Posts Tagged ‘Narcolepsy’
Surviving Heatmaggeddon
The District is hotter than hot. Walking outside this morning, I started sweating before breathing. Although I notoriously complain about being “too cold,” I’ve changed my tune – Help! I’m melting. In yoga class the other day, our teacher said this heat wave serves as a reminder of the eternal shifting nature of…
Read MoreKarate Chop Yoga-Style
My eyes were closed. I didn’t see karate chops coming. Since completing the 21 Day Yoga Challenge, I’ve been hooked on yoga. It’s gentler on my knees than running. And by now, I’m an expert, knowing all the poses by heart. Or so I thought… The other day, we were seated when our instructor told…
Read MoreInsomnia Drug Develops from Narcolepsy Research
What do people with insomnia and people with narcolepsy have in common? Trick question! I don’t know, but we may be coming closer to an answer. In the late 90’s, narcolepsy researchers made a significant breakthrough in successfully identifying the brain cells, called hypocretin (or orexin), that go missing in those that develop narcolepsy. These…
Read MoreAdventures of the Sleepy Yogi: A Mid-Summer Day’s Challenge
Today’s 12 noon class marked #21 of my 21 Day Yoga Challenge! It also rung in the Summer Solstice at 12:16pm EST (the moment that the Earth’s axis points closest to the sun). Yet, my midsummer day’s practice was far from a Shakespearian dream or Buddha’s enlightenment. Instead, I hung upside down in down-dog, battling nausea. To…
Read MoreContestant May Have Narcolepsy on So You Think You Can Dance
Copyright FOX So You Think You Can Dance is my favorite television show. I was surprised to learn that one of this season’s contestants may have narcolepsy. On last night’s episode (Wednesday June, 15th 2011), each contestant had 8 seconds to list interesting traits about themselves. During Melanie Moore’s 8 second interview, she said: “I’m…
Read MoreAll Roads Lead to Downward Dog
Do NOT wear short shorts to yoga class. You will end up in compromising positions. You will expose your upper-thighs to your neighbor yogis. I should know this. I’m not a yoga novice. Yet with all my yoga pants in the dirty laundry bin this morning, I quickly threw on jogging shorts and left for…
Read MoreSleeping Beauty Wakes… And Falls in Love with Man with Narcolepsy!
There is nothing I love more than musicals, so I was thrilled to hear about a new one set in a SLEEP CLINIC! “Sleeping Beauty Wakes” at McCarter Theater Center in Princeton, NJ is the story of fairy-tale Sleeping Beauty (named Rose) waking up in a modern-day sleep disorder clinic. The clinic’s other patients include a…
Read MoreArt Fighting Lou Gehrig’s Disease: Piece by Piece
With one of my best friends, Melissa, visiting from San Francisco yesterday, we were on our way to lunch near the White House when something strange caught our attention. Across the street, black signs or objects stood spread out through an otherwise open plaza area. Perhaps it was an art instillation? Being art lovers, we…
Read MoreREMRunner Returns to the National Institutes of Health
Last Friday, April 29th, was a beautiful sunny day in Washington DC. I was up by 6am to make the journey to Bethesda, Maryland, through NIH security, and across the Campus to Building 31 by 8:30am. Entering the conference room a few minutes early, I couldn’t help but smile a big gawking smile when I…
Read MoreThe People Behind the Magic
Photography by Julie Flygare While in San Francisco last week, I had a long list of things to do – visiting friends, family, museums, and typical tourist attractions. One destination on my “to-do” list was slightly off the beaten path, but somewhere I’d dreamed of going for three years. And so began my pilgrimage… …
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