wellness Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Pura Vida Sometimes

Avengers: Endgame will make tough guys weep and old girls giddy

April 24, 2019 3 Comments

Avengers: Endgame review - Pura Vida Sometimes

Avengers: Endgame, the newest in an anthology of Marvel Studios films, reaches the pinnacle of character development, weaving together the back-stories of our favorite imperfect, fallible Marvel superheros in the ultimate intergalactic heist. I was invited to attend an advance screening of Avengers: Endgame. I love Marvel – count me in! The heroes and antiheroes are morally challenged and real – they are responsible for saving the human race, but their humanity parallels ours. That said, I’m a casual fan. I’ve watched and enjoyed most of the movies, but I’ve never dressed as a character (if that’s your thing, check […]

advocacy, Clean Living, Lymphedema, wellness

The hidden impact of Lymphedema

March 5, 2019 1 Comment

Sharing the mental and emotional effects of a physical disease for World Lymphedema Day 2019 It’s been two and a half years since my Lymphedema diagnosis, and I’d like to tell you I’ve adjusted and adapted and everything is hunky dory. But it isn’t. I have a good routine, my swelling is well controlled, and I look almost normal, but there are days when I feel anything but. I’m am backed by a community of “lymphies. “Some of them are far more physically affected than I, while some are triathletes and marathon runners. All deal with the mental and emotional […]

wellness

PVS Giveaway: Disney’s The Nutcracker

October 22, 2018 No Comments

Pura Vida Sometimes giveaway for Phoenix-area screening of The Nutcracker The other day – a cool, tranquil, uneventful morning – as I was driving my four-year-old to school, I looked in the rearview mirror and saw a very devastated-looking toddler. “What’s wrong, I asked?” “I want to be a *big* ballerina.” She loves her ballet class and is learning the fundamentals, but she wants to wear her toe shoes and leap forth in a graceful gran jeté. Her ambition is bigger than that of a little ballerina. Like her mama, she likes to bite off more than she can chew. So […]

advocacy, Clean Living, health, Lymphedema, wellness

What Can Be Learned from Lymphedema Diagnosis?

September 25, 2018 5 Comments

Many health practitioners are still figuring out what Lymphedema is, let alone what to do about it. On that patient side, actual Lymphedema diagnosis can be a costly endeavor, an unnecessary formality, a step toward surgery, or a source of affirmation. For me, like most things, it became a matter of knowing the rules so I’d know how and when I could break them. Before I get started in telling you what I did and what resulted, a quick disclaimer: I’m not a health professional, nor am I the most knowledgeable when it comes to Lymphedema (LE) diagnosis, but when […]

Career, Clean Living, family, health, wellness

Super Woman Rx: Busy Women’s New Bestie

August 9, 2018 No Comments

Super Woman Rx: Busy Women's New Best Friend on Pura Vida Sometimes

I haven’t yet decided whether it was a lie when they told us we could have it all, or whether it’s true you can have it all, just not at the same time. But for those of us deeply entrenched in being everything to everyone, I have just the thing for you: Super Woman Rx. In a previous career, during the course of seven years, I had the privilege of working with some of the world’s top doctors and health experts, creating and marketing integrative medicine programs, educating medical professionals. Many of the physicians I worked with were women who rose through the ranks […]

Clean Living, health, nutrition, wellness

Brain Octane for Tired, Hungry Parents

April 12, 2018 No Comments

I am a hungry girl. Most of waking hours of my life have been spent eating and/or trying to stave off hunger. But recently, I feel like I’m getting closer to cracking the code of satiety. I have a few strong, quintessential mom issues standing in my way: sleep deprivation and limited time to exercise and consequently brain fog, hunger, and the challenge of meal prep for palate-awakening pleasures in a house of picky eaters…and me. Eating thoughtfully is a luxury. So when my friends at Bulletproof, the biohacking behemoth, approached me and asked if I wanted to try their […]

Cornerstone, family, Lymphedema, wellness

Loving Someone With Lymphedema

March 5, 2018 3 Comments

As many as 200 million people worldwide suffer from Lymphedema, but diagnosis can often leave patients feeling alone and stranded. If you love someone with Lymphedema (LE), there are a few regular habits you can establish to help them feel comfortable, understood, and loved. LE is a dysfunction of the Lymphatic System – the body’s network of filters that helps the Circulatory System clear bacteria, infection, and by-products of blood circulation. Lymphedema can be primary (genetic) or secondary, as the result of trauma or damage to lymph nodes, often as a result of cancer treatment. Fluid back-up in the limbs makes […]

beauty, wellness

One Year, 10 Self-Care Discoveries

January 19, 2018 No Comments

The last year was challenging for many of us – personally, professionally, politically. It’s easy to get swept-away by headlines and hype, and to fall down the rabbit hole of social media. But for me, everything outside my control incited a journey into how to create balance, mindfulness, and contentment. In the present. Within myself. Small breaks between the madness. Self-care allows us to slow down, focus, and listen to ourselves on a deeper level, without being drowned out by the white noise (or the crash, boom, bang) of ordinary life. Whether we’re tired parents, busy professionals, or burdened citizens, […]

family, wellness

5 Self-Care Hacks for Busy Parents

January 2, 2018 2 Comments

I think I’ve passed the point in my life when resolutions are important. Every year I want to lose weight, eat better, sleep more, be a better person. But in the last few years, the journey has become exponentially more important than the destination: why do I want what I want, and how do I move in the right direction? With a very limited budget of time for myself, I’ve devised a few self-care hacks which I hope will serve you. Last year about this time, rather than resolutions, I set the intentions for myself of making space, finding balance, being […]

Career, wellness

TEDWomen Takeways: Big Themes & Challenges

November 17, 2017 2 Comments

Pura Vida Sometimes - TEDWomen Takeaways

It’s been two weeks since I returned from New Orleans where I attended TEDWomen 2017, and aside from the hustle and bustle of life impeding a blog post, I had a lot to process. From Wednesday to Friday, attendees were immersed in talks about identity and race, criminalization of entire communities, forgiveness, reproductive justice, misogyny, assault… We’ve all watched TED talks, from technical to inspirational to heartbreaking. Eighteen minutes here, 15 minutes there. Try three days straight of pure thinking and feeling It’s a lot. And you leave not knowing what to with all this new information. TEDWomen is emotionally-charged, dealing with […]