Going to the Pelican's

On our recent visit to Sarasota, Florida, Romy and Roxy were unusually peppy, constantly getting in each other’s way, louder than usual and to top it all whatever I said to them fell on deaf ears.

Interestingly enough, there were scores of pelicans flying around the Ritz waterfront diving beak first into the water. And it just occurred to me and I told them if they don’t behave they will be going to the Pelicans! And voila, they were all ears :)

I told them at the Pelicans there is no Pizza or Pasta or Fries or any other food they can’t live without. At the Pelicans they have to eat what the Pelican Mamma brings home which is usually fresh fish that is sometimes alive and worms. The Pelican will open their mouths and feed them that. Their jaws dropped….

I told them, the Pelican nest is quite small so there is no room to run around and they will just have to sit there all day unless they can fly.

They resoundingly said they didn’t know how to fly….

Moreover, I said life can get real boring as there will be no toys or friends. And on top of that if the Pelican babies do not get comfortable with them and they could ask them to leave the nest and go into the water.

They tightly held on to the table we were sitting on…..

Somehow my imagination of a Pelican nest was it’s built on the water (after doing some reading that is not the case).

And it went on and on. They had many questions like how do they actually get sent to the Pelicans? I told them that Mummy and Papa are going to swing them up and down and that is the cue for the Pelicans to come and carry them to their nests.

They looked in amazement with a little scare in their eyes…..

Then onwards all I had to say when they would fight with each other and not listen was “who wants to go to the Pelican’s?” 

All in all, it was quite a fun trip and we all got home without visiting the Pelican’s ;-)

Lovingly,

Mommy

 At the Ritz Carlton property in Sarasota, FL.

Go..... spread your wings and fly.....

At the beach

 Mommy trying her jump shots! :)

Day 2: At the Ringling Museum
The front gate was quite ornate and we thought that was it to it but when we stepped inside we were amazed at all the Venician architecture and gardens!

Here comes the circus! :)

 The property at the museum had these enormous banyan trees and not just one but about a 100 of them.

The house inside the property lies by the water and was just breathtaking...

 The art museum gallery

 Enjoying a ride back to the entrance after we were done walking around the spread out museum property.

 Back to the Ritz property in the evening, it was quite a lovely sunset.

Day 3: Headed to the Children's Zoo

 At the zoo

 Back at the Ritz, the kids having fun at the pool

Back pain and how I overcame it....

In last few months I have come across a lot of folks talking about back pain, both at work and outside of work. I often find myself asking them if they suffered any accident and so far the answer has always been “no” (which is good). Then I find myself telling them that they can probably overcome it. Of course this leads into more conversation but due to lack of time it never finishes. So I thought I should put this on my blog.

So the story goes back to around 2004 when I had chronic back pain and I started getting some tests done. I had an X-ray done and then an MRI and it turns out I had a bulge in my L4-L5 and a herniation around S1-S2 and that was pinching some nerve and that is what was causing the crazy lower back pain I was experiencing.

Then started a crazy regimen of pain medication, physical therapy, back stretching exercises and better posture training. I suppose with all this going on, I started feeling a little better and then a couple of months passed and again the pain developed and now we are in 2005.

This time whilst talking to other folks going through similar back pain issues I was introduced into the world of chiropractic adjustments!

Then started another regimen of chiropractic treatments, physical therapy and massage!! I really liked going to my chiropractor, it seems they could magically make you feel better with those abnormal adjustments and then the physical therapy after that. Let me also add the physical therapy also included mini neck and back massages which were just amazing! It felt more like going to a spa in pain and coming out refreshed. This went on for a few months till my insurance would no longer support it for that year L

At the end of 2005 I was feeling better than before but the pain kept lingering and on top of that I found out that I was expecting. So in January 2006 the pain overtook me and I was put on bed rest for a couple of weeks. Since I was expecting there was no medication to be had, no X-rays or MRIs to be done and most doctors would not recommend me continuing with my chiropractic treatments.

It was around third week of January’06 Anurag left me a copy of

Healing Back Pain by Dr. Sarno by the bed side. I opened the book and started reading……

 

That was the day and here we are today, after two children who are 6 and 3, I am pretty much free of  back pain without any medication or physical therapy or chiropractic treatments or back strengthening exercises or better posture or you name it! 

In a nutshell this is what Dr. Sarno says and what I have come to believe:

• You back is one of the most resilient organs of your body, do not doubt it, do not think its weak
• The mind is very powerful and it will play tricks on you and most of the pain you feel (that occurred naturally not by some unfortunate accident) is an effort by your mind to repress emotions
• The mind tricks you into not facing repressed emotion by making you focus on pain in the body
• And when the above realization sinks in (you have to believe it and practice it) the pain starts to go away….

I can’t thank Anurag enough and incidentally he got this book for me in 2004 (2 years before I finally read it). Feel free to email me if you have any further questions.

Happy Healing,

Puja