treat indeed to spend time with my brother, the talented and adorable Michael J. Burke, cameraman (http://www.mikejburke.com) and my sister Samantha who came from VT to join us for a weekend.

Chicago:

• I spoke at Tejas Yoga at the invitation of co-founder James Tennant, former Ayurvedic Institute student and yoga teacher. I very much enjoyed the company of the participants and my kind hosts.
• Enjoyed a brief yet dear reunion with an old high school friend, Laurie, who has a beautiful family, enjoys her profession, and carries herself with as much poise as ever.
• Struck a bit dumb by darshan of $15,000 shoes at Barney’s—darshan facilitated by Karen Klutznick, founder of KK Ayurveda. Karen and I spent an hour or so at her office, smelling various high quality essential oils and considering their effects on physiology. Karen has made a serious study of essential oils and creates and carries some excellent products. One of my favorites: her Anti-Aging Serum with meadowfoam and rosehip seed oils. You can find her, and them, at KKAyurveda.com.
• Chicago, I learned, is also called, “City of Big Shoulders.” It also appears to be the city of large portions. I was struck somewhat dumb a second time by the size of my baked potato and “side dish” of vegetables (is that a spear of asparagus or…just a spear?) at a famous restaurant whose name is escaping me at the moment.
• Speaking of food, did you know that Chicago is also known as “Hog Butcher to the World”? From a famous Carl Sandburg poem. I learned this after remarking that the city smelled like meat. I had been standing near the lake, looking at the city and was struck (I would say “dumb” again, but I was alone at the time, so already quiet) by the smell and—at the risk of sounding woo woo—the feel of meat, even in the empty & green park by the water north of the Aquarium. When I mentioned this to a native Chicagoan, they told me the Hog Butcher thing, and also that exactly where I had been standing when I had that feeling had long ago been the stockyard where animals were kept for slaughter. Whether my association was as coincidental as it was clear, or was associated with some impression in the environment there, I can’t say. But it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve experienced a flavor of a place that quite reflects its history.

California:

• I so enjoyed the company of a loving group for a 4-day prana immersion retreat in a gorgeous home and location arranged by Prashanti de Jager, a devotee of nature and vidya (authentic knowledge). There was so much love and good feeling in this group…I will not soon forget it.
• It was the first time I had the pleasure of teaching with my beautiful sister Brodie Welch Lac, who led us in Jade Woman qi gong daily.
• The incomparable Caroluna (http://www.caroluna.com) sang and played her harp and heart for us.
• YUM: The Love Blossom: Raw Cacao Macaroon from Kitchen Alchemy. Organic. No gluten, wheat, soy, corn, refined sugar. Raw cacao nibs, coconut, coconut butter, agave, Himalayan sea salt, vanilla extract, orange extract, raw goji berries, ashwagandha, shatavari, vidari, and maca. Need I say more? http://www.ayurvedaalchemy.com/
• Prashanti introduced us to vol. 1 of 40 of the Ayurvedic teachings of Vaidya Mana Bajra Bajracharya: Ayurveda in Nepal Volume One: Ayurvedic Principles, Diagnosis and Treatment.  Good for the advanced student of Ayurveda. Also a wonderfully supportive, nourishing herb mix that Prashati formulated called, appropriately, “ojas.” For more info on either: prashantidejager.com.
• A joy to see my little sister, Casey, as she began to settle in to a life less mobile than she has been accustomed.

New Mexico:

• While wonderful to see all the loving faces and friends in New Mexico, the weather over the four days I was there was a stark reminder of the Vata-aggravating potential that reigns in the high desert. The day I arrived it was 90 degrees, with some 60mph winds—strong enough to obscure the darshan of Mount Taylor, that stalwart icon to the West of the city. The second day was 40 degrees. Third day: 40 degrees and SNOWING (it was early MAY). And high winds. Gack.
• One highlight: 82 year-old Ayurvedic student Wilma, was attending the workshop with her daughter and purchased a copy of Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life for her granddaughter. Heartwarming to see three generations of women aiming for balance. We were discussing the need for meditation retreats even in the middle of raising four children (which she did). She told her husband that what she wanted for her birthday every year was a cheerful sendoff on a 4-day (as I recall) retreat. Wilma had this to say about it: “Meditation makes the good stuff better and the bad stuff not so disgusting.” Amen.

Philadelphia:

• The history here was inescapable. William Penn executed one of the earliest attempts (in the US) at utopian city planning when he considered plans for Philadelphia. Because of his thoughtful consideration, Philly represented the most extensively ‘pre-planned’ American city at the time. Penn wanted, “a green country town, which would never be burnt, and always be wholesome.” He considered it important for open space to be included in blueprints of great cities, as both healing places and to slow the spread of fire.
• In a park, on a plaque in remembrance of those who died and were buried therein: “freedom is a light for which many men have died in darkness.” Amen.
• Lovely to reunite with an old friend, Dr. Tansy Briggs, Doctor of Oriental medicine extraordinaire who has recently relocated to Philly, and with former Ayurvedic Institute students Sally Miller, Denise Baron (who vacated her apartment to host me there) and Joshua Pang, and to meet some new friends at Shanti Yoga Shala, where the event was held.

Orlando:

• A privilege to teach women’s health for my perfect husband’s seminar series offering instruction in Traditional Chinese Medicine to Chiropractors, Western medical physicians and other licensed health care practitioners.

Northampton, MA:

• This was a poignant event for me, as it began the day after I buried a dear friend. The participants were gentle with me and we wove the themes of loss and life into our previously set agenda. Ann Podlozny’s Valley Ayurveda is about to close but it offered much to its community during its tenure there.
• I felt grateful to Kripalu School of Ayurveda for offering previous training in Ayurveda to so many participants, who it was a joy to reunite with, along with new faces. It is a pleasure to see Ayurveda growing in its students from seed, sprout, sapling or mature organism.
• Spent time with Traci and Pete Olsen and their precocious and present child, Audrey.

Vermont:

• It was a treat to teach for the first time in Vermont, where I grew up (mostly). I spoke at Vermont Center for Yoga and Therapy in Burlington, VT, at the invitation of Carmon Maron, former Ayurvedic Insitute student who now practices Ayurveda there and is a counselor at the University of Vermont, where I obtained my BA.
• Other very notable Vermont event: My niece, Josie Colt, who was a high school senior at the time, wrote an essay called, The Awkward Essay. At 18, I find her wisdom about awkwardness to be worthy of passing along. Here are some choice passages from The Awkward Essay:
• In ninth grade, these uncomfortable social moments skyrocketed in terms of their quantity and intensity. Making new friends turned out to be even more tiring and difficult than I had imagined. When it came to chiming into conversations with groups of kids where the subject was quite hazy and foreign to a newcomer like me, I would often dare myself to give a vague opinion on a matter I knew very little about or ask a startlingly random question, deeply regretting it moments later.  The silence following was unbearably quiet and agonizingly long as I stuttered out a clarifying explanation of what I meant to say and then clarify that explanation again and then further clarify the latest explanation all while trying to most deeply clarify and emphasize the suave and smooth qualities I pretended to possess to make up for my all too prominent inner freak-of-nature self . . . (Blaring elevator music). This embarrassing tactic however, dug me deeper into my hole; my very dark hole of awkwardness, that I at times wished would just swallow me up once and for all.
• these moments are also much of what make up a lot of the weird beauty in the world, what make human interaction so unique.  Later in high school, I began to see these situations in a different light. Through my own experiences and by observing others, I found that it is the way that one approaches and reacts to these moments that matters most. 
• what’s the point of getting so torn up about something so silly as feeling a little strange socially? Don’t we all feel a little strange whether we show it or not?
• And at this point, that’s what it really comes down to. Awkwardness is nothing but a feeling of being insecure or uneasy, uncomfortable or embarrassed by a new and random situation that you don’t know how to deal with. But there’s something new and random about everyday of life, so one really oughtn’t to worry himself over how to react to them, but just let them come, soak them up, and let them go.  Soak them up for all their weird uncomfortable richness, though it may be a tad painful I admit, and let them pass by …

Thus concludes my Spring tour reflections and makes room for reflections soon (I hope) on the Autumn travels.

oops. try this

If you are seeing this in an email post and can’t see this video, click on the lower right hand link of your email post (not the one that seems obvious at the bottom of the blog post), and that can take you to the video. Good luck.

Why do an Ayurvedic cleanse in the fall?

Hi All,

I am experimenting with some video stuff. Since I get a little tired of reading words on a computer, I thought maybe you were too and I’d occasionally supplement with a little video. I’m a bit windblown in this one (which is only about a minute and a half), but manage to spit out why it’s good to cleanse in the Fall, in a nutshell. In case you prefer words (or want to supplement the message on the video), here’s a written nutshell:

Pitta (heat) accumulates in our bodies over the course of the summer and then the changeable, cool (read: cold), breezy (read: gale force winds) Vata (air/ether elements) nature of the fall can rise and “blow on” pitta, causing it to flare up. So it is good to purge pitta out of the body and calm vata. Doing a fall Ayurvedic cleanse can assist with this, allow the body to change gears and reset the good digestion button. (Didn’t know you had one?) Enjoy

Pathological Altruism

You know that thing we do, where we overextend ourselves unnecessarily when we don’t have sufficient physical, financial, emotional or spiritual resources? Scientists have now coined a name for this: “Pathological Altruism.”

In today’s New York Times article about this, the incomparable Natalie Angier gives revealing examples: a doctor who pushes for more invasive, aggressive techniques because “there is always hope,” “animal hoarders” (a real term) who amass so many animals that they can’t care for them all and they begin to die, patients of bulimia who are so tuned into others feelings that they sacrifice their own well being.

I grant there are times when over-extension is necessary. I often give this example: I arrive home tired at the end of a long day. I know that what I need is a home-cooked meal, a bath and a soothing evening. But as I am leaving my car, I see my elderly neighbor has fallen, injured himself and can’t get up off the sidewalk. Nobody else is there to bring him to the hospital. What do I do? Take my bath and leave him there? It is not even a question. Of course I bring him to the hospital.

Or maybe I have a chronically sick child, parent, spouse, pet. Or an infant. There are stretches in life that demand a lot.

These situations are the exceptions to the put-on-your-own oxygen-mask-before-helping-your-neighbor-on-a-plane rule. When we make it a habit to prioritize our own well being, we are not sacrificing the well being of others. On the contrary, we are likely to be healthier, kinder, more solid human beings and, fundamentally, isn’t that who we would like to see populate our world?

Sadness lasts longer than happiness, and other recent news

Today I want to share random bits of recent news that I find interesting in one way or another:

• Amniotic fluid is flavored within as little as a half hour of eating, drinking or smoking something. Breast milk is also flavored by what we ingest. Science is finding that we can influence our children’s preferences for foods by what they taste and smell in utero and through breast milk. If we want our children to prefer fast food, then that is what to eat during pregnancy and nursing. Veggies? Then that is what we need to be eating. Early exposure to flavors increases the likelihood (it is not a guarantee) that a child will accept a wider variety of flavors later in life. It generally takes 8 tries before little children like a new food.
• The Journal of Medical Microbiology recently published a study: researchers from the University of Beira Interior in Portugal report that oil extracted from coriander seeds can kill bacteria related to food-borne diseases, like E. coli, salmonella and MRSA, and may one day be used as a food preservative to prevent bacterial contamination. Coriander is widely used in India…hip hip hooray ☺
• Gordon Edlin, author of “Health and Wellness,” writes that, when Israel banned the chlorinated pesticides—which are xenoestrogens (see pp 224-234 in my book, Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life) in the 1970s, rates of breast cancer dropped considerably after being one of the highest in the world.
• Extracts from the British Autumn crocus–already used to treat gout—is exhibiting promising anti-tumor effects. The treatment is derived from the flower. ☺ The active chemical colchicine starves the tumor by destroying the blood vessels that supply it. That’s a picture of a flower I might want to have on my wall.
• In August The March of Dimes began a new campaign to curb the large and increasing number of otherwise healthy pregnancies of single babies that are deliberately ended early by induced labor or Caesarean delivery. This is in response to an alarming American trend in elective early deliveries before 39 weeks of gestation, when fetal development is complete. It is ideal for the baby to be born only at week 40 but, as many as 36 percent of elective deliveries now occur before 39 weeks, contributing to a significant number of premature births and expensive complications. (This is not targeting the need for premature delivery of twins or babies in need of this intervention to save their lives).
• Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, found an association between high cortisol levels in mothers during late pregnancy and lower IQs in their children when they reached age 7.
• A new study suggests that sad emotions last longer than happy ones and a pleasant visit or telephone call with patients of Alzheimer’s can have profoundly positive effects, even if the interaction is forgotten very soon.

There. That cleans off my desktop (most of it) for the moment. Hope you all are well.
Love, cw

How Do You Keep Track of 150 Siblings’ Birthdays? (Artificial insemination, Ptolemies and Genghis Khan)

Been so long since my last blog that I’m almost daunted.

Part of that is that there are about eight different blog topics I have knocking around in my head. Guess I’ll just pick one…

How about this: Thinking of a sperm donor?: Ramifications you may not have thought of. Good?

Are you sitting comfortably? Then we shall begin.

As we know, many women in our modern world are choosing to have babies on their own and opting for sperm donors and artificial insemination. So there is a demand for sperm donors. What we may not know, are some of the unusual issues that are starting to arise from this practice. There are not many regulations in place to keep track of all the babies born from one donor, so we are starting to see increasingly large groups of donor siblings. For example, The New York Times recently reported on a woman researching this, and finding 150 half siblings to her child.

While that is one of the larger groups, there are many with around 50 half siblings and often these groups are in the same geographical location.

Naturally, there is concern growing that half siblings could accidentally meet and get together and bear children of their own and, well, pretty soon things would be looking positively Graeco-Roman Egyptian. (Think Ptolemaic Dynasty). (Think Wikipedia). Even without the GRE soap-opera drama, there is a greater risk of genes for rare diseases spreading into the population more rapidly. And there is the question of psychology. What does it feel like to know that you are one of 50 siblings? What are those consequences?

Now, at first glance we may think, “Holy cow. This has never happened before! Whatever will become of us??!!” BUT. Don’t panic. Actually it has happened before. Maybe not with test tubes. But with monarchies.

There have likely been loads of monarchs who fathered, like, a gazillion children, but one in particular comes to mind. My husband and I were just listening to a podcast (can’t remember which one unfortunately). Scientists were finding the same genetic material in individuals all over Eurasia. When they traced it back, they traced it to one man in the 12th century. One man who traveled very extensively. At exactly the time when Ghengis Khan was pillaging. Actually, they think it was Ghengis Khan. He was the father that began genetic lines that to this day are widely found in various communities throughout Eurasia. Scientists studying Y-chromosome data have found that about 8 percent of the men living in the former Mongol empire carry nearly identical y-chromosomes. That’s about .5 percent of the male population OF THE WORLD, or about 16 million descendents we can find living today. Somewhere on the web I found this idea: that Genghis Khan was with so many women that there is a .5 percent chance that you are related to him.

I have no doubt there are consequences to this many-half-siblings phenomenon associated with the practice of artificial insemination, and I bring this up precisely because this is the kind of thing we might do well to consider before deciding on artificial insemination. (I also recommend reading Ch. 12 of my book, Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life. It goes into some other issues associated with Assisted Reproductive Technologies that are worth considering).

I don’t underestimate the gravity of the situation. Though, if I had to chose between artificial insemination and being visited by Genghis K., well, it wouldn’t be much of a choice. The violence associated with the latter is hard to fathom, compounded when we consider the scale we are talking about.

I think it is important to consider the ramifications of our choices, as best we can, and remember that there have been times of great upheaval and weirdness in other historical times as well as our own (think both Ptolemies and Genghis Khan) and, as as we consider this new world in which we find ourselves, we may do well to adopt (rather than inseminate?) a sense of perspective, if not humor and, as the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy recommends, “Don’t Panic.”☺

Love Begets Love

Love Begets Love