This morning I came across an email about bone marrow drives across the country and wanted to share. 

This Saturday on Yom Kippur, 75 Reform Jewish congregations from coast to coast will be hosting bone marrow registration drives. While you may be asking, why is this important? Let me just give you some background because by a swab of the cheek, you could literally save someone's life. 

For patients diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood diseases and genetic disorders, a bone marrow or cord blood transplant may be their best or only hope for a cure. Yet 70% of patients who need a transplant do not have a matching donor in their immediate family, typically a blood sibling is needed. So these individuals depend on services such as Be The Match® and other support services to find a matching donor. Transplantation is not a an easy road of treatment but it certainly can be life saving. 

Personally, I do not have a family match and am someone who would need this service if I were to have my blood levels relapse. So while it might not sound fun to have to be a donor, joining the bone marrow registry is very quick and easy and could potentially save someone's life. One caveat is that potential donors needed must be between the ages of 18 and 60 and in general good health, with preference for individuals 44 YOA and under. This is based on medical research that shows younger donors are best for patients and provide the greatest chance for transplant success.

If you are interested in joining one of the events mentioned above, check out this webpage with the state-by-state listings. Or if you are not near one of these locations, check out Be The Match® where you can register online and they'll send you a kit or find a marrow drive near you.

Preparation. I like to feel like I'm prepared for something. But, as it turns out, life doesn't seem to come with a proper guidebook and it's only one's best guess that keeps us from getting stuck in this state of preparation anxiety...Not a problem you have? Well that's nice, and as it seems, not stressing over this is what I'm consistently trying to work on. 

You can't completely prepare and plan your way through life, if you honestly believe that you can, congratulations, you have a ridiculously predictable life. I'm not sure if I should be happy for you or sorry, because with the lack of unpredictability, how can you truly grow beyond your comfort zones? 

Does this sound like bull to you? 

Well, if it does, sorry. Because this theory is essentially the culmination of my life experiences up until this point. And while, there are certainly parts/moments of it that I wish I could go back and correct or "do better", this is my life as it is and I would not be the person that I am without it. 

Moving from this point, I am branching out and move into another area of life that I am both scared and excited to pursue, I have gone back to school and am trying to make a go of my yoga business. While I fear I could fail, the act of not trying to do it is even more unnerving. While I am no new version of Baron Baptiste, I hope to provide students and clients with genuine care and attention as a yoga therapist and teacher. I know that through my own experience that rest, relaxation, and gentle asana can prove far more healing than a vigorous heated practice, if you are only open to receiving it. Countering and finding balance between our heating and cooling practices is something that I have become more willing to accept. I sincerely realize that those little warning signs or red flags that we can either ignore or pay attention to is a skill that I’m still working on honing and would like to help others reap the benefits of becoming more intuitive to their self-care needs. I hope that my personal lessons in finding appropriate self-care and continuing to work through challenges can help in making me more connected to my students. I understand that for many issues there may be quick solutions and also choices that take more time and effort to work through. My goal is to be available to provide people going through medical issues the assistance to know that yoga is available to them and that through yoga therapy the practice can be uniquely catered to their needs.

A year ago (yesterday), I was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. While it was evident that something was wrong before and A.A. was hinted at, it wasn't until that final diagnosis that we really knew what was going on and how my treatment moving forward would proceed. That was a tough appointment and a particularly hard day. 

Since then, life has gone on with its ups and downs and many changes in between. A year ago, I thought that I might be able to make it to Hawaii by Thanksgiving or before Christmas, with my blood levels elevated and stable. I never imagined the course of events that would unfold, the number of hours spent in the hospital, and the difficulties that dealing with such disease would entail. 

I'd like to tell you that I feel amazing and totally perfect...but I'm not there yet. I never thought that a year later I'd still be working my way back to normal.  

Dealing with my Aplastic Anemia is really day-to-day. Some days I feel like wonder woman and others I feel totally depleted. I've found that for me, it's a matter of finding a healthy balance between activity and rest, making sure to check-in before assuming that I can just "power through".  I actually have to conserve energy at times and that has been really frustrating. When I've overdone the intensity or amount of activity I've paid for it, whether in passing out or feeling sick as a result. As an "intensity pusher" on myself, it has been a big lesson in self-regulation and modification. "Yes, I WANT to and I CAN...but I need to take a break." This has been all the more difficult in Hawaii, much more so than I was initially expecting. I generally want to try it all, all the time. 

So while I may frequently check schedules and ask A. if we can do this marathon race or that half, I ultimately know the answer. Healing takes time. Rushing or testing my limits has just pushed me back and caused pain. While I don't want to admit it, I continue to work on patience and knowing that my levels are still working their way bak to normal. My hope for this next year of 2014-2015 in regards to fitness, is to continue to get stronger, more balanced, and healthier in my approach to fitness and life.