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Nov 22, 2009

"If nothing else, my life has taught me one thing: The mind and body that I have are the only mind and body that I have. They deserve my attention. And when I give it, I receive so much more in return." --Matthew Sanford

The Power of the Mind Body Connection

Matthew Sanford was only thirteen when a car accident that killed his father and sister left him paralyzed for life. "I left my childhood behind and began a new life. The doctors led me to ignore my lower body, to focus only on what was left. I would become a powerful upper torso and willfully drag my paralyzed body through life. For twelve years, I did this (...) but something was missing. It was my body." And then at 25, Sanford started yoga -- he's been practicing ever since. "I have become an author, yoga teacher, and founder of a non-profit. I wrote "Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence" not to tell a story of overcoming disability, but rather to bring the reader intimately inside the importance of the mind-body relationship. I want readers to connect with that innocent thirteen year-old boy. I want them to connect with their own innocence and begin their own journey of transformation."