Exercise and Play

How Italy and Celaena Sardothien Have Inspired Me

Valerie Brooke, MD

Nov 73 min read

How Italy and Celaena Sardothien Have Inspired Me

I had forgotten how old Europe is, like hundreds of years older than the US. One church we visited, the Duomo di Siena, took 300 years...

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Valerie Brooke, MD

Apr 24, 20233 min read

Restoration

It's been a long time since I've written, too long for sure, but a lot has happened in my personal and professional life in the last...

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Valerie Brooke, MD

Sep 7, 20224 min read

The Necessity of Fire

The second full day in Yosemite started out better than the first. We got up early to get to the valley floor before the crowds and the...

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Valerie Brooke, MD

Aug 28, 20225 min read

Perfect Versus Good

It was Voltaire who is attributed with the aphorism “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” I have been contemplating this...

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Valerie Brooke, MD

Apr 10, 20223 min read

Pretzel Twists and Introspection

When I first stepped onto a yoga mat in my late twenties, I had no idea yoga entailed so much more than just moving my body into more and...

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Valerie Brooke, MD

Mar 8, 20223 min read

The Health Benefits of Yoga

In one corner of my vision board for 2022 are the words yoga, flexibility, and keep moving forward. Right next to them is a photo of a...

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Valerie Brooke, MD

Jul 5, 20215 min read

Boxes and Boundaries

Many years ago, a wise therapist gave me some excellent guidance in how to stay sane while parenting a teenager. “Set up a box of...

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Valerie Brooke, MD

May 26, 20214 min read

Pandemic Traveling and Gym Workouts

This past weekend I traveled via plane for the first time in two years, since before COVID-19 transformed my way of life and leisure. I...

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Valerie Brooke, MD

May 4, 20214 min read

My Magic Pill

I’ll never forget the PowerPoint lecture in medical school that taught us about a powerful medicine seemingly able to prevent and treat...

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Valerie Brooke, MD

Feb 11, 20213 min read

Physician burnout - Part 4

I was reminded that my response to the stressors at work during the COVID-19 pandemic are to be expected. It’s normal to feel stress...

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Valerie Brooke, MD

Feb 2, 20213 min read

Swimming and poetry

There’s a meditative flow that can occur when swimming laps, a shift that occurs when I stop fighting the water, and just relax...

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