April 2014

Those of you that have been following my blog a while know I love yoga!! Although I’ve written a handful of articles as well as posts on Diabetes Light’s Facebook page about aspects of my current practice, I have never shared the story of how my practice began or gone into detail about some of yoga’s amazing health benefits.

I was recently asked by the JDRF MinnDakotas office to be on a panel with a T1 cyclist and T1 marathon runner at an Adults with Type 1 meeting (AWT1) and share about my experience with yoga and Type 1 diabetes. An incredible Type 1, Sarah Hankel, who works as a personal trainer and is an endurance athlete shared first as the main presenter.

**This is a collage of the four presenters made by the marathon runner in the lower right hand corner, Doug. Also pictured, Sarah, upper right, personal trainer and endurance athlete. And Christine, upper left, a cyclist who participates in the JDRF fundraising ride annually.

I was absolutely thrilled being given this opportunity! After all, I have experienced profound healing of mind, body and spirit since adding yoga to my life and was excited to share this life-changing information with other Type 1’s.

I seriously could have talked over an hour about yoga — so much good stuff to share!! Especially considering yoga, developed in India, has been around over 5,000 years!! (isn’t that incredible??). Since giving this presentation I have thought about so many more things I wish could have been included. Yet, we can only do so much with a small window of time to share our story!

A special thanks to a few Diabetes Light community members that made the request to see a video of my presentation — this prompted me to ask my husband Jaim to come to the meeting and record me on my iPhone! A big thanks also to Invisible Bee Yoga in South Minneapolis (my very favorite yoga studio!) for generously donating a free class coupon and schedule for all of the T1 meeting attendees. One more thanks to Jaim for taking a few pictures and recording my presentation! And lastly, thank you JDRF MinnDakotas for asking me to share my yoga story and knowledge with the local Type 1 community and for believing in the value and benefit of promoting holistic health. Yoga has been life-changing for me in my life with Type 1 diabetes.

**And please keep in mind, although I have been a reader/lector at church for quite a few years since college, I am not an extremely experienced public speaker yet about diabetes and related holistic topics. This just gives me inspiration to improve! Although there are some ways I can grow in my presentation skills, I am super passionate about the subject matter and have received many healing benefits from my yoga practice — both in studio and at home.

Thanks for watching!! I hope not only that you might learn something new but if you have not yet tried yoga, may feel inspired to add this healing practice to your life. I also hope this video helps you feel like you get to know me a little bit better. I am not always sure how I come across in my writing and in my daily Diabetes Light Facebook posts, but I do love to joke around a lot and make those around me laugh. I can also be quite serious and love to educate others… 🙂

Without further ado, here is the YouTube video of my presentation that was given to an audience of about 27 awesome T1 peeps at the JDRF Adults with Type 1 (AWT1) meeting last week. Note: There was Q & A (question & answer) at the end — the actual yoga presentation is not the full length of this video.

Here is a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6B2AODDc88&feature=youtu.be

In Peace & Light,

Cynthia

A Theology professor in college shared once in class about how healing it is to cry. It has been helpful all these years as the tears fall from my eyes with grief or upset to remember they are good for me and nothing to hold back or be ashamed of. I had unexpected tears fall from my eyes this morning after making a phone call. As the person answered I needed to speak to, all I could do was cry as I tried to get the words out that I needed to say.

I was reminded just now about the healing nature of tears when I saw this beautiful Facebook post with reflection by Jeff Brown: “When we release our emotional holdings, the path clarifies. This is why the suggestion that our emotions are an illusion does not serve us. When we pretend they aren’t there, they just turn inward against us- congealing into walking time bombs- and they block our lens. The more we honor our feelings by expressing them, the more space we have inside for clarity to emerge.” (*Image created by http://www.facebook.com/TheRoadtome)

So, please remember the next time tears start welling up in the corners of your eyes — there could be nothing healthier for your soul, heart and spirit than for you to release them. Let them fall, one by one. Whether it becomes a brief release or many emotions all at once deciding they want to come out. Release the healthy expression of tears and experience the healing that comes when you do. Blessings to you on your path and always remember that tears are a good friend on our healing journey. Blessings.

ps. If you saw the quote I wrote earlier today and shared on Diabetes Light’s Facebook page, this is related to the same situation. And I did feel much better after I cried.

In Peace & Light,

Cynthia

Healing Benefits of Yoga for Type 1 Diabetes: My JDRF Presentation

The Healing Power of Tears