Cathy Wurzer, Bruce, his personal care attendant, and I on stage during our event at St. Thomas.
A thirteen-year-old boy wakes from a coma and wishes for a different world.
Flash-forward nearly thirty-years. It’s my birthday. I turned forty-eight today. My commitment to yoga, the writing of Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence, and most importantly, the work of Mind Body Solutions represent my wish for a different world.
I just finished an incredible week. Last Tuesday night, I was part of a public conversation with my student Bruce Kramer that was moderated by MPR’s Cathy Wurzer at the University of St. Thomas. We hoped to draw 600 people. We topped out at a standing-room only crowd of nearly 1000. The evening was magnificent in every sense. My words cannot do it justice. The good news is that they will not have to. The event will be rebroadcast on both TPT (Twin Cities Public Television) and MPR (Minnesota Public Radio). This public conversation showcased the very best of Mind Body Solutions. Bruce said things that we must all take to heart. Our work with him must expand to reach so many others.
The next morning I left for Hollywood, Florida to teach at the Yoga Journal Conference. I taught a two-day training for yoga teachers on how to “Open Yoga” to everyone, especially people living with trauma, loss, and disability. I taught three additional sold-out classes as well as presented on two different panels alongside yoga teachers like Seane Corn, Gary Kraftsow, Aadil Palkhivala, Natasha Rizopoulos, and Jason Crandell. The work of Mind Body Solutions could not have been more warmly embraced, both by other teachers and students alike.
Today I am with my son Paul. He is home from school with a fever. As I survey my life and my life’s commitment, I know that Mind Body Solutions is making a difference. I still feel the ache and the joy and the hope of my public conversation with Bruce. I feel the responsibility that the work of Mind Body Solutions applies to not just to living well but to aging well also.
There is much to do. Never before has your support mattered so much. Today marks the formal beginning of our year-end fundraising push. Like almost every non-profit, we have a financial gap to close. So help us help Bruce and countless others, including people living with trauma, loss, and disability. Help us train both yoga teachers worldwide and healthcare professional nationwide. Help us move our work into elderly care, end of life care, along with eating disorders, chemical dependency, medical rehabilitation, and mental health.
Now I must pull out all the stops, even get a little shameless. For my birthday, for that thirteen-year-old boy, for the thirteen-year-old kid in all of us, remember Mind Body Solutions in your end of year giving. Any amount helps. Go to: