A mobster, designer and teenager take us to a place of contemplation and warmth.

We reflect on control in times of renewal. We create to realize unspoken dreams. Though of different decades, the same fears persist that delay those goals.

Power, success, and loss are personal operatives in the Godfather II, The Phantom Thread and The Lovely Bones, respectively. Trust is a common thread that weaves these movies together for cozy winter design- useful in ayurvedic healing and planning for a new year.

“I need to believe in the value of what I’m doing.”

— Daniel Day-Lewis

The $cience

The Godfather II (1974)

Pitta: Become softer without sacrificing duty.

In the second installment of Francis Ford Coppola’s trilogy, Michael Corleone’s power has dauntingly grown to question who he is and what he did. Losing his family becomes a point of bewilderment when Michael’s drive to control everything, and shatter anything preventing that goal, involves questionable tactics. Michael feels unsettled by the fractured relationship with his wife, brother and community- the reasons Michael believes he assumed this role. The respect love and admiration his father commanded has been replaced by fear. It is clear to Michael and the audience that time is running out and successors are dwindling. Part II makes anyone contemplate how much energy they are willing to use for their ambition.

Tidbit: The powerhouse mitochondrion produces ATP with exercise and is a growing focus of anti-aging enthusiasts.

The Phantom Thread (2017)

Vata: Let go of fear to love. Keep routines to prevent anxiety not to detract from meaningful relationships.

Inspired by Cristóbal Balenciaga and Charles James, watch the film that made the great Daniel Day-Lewis retire from acting. Faced with the depression of creating art that may not move observers, this was the final thread. The meticulous designer and “confirmed bachelor”, Reynolds Woodcock, becomes enthralled with a clumsy waitress, Alma. She knows mushrooms and what people need. And uses them to keep him needing her. Love becomes a curse. It's the kind of poison that doesn't kill, but makes you sick enough you wish it did. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Tidbit: The poisonous mushroom Chlorophyllum molybdites, or false parasol, on Réunion Island is often confused with the wild mushrooms Chlorophyllum rhacodes and Macrolepiota procera. Nobody dies, but the GI tract is severely disrupted.

The Lovely Bones (2009)

Kapha: Speak up and act on gut-feeling. Avoid being too nice out of fear of being disliked.

The perfect movie to be satisfied sitting at home when it’s cold and dark out. Nobody needs to see the hole in the cornfield or please the Mr. Harvey’s of the neighborhood. Bones escalates the fear of missing out to an unbearable level- losing her first kiss, missing her sister fall in love and being denied the regular angsts of her teen years. Author Alice Sebold’s novel was written to express her experience and that of many other girls who are brutalized. Moving on from the paralysis of fear and death, Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon reveals the supposed coldness of the in-between.

Tidbit: In addition to bone health, Vitamin D can reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease and depression. Less sunshine during winter due to overcast skies and decreased time outdoors, can increase motor neuron dysfunction due to lower Vitamin D levels. Vitamin D regulates nerve growth by attaching to receptors in the Parkinson’s-prone substantia nigra.