Page 15 - Humanism 2019

The whole point of telling this story was that my
journey to ballet and my time learning ballet was a
practice in being comfortable with failure. It was
practice in being at home with my own flaws — my
inflexibility, my lack of balance, my inconsistency, and
my newness. I was often the oldest or second-oldest in
the class, the least flexible, the only one above age 10
who couldn’t do a pirouette. Despite all of this, I was
surprised at how much fun I had. I noticed that with
each lesson, I improved. Slowly, I got stronger, learned
the names of the different steps, and found myself
confident enough to perform a little barre and floor
work without following the person in front of me.
Doing ballet softened the rough edges I had learned to
keep when I was ruthless. I did learn to be humble
and to find humor and contentment in my own Inaugural “Walk With A Doc” event along the WesternU Pomona
limitations. To find value in the abilities that I had on campus’ Esplanade with COMP Assistant Dean and Associate
my own, even when I didn’t have much. Professor Lisa Warren, DO ’01, Friday, January 25, 2019.
Photo by Jeff Malet, Multimedia Manager, WesternU Public Affairs
And ballet class was something I could count on to and Marketing
brighten each week. By the end of my second year of
medical school, the ballet instructors knew my name.
I had become friends with two middle-schoolers in
my class. It had been funny to talk with them about MED SCHOOL MUSINGS:
the stresses of middle school, of student government
and homework assignments. It was a nice break from Be Like a Heart
the highly technical classes and board exam studying
that had become the focus of my life. By Sheryl Miller, COMP student

I had found a home in the ballet studio. I felt happy Strive to follow your heart’s example, literally.
when they told me to come back whenever I could,
It feeds itself before sending nutrients to the rest of
and that they hoped to see me again. n
the body (coronary arteries are the first branches off
Illustration courtesy of shutterstock.com of the aorta). If it didn’t, the rest of the body would
deteriorate and/or not work properly.

It thrives on consistent physical activity. Without it,
r the heart’s “life” is actually more challenging.

It functions extremely well on plant-based eating
BODY, MIND, and SOUL plans.

These 3 make us different It balances its amazing workload by spending the
majority of its time in some form of relaxation.
But still connected
The moral?
By Rommel Baylon, Physical Therapy student Try to take time to:
• Honor and nourish yourself before giving your

effort to others.
Our psychology • Be physically active every day (e.g., take the stairs
or park in the back of the parking lot).
With our physiology... • Incorporate more plants (e.g., vegetables) into
your eating.
Is that all we are? • And relax (breathe) every day — even when the

workload seems overwhelming.
By Matthew Niemiec, PT, MPT, CKTP

HUMANISM IN THE HEALTH SCIENCES 2019 • VOL. 22 12