Easter is MORE than eggs, new clothes, bunnies or peeps
The Old Rugged Cross sung by Rev. Al Green
Calvary sung by Mahalia Jackson
What counts?
His great sacrifice, one commemorated every Easter.
Need a reminder? Breath Work
Positive Body Image Resources & A Thank You
This is the debut of the Positive Body Image Resource Page on the hwrichard.info (Through a Mirror Dimly) blog site. What Counts? What you choose to add.
Work it Out!
Ways to stay on track with your workout. Ways to stay on track
Every Body Yoga
By JassamynStanley. I love her yoga because it makes me think I might be able to do it too. (She is much better than me, but I can hope.)
Body Image Links
A little of Everything A Website for the care of Black Women
Kriss Carr presents Dr.Christine Northrop who give 5 tips on being an Ageless Goddess
Social comparisons may appear so right, but they can be so misleading and cause you to focus on the wrong thing. Social comparisons link
Mastectomy Needs
Wardrobe boot camp: Dressing after a mastectomy
By Styling You, short & useful.
A different prosthesis from BBC Stories Knitted knockers
Unique Boutique –
A place to buy Breast forms, Mastectomy Bras, wigs and more located in Charlotte, NC
The Fashionista You Are
Fabulous after 40
This is the right word for this site for 40s, 50s, 60s and up! Hair, shoes, clothes. It’s a fashion magazine in itself!
Fashionable & Confident over 40
Let’s see what you think?
InStyle
Clothes, trends, fun & sometimes interesting articles
Ways of Centering
Journaling – Journaling Help
Meditation
Headspace App – Price varies lowest one is $12.99
Grounding
The Urban Monk
Programs designed to give you more energy. Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and much more!
What Counts?
Please send me any favorite sites of yours, so I can add them to this grouping. Start new categories, if you like. There appears to be so much out there! Let me hear what you find interesting, fun, enlightening or appealing.
A Video Thank you from me.
Dr. Harriette
Lymph Movement: What is needed?
I really don’t talk much about lymphedema. But here goes. Lymphedema can occur at any time after a mastectomy to remove breast cancer. At least, that’s what happened to me. Read More
What I Learned from a Monk
More than the stereotypical chanting and meditation, you might guess? And you’d be correct! The Monk, I am highlighting today is not the obsessive-compulsive one on TV. Read More
Positive Body Image Resources – Fashion Do or Don’t
As the Blog ebbs and flows, I am trying to navigate it to a place where those who have experienced breast cancer can find ways to connect – to build themselves up. This is also a place where family & friends can learn & help. We all need help whether it’s a kind word, a walk outside, a cup of soup, a lobster dinner, calling a friend, a game of monopoly, a good partner in bid whist, a fashion tip, a new exercise routine, a new magazine or lipstick color, playing with my grandson. “Oh, sorry those were some of the things that give me a lift.” Read More
Chemo Brain, Nails & Eyebrows – What Next?
Chemo brain! Okay, this is when the chemotherapy drugs have affected your body and mind. The literature says you may not remember certain things or think clearly. There are conflicting views about how long this forgetfulness/fogginess may last. Read More
Body Image – Keep on Pushing!
We have to listen to our bodies telling us what is & what is not essential for our health. We need to do this so we can stop giving our energy to everything and everybody. This Body Image & Healing Blog was created primarily for friends & family who are in support of women (some 50 and over) who have had or have breast cancer. “So why, you ask, are women 50 and older concerned with their body image?” “Because we’ve still got a body!”
We are concerned about how we look. Now, we are not necessarily swayed so much by what we see on television. We are not trying to fit into what a 20 or 30-year-old would wear. That does not mean we don’t care about how we look or how we carry ourselves. “And carry ourselves, we will.” smh
This leads to my second point. We know that we must keep moving. “Sitting is the new smoking.” Ideally, we should stand up every 30 minutes throughout the day. The ideal number of times to do this would be 12-15 times. I created my own standing desk with books and a wastebasket so I can stand and sit from time to time. This type of variety is needed since standing on your feet all day is not the best thing either. The surest way to the beginning of ill health for many of us, is to stop moving!
Try Carol Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
“What else are we concerned about?” Well, let’s try something new? We’re also concerned about how we think as we age. As our pastor said the other day “If you’re old, you’re not going to regress and get young, you’re going to stay old, but that doesn’t mean we have an old mind set.
“So what is an appropriate mindset for us?” “I don’t know.” Fifty or 60-years-old is not what your mother or grandmother thought when they were that same age.” “I think it’s what you think, what you believe, what you do!” We can do so much more! We can walk, we can keep ourselves active and we can keep our minds active! We can engage with people of ALL ages. Those are the kinds of things that keep us, okay, relatively young. It is not how quickly you come up with the answer that counts, but… (Check out the book.)
The Right Stuff!
We can eat right. We can have the right attitude. Even your attitude about what you eat while you are eating it, affects your body and the processing of that food. That matters! In Dr. Christiane Northrup’s book, Making Life Easy: A Simple Guide to A Divinely Inspired Life, she talks about an experiment with rabbits, who were fed all types of things making them prone to heart disease. They followed the rabbits for several weeks. But the researcher began to notice one group, even though they ate like the other rabbits ate, didn’t have the same issues. This, of course, was after they examined the tissues and arteries. These little rascals were healthier.
The critical question was “Why would they be healthier? They were healthier because the researcher talked to Val who said she played with them when she took them out of their little cages and even talked to them. Yes, the more fun you have, the less stress you may have and it may clear out some of the negatives going on in and around you. Now, it’s not going to erase all the bad things you may be doing or eating or stressing out about. But it really could make a difference in your life.
What Counts?
So, what are you going to do now? Well, for Lent I decided to eat differently, not too far from what I normally do, but enough for it to cause a little discomfort, like no added sugar. And I am going to stay focused on the positive and reduce some of my negative thoughts about a couple of issues. (That doesn’t mean you should try to tempt me.) Lastly, I am going to increase my meditation/exercise routines. That should keep me busy for the next few weeks. These are items I want to continue to have in my life. They are not just for this season. So what counts? Whatever you are doing that will last beyond this sacred time.
(P.S. I’ve got to write shorter posts, this one was waaaaay too long.)
(Click Keep On Pushing below to hear it.)
Body image – Keep on Pushing!
This Body Image & Healing Blog was created for family, friends and those going through breast cancer who were primarily women 50 and over. “So why are women 50 and older concerned with body image?” “Because we’ve still got a body!” It’s important to us how we look. Now, we are not necessarily swayed so much by what we see on television.
Make it Work!
We are not trying to fit into what a 20-year-old, a 30-year-old would wear. That does not mean we don’t care about how we look or how we carry ourselves. And carry ourselves, we will. We know that we must keep moving. “Sitting is the new smoking.” Ideally, we should stand up every 30 minutes we are at work it we work a 9-5 job. I created a standing desk with books and a wastebasket so I can stand and sit from time to time. A variety of movement is needed throughout the day, since standing on your feet all day is not the best thing to do. The surest way to the beginning of ill-health for many of us, is to stop moving!
It’s all in your Head!
We’re also concerned about how we think as we age. As our pastor said the other day “If you’re old, you’re not going to regress and get young, you’re going to stay old, but that doesn’t mean we have an old mind-set.
“So what mindset should one have who is over 50 years old?” “I don’t know.” Fifty or 60-years-olds are not thinking the way your mother thought or your grandmother thought when she was 60.” “I think it’s what you think, what you believe, what you do!” We can do so much more! We can walk, we can keep ourselves active and we can keep our minds active! We can engage with people of ALL ages. Those are the kinds of things that keep us young.
The Right Stuff
We can eat right. We can have the right attitude and attitude really makes a difference in how you feel. It really makes a difference. For instance, your attitude about what you eat while you are eating it affects how your body processes the food. That matters! In Dr. Christiane Northrup’s book, Making Life Easy: A Simple Guide to A Divinely Inspired Life, she talks about an experiment involving rabbits who were fed all types of things making them prone to heart disease. The rabbits were monitored for several weeks. But the researcher began to notice one group, even though they ate like the other rabbits ate, these rabbits didn’t have the same issues the other had when they examined their tissues and arteries. These little rascals were healthier. The critical question was “Why would they be healthier? They were because the researcher talked to Val who played with them, took them out of their little cages and even talked to them.
Yes, the more fun you have, the less stress you may have and that all helps clear out some of the negatives going on in and around you. Now, that’s not going to erase all bad things you may be doing or eating or stressing out about. But it really could make a difference in your life.
What Counts?
So, what are you going to do now? Well, for Lent I have decided to eat differently, not too far from what I normally do, but enough for it to cause a little discomfort, like no added sugar. And I am going to stay focused on the positive and reduce the negative aspects of various issues. (That doesn’t mean you should try to tempt me.) Lastly, I am going to increase my meditation/exercise routines. That should keep me busy for the next few weeks. These are items I want to continue to do in my life. They are not just for this season. So what counts? Whatever you are doing that will last beyond this sacred time.
Loctician Magician, will you help my friend?
My Loctician, April can do amazing things with locs! Little did I know when she told me to save my locs, there was a bigger reason. When I lost my locks in 2010, she cut them off and the barber shaved my head. At that time my locs were about 7-12 inches long. Read More
Manipulated Textures & Melanated Stories
Healing and Body Work take many different forms. Sometimes we do it by pushing and pulling our bodies and hair into all sorts of contortions. Sometimes we do it by pushing down feelings and emotions. Sometimes we do it by playing ‘dumb’, when we know the true answer.
What do we sacrifice, when we do any of that? Maybe a lot, maybe a little, either way it’s our choice. However, there are some things we have to take a stand on.
Decide today what is important to you and in the words of MJ “make that change”.
Today’s Post highlights a 2 Part series designed to offer avenues of change and support.
What is a standard of beauty? What is your standard of beauty? Let’s support whatever you think it is, Beautiful! That’s what counts. #Standardsofbeauty #Healingisbeyondskindeep