Prajna Chronicle: May 11, 2010

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

the BIG picture about Mitochondria

Fascinating info that changes the landscape about what we think we know.

There exists a connection between this tiny but powerful organelle...and life as we know and understand it.

The mitochondria have long been understood to be the "powerhouse of the cell" but the relationship between mitochondrial function and aging, and diseases of aging, is beginning to be uncovered.

The evidence is convincing, as profiled by three leaders in the field of mitochondrial medicine.
Dr. Christoph Westphal, CEO and co-founder of Sirtris Pharma, discusses the relationship between mitochondrial disease and more common diseases, such as diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and cancer.

http://www.mitoaction.org/podcasts/mitochondria-the-big-picture

A little about Prajna Jewelry Design

As a young girl, I have always found an affinity to Robert Frost's poem, "The road less traveled by". Being the parent of two children with Mitochondrial disease and being recently diagnosed myself is indeed "the road less traveled by.”
The onset of the disease was dramatic and its impact has changed every facet of my life. No longer able to work as an ICU nurse, which was my "calling", I found myself at loose ends. Everyday I asked myself, "what now?" I had to get this right; both of my children were looking to me as their guide along this unique "road" we traveled.
One day I was asked if I wanted to make some wire bracelets for a friend's new company. I had never done anything like that before and thought “why not!” So as I pondered my fate, I beaded, stringing hundreds of beautiful glass beads, making combinations and patterns with infinite possibilities. I liked it, could control it, create it and determine its outcome. From this my jewelry passion was born.

Prajna Jewelry Design has become a family affair, but it began with me falling in love with beading. I loved taking those singular pieces and giving birth to something extraordinary. Who would have guessed that on the road less traveled by, I find myself not in some horrible dark place but in one filled with an amazing rainbow of colors? Making this new path even brighter is the unanticipated gift of extraordinary people who have shined their light in my direction. How could I lose my way with so much love, belief and inspiration?
It’s the challenges of life that determine the path you're on, but it is what you do while on that path that makes all the difference, even if you begin the journey with just one glass bead.
From our hands to your true heart; thank you for visiting!