Regeneration Requires Wholeness (+TOC)
A year ago, I suffered the body issues that come from spending too much time with a computer on my lap. Neck and shoulder tension — a reaction to terrible ergonomics and stress — were reminders that I am not as flexible and relaxed as I used to be.
For months, the pain was significant enough to curtail my ability to write and edit. I despaired that chiropractic care, heat treatments, icy-hot patches, pain pills, a standing desk, and a massage ball were temporary relief.
A wellness therapist (from our magazine) suggested that I should do an aggressive session of cupping. I was desperate for a change and said yes. Glass bulbs were heated and placed on my shoulders, creating a vacuum of air that acted as intense suction. My back was ugly for several days, but one session dramatically released the tension. I was able to return to normal activities and stop using pain remedies.
I bring up this personal and relatively minor ailment as an analogy. Solutions that get to short-term, surface-level relief, without correcting the underlying issue, do not fix anything.
In the coming year, regardless of who is elected on November 3 and who is appointed to the Supreme Court, we have a lot of long-term trauma. We know our communities will not be whole until underlying tensions are truly relieved.
This month’s Being Whole theme is about how we adjust individual stress so that we can be healthy through the challenging months ahead.
The women in this magazine share how they practice self-care and balance, create opportunities, reflect on missed moments, practice intentional unweaving, and find inspiration and ways to recharge. Author Sun Yung Shin writes about how wholeness is partly remembering that we are a collective.
As we march together into the winter season, may we take the time to enhance our personal energies and communal resources. The Minnesota Women’s Press community is about stepping together into true collaborative change.
Table of Contents
- Tapestry: Practicing Self-Care
- Perspective: Sun Yung Shin
- Identity: Jenna Gruen
- Art of Living: Tia Keobounpheng
- BookShelf: Deneal Trueblood-Lynch
- Trauma: Amanda Koonjebeharry
- Health: Hedy Tripp, “I am a one-breasted woman”
- Self-Care: Suzanne Fenton
- Giving Q&A with Chanda Smith Baker
- Sidebar: Minnesota’s Philanthropic Network
- Family & Home: Cate Triola and her dog
- Action Guide: Caring for Veterans in Crisis
- GoSeeDo: Virtual and in-person art, Flip the Script, and more
- In the News: Survivors Memorial, Winter Survival Solutions, and more
Editor’s Note
Our December 2020 Changemakers magazine will be combined with the January theme of Legacy, to include essays inspired by the soon-to-be-published book, “35 Years of Minnesota Women’s Press.”
The special double magazine will be available online and in print for two months. Recent survey comments indicated that many readers would like to see long-form journalism; this will enable us to take the time to develop long essays for both our print and online platforms.
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For 2025 coverage, Minnesota Women’s Press earned a community leadership award, three photography awards, and four editorial awards, including for coverage of social issues and for our Spring 2025 “Know Your Rights” special section supported by Unidos MN. Our publisher was named Journalist of the Year by Violence Free Minnesota for gender-based violence coverage.
