Death is natural
Death is natural and it can feed my life How can I better come to terms with the fact that death, in particular, my death is natural? I can reluctantly shake my head and say yes of course dying is natural. It’s been happening for all living things from the beginning. I have spent time around dying people. I have buried many pets, watched dead trees be removed and lately have been intently studying more about dying, particularly in America. So, my head is pretty squarely in agreement. Yes you will die and that’s ok. It’s a fact that by...
read moreBirth….a mirror for life
I first heard my daughter Nova’s voice seconds after her arrival at 5:28 am on Wednesday November 19th, 2014. I heard her strong, raspy yelps right after they cut and wedged her out of my body, my arms secured and cushioned on the operating table, me drugged and numb from the chest down. I began to dry heave and cry myself the second her presence filled the cold, brightly lit room as finally she had come to greet us after a tedious 4 days of anticipatory labor.I use the term anticipatory (all labor is, of course) because my water broke...
read moreSampling Self-Care Southern California Style
From Massage Magazine March 2014 By Mia Miller, LMT I am often in awe of how both built and natural environments stretch our sense of what’s enjoyable, desirable and possible. Whether you’re suiting up for a winter run in below freezing temperatures, packing up swim gear to hit the gym after a long day of work or perhaps you’re disciplined enough to do some restorative yoga at home alone in the wee hours of morning before the day kicks off, we are incredibly adaptable creatures when we allow the places around us to suggest...
read moreHelp Wanted: A Call for More Oncology Massage Specialists
From Massage Magazine January 2014 By Mia Miller, LMT I am eager to see a dramatic rise in the number of massage therapists specializing in oncology massage. Consider this a call to action. Reviewing Gayle MacDonald’s opening to her bookMedicine Hands, “As patients travel the road of the cancer experience, they will have pain that the best medications cannot totally alleviate, their self image will be shattered, they will suffer from lost relationships, anxiety about the future and possibly a sore back from lying too long on a...
read moreMassage, cancer and my view today
I am thrilled to be a massage therapist serving patients at City of Hope as well as in my private practice. First I get to meet some incredible individuals who are navigating life with such a distinct and humbling sense of courage and honesty in the midst of their cancer treatment, recovery and survivorship. That leaves quite an impression on me, every time and informs how I approach my work with all my clients, regardless of the stage of life or state of health they are in. I recognize how critical it is that we cherish who we are each day,...
read moreMiss Whitney–I paid her a visit
“You’re lucky when you live in California, where the million dollar views are free.” * A wall of granite and the most amazing azure as backdrop.Check her out! Talk about fantasy novels in 3D. I read little fantasy, but thought I was in one many times during this 16 hour hike on Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48 states and just a few hours northeast of us. Kista, my trail boss (really I love what I learn following in her footsteps!) and I set out at 4 am August 2nd with the aim of summiting Mt. Whitney around 11...
read moreMetta In May
Hi my friends. Metta is the practice of loving kindness, both sending and receiving this gift. Last April I decided I’d give this a try for the month of May. I recall the physical calm, a sense of freedom in my mind, and most profound was the warmth and openness happening in my heart. The heart is the seat of our greatest understanding of how we co-create by accepting and allowing, softening and expanding. Our inner speech, I believe,calls events into existence and shapes our experience of life. Let our words be loving. Why not take a...
read moreBeing a patient patient
Recently I discovered two life altering incredible projects, a medical research one and a documentary film that together, just might change diabetes care for good! I will attach the link below so you can watch the trailer for yourself. It’s called Patient 13 and it’s chronicling a huge advance in public health care. http://www.patient13thefilm.com/ I am completely enamored with this for several reasons and want to gather excitement from any other interested corner of existence that I can! 1. I have lived with type 1 diabetes for...
read moreOn listening or not to our heads
I want to be thought provoking, this is why I write others, to engage and inspire, yes? A great exercise in and of itself I often imagine. Well a favorite commentator/writer had a piece on NPR yesterday, Andre Codrescu, entitled “An Argument For Living The Inner Life Without Your Own Thoughts” and it totally rang hilariously true for me. (Posted on January 29, 2013, 3 minutes long) So, he doesn’t miss his thoughts, when he’s got the axe and he’s chopping away, realizing the “rhythmic exercise is a wonderful...
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