Hello and welcome to The Zen Den. My name is Alison and while I am passionate about many things, my most inspiring driving force is human connection. Blogger, content writer, orthopedic exercise specialist, motivational speaker, international yoga pro, published songwriter, avid poker player, mom and wife are just a few of my titles. But when I do my job at NASA, I am known simply as “The Fairy Zenmother” a role I deeply love because people invite me into their space to help them find their center, relax and stretch their muscles and destress their mind. Here in the blogosphere version of The Zen Den, I invite you into my world where I will explore ideas for creating a better tomorrow and a kinder today. And hopefully, with insight, authenticity and humor; my words, observations and experiences will help you feel calm, centered, intellectually challenged and spiritually enlightened. Alternatively, if you have something you would like to see covered in The Zen Den, just let me know. Your feedback is welcome and valuable to the success of this blog. Finally, my heart is filled with gratitude to have this opportunity to share with all of you.
“Change” . . . it is a comin’ whether we like it or not. Whatever deck you have been dealt – you can rest assured life will reshuffle when you least expect it. When it comes to the inevitability of this life truth, we human beings have two choices:...
Hello body that houses my heart . . . the pump of life that I take for granted and hope doesn’t fail me for many more years . . . how have I treated you? I think my body would answer . . . you could do a little better job. Without beating myself up...
Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher once said “to know yourself is the beginning of wisdom.” If someone conducted a national survey of all independent adults in the United States asking them this simple question “do you feel like you are...
I know 90 year olds who are healthy and strong and eat red meat and drink scotch every day. In contrast I also know a few 40 year old vegetarian tri-athletes who died early from a heart attack. “Seems so unfair.” Some of the most godly, loving...
The familiar famous quote by Daniel Patrick Moynihan states “everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” But that was several decades ago and now a different narrative has emerged on the scene to challenge Moynihan’s...
I was both thrilled and captivated when one of my cousins recently posted a picture of our grandparents on Facebook, circa 1917ish. It was a photo I don’t recall seeing before. Sadly, our grandmother died at an early age before any of her children...
I was just five years old the day I got the crushing, heartbreaking news. The setting was so surreal; the room was dark and foreboding. Mom sat close beside me on the couch as Dad loomed large pacing in the middle of the room. I could feel whatever...
While the narrative of “the big lie” has dominated our recent news cycle, the nagging question of “the big WHY?” has been my internal reaction to the ever unfolding story. Why do any of us believe what we believe? Are some of us more attracted to...
To oxygenate their brains and energize their bodies, the married couple chose to walk the neighborhood every day. Because of their passion for one another, they often held hands – still crazy in love in their sixties, it was their favorite thing to...
“I can’t believe that idiot just cut me off going 80 mph, what an a-hole! I’ll show him . . .” And the angry driver speeds up to his tormentor’s window makes eye-contact and shoots the bird. Game on. And your usually calm drive to your mother’s...