Letter from the President and CEO January 2026

Dear Reader,

Happy New Year! As we enter 2026, I have been reflecting on themes often invoked during this season – themes of renewal, commitment, refreshment, and new horizons. As I consider these in the context of the Institute’s mission, I think of a fundamental principle we teach in our support and educational groups. That is, to achieve optimal health, there must be alignment between the experience and expression of our emotions. If we are experiencing one thing on the inside but expressing something different outwardly, it can cause all kinds of problems - physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Take a moment to check in with yourself – how are you?

Who are you?

Sometimes, I think of life as a story or narrative. This approach can be helpful as we try to piece together our experiences into something coherent and manageable. It can also make it easier to answer questions like “How are you?” and “Who are you?” If you have established a familiar story about yourself, you can default to that story without giving it much thought. If you're Eeyore, you're sad, if you're Oscar, you're grouchy, and if you're The Dude, you're laid back - by default.

In the same way, as we experience the New Year, it can be easy and tempting to fall into the "default" story of who we were last year and who we want to be next year.

While convenient in the short term, the flip side is that, in the name of efficiency, we risk repeating the same story again and again, getting stuck in a narrative about ourselves that may not be accurate at any given moment. In this way, in addition to helping us make meaning and thread our lives together, the stories we tell can limit our possibilities for movement, growth, and becoming.

So, check in again. This time, really lock in – How are you, here and now?

Who are you, right here, right now?

You may find that this extra moment of presence - focusing on the here and now - allows you to notice a quality of yourself that is usually overlooked. From this foundation and awareness, it may be easier to identify your approach to the new year.

To engage more with perspectives like these, you may consider joining our Monday Mind-body Skills Group, which is a supportive setting to learn practices that help us align our emotions with our expressions. We’ve been running the group every Monday for more than 5 years, and welcome anyone to join us. 

Finally, looking to the next few months of Institute programs, I would like to point your attention to several that we are really excited about:

Thank you for your ongoing support of the Institute. I hope to see you soon, and in the meantime, I offer peace and well-wishes!

Warmly,

Stuart

 

Stuart C. Nelson
President & CEO
Loise Henderson Wessendorff Chair

Joanna Martin