S4E52 bonus Coffee Break #32 with Regina Beach

Coffee break episode 32: with Regina Beach

Welcome to Living Well with MS Coffee Break #32, where we are pleased to welcome Regina Beach as our guest!

Our Coffee Break series is your chance to get to know members of our diverse OMS community. In each episode, you’ll join Geoff Allix for an intimate chat with a different member of our global community. Our guests will share their personal stories and talk about their challenges and victories, large and small. We hope you find common cause and a source of inspiration from the stories of these very special people.

As always, your comments and suggestions are always welcome by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org. Regina is a very special guest for many reasons, including being an American living in the UK, and being an OMSer who works for the charity as its Trusts and Community Fundraising Manager. We hope you enjoy this episode’s conversation with Regina, coming to you straight from the UK.

Click here to view the episode transcript

Regina’s Bio:

Regina Beach is an American living in the Welsh Valleys with her British husband. She was diagnosed with RRMS in April 2021 and adopted the Overcoming MS program shortly thereafter. She is a yoga teacher and writer who regularly leads workshops and publishes poetry and essays. She enjoys cooking and is writing an oil-free vegan cookbook with her husband. She also works part time as the Trusts and Community Fundraising Manager for Overcoming MS. Prior to diagnosis she was an avid long-distance cycler. Her goal is to feel strong enough and balanced enough to get back in the saddle.

Questions:

Regina, welcome to Living Well with MS Coffee Break. We’re so pleased to have you on our program. The purpose of this series is to better get to know some of the diverse members of our community from around the world, and today you’re in the hot seat. Can you tell us a little about your day-to-day life?
When were you diagnosed with MS? Can you provide some context on that? When were you diagnosed and how did you initially deal with it?
At which point did you come across the OMS program? How was that experience for you? Why did you decide to start following it?
I understand that you’re rated as having significant disability on the EDSS scale. Has the OMS Program helped alleviate this, or had no effect?
What are your thoughts on people with MS choosing other types of diets or lifestyle protocols that are not OMS?
Let’s shift gears a little bit and talk about your professional life. You used to be a schoolteacher in the US, but now you live in the UK with your British husband, and you actually work part-time for OMS as its Trusts and Community Fundraising Manager. How did that transition come about?
OMS is celebrating its 10th birthday this year, and there are some special events in the wings. I understand you’re involved in some of these, such as OMS Birthday Trivia in June, and the Big Picnic in July. Can you tell us a little about what to expect?
Since you work in fundraising, what advice would you give to people in our community who want to get involved in this domain to help the charity?
My next question straddles the personal and professional realm: you’re a devout yoga and meditation practitioner, and you also teach it. Can you tell us how that’s helped you, and share some tips on how others can get into the groove of a daily mindfulness practice?
Regina, thank you so much for being on Living Well with MS Coffee Break and allowing our community to get to know one of its own a little better. One last question before you go, and it’s a bit of a tradition in that we ask it of all our Coffee Break guests. If you tap into your experience with MS generally and OMS specifically for a nugget of wisdom that would help people ease into and better adopt the OMS program, what would that advice be?

Three Interesting Facts About Regina (in her own words):

I’m a yoga teacher and have changed my practice to be gentler and exploratory. I used to teach hot 26+2 (Bikram style).
I used to be a public-school teacher in Chicago where I taught secondary art and design.
I have significant disability, with my neurologist most recently rating my EDSS at 6.5. I have incomplete remission, so my symptoms are always with me.

Regina’s Links:

Check out Regina on Instagram, all about her adventures with whole food plant-based eating.
Read Regina’s newsletter, all about creativity through movement, art, and whole food plant-based cooking.
Have a peek at Regina’s website.

Coming up on our next episode:

On the next episode of Living Well with MS, premiering June 15, 2022, meet Shari Short – MS patient advocate, professional in healthcare communications, and naturally, a standup comedian – and learn from her experience with MS how laughter can be a powerful medicine in itself.

Don’t miss out:

Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. For your convenience, a full episode transcript is also available on all platforms within 72 hours of each episode’s premiere. If you like our program, don’t be shy and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show. And feel free to share your comments and suggestions for future guests and episode topics by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.