Body Monologues, On Stage

Last night, I volunteered at (and later sat in the audience and watched) this show. I'm kind of obsessed with Body Monologues (BM), the charity behind the 'On Stage' show that took place last night. What is BM? Well, according to their website: Body monologues is a space for sharing and creating awareness and dialogue about our experiences in our bodies. It is about learning to take care of our bodies, learning to enjoy them, learning to appreciate them, and learning to honor them. It is about the journey from self hate and self abuse to self acceptance and self love. 

Image retrieved from the BM website

If you've ever seen the Vagina Monologues, BM is sort of similar. But not... Allow me to explain: First of all, they are REAL stories. Second, the monologues talk about much, much more than vaginas! Heck, at last night's show, a man presented his own body's monologue! There are stories about every body part you can think of. Third, the way in which the monologues are presented varies heavily. Some are sad, funny, accompanied by music, song, video, props, and/or dance. 

What I love most about BM is the bravery of those who present. They are so brave to share their personal struggles with complete strangers, and so, so brave to say what they are feeling out-loud. The power of talking out-loud about your body struggles is huge and can be incredibly healing. The performers must have completed a lot of personal reflection in order to reach a level of comfort within their body to be able to share their story.

If you have a body struggle and are not ready to share it on stage, in front of strangers (albeit incredibly supportive strangers!) and if you are not ready to talk about it to a friend, family member, colleague, doctor, or counselor, then I encourage you to at least journal about it. Expression of any kind, whether it be in text, art, movement, or spoken-word, is helpful in healing. It gets the struggle that may be buried deep within us, out to the surface, a place where it can more easily be released... to be let go. You could even try writing your own body monologue in private and maybe one day, at a future BM show, you'll be ready to share it!

For more information about Body Monologues, please check out their website.

Women's Health Week: Concluding Thoughts

Women’s Health Week 2013 took place from March 11^th to 15^th at CCNM (my school). During that period, women’s health took the focus, through a variety of events. The loose theme this year was to address the more controversial aspects of women’s health, such as natural birth, body image, alternative menstruation management, abandoning fad-diets, and the glamourization of our health concerns.

On Monday, the Canadian documentary Pink Ribbons, Inc, was shown. This film critiqued pink ribbons movement, discussed pink washing, and featured women with breast cancer who don’t appreciate their disease being turned into something that is ‘pretty, pink, and perky’.

On Wednesday, at the Moms’ Panel, six CCNM students shared their birth experiences and gave advice to the future moms and health care practionners (who will be caring for new moms) in the audience. DivaCups were also handed out. Thank you to DivaCup for donating! 

Finally, on Thursday, Meghan Telpner, Nutritionista, gave us ten simple steps to share with patients to improve overall health. Immediately after her talk, members of the CCNM family shared their body monologues at the first ever BMcompanion event. It was full of both tear-jerking and laugh-out-loud moments. If you missed it, you can hear more body monologues at the downtown Toronto, April 11^th show. Learn more about this show here. 

A big shout-out to the volunteers that helped with WHW and to all who attended the events. Thanks!

This board featuring women's health research was displayed in the school lobby all week long. 

Women's Health Week 2013

It's here! 
CCNM's Women's Health Week, March 11-15, 2013

If you are a CCNMer or living in Toronto, please come out to our FREE events this week.
They're sure to be informative, fun, and inspiring! 

Ten in Ten

It's been ten days of third-year, semester two, Winter classes. What's happened in those ten days? Quite a bit! School and life have been busy, but I am loving it. It's the last time that I can be a student in a classroom setting so I am trying to soak it up!

Ten things that have happened in the last ten days of school:

1) I attended the most gourmet potluck of my life after class to celebrate my friend C's birthday. There weren't any boring veggie trays or chips + dip at this potluck! Instead there was homemade gourmet salsa, sushi, edamame, sweet potato falafels, pomegranate salad, lentil dahl, roasted chicken, veggie stew, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, and a blueberry-banana cake. 

2) I learned how to draw blood from a vein. Phlebotomies are cool! 

3) I started volunteering at a raw chocolate company in Toronto. They 'pay' their volunteers in chocolate. How awesome is that? Their vanilla chocolate is divine. 

4) I was the Scribe (i.e. note taker and case write-up compiler) in a disc herniation case in my Primary Care class. 

5) I preformed my first spinal adjustment/manipulation. I also had some done on me by my classmates. 

6) I had my first clinic shift (fun, scary, exciting, and tiring because it made for a 12+ hour day). 

7) Attended my first pediatric appointment (I need to attend one to gather information to write a paper on the experience for my Pediatrics class). 

8) Got 90% of the work done for Women's Health Week (a week of events taking place in March at CCNM; I am the primary coordinator for the week). 

9) Attended CCNM's Annual Suppliers Show at which I got to talk to some of my favorite supplement companies. 

10) Helped a friend by helping out at the business class I took way back in first year. Just sitting in on one of these classes got my all fired-up for creating my own future practice!