Dr. Lisa's Bountiful Life

Sports Medicine & Father's Day

My father was one of my earliest sports heroes.

Dad is a humble man, and rarely speaks of his athletic prowess. However, those who “knew him when” have shared stories of his baseball skills while at St. Louis High School in Biddeford, and of his football team captaincy while at the University of Maine.

Dad’s skill on the playing field, and love of physical pursuits, has been passed down to his children and grandchildren.

We have become marathoners and yoga instructors; Little League all-stars and nationally ranked swimming competitors.

For most of us, it is less about the win, than it is about the game.

We like being part of the action.

It is important for each of us to find a way to be "part of the action."

Some people naturally gravitate toward group sports, while others prefer more solo pursuits.

There is no one cookie cutter approach to physical activity that can be easily applied to all people.

This week on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour, we acknowledge this reality through our conversations with Dr. John Herzog, Mike Chapman, Jim Greatorex, Stan Skolfield and Jared Buzzell. Each of our guests has a slightly different take on how individuals can best achieve optimal physical health.

They are all similar, however, in their view that optimal physical health is entirely possible—no matter what our genetic makeup or family background.

My father was one of my earliest sports heroes, not because he was good at what he did, but because he loved what he did.

He still does. He loves to work and he loves to play.

Above all, he loves to share his life with his family.

Happy fathers day to Charlie Belisle—the best dad a girl could hope for.

Thank you for being my hero, in every way.

We hope your enjoy our "Sports Medicine" show this Sunday this Sunday on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour & Podcast. Featured guests include Dr. John Herzog, Orthopedic Surgeon, Orthopedic Specialists, LLC., Jared Buzzell & Stan Skolfield from the Orthopedic Associaties Performance Center, and Mike Chapman and Jim Greatorex, Premier Sports Health & Black Bear Medical. We will be talking about various techniques in sports medicine and pain management. Please join us. 

On Sunday, June 23, tune in for our podcast "Maine Home + Design Show" on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour & Podcast. 

Maine YogaFest

I like to balance my running with other activities: walking or hiking, biking and (very occasionally) swimming. But I still prefer running above all else. Especially this time of year. The sun rises earlier, the air is warmer, and it is so beautiful here in Maine. On my typical riverside route, I get to observe the budding of the trees and the way the sunlight plays on the current. I can’t help but be happy after a morning run.

Because I also seem to need my morning running "fix" to jump start my brain, I will pretty much do whatever it takes to stay healthy enough to run. I think cross-training is very valuable, and the activities such as swimming and biking definitely help. But I’ve found the best way to counter-balance the stress of running on the bones and muscles is yoga. It keeps me flexible, and it keeps me calm. I try to do some forward bends, backbends and gentle twists every day after I finish my run—along with some sit-ups and push-ups. Nothing fancy. I can generally complete this process in about 10-20 minutes.

Runners, like most athletes, have always known about the importance of keeping our muscles supple—though we used to call the process "stretching." With yoga, we’re going a bit further, and also striving to pay attention to our breathing. Yoga has the added benefit of helping us with our core strength as well.

As you will hear from today’s show, yoga comes in MANY different forms. My practice involves a very gentle, stretching type of yoga, as opposed to power yoga. From a Chinese medicine standpoint, I need a more quiet YIN activity to balance my YANG-oriented running. This is an important distinction. In this country we’re constantly inundated with messages about increasing our activity levels (with good reason, given our obesity epidemic). What isn’t mentioned is that those of us who are already very physically active need a way to bring our bodies back into balance. Too much YANG can lead to injuries and/or burnout. We runners can get our YIN through yoga.

We hope you enjoy our Maine Yoga show with guests Justine Carlisle, Dana Gunnerson Woodbury and Regan Johnson, Founders of Maine YogaFest, Carissa Ciuca, of Breathing Room Yoga and Melanie Burns of Wicked Good Yoga.

After listening to this Sunday's show—whether you are a runner or not—we hope you consider putting a little yoga into your life.

Listen to our "Maine YogaFest" show this Sunday on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour & Podcast.

Look Beyond

There is beauty in looking beyond.

Most of us are guilty of seeing things for what we believe them to be, rather than what they are.

We are startled when they are revealed to be more.

We are startled when we realize that we are capable of understanding things in new ways, and in sharing this understanding with others.

I began the journey to 'doctorhood' at the tender age of 17: the year I graduated from high school.

As a pre-med student, my time was spent examining things from a scientific perspective. I took classes in calculus and organic chemistry; biology and physics.

I continued the scientific path through medical school, residency and fellowship education.

I was trained to see people as interesting puzzles that required solving. 

I was trained to see the world as a larger ecosystem within which my fellow human creatures and I existed.

Several years ago, I began to look beyond what I had been trained to see.

Carrying my camera with me while running, I paid careful attention to my surroundings, seeking shots that would represent the beauty of the ecosystem in which I lived.

I was amazed by how much there was to notice--and how much I had been missing.

At about the same time, I took up the study of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Again, I was astounded at how much more there was to understand about my fellow humans.

I have never been able to return to a strictly scientific medical practice.

Nor have I been able to return to a strictly scientific way of living.

I am dazzled, daily, by the beauty that surrounds me. 

I am challenged, daily, to look beyond.

 

From the rocky coast to the western mountains, Maine is home to vistas wild and wonderful. It is also home to the Maine Media Workshops + College in Rockport, where photographers hone their skills in order to fully capture Maine’s great beauty. This week on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour we celebrate the school’s fortieth anniversary with internationally known photographer Barbara Goodbody, and Maine Media president Meg Weston. Join us! 

Boston Run

In 2008, my seven-year-old daughter, sister and I took the T to Copley Square in Boston, and watched the Marathon runners cross the finish line on Patriots Day.

My sister, then a doctoral student in nutrition at Tufts, was well versed in the ways of the big city.

A longtime resident of Maine, I had some trepidation about facing the crowds, the noise and the sheer vastness of the urban setting.

This was quickly diminished by the experience of watching people gratefully--often euphorically--reach the end of a 26.2 mile journey that had (for most) been many months in the making.

My sister greeted several acquaintances among the finishers. She had herself run the Boston Marathon previously, and knew the route well.

It was a beautiful April day. Flowers were blooming. There was an air of holiday and celebration.

My daughter and I enjoyed the comraderie and the crowd energy generated by runners and spectators alike.

Fast forward to Patriots Day 2013.

Another crowd gathers to watch the Marathon runners enter Copley Square. It is a beautiful April day. There is an air of holiday and celebration.

An eight-year-old boy, his mother and sister, stand among the spectators, waiting for his father to cross the finish line.

A bomb explodes. Then another. 

The boy and two others are killed immediately. His mother and sister are critically injured.

Countless others are maimed and wounded.

Word of the tragedy immediately spreads through social and mainstream media. We hear of yet another irrational,  evil act perpetrated upon those whose only crime was attempting to live their lives.

Very little separates us from those who were impacted by this crime.

For most, it is an issue of timing.

I am a runner, my sister is a runner and many of our siblings are runners. We have run Boston, and other marathons across the country.

I am a mother with children who have often watched me cross the finish line at races.

I am sad and angry that a pastime I love has been tainted by senseless violence.

I am sad and angry that an eight-year-old child lost his life.

Today I laced my sneakers up and ran for those who no longer could.

And prayed that Boston would somehow find the strength to persevere, and heal, in the face of its lost innocence.

Remembrance

2013