Posts Tagged ‘feng shui’

Attending the “I Can Do It” event in Tampa

Monday, November 29th, 2010

As a professional caregiver who has been a family caregiver, I am often inspired by teachers and authors of books about using your full potential. Louise Hay, who is a metaphysical lecturer and best selling author of numerous books who also founded the “I Can Do It” conference that has been coming to the Tampa Bay area for a few years.

She has this gift of bringing several metaphysical teachers together for a weekend of motivation, inspiration and fascination that leaves you wanting more.  It was thrilling to see Louise Hay up on stage announcing that she is writing a book and returning to lecturing at age 84 because she feels guided to do so.

To this day, if I”m feeling stressed or uneasy, I just pop one of Louise Hay’s cd’s into my car sound system and allow myself to calm down, take deep breaths, and trust that I was safe in the universe. But when I was an active family caregiver I would use these simple, but powerful steps to gain calmness and clarity, which prepared me for my visits with my in-laws who were having difficulty adjusting to physical, medical and mental changes that were occurring often in their lives. My ability to remain caring, centered, and clear helped guide me to the next best steps for their care.

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Eat, Pray, Love

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Over the weekend, my husband Jack and I visited old friends and family in Phila. and NJ. The main purpose of the trip was to attend an unveiling of my in-laws burial stone. It was a time to remember and honor them. Before the ceremony took place, I had a day with the “girls” and went to see Eat Pray Love with a stellar cast besides the ever reliable Julia Roberts to bring the whole movie to an attractive and well acted screen play. The 6 of us sat so content watching the movie until ALL the movie credits were done. It was like we were transfixed in our seats with the idea that our lives could have such richness, depth and freedom to explore our other selves one day. Secretly we may ask ourselves, when do we get to do what Julia just did? That was very cool. (more…)

Tranquility Tips for Caregivers

Thursday, July 8th, 2010
posted by Kristen Leigh of Sweet Escape Yoga

This week, I had the opportunity to join Kim Linder, host of The Caregiver Hour, in the Clear Channel studios in Tampa, FL. Along with Viki Kind, I was a guest on Monday’s Radio Show where we discussed Compassion in a variety of ways.

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Kim Linder (left) and Kristen Leigh (right) at the WHNZ studio for The Caregiver Hour

Kim shared some thought-provoking insights on how being an effective caregiver includes turning that compassion toward yourself in order to bring your best self to those you care for. Then, Viki shared some good stuff from her book, The Caregiver’s Path to Compassionate Decision Making on how to be respectful and wise when making decisions for those who can’t decide for themselves. And, finally we talked about how caregivers can take a moment – both at work and throughout their day – to de-stress and refocus their attention in order to help feel a sense of balance while managing their unique responsibilities. (Click here to listen to the 7/5/10 recording.)

Here are a few tips I shared (plus a couple extras) for simple, do-anywhere ways to take a yoga moment for yourself:

  1. The first and most simple thing you can do is breathe. Seems obvious, right? Yet, when we get stressed in work and in life, we tend to breathe in a way that’s very quick and shallow or even hold our breath altogether (neither of which are conducive to calm). Lengthening your breath will automatically start to calm you down. Breathe deeply, using your diaphragm (meaning your belly should expand as you inhale), and fill up your lungs completely. Then, when exhaling, slowly try to release all of the air and empty the lungs. A wonderful tool to help you focus on your breath and away from your stress, is square breathing. I wrote all about it (and some optional meditative elements) last week in my blog post Simple Stress Relief w/Square Breathing.         (more…)

Caregiving A WEDU Town Hall Meeting

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

On Saturday, June 12, 2010 I attended the Caregiving WEDU Town Hall meeting at the television station in downtown Tampa.

It was fun to see some familiar faces as I walked in the main lobby. Many of us knew each other from being in the professional healthcare field. We mingled and met some new people who were caregivers. The energy in the room was exciting.

Once we were seated in a U shape formation, Susan Howarth introduced herself. She is the new WEDU President and CEO. Her friendly and direct approach made me feel more comfortable as the business of setting up the tv camera and sound checks were being conducted.

Cathy Unruh, our host began by welcoming everyone and acknowledging the people who had participated in the previous Caregiver Town Hall meetings. For me as a  new comer, I found her to be engaging and calm.

The objective of the event was to provide caregivers the resources, services, and wisdom that is available in Tampa Bay and the surrounding area. For example, there was a nice mix of healthcare professionals including: geriatric care managers, elder law attorneys, home health companies, retirement communities, reverse mortgage experts, medical alert companies, USF medical professionals, representative from senior centers, Area Agency on Aging executives, etc. This large gathering created an holistic approach to helping caregivers who are having to deal with their role for the first time or continuing their caregiving journey. We, the audience as well as the viewers of the show, were able to see how the circle of resources and healthcare professionals were supporting all aspects of caregiving. I felt energized. (more…)

The Mind-Body-Spirit Approach to Caring for Your Independent Parent

Monday, May 31st, 2010

A while back a family member expressed her concern for her mother’s decisions about her own care and was seeking some guidance. This was the situation:

  1. Her mother had fallen and broken her hip. Went to the hospital after the surgery and decided on her own, without speaking to her family, which rehab center to transfer to for additional rehab therapy.
  2. The daughter had always admired her mother’s independent thinking, but this time, it just didn’t seem to make sense to the family. They had visited their mother in the rehab center, but was dissatisfied with the care.
  3. I suggested how they could approach their mother and persuade her to move to a different rehab center that had a better reputation.

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