“My intention is to support caregivers through their entire journey because it can be a very long one, it’s full of uncertainty and it’s difficult.” Toni considers caregiving the hardest responsibility and a full-time job. She was working together with physicians and healthcare professionals before most of the time the E.R., she was best in communication because that is what she grew up with and educated. Toni quoted “But I was really unprepared for what caregiving involved, specially never imagining it will be 14 years that I would be involved with my mom” her goal was to provide the best care for her mom, create memories, joy and have a communication strategy that will work for both of them. Given the stress and exhaustion, she realizes that there was already care plans for her mom from the senior adviser but never was with the caregiver. 

After her mom died, she realizes there are 54 million caregivers just in the US that was in the same situation and crisis she was in. “When you are in a crisis situation you really gets stressed out, because you probably haven’t planed for the crisis” Toni said, “The thing that I needed was somebody to listen to me and then somebody who would have been a caregiver, would have been helpful because then they could have shared their experience.” 

“So, I wanna be there for people and give that guidance” Toni stated. 

Listen to the full episode of this podcast to learn more about how she did it so you can do it. 

Kelly Stickney, a member of the International Association Yoga Therapist, explained what is Yoga and its benefits, "Yoga therapy is unique. It takes the extensive tools of Yoga. You're looking at the physical body, mental, as well as energy, the cognitive and spiritual. You can pick and choose because all of these are interconnected. You take back pain for instance. Being flat on your back is not only physically challenging but also emotionally. It's a matter of survival. If you didn't have the support

system of the people around you, it can be very tough. When you need to heal your back and don't physically have the power to do, that's the time we take other tools of Yoga that will help you cope emotionally to get the right mindset and work toward achieving your goal."

"Yoga is very applicable to Type 2 diabetes. Science shows it's linked to diet and exercise. When you go to the doctor, it sounds like an easy fix,  but it's not. So you need to make it fun or find something that works for you."

Kelly gave a piece of advice to those who want to do Yoga, "to start your studies and practice yoga, you always start with the ethics, and that ethic is AHIMSA, it's the practice of compassion. Anything that you do through compassion cannot be wrong. If you do this, maybe you can keep an open mind, and then any practices that you take on with that approach, you'll see greater benefits for yourself and the person your caring for.

She also said that "getting a Yoga therapist can help you figure out what tools are going to fit in not only with the goals you want to reach but also your physical and mental capabilities, strengths and limitations. They'll gonna help you fit into a daily routine, not only to hand you what you could work but to tell you how to use it every day and would feel more comfortable.

Feel free to reach out to Kelly and have a question and answer for 30mins, for free. You can also avail of her 30% off for your first 3 sessions.

I invite you to listen to our full conversation to know more details about Yoga and know how it can help us cope up with this pandemic and other medical conditions like arthritis and physical balance.

At the beginning of the conversation, Kaye said that we need to, "Take action and be more aware of what is happening inside their bodies."

She also advised, "When you get to that place that you're so busy and don't feel you have time to take a deep breath, that's the alarm that says it's more necessary than you think. Take a deep breath. It will only take a minute to reset. It also calms the mind that helps us to think more clearly."

Here's another word of wisdom from her "This is my question to myself, why do I not consider myself important enough to take care of myself, schedule a self-care and become consistent with it. If I'm not at my best, then I can't be my best for the people that I'm helping because that is my passion. It doesn't matter what your passion is, whether it's your job, your family, or whatever it is. Taking time for self-care helps you do it better, enjoy it more and not have to take more time away from yourself, from your family, from your friends. That's what happens to me and now you are forced to change your life. Why not make it a non-negotiable and begin practicing so that you can enjoy the days right now better and have more fun.

She also added, "It is not about stress, it's about whatever that you are going through. Our life is unique, we all have different struggles, we all have different schedules, and finding what works with each person is going to look a little bit different and that's where my passion is."
 

To know more information you can contact Kaye at succeed@healthylifeheathylife.com

I highly suggest you watch the entire conversation and learn more tips.

Dr. Cheek shared, “I'm a physician and my hours are extremely long and complicated. Working 12 hours a day minimum, and I found myself constantly being tired, having exhaustion. My solution to that was as the day would progress, was nibbling on my gold fish and drinking my coffee. I would put together probably about 3 pots of coffee a day in the process of my working and feeding myself with simple carbs by mid-afternoon. The problem was, within 15 minutes of consuming the coffee, I was exhausted again. It didn’t last very long so I decided to detox from caffeine and simple carbs.”

She reported that the initial effect of detoxification was a bit of a shock to the system. “When you’re used to eating carbs and drinking coffee and suddenly stops, you would have a bit of withdrawal. You feel a bit more tired.” She further shared the positive effects of detoxification to her body. “After about the 4th day, your energy starts to pick up again. By the 10th day, you actually have detoxed. It takes about 10 days to detoxify off of sugar or carbs or anything. By the time I have detoxed, I was working until 10 o’clock at night and I still have the energy to burn. I never had to eat anything more, I never had to drink any more coffee to try to maintain my energy.”

Dr. Cheek emphasized, “When you detoxify or cleanse the cells of the body, it can only be done through energy medicine that's very specific to those cells.  It can’t be done through anything herbal or anything pill form. A person would have to make a connection with a homeopath or someone who does energy medicine.” She further explained that fasting also helps detoxify (ideally 3 days). During fasting, the body starts breaking down the bad cells then the body will grow good cells that are not filled with toxins. It’s way of detoxifying without going through 

Atty. Sarah explained why someone needs guardianship and conservatorship, "I often explain that in certain circumstances when someone has already reached the point where they are incapacitated or have diminished capacity and are not able to make decisions for themselves, if they don't have powers of attorney, unfortunately, it might be too late for them to execute legal documents."

She advised, "It's important that people think through how to know being appointed in these roles would potentially impact their relationships among family members. There really needs to be a good reason to have one person appointed in both roles as a guardian and a conservator. It provides more balance and accountability when you're having different people in different roles as opposed to one person managing of everything for the incapacitated person."

She also recommends, "Everyone should have state planning documents in place and it doesn't matter how old you are, how healthy you are especially as it pertains to powers of attorney."

You can reach Atty. Sarah at sarah@golombeklaw.com for inquiries.


To know more about guardianships and conservatorship, listen to the entire conversation between Atty. Sarah and Mary Elaine.
 

Attorney Thompson discourages joint bank accounts if considering possibilities of bad scenarios such as accidents in the future.

Having a medical power of attorney can give you peace of mind because it will make the difficult decisions about your healthcare if and when you are not able to do so yourself. These could impact important future events such as surgery, hospitalization, or ongoing treatment plan preference.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal law that requires the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge. (https://www.cdc.gov/phlp/publications/topic/hipaa.htm)

HIPAA waivers or forms can also be provided. This waiver is not the same as a healthcare power of attorney. It does not give family members permission to make medical decisions, but it allows them access to review medical files and get updates on your condition.

It is important for every individual to have a living will as it is an important step to take in order to prevent unnecessary burden for your family.

While a will and a trust are both legal documents that allow you to spell out how you want your affairs to be handled after death, Heidi pointed out the main differences between a will and trust packages.A will spell out how you want your affairs to be handled and what happens with all of those assets. A trust, on the other hand, is a legal document that gives somebody the right to hold title to your assets for you after you die.

Attorney Thompson also emphasized the meaning of probate. According to her. “Probate is a process where the state looks at people that have passed and the things they own and determines who the rightful owner is and if there’s a will, that’s where they verify if the will is current and is accurate. The will is the direction to the probate court.”

She also added that trust is fairly infinite and revocable. During one’s lifetime, it can be changed. A person can control all of the assets while alive. They don’t die.They don’t go to probate court and they keep on going even after many generations till they fulfill the purposes of a will.

For further information about all the things discussed and anything about estate planning, you can visit www.lifeguardinglegacies.com or email her at info@lifeguardinglegacies.com