The news is filled with stories of the negative and intended consequences of new technology and/or government’s actions.
When I mix them all together in my mind, the common theme seems to be that artificial things are replacing real, natural and healthy ones.
The vagueness of the words “things” and “ones” in the previous sentence is intentional as I wish to share a number of actions which have been introduced, implemented, enforced or mandated in the past decade which had good intentions but ended up causing more harm than good.
1) mRNA Covid vaccination mandates.
I was initially excited and happy to take the newly developed shot against the novel virus in early 2021. The unnatural part came when governments and public health organizations began mandating and enforcing compliance for the young and the healthy. It was wrong to discount natural immunity. I am shocked by the lack of concern and action by the FDA in the face of the high number of serious adverse side effects due to the Emergency Use Authorized shots.
Hundreds of medical doctors across the world are now speaking out against the mRNA vaccine programs with phrases like “They are more harm than good for most people.”
2) Social Media platforms.
TikTok, Twitter and Instagram. The artificial, online world has pockets of goodness but more and more areas of negative manipulation. Social media has depressed many and has made people more divided than ever. Millions are addicted to scrolling in these emotionally draining environments and struggle to have real, live relationships with other humans. These platforms are more harm than good for most people, especially children.
3) Excessive government stimulus and control of monetary systems.
The current banking crisis of March 2023 is an example of the negative impact that government interference in the markets can have.
Preventing people from speaking on college campuses is not encouraging healthy debate and critical thinking skills. This authoritative stance against only some ideological groups is doing more harm than good.
Coercion, manipulation, control and discrimination are not healthy, they are not natural, and they cause more harm than good.
It’s been over a year since my Frozen Shoulder started causing me intense pain and lack of arm motion and I thought it was time to share some updates on the recovery journey.
The majority of my healing occurred 6-9 months after stabbing, nerve impingement pain started. I believe the multiple actions and treatments contributed to my reduction in pain and improvement in range of motion but I think the most important and impactful actions were Physical Therapy and Yoga Therapy.
My current situation is overall positive for the following reasons: 1) I have no pain in my arm and shoulder, 2) I can lift my left arm directly over my head, 3) I can ride my bike and run, and 4) I can do most yoga poses.
The plateau in progress started about 10 months after my problems started and I still have limited range of motion in my left arm in certain positions. For those who are know yoga, my impacted side is not able to touch the ground when I do “cactus arms”. While standing, the angle of my left lower arm is at 30 degrees instead of 45 degrees when I have my palms facing out and my upper arms perpendicular to the ground.
My Physical Therapist has be working on my subscapularis, infraspinatus and supraspinatus muscles in my back for a while but they are still very stubborn and often unrelenting. How do I get these muscles to relax and loosen up?
My eagle arm pose is good when the right shoulder is called to stretch but fails to fly when my left shoulder is asked to take off. Some back muscles just feel stuck and still frozen.
Eagle Arm Pose
I’m not sure what to do at this point other than continue to move, stretch and work on regaining my upper body strength. I’m grateful that the pain is gone but I get frustrated and disheartened that I can’t do certain movements as a fit, middle-aged athlete. I long to do 15 push ups like I did just last year.
I know there are many women over 50 years old who have faced and endured similar changes with this painful and often misunderstood illness and I hope that this brief blog gives some people hope and insight on their own challenges.
It’s 102 degrees today in Phoenix, Arizona and my left shoulder is still frozen. It all started six months ago when I noticed that it hurt to move or lift my left arm.
In the last two months I’ve made some progress toward healing my arm and shoulder and am happy to report that the stabbing pains are mostly gone and I can put on my shirt with relative ease. My range of motion, however, is not much better than it was four weeks ago.
I am not a patient person by nature and it’s been very hard for me to slow down and accept the fact that my left arm can’t move or function like it used to.
Five years ago this summer, I wrote an article titled Mighty Gumby and the Importance of Flexible Strength where I reiterated some great advice I received in my Austin yoga class : “Flexibility needs to be supported by strength and stability”.
As I look back on the 2017 photo of my back, shoulder and arms, I can’t help but feel a bit sad and dejected at my current state in 2022. At this point, I can barely raise my left arm to be parallel to the ground much less flex my bicep.
Me in June 2022Me in July 2017
My friend and Yoga Therapist, Nancy Martch recently asked me, “What is your arm injury telling you?”. In my mind I rephrased the question to – What have I learned from this painful and physically limiting condition?
Here are my thoughts about recovering from an illness or injury:
Be patient with your body.
Slow down and appreciate the small, micro-improvements you see or feel.
Be flexible and adaptable with what you can and cannot do.
Be accepting of the situation and have gratitude for the strong and healthy parts of your body. (I have new respect and appreciation for my legs and back).
Do not compare the injured area or side of your body to its healthy counterpart (in my case my left arm to my right arm).
Do not compare yourself to anyone else.
Let go of any expectations.
Continually observe, analysis, research and explore new possibilities for healing and recovery.
Listen closely to your body for it will tell you what it needs.
Be kind to yourself.
These past six months have been a humbling experience for me as I come to accept that my recovery could take over a year. I am doing all that I can to keep moving and positively support my body’s immune system. The systems, habits and actions I employ include:
Yoga therapy
Physical therapy and weight lifting
Swimming
Massage
Anti-Inflammatory diet
A slow healing process is never easy but I’m optimistic that I will be able to lift my left over my head some day. I have put the Mighty Gumby back on my desk so I can be reminded of the importance of flexibility and a positive attitude.
Here’s to Letting Go and healing my frozen shoulder!
My team at work spends the majority of their time conducting Incident Reviews and Root Cause Analysis sessions where we investigate and discover what went wrong, why did the IT system fail and what can be done to prevent reoccurrence. The most important part of the process is the peeling back of the onion by asking multiple Why questions. The Five Whys is an effective methodology that can be applied to all aspects of our lives.
Top of mind for the majority of the planet’s population is the concern and fear of COVID-19. How can we best treat it? How do we prevent it?
While I am hopeful that the new vaccines will stem the spread of the virus, I wish that more attention would be given to the underlying health conditions that are severely hurting (and killing) certain populations in a disproportionate manner. Instead of obsessing over masks and lockdown effectiveness, why aren’t the WHO, the CDC and our government officials screaming from tops of the trees that a healthy weight and lifestyle are the best weapons against this disease. The word comorbidity seems like a polite, PC way to say unhealthy. The underlying cause of the most prevalent health risks are a poor diet and exercise habits and unfortunately, being in lockdown does not make it easy to eat well and work out.
If the root is not known, the cure won’t be shown.
Oh how I wish we would spend more time and energy to identify the underlying reasons of why a problem or bad condition has occurred.
Remember, the cause is the key to protect you and me!
Let me tell you a little about how I developed my keen interest in the study of the human immune system.
In sixth grade, I fell in love with reading science fiction books. My teacher, Mr. Gary Muschla, read the class Ray Bradbury’s “The Illustrated Man” and I was hooked. My passion for science fiction continued throughout middle school and high school as I devoured books by Ray Bradbury, Frank Herbert, and Piers Anthony.
In eighth grade, I decided that I would major in biochemistry when I went to college, which is rather unusual for a middle schooler. By ninth grade I set my sites on becoming a medical doctor. I remember the thrill of researching and writing a thirty-page term paper on cancer treatments for my advanced placement biology class. I concluded that immunotherapy held the greatest promise for a cure. In my mind, science fiction was swiftly becoming science fact.
At Rutgers University, I majored in biochemistry. Then, after four years serving in the army, I took jobs with pharmaceutical and Clinical Research staffing firms and worked with pharmaceutical giants such as Glaxo, Amgen, Genentech and Celgene. I truly was living my dream as I became a subject matter expert in antibiotic, allergy and asthma treatment protocols and the FDA approval process.
Then, in 2000, my life was upended when I was diagnosed with the auto-immune disorder known as Graves Disease. Over the next three years, I lost my mother, my father, and my eldest brother to complications from cancer, tragedies that transformed my passion into an obsessive need to understand the immune system that can either save or destroy us.
Every year, new immunotherapy breakthroughs are happening all around us. My desire to research, learn, and experiment is aimed at understanding the true root cause of disease and the ways we can recover from or prevent illness. We may not yet have nano-machines (nanites) traveling through our bloodstreams, helping our immune systems combat deadly illnesses, but science is getting ever closer to these science fiction dreams.
So while I love science and I love science fiction, I don’t want scientific facts to become fictions. But scientific facts and data are created and interpreted by humans and in these hyper-partisan times, control and politics have invaded what I thought was a methodical, logical and neutral world.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been told to “follow the science” and “listen to the experts” but many have become disillusioned by the contradictory information being shared and disseminated by our government and health organization leaders.
It’s December 2020 and most of the world’s population has been living in a bizarre state of pandemic fear, stress and uncertainty for 10 months. A legion of medical, scientific and biotechnology professionals have been hyper-focused on understanding the unpredictable new virus (SARS- CoV-2) and how it can be eradicated. We have witnessed very significant progress and worldwide cooperation which has led to epic innovations in vaccine development.
It’s the end of 2020 and although we don’t have nano-machine enabled immune systems like the ones depicted in the best selling science fiction series “The Rho Agenda” by Richard Phillips, two pharmaceutical companies have requested emergency use approval in the US for messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to protect against the novel coronavirus. This breakthrough has me thrilled and excited for the future of immunotherapy.
This year’s flurry of research and activity on the virus vaccine front brought back memories of the intense focus and effort in the 1980s and 90s on the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which caused the AIDS epidemic. I remember learning about the important role of T Cells in the immune system and how remarkably adaptive and fragile these human defense mechanisms can be.
While I am hopeful and excited to watch the private/public collaboration of numerous biotech companies and governments across the world, my positive mood sours as I watch cable news, read newspapers, Facebook and Twitter with sensationalized stories to exaggerate the numbers, trends and statistics and exploit people’s fears.
The scientific method and my understanding of the immune system was turned on its head as I listened to the countless world experts and health leaders give their press conferences and statements.
What I was hearing didn’t always make sense and I soon came to realize that the world health organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) were political bodies more than they were health advocates.
I was dismayed at the politicization of the COVID 19 response in the United States and wish that our government officials would focus more on common sense approaches and the basics of good health and strong immune systems. Instead, many have weaponized the data and the science to support the agreed upon narratives.
I couldn’t believe it when I saw some US medical doctors being censored and threatened for speaking about certain therapeutic treatments.
As the distrust of the federal and state governments and centralized health organizations increased, the public began to question the validity of the statistics and metrics. There is continued uncertainty about the risk and the best prevention strategies for containing and combatting the virus.
So this all brings me back to my passion and interest in the human immune system and how it can help us cope and survive the madness that is 2020 and the COVID 19 pandemic.
Now more than ever, I marvel at the amazingly adaptive and effective human immune system. If we nurture and support our bodies with proper nutrition, exercise and healthy lifestyle habits, our innate and acquired immune systems can protect us well from most pathogens.
Knowing that the human immune system is a robust and multi-level system with two main types of cells can help us understand, appreciate and support their functions.
Innate immune cells are the 1st line and include macrophages and other pac-man-like cells including neutrophils and basophils ( see image below). If this first response doesn’t neutralize the invading bacteria or virus, the special ops cells are activated. B and T cells are lymphocytes and use past behavior and exposure to identify and eliminate foreign threats in the body. This is our acquired or adaptive immune system.
B-cells fight bacteria and viruses by making Y-shaped proteins called antibodies, which are specific to each pathogen and are able to lock onto the surface of an invading cell and mark it for destruction by other immune cells.
There are two types of T-cells: helper T-cells and killer T-cells. Helper T-cells stimulate B-cells to make antibodies and help killer cells develop. Killer T-cells directly kill cells that have already been infected by a foreign invader. T-cells also use cytokines as messenger molecules to send chemical instructions to the rest of the immune system to ramp up its response.
Types of Immune Cells
Knowledge of our amazing immune systems can help us understand why the vast majority of people have mild symptoms when they are exposed to coronaviruses. Many peoples’ adaptive immune systems have naturally responded to the foreign invaders. Unfortunately, there are millions of people around the world whose immune systems did not respond in a positive or productive way, and this has resulted in far too many deaths. This is where medical and health officials can do a better job to educate people on the importance of maintaining a strong immune system and the risk of having a comorbidity.
So as we listen to and follow the science, remember that Science is not an Oracle and he doesn’t write blogs or do podcast interviews. Science is not an all powerful, all knowing entity. “Rather we have a mountain of research and data that is correlated, extrapolated and interpreted by a multitude of flawed and biased human, each with their own personal and political perspective.”
Human biases aside, I am still optimistic that sci-fi dreams of nano-machine enabled immune systems may one day become a science reality. Until that day, I will continue to share the important message about our body’s amazingly adaptive defensive system and how we can help improve and shore up our internal protections.
To the world’s health, medical and political leaders, I implore them to set aside their control based and non-common-sense policies and let scientific research and experimentation be the methodical, logical and neutral world where it can best thrive, discover and innovate to save lives.
One of the things that surprised me most when I served in the US Army was the insane amount of time spent cleaning- whether it was cleaning our equipment, our weapons, our boots or the bathrooms, it seemed like we always polishing, maintaining and recovering things. At the time, I didn’t fully understand and appreciate why there would be so much focus on Preventative Maintenance Checks and Services otherwise known in the Army as PMCS. The sergeants and officers in my unit were obsessive about this and we had these checks on the training schedule more days than not. And so my platoon did Physical Training (PT), inspections and equipment maintenance nearly every day. Why did we do this? To be in the best, most high performing condition and ready for battle.
Now let’s think about how many cars you’ve owned in the last 25 years? How many oil changes, tire rotations and maintenance checks have they had? How many 15 point inspections were done? How much time and money have you spent to ensure that your vehicle was in good condition and ready for a road trip?
One of the things that puzzles me about American society today is how much time and energy people put into the care of their motor vehicles and how much less effort and focus is put into maintaining their bodies.
Speaking of bodies. So far on this planet, how many human bodies have you had?
Last I checked, we only get issued one body at birth.
The good news is, unlike a car or machine, our bodies are self-healing and adaptable, we just need to give them the proper care and attention.
I am excited to share with you a simple 3 point inspection plan to help get your body battle ready.
One of my favorite bands of the 1970’s is Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) and this is how you can remember the three points:
Connect
Care
Recover
First let’s talk about the importance of Connections. What I miss most about being in the military is the camaraderie, bonds and cohesion. I always felt like I was part of a supportive team. Someone always had my back. The value and benefit to having a strong circle of good friends and family should not be overlooked in today’s virtual world.
Positive support, help and encouragement from others is shown to increase our immune systems. People with a positive network of friends and family that they can personally connect with have longer life expectancies.
Organizations like the American Legion, VFW, Toastmasters International, Rotary Club, and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) like the Military Veterans Network (MVN) at my company Charles Schwab help bring people together and promote common bonds.
The second point in the Inspection Plan is Care, specifically self-care. We have all heard about the importance of eating a balanced diet, staying hydrated and getting enough physical exercise. I’d like to highlight and focus on two other factors that have a huge impact on your health and wellbeing- Sleep and Stress. The importance of a good night sleep cannot be overstated since stress and sleep are often inversely proportional.
Quality sleep plays a vital role in the body’s ability to heal and repair itself and is necessary for the brain to rebalance by clearing out harmful toxins.
Recover is the third point in the plan and involves rebalancing and restoring your body, brain and mind each and every day. I find this to be the most interesting area with the discovery and application of new science and technology. Advances in neuroscience have fueled the emergence of new Brain Performance centers across the country.
Last year, I took part in a six month program for military veterans at a Vitanya Wellness center in Tempe, AZ where I experienced the benefits of reducing my stress, increasing my sleep and restoring my neural balance through a combination of brain health supplements and brain wave entrainment devices. By consistently taking care of myself and leveraging these new techniques and protocols, I found that my resilience, mental sharpness and memory improved in ways I had not thought possible. For more information click here.
Technology aside, there are many things you can do each day to help yourself to recover and rebalance including yoga, meditation and other restorative activities.
One of the things that perplexes me most about my fellow humans is their ability to learn and gain so much knowledge about what is good for their health and well being and then how rarely, if ever, they apply it!
It is my hope is that you will remember the importance of a daily PMCS- just like I did while I was in the Army.
Take care of the one body you were issued at birth because there is no plan B- there no spare one sitting in your garage.
Do your Preventative Maintenance Checks and Service and the daily 3 Point Inspection to have a battle ready body for as you travel in your journey of life you will encounter twists and turns and the inevitable steep hill.
Know that positive connections, proper self-care and recovery can give you the strength and resilience to power through the tough days and overcome whatever obstacles cross your path.
Connect, Care and Recover with spirit and zeal.
Take care of your amazing organic being and let it take you on the ride of your life!
Life is a crazy rollercoaster and sometimes you just have to laugh at the absolute insanity of it all.
This is why Part 4 of my compelling blog features the phrase “Just Keep Laughing” for the letters JKL. I thought this was more helpful and inspirational than “Just Kidding Loser” or worse yet, the dreaded “Just Kidding LOL”. Is it just me or do you find LOL to be annoying?
My Mom’s favorite express was “Live, Love, Laugh” and I always admired her warm smile and jolly laugh. She had a tough life with many challenges but she never let it get her down.
So when the crazy/mean/rude/obnoxious people in this world start making you feel like your head is going to explode, remember Just Keep Laughing!
Plus, as an added bonus, laughing has many health benefits for you, including:
Ouch! Traveling can be painful. Three weeks of planes, rental cars and unfamiliar beds have wreaked havoc on my back muscles. Plus, I was foolish and did not heed my own advice which is the key point of this article.
Flexibility and Strength are not mutually exclusive and should be worked on in tandem as much as possible. I am thinking of tattooing this reminder on my arm.
Are you one of those naturally flexible people who can do touch your toes without too much trouble? I have always admired this ability since I am not the most limber person in the world. When I was seven years old I struggled more than the other girls at the bar in ballet class. My muscles just didn’t seem as gumby-like as the graceful ballerinas. I was envious and realized that I wouldn’t be joining the circus as an acrobat anytime soon.
After my traumatic dance class experience I longed to be a combination of Wonder Woman and the Bionic Woman. The power, adaptability and super hearing abilities were alluring to me. I also longed to possess a “Truth Lasso” for obvious reasons.
Though I wasn’t able to touch to toes as a child, I did have strong leg muscles so I gravitated towards sports like soccer, track and cycling. I started weight lifting in college and ultimately joined the army where the goal was to do as many push-ups I could in a two minutes. Strength trumped flexibility because it was easier. Little did I realize how this one sided focus could cause imbalance, restriction and injury. Why did my lower back always get pulled into a painful knot? Why would my neck become so tight that I couldn’t look up?
Photo by Nancy Martch who is pictured below
Neck strain and back pain are so common in our stressed out and hectic world that Yoga centers are popping up everywhere to help unwind, relax and balance the masses. This year in Austin I’ve been practicing yoga with a steady frequency and I was feeling great. In retrospect, my vacation plans to visit friends and family for my birthday should have included stretching and breathing exercises to keep me in balance. Oh when will I ever learn?
Many people don’t fully understand and appreciate the importance of balancing flexibility and strength. Here’s a good, simple way to think about it:
Increasing flexibility without strength results in joint instability.
Increasing strength without flexibility results in soft tissue tears, sprains and postural changes.
Thankfully three strong, lithe friends came into my life over the last 15 years and introduced me the power and healing benefits of the ancient practice. What Heidi started in San Diego in 2002, Nancy and Clarissa continue to inspire me to reach for my toes and beyond.
Photo by Barry Staver
Elastic power leads to balance and stability, helping us physically and mentally in our personal and professional lives. Being grounded and level headed makes you a confident more assertive speaker and leader.
Here’s some great advice I received in yoga class: Flexibility needs to be supported by strength and stability.
Now I happily compliment my push-ups with the all -important child’s pose. My weight lifting reps are interspersed with the ever helpful downward facing dog.
Over the years I have come to marvel at how much yoga has improved my bicycling skills and strength and how my core strength has made my yoga poses so much more grounded.
Too much of any one good thing can lead to trouble and a wonderful blend of complimentary things can launch us to higher levels of achievement and satisfaction.
Strong and flexible muscles are happy and less prone to injury.
So be like a mighty Gumby- your back and neck muscles will thank you!
Being sick while on vacation has put me in a philosophical mood. Yesterday I reflected on the labyrinth.
Today I was well enough to fully appreciate an easy jog on a cactus-lined trail. My senses were heightened as I savored every minute of my normally routine and bland morning exercise. The old adage “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” kept repeating in my formerly stuffed head.
Then I started branching my thoughts and thinking of other things I have taken for granted and don’t appreciate enough.
Things like Integrity.
Honesty. Liberty. Respect.
Things like Health, Happiness and Serenity.
Priceless things like Gratitude, Friendship and Honor.
I take none of the things for granted and cherish them more each day. It’s amazing what a clear head in the desert can do for you!
In the last six months, multiple aspects of my life have been tracked and monitored by an automated, “robo” tool. From fitness workouts and calories burned to sleep and step activity to financial investing, I have gadgets aplenty tracking a plethora of performance and personal progress statistics.
Last month I joined Koko FitClub, a digital gym and have been religiously wearing my Fitbit to capture my steps, stairs climbed, and sleep activity. The Koko experience has been positive and it seems I’m becoming addicted to the online dashboards. I enjoy the SmartTraining aspect of having my workout plans preloaded in a thumb drive and the visual display of each exercise and rep count on the floating screen in front of me. After each workout, I run home to check out the website to review my numbers and progress. I’m like a little kid who wants to see the grades on her report card at school.
One meaning for the word kokoin Japanese is “individually” and that is what this type of fitness program gives you- help and guidance from an intelligent machine with minimal human interaction.
I’ve watched this trend toward more personalized and internally focused electronics, apps and interfaces over the past fifteen years starting with iTunes, the iPod and the iPhone and moving on to Google Glass, the iPad, the Fitbit and now the Apple Watch. It seems that more and more we humans want our experiences with the world to be custom tailored to our exact needs and desires.
Here are some of the reasons why I like robo and koko-like tracking and interfaces:
Awareness and Accountability- both are increased.
Motivation. I respond well to the visual achievement of goals.
Charts and graphs excite me.
Encouragement and recognition on meeting objectives. Fitbit is very good at this.
The Economist magazine recently published an interesting article entitled “Ask the Algorithm” which highlighted the recent trends in automated wealth management tools and the rise of the “robo-advisers”. There a donut charts aplenty on the dashboards of these new applications.
Asset Allocation Dashboard
So welcome to the machine ( one of my favorite Pink Floyd songs) and kick back and enjoy the lovely and colorful dashboards!
Strong Words & Simple Truths 