The tune changes when you have RA. When your disease is active, the time signature slows and you find yourself moving at a different pace.

Strike the right note as you conduct yourself through the day: attune to your emotional, mental, physical and spiritual needs to create more harmony for yourself.

Emotional Harmony

Frustration. Disappointment. Impatience. Anger. Negative emotions strike a sour note. It's important to recognize the undertones and then work your way into feeling better.

Mental Harmony

When you're in the flow, your mental acoustics improve. At times, the cadence of your work may seem effortless. Transform the discordant sounds of stress to achieve mental harmony.

Physical Harmony

When you are in harmony physically, it is easier to determine whether you are in need of rest or as I was feeling yesterday, simply lazy. So, I did what I usually do when that happens. I make a deal with myself to only do a short swim. Guess what happens? Once I'm in the pool, I go on to do my full workout.

Up and down, up and down, the length of the pool I swim. Yes, there's even a rhythm to being physical. Similarly, when you synchronize with the lub-dub sound of the heart, you change the tempo and move from the Stress Zone into the Stress-Free Zone.

Stress increases physical disharmony and shows up in a number of ways. Its effects can be different for each person.

Spiritual Harmony

Spiritual harmony can signify different things to different people. When you have spiritual harmony, you improve your connection to la dolce vita.

Introducing the Conductor

What is an orchestra without a conductor? Consider your heart the conductor that helps the various "instruments" (such as the cardiac system, respiratory system, hormonal system and endocrine system) in your body make beautiful music. Afferent nerves leading from the heart to the brain, carry messages to the brain. By learning to regulate the signals from the heart (your conductor), you achieve more harmony in all areas of your life.

Recognize Harmony

Make this the year you increase harmony in your life. Here are some of the places where you will recognize it:

• In the flow
• In the zone.
• Deep feeling of connection with someone
• Witnessing beauty in nature
• Synchronicity
• Development of a bond with an animal, like this: