I have held several three and five-day workshops in Rhinebeck, NY at the Omega Institute with Dr. Fred Luskin, a Stanford psychologist and author of Forgive for Good, my wife, Babs Yohai, a professional tap dancer, and my daughter, Jasmine Yohai-Rifkin who is an expressive arts therapist. The tightly-structured seminar is based … Read More
The most powerful treatment for any disorder is engaging in practices that calm your nervous system and allows your body to heal itself. Each person has his or her unique way of accomplishing this. I was introduced to this concept in the 1980’s by Dr. Bernie Siegel’s book, Love, Medicine … Read More
We live in an era of unprecedented comfort and freedom. A recent experience that drove this home was spending a few days in New Orleans. As my wife and I were on a walking tour through the French Quarter, our guide pointed out that it was not until 1890 that … Read More
These four elements form a powerful alliance to connect to your own capacity to heal, which is the essence of the solution to chronic pain. The DOC program is a framework that allows you to organize your thinking around these age-old concepts. Awareness You cannot successfully address any problem without … Read More
Whenever your peace of mind is at the mercy of your external circumstances, you are at the mercy of them. The essence of taking your life back is disconnecting from this energy. There are many levels and ways of doing this. Some of them include: Forgiveness – is a selfish … Read More
I have always enjoyed hard work. I began working in heavy construction at age fourteen during the remodeling of our house. I fell in love with it and kept working at it for another 18 years. I poured concrete slabs, framed, did some finish work, plumbing, and spent three summers … Read More
Relentless untreated anxiety is the core driver of destructive human behavior. Anxiety is simply the sensation generated by your body’s stress chemicals in response to a mental or physical threat. It is not primarily a psychological issue and is the mechanism that permits survival of any living creature. Species that … Read More
To say that the wave of mass shootings over the last few years is disturbing would be grossly understating how most of us feel. One of the most basic of human needs is to feel safe and we largely depend on our society being reasonably civilized. We count on our … Read More
Neuroplasticity is the term for the brain’s capacity to physically adapt to the environment. This is modulated by sensory input and chemical changes. It has been well-documented that prolonged exposure to stress hormones adversely affects the brain structure in addition to causing it to physically shrink.(1) Having a chronically negative … Read More
I received an email from an orthopedic colleague who I have never personally met. We are both part of an Internet discussion group about chronic pain and disability. His observations were very succinct and I think summarizes the problem of physicians not being adequately trained in chronic pain. Here is … Read More