I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them. –Kurt Vonnegut My son spent a lot of time in speech therapy as a young child for Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). You wouldn’t know it now,…
Growth comes at the point of resistance (Josh Waitzkin)
Skills come from struggle.” Steve Magniss and Brad Stulberg, In their book Peak Performance, Magniss and Stulberg explain “just-manageable challenges” as ways to push limits and expand a comfort zone, and constantly to improve. “Just-manageable challenges manifest when you take on something that makes you feel a little out of control but not quite anxious or overly aroused. What you’re after is the sweet spot, when the challenge at hand…
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Beginnings and hurdles
The biggest hurdle is often the first on the course, whether it’s waking and rolling out a yoga mat or lacing up running shoes, or walking through the door to something new. With tae kwon do, I’d summoned the courage necessary to walk through the door into my first class, feeling pretty good about it, and found perhaps that wasn’t the highest hurdle. I had 300 more to go. Every…
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final project from my course with Shaun Levin
Shaun Levin teaching a Domestika course: inspirational for creative writing by going analog, writing with pen and paper not typing on a computer. It did shift my writing, my word usage. This is the final project for the course: A taekwondo student, we learn that the translation of taekwondo is “the Korean art of smashing with the hands and feet”; the two focal points are my hands and feet. Every…
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new blog series: the tapestry of martial arts
Writers are often told, correct or not, to write what they know, write what they love. As spring approaches, I’m going to write a series of blogs that both reflect something I’ve been learning a lot about over the last decade, and also ties in to my fiction writing. (My cozy mystery is coming along at almost 60,000 words so far!) What’s the topic? Martial arts. Tai chi. Qi gong.…
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Rebel Roots Nutrition talks food for optimal mood, focus and academic success
Carla Abate of Rebel Roots Nutrition is helping us figure out the best fuel for our kids. Find her on Instagram @rebelrootsnutrition and rebelrootsnutrition.com. She’s got some amazing recipes on her website! Here’s inspiration and quality information from Carla, a certified Master Nutrition Therapist (MNT) and postpartum doula. Feeding Your Kids Toward Academic Success It’s a constant challenge to prepare lunches for the week and do so with a nutritional…
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Homeschool science: review of Generation Genius and Science Detective
It can be SO hard to pick out curriculum! It seems to be feast or famine–sometimes I find too many options, sometimes I can’t find anything. Last summer, when planning the upcoming school year, I decided I wanted a more formal science curriculum. It was time to level up from the basic videos and book series like Magic School Bus. But how? I had flashbacks of sitting in science class…
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Is Xiao Yao San (Rambling Powder) over-prescribed?
Harmonizing is the central focus of the most-prescribed herbal formula (in the US) Xiao Yao San, for good reason. In both TCM and 5E, the Wood – Earth dynamic is the cog-wheel of daily life. It’s the engine that keeps it all going, the Gu qi / Spleen qi that is a foundation for every other function: building blood, circulating blood and qi, maintaining yin and yang. The Liver keeps…
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Professor Dad and Me: the next Chauhan family adventure
Announcing.. Drumroll please… Professor Dad and Me! My son has wanted a Youtube channel for a couple of years now, and I just couldn’t get myself together to make it happen for him until now. With cold weather and Covid, we’ve got the time to get this ball rolling. Well, at first it feels like pushing the darn thing uphill, but now we’re rolling on flat ground. ProfessorDadandMe is my…
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thankful for reviews from readers…
I’m so, so thankful for some of the amazing reviews readers have left for my books on Amazon. I had to come here and share this review for Beginner’s Guide to Chinese Herbal Medicine, published in April of this year. 5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2020 Verified Purchase I am a retired medical doctor wanting to develop a basic working understanding…
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