Through poetry, dance, shared scientific evidence and one medical doctor?s personal story of overcoming disordered eating, depression, and other diseases, here is a testament that true lasting healing is possible. Whatever your health goal or challenge might be, this book provides the roadmap. Dr. Tumi Johnson, M.D. is a physician, dancer, and poet. She is board certified in Internal Medicine, a diplomate of the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine, and became an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at NYU in 2011. She has been a yoga practitioner for over 20 years and completed Yoga teacher training with Yogaworks in 2012. A graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, Dr. Johnson also has extensive nutrition expertise and served in West Africa as a Doctors Without Borders field doctor. Her holistic medical practice is focused on helping people identify the underlying causes of their health issues. She then uses her expertise to offer individualized holistic regimens that support people in achieving and sustaining their most vibrant well-being. Through her plant-based health plans, she has had many patients heal issues ranging from diabetes to hormonal imbalances to persistent weight challenges. As a dancer, Dr. Johnson creates and performs dance pieces crafted from original poetry, that are intended to help the healing process of those who witness the dance. Her dances have been performed in southern France, Haiti, West Africa, Asia, and throughout the U.S. Delicious Healing By Tumi Johnson Balboa Press Copyright © 2018 Dr. Tumi Johnson, M.D. All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-5043-9427-7 Contents About the Author, xi, Introduction: Physician, heal thyself., xvii, Before Diving in: Intention setting and Visualization, xxiii, Chapter 1 Delicious Food As Thy Medicine, 1, Chapter 2 Your Movement practice, 19, Chapter 3 Meditation/Mindfulness, 39, Chapter 4 Sleep and Rest, 57, Chapter 5 Emotion honoring and release, 77, Chapter 6 Nature, 93, Chapter 7 Love, 109, References, 127, Acknowledgments, 133, CHAPTER 1 Delicious Food As Thy Medicine Durian Haiku Crack the spiked armor take in its waft of sweet stink delight in the cream - Tumi Johnson There is a reason I am beginning these chapters with the one on food. In my personal and clinical experience, a healthy diet — one that truly supports your most vibrant well-being is foundational for one's best life. And it is often an aspect of people's health that is in need of great help. There are many people who clean up their diet after a spiritual or emotional awakening but I think one of the easiest ways to "level up" emotionally, mentally, as well as physically, is to level up one's diet. Easier said than done, one might say. There is a reason why diet books are a multi-million dollar industry. And the plethora of health problems that come with poor nutrition is not just limited to the "Western world." Thanks in part to the McDonaldization of the globe (and I mean this in the literal sense, not necessarily George Ritzer's definition 1), type II diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer are growing at disturbing rates all over the world. I hear so often now when I'm in a country in Asia or Africa: "I was here a few years ago and there were not this amount of overweight people." Even the French are getting fat, though they have a secret that I will share a little later on that works very well for keeping slim and healthy. As I was writing this chapter in my apartment in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I thought "Is it too easy to blame this on McDonalds?" and then I looked through my window and saw a huge red sign with the famous golden arches. A sign that was not there a year ago when I occupied this same living space. Sometimes the right answers are the simplest ones. What I have witnessed over and over in medical clinical work is that the further away people are eating from a natural, whole foods diet, the sicker they are. Especially when they are eating a lot of it. And the funny thing about processed and "refined" food (such a misnomer — there is nothing refined about a Twinkie): it is very easy to eat a lot of it. A few years back, I was car-pooling in Southern California with a friend, heading from Ojai to Carlsbad for an awards ceremony. We were in central L.A. when she realized that she had to do some urgent work that needed to be submitted online within the next two hours. The only place we could find in the neighborhood was a well known fast food chain restaurant (cough "golden arches"). It had been years since I'd been in this place and literally the only thing I felt comfortable ordering was hot water. This specific branch didn't even have non-caffeinated tea. So I sat cradling my hot water (it was a strangely cool morning) and while she worked, I looked around. There was the familiar ubiquitous children's play area and plenty of shiny seats. Over the next ninety minutes as my friend frantical