Mindfulness, Mini-Meditations, and Chronic Illness: A Healing Conversation with Simone Giangiordano

In this episode of Beyond My Diagnosis, I talk with Simone Giangiordano, Compassion-Based Business and Lifestyle Coach and creator of the BalanceUP® Community. Simone joins me to explore the real, daily experience of living with chronic illness, and why mindfulness, mini-meditations, and self-compassion can change not only how we cope, but how we live.

We talk about fatigue, fear, stigma, neuroplasticity, and the emotional layers of managing chronic illness in a world that doesn't slow down. Simone shares how contemplative practice helped her heal, how compassion reduces second-level suffering, and why mindfulness is not about perfection, but presence.

In this episode, you will learn:
• How mindfulness and mini-meditations help calm the nervous system
• Why self-compassion is essential for anyone living with chronic illness
• How neuroplasticity allows the brain to rewire emotional patterns
• Why mindfulness reduces stress, stigma, and emotional overwhelm
• Small, simple ways to bring awareness into daily tasks like walking, dishes, or brushing your teeth
• How to use breath, intention, and presence to navigate pain and fatigue

About Simone:
Simone Giangiordano is a CCT Certified Instructor, chronic illness advocate, and the founder of the BalanceUP® Community. She teaches individuals how to build meaningful, sustainable lives and businesses that honor their health. Her signature program, The Power of I Can’t®, empowers people to find creative pathways around health limitations so they can flourish.

Simone’s Links:
🌐 Website: https://www.simoneg.net

📄 Full Bio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ck56wNRTAbFgjzVWdaLzzaVXDJ4OMMwj/view

Transcript

0:00

(Music) Hello, this is Michelle Weston. I am here with you for my podcast. And as you know, over these past couple of years, I'm interested in talking to you about living with a chronic condition. Chronic conditions, many of us may not just have one, but we could have a couple. And when you're living with something that's a challenge, not a death sentence, but changes the trajectory of your life, you have to stop and think, what can I do? And we all go through the pity party first. And we stay there sometimes longer than we'd like. And some of us move off of it quicker. No judgment here. It's just how humans are. But I love talking to experts in the area of tools and strategies and ways to live your best life and create the best quality of life that you could have. And for me, I have dropped foot. So I'm never going to run again. Well, boohoo, I never really cared about running. So, OK, moving on. But it also means that I have to think about living in New York. And if the light says that I only have eight seconds to get across the street, I'm going to wait because it's an avenue in New York City. And over 24 years of having that chronic condition, I also have learned just wait. And the hardest thing is building in time and building in patience with ourselves. And so today, I have one of my favorite people down in sunny Florida, Simone Giordano. Is that right? Yawn Giordano. Thank God. And what's the name of your website? I want to get that out there so people know because we're going to talk about some tools and strategies and techniques because it takes a village and nothing is done by one. It's done by many. And that's why I've done this podcast to talk to you sometimes one-on-one. But I also love talking to experts. Simone, what's the name of your website? It's Simone Gi as in George. And at Balance Up Community, the site is SimoneG.net. N-E-T. OK. And Simone is S-I-M-O-N-E, then G for Giordano, and then .net. So what's important is we were talking. And we come in and out because she and I have our own illnesses that we're dealing with. And over the years, they hit us differently. We both have fatigue. And we both also believe in taking a pause. So taking a pause can mean a lot of things. And Simone, could you talk about what taking a pause means to you? And also, a little bit about how you've been educating and growing yourself to get to the point where I wanted to talk to you again about mini-meditations. All right? Absolutely. I'm going to go back to what you said in your opening about crossing the street. If there's eight seconds, you're going to wait. So you're making a decision to pause right there. And really, so when we're going to be talking about mindfulness, and that is-- Being that awareness-- By the way, it's like my favorite word in the entire universe. If people can learn to be mindful-- and you guys, mindfulness is a skill that is not just-- I use it for eating and slowing down and putting down your fork and your knife when you're dealing with obesity. And these are things that I've been an expert in the audience in, so I got it. I know how hard it is. But I know the benefit. But being mindful means you're aware. Being mindful means you are awake and aware of a choice of what's going on, of the tone, and also being mindful of your body. John Kabat-Zinn is very good at that. He's our guru of meditation today and created MBSR, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, which I love that I have the skill to teach others with. But mindfulness, there's a lot written about it. But learning to teach others is a skill. How did you get there? Because I know that you've been on a path, and we've been ready to talk about this. Yes. So what I feel like when I hear you talk there is about the difference of learning about it, being aware of it, cognitive knowledge versus embodying it, being able to feel it, being able to incorporate into your daily life, just as part of your living. And I'm going to go back to the street because I used to fall all the time. I had the leg that lagged. So yes, if it wasn't just turning to the walk side, I didn't cross. And I lived in downtown Pittsburgh in the Pat buses because I fell. I would always stand way back from the edge of the road. So that awareness that you're talking about with the mindfulness. My training has been one, I think I've always been a thinker and an observer. It's just my nature as a little kid on my official training, though, is I took as a participant the compassion institute's cultivating compassion, compassion, cultivation, I'm cultivating compassion training program, CCT. And then I went back and got certified. So I have done all the training. I have to complete my practicum. But that was a year long training, 10 to 20 hours a week. I was putting into it. It's MSBR also the right. So learning those skills, learning those facilitation skills. So you're learning to the whole program is learning to embody, not just learning about that, learning to embody. And I also have another mindful, mindfulness certification. So that program was developed by Thubten Jinpa, who was the Dalai Lama's English translator for over 25 years. Wow. Wow. Now, we just you just talked about having issues with balance. Can you share a little bit about your chronic condition? Because I think that people out there is like going, well, what I don't know what she's talking about. Is it like mine? Well, I would have to say there is no one particular condition that has resulted in it in a combination of several. OK. And just kind of how those different conditions from literally the structure of my knees. So I was born with the synovial tissue was a big clump. So it felt like a razor blade inside my knee because it's pure. Pure nerve ending. So that's something that forms before you are born. Wow. And along with that, you add some neurological kind of and fatigue. And it was just the perfect situation for balance issues. OK. OK. All combined. And just another reason with labels. I try to be a little careful with labels. Yes. Well, you should and we should be. It should be. Look, when I say and ask how many people, how many people and they may do this with you to immediately say, I'm so sorry, it's like, what are you sorry for? You didn't give me a mess. I have a mess. And I'm not being flippant. I'm not dismissing you. But I choose to ignore it as much as possible. I have to deal with the symptoms. You have to deal with the symptoms. But I choose to not live in it. And even I've discussed that I am not MS. I have MS, but I'm not MS. And I also set statutes. And I know that over the years you have done that, too, in your way. And, you know, when I was diagnosed and I got with Dr. Sadiq at the IMSMP here in New York, I said to him when I met him 24 years ago, I said, I will not be using a walker, a wheelchair cane or a bedridden. That is not my path. I don't see it. So whatever you can do to help me medically, I will follow your lead. But I also, as the patient, have a job and it's my body. And you and I have talked about this when it's your body. You have a stake in this. The doctor is not responsible for your nutrition, for your physical activity, helping you with stress levels. You know, teaching you patience, teaching you all the things that we have to have with ourselves, being kinder. And that's not easy. You know, if you spoke to people who knew me 20 odd years ago, I'm very different than I was when I was a fashion and style director for magazines and running around and loving what I did. But shorter and curder with people and more, more biting. And I gave that up because living with a chronic condition and conditions, patience and the ability to be kind and being compassionate and use the via strengths, which we'll talk about at some point. I will get somebody here. You guys should talk about via strengths because that's under positive psychology out of Pennsylvania, out of Penn State. That is if you play to your strengths and learn your strengths. I'm was surprised when I found out that when I tested and it's a free test and you guys will talk about it, you guys can go take it. I am I'm very tenacious. I am very stubborn. I am. I also am hugely compassionate and those skills, those. Personality traits are more important to me positively than negatively. Those are actually really good things for somebody, especially living with a chronic condition, right? Yeah, I'd like I'll go ahead and dig in kind of how many meditations taking a few minutes here and there can help us incorporate and embody all those characteristics you just talked about first, I guess. Yeah, looking we all every single human on this planet has suffering, whether it's stress from big life situation, little things, being late to a meeting and illnesses, financial, losing a job, not getting a promotion. It's all forms of looking for a relationship, being a relationship. All of those things, the politics right now. Yeah, politics are very difficult no matter what state you are. I don't care what side of the aisle you are. This is a very trying time for Americans. You know, it it always is. I think that as time goes on. I think our founding fathers would change some things if they saw today what they wrote down and saw how people are sometimes misconstruing it and also that some things needed to be updated, but they wrote it when they wrote it and we as Americans have. Everybody wants to live in America, guys, even with all our crap and all of our stuff, we still have some of the best medicine out there. You have opportunity to be an entrepreneur. You can come here. I love that we're melting pot. I love that we're all different races, religions, you know, colors, sexes. I like that. That's what makes America special. And being mindful also comes back to that being aware, but also not letting it. And here, Simone, mindfulness could help a lot of people who are living with a chronic illness right now because absolutely because the stress of reading, of hearing things that you may like, you may not like, you know what? Sometimes you have to turn down the noise and that's where mindfulness and mini meditations will also help you. Exactly. Yes. So and on top of that, if individuals like us with health challenges, also, depending on where we're at in our journey, I think we've we've both been with us for a very long time. But early on, there can be a lot of stigma and that can be hard to manage. So there's a second level suffering as well. So agreed, agreed. You know, I mean, it will even even simple things like should I put on my application for a job that I have a quote disability? You know what? According to my team, absolutely not. Yeah, absolutely not. Definite risks. And I don't they say I don't care that they say they're going to, you know, that they have a quota that they want to do, which is going to change anyway. You know what? If your disability isn't. Stopping your brain and your skills. Let them meet you first. Let them see what you do first, then filling out an application and saying I have a disability. I don't care. You can just say, I don't want to. There's there's a box that says I choose not to answer. Don't answer. Now, then you're going to say, well, if I don't answer, they're going to think so and so tough crap, because I bet you most of us. Check, I prefer not to answer. I'm sorry, but what? You've never had depression. You've never had stomach stuff. You've never had a migraine. I mean, like there's a bazillion things that fall under that category that have nothing to do with doing a job for many of us. So don't let the pressure of things again. Color your path. In our landscape today, and that's where again, I'm going to keep bringing this back. Mindfulness and being able to meditate. And again, you and I talked about this right before. Meditation is not about being formal, crossing your legs, sitting on the floor or laying down and spending a half an hour in silence or listening to music or listening to Ramdas, which I love. But it's about being with yourself, cutting out the noise and giving yourself a minute to just be. Just be, be there. And I live in New York and I say, you and I talked about this. I say to people, do you walk? And yes, we all walk here in New York. That's a meditation. If you choose to use that, you have an opportunity. You can get home slower or I'm not talking about when you rush into work or something like that. But you know what? If you're having a stressful day instead of lunch, you may seriously want to take a 15 minute walk and go across to the park. You may want to step out and go and sit in a coffee house and have that coffee or eat your sandwich. But learning to be mindful of when we need that, when we want it, is a skill, is a tool, right? It's a tool. It's a strategy to create stress reduction, to create the ability to be aware. You know what? Right now, I've got to step back. Or you know what? I feel fabulous. I'm going. Yeah. And I think there is we can incorporate this into almost any part of our day. But in addition to when we're walking, choosing to be mindful, choosing to be present, focusing on awareness is if you're newer to mindfulness or practicing this kind of more contemplative nature, sometimes like some of the practices sitting with somebody and community with somebody through guided meditations can also help you. And especially from the perspective of learning to focus on your breath. And then that's something that you can take into your work. If something gets a little stressful or if you have having a conversation, learning to set an intention. So learning that, hey, I want to show up with kindness and compassion to this meeting instead of coming in flustered can really change the dynamics of that relationship of the outcome of a meeting or talking with a child or something about something maybe a discipline or something like that. And then from a health perspective, having this ability to observe what if it's our thoughts, being able to observe, oh my gosh, I'm being critical. Let me offer myself some kindness and then practicing that under some guidance and then taking that into your day into where and the more just like any kind of exercise, the more you do it, the more you can embody it, the more you can access it. Well, we agree. Self-awareness feeling where where do those tensions start or where are my health symptoms and being more aware to say, OK, maybe if I back off a little bit around that, I won't have a flare up or I won't have as much of a fatigue issue today. Just get that self kindness, self-care from that perspective. That doesn't mean not doing things. It means being aware so you can do more. Yeah. And right. And so how do you you know, we have some great people, you know, I love John Kabat-Zinni, he wrote a book called Wherever You Go, There You Are, mindfulness meditation in everyday life. And, you know, that's a book that's been around for a long time. Yeah. And looking at things in a different way teaches us to not overthink, to not sometimes you just need to get quiet. Right. Absolutely. That space that you're talking about and that this learning these skills to quiet the mind a little bit and whether it's more formal or weeding in the garden, there all can be acts of meditation that help serve you. And doing the dishes, you can be frustrated or you can focus on it and let yourself relax. It's all choices. We have agency. That's a good. That's a good. That's a really good. Tool, you know, and what you're saying is so give us some more examples like you're saying doing the dishes. How would you suggest to people to start to think about mindfulness? And by the way, I also wanted to give you her www.simoneg.net because she's doing mini meditations and she's got some schedule that you could tune into to find out how to do this practice in a way that would work better for you. And that's why I wanted her to come on because this is this is a skill and it takes time and you have to be patient. Right. So what are some ways that people can think about using things and creating more calm? Absolutely. So I'll give you an example. So what I've called these mindful moments and they're 15 minutes long is all and they're free. So they're just meant to be there for service for individuals, have an opportunity in an accessible way. And so, for example, each day I might pick a different focus like on clarity, how you can and then say that you have something that you can bring forward into your day. Maybe it's being less self critical and more kind to yourself and bringing that forward into your day. Maybe it is about bringing mindfulness into your day. So, for example, if brushing your teeth, how can you bring more focus to that instead of rushing and not paying any attention? Yeah. It's something you're going to be doing anyhow, most likely. Yeah. If it takes you even if you don't add any more time, it's the energy that you're using. And quite frankly, most of us with health challenges need to protect our energy, need to do things to boost our energy so we can be be stressed, regurgitating something went wrong for the day. Yeah. Or you can be expressing thinking about something you're grateful for for the day or just being aware. So and that really can apply. I mean, driving, sitting on a plane, standing in a line, it's almost not where can we use it? Where can't we use it? When you're deep inside like a project work. But you can also set the intention, take 10, 20, 30 seconds beforehand and say, you know, I'm going to calm myself, I'm going to ground myself and I'm going to just focus on this task without interruption. So that itself is also being mindful, practicing mindfulness because you're not like saying, oh, I'm going to be checking social media. I'm not going to be taking all these distractions. I'm going to focus on where our energy goes. Right. Right. So so really, it's where can't we incorporate it? Yeah. And and it's simple. I mean, seriously, you know, some of you are going, yeah, doing the dishes. Boy, you'd be surprised how much more enjoyable it is getting off the pasta with cheese out of the bowls that my husband eats like, you know, at nauseam here when I'm just in a place that I can really focus on. Doing. You know. Doing something that takes me out of me and lets me just enjoy the moment. And if it sounds woo to you, I challenge you to try it to go right to try it. Yeah, I want to say it's this is not about false positivity or toxic positivity. This is about quiet solitude. This is about living in gratitude. This isn't about like, oh, everything's perfect because I realize that that sometimes this might sound like that kind of concept, but it might also be. You know, having that solitude, that space, that pause that you talked about the very beginning to be aware to do what's best for you. And that can also involve tough decisions that are heavy. You know, given the space to be able to process that with less stress and then gain more clarity could impact major, major decisions that we make about our health or about our relationship or about a job instead of making it frantically. So this is not all about fake positivity or anything like that. It's about living life fully to the best of our ability so that we can share the best impact so that we can be ourselves live authentically in alignment. If we don't pause, if we don't take the space, I think I think we lose track and lose track of what our core values even are. Yeah. I know."Tik-na-hung" wrote a book called "You Are Here, Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment." That was one of the first books that I was introduced to. And I remember reading it and not getting it. Seriously, guys, not getting it. And I was just like, well, how would I do this? Like, be that present? It's a skill. It's a tool. It is a... It takes time. Yes. Right? There's no rush. You're not being graded. But this is an opportunity to be with yourself. And if that sounds uncomfortable, I'm going to tell you, sometimes it is. Yeah. But the more you do it, the more you appreciate yourself and what you do do well and what you can learn. And that it's not easy living with a chronic illness because honestly, today, that includes so many things. You know, if you're living with diabetes, one or two, one is always harder. You're constantly having to think about math and watching amounts and checking numbers. If you're living with obesity, you're dealing with the pressure of society. You're dealing with doctors saying you need to lose weight for this and that. How do you mindfully get quiet? How do you check in with you? And I think that that is really important for all of us to learn, especially living with a chronic illness. And Simone and I didn't come to this like magically. We didn't. We worked hard to find ways to tune into ourselves. Yes. Right? Is that? Yes, absolutely. And I love that you said it's not graded because it's not it's for yourself. It's not for anybody else. It's to it. It's so you can be your own person. It's so you can live authentically. And I like to think it was connecting with in to connect with others. It can improve relationships. It can prove our relationship with our self drastically. It can improve, you know, and then there's a little bit because you and I know why it improves our relationship with ourselves. Why does it do that? What's what's the what's the benefit? There's so much there, but a few points they come to mind as you know, when we have that awareness, then we can have that self acceptance. And then when we realize that we all suffer, that it's like we all do belong. We are all connected, that everybody is suffering in their own way. And it's this concept to that recognizing those critical thoughts and working to let those go, working to lessen them and to replace that with more self kindness and less judgment, not necessarily believing all our own stories that have been fed through societal norms and culture and stigma or family ties and so forth or doctor situations that weren't necessarily able to advocate for yourself. I think you learn to advocate for yourself better because the this concept of fierce self compassion. How can you have fierce self compassion if you don't have self awareness, if you don't have self acceptance, if you aren't aligned with your core values, once you have that when you're aware of that and live in attunement with that, it's now you can set boundaries around yourself, your health, your work that come from a place of love, not anger like, oh, that person's toxic, they're out of here. No, it's like, this is what I need to do to protect myself because I care about myself so I can show up and ultimately share and have an impact and just comes back again to how do we have our most fulfilling life? How do we live from that place? Yeah. And I know that also, and this is just a sidebar, but I love your opinion. How do you feel about neuroplasticity? What do you think of that when we study neuroplasticity? I love Rick Hansen for neuroplasticity. Yes, definitely. So when I say neuroplasticity, what I'm saying that she's responding yes to is, what we found, what science has found, what research has found, what lots and lots of studies have found is our brains are like plastic, like play-doh. And whether you're eight, 18 or 80, you have the ability to reframe your brain. You can retrain your brain, you can reframe your thoughts, and you have the ability to move forward in a different way, being mindful. And with neuroplasticity, that's how we can live from a different place than we were. Right? Is that a good way to explain it? Yeah, absolutely. Rick Hansen is great. He has multiple books out there. I forget the titles exactly about brain health and such. I know I have a couple of read them and stuff, but with the compassion institute, the training, it is contemplative practices, neuroscience-based, and clinical medicine, and so forth. So we studied a lot of studies around the concept of this neuroplasticity. We had experts in neuroscience professors out of Stanford and other places. Cool. Very cool. And yes, it was so, so interesting learning about the functional MRIs. For example, when we are in that place of empathy, the difference between empathy and compassion, empathy being we feel in others' pain, that through these functional MRIs and so forth, they've been able to demonstrate that that process is in the part of the brain that is trauma-related, that is pain-related. And when we move that to compassion, meaning we move that to action and wanting to lessen somebody's suffering or own suffering that functions in a different part of our brain. So the more we do that, again, these consistent practices, it doesn't have to be this, "Hey, I'm spending hours on the mat doing meditation. It's incorporating into your day. You're building that muscle. You're impacting that neuroplasticity." And they're study after study after study. Tanya Singer has, we studied her work. But I don't know her. Tanya Singer, ooh, that's another good name to throw out there. But mindfulness has been called about the three C's of mindfulness. So I know as curiosity, compassion, and a calming center. And those are ways that we can be aware of being present. There's also, I don't know how you feel about the five R's. I mean, I'm using like, not hieroglyphics, I'm using catchphrases. But when you think also about five-- I'm not familiar with the five R's. Five R's, you're going to love these. Recognize. So recognize your thoughts and your own internal dialogue when you're caught up in a negative fear-based thinking. Relax. Explore ways to slow down. Connect with your breath. And relax your mind and body. Review and respond. And return. And that came from a website that I had grabbed it from citycenterpsychotherapy.com. OK. And I had looked at it. It was up during the holiday season because we get kind of crazy in regards to being really busy. And I think that one of the things that we forget is that's a skill that we can tap into. And being able to-- is mindfulness part of psychology? Yeah. Absolutely. But psychology is about the brain and about mind and about thought. So it makes sense that that's where you find a lot of people. I love Susan Albers for mindfulness around eating. And Susan Albers is one of my gurus in that. I find her very easy to read. I find her easy to apply when you're making mindfulness around eating. And I also love-- I don't know if you're-- this is definitely somebody you should check out. Jan Chosin-Bays. Jan is J-A-N and then C-H-O-Z-E-N-Bays. She has written a book called Mindful Eating, but she also has written other books on-- how do you tap into being awake and aware? And she's actually a doctor. She tuned into that. But I think this is a continuing conversation, Simone. And I want to come back to this, but I'd love you guys out there to go visit simoneg.net and see what resonates with you. For me, it's www.michelleweston.com. And both Simone and I want to offer you tools, techniques, and strategies. And when you spend time with Simone, she's a calming influence. She is grounded. Her feet are in the floor like a big tree that's just been there for a while. And that is calming. And it's also-- it just feels good. I know that she's steady and she's clear and that she's committed to helping herself and helping others. And that's what this show is about. You helping yourself help others. Do you have any last words to bring to anyone out there who's listening in regards to--(End Playback) I want to thank you for having me on here. It's always great to talk to you. And just, you know, I think from the perspective of-- here's something that's really important. I'm going to go back to when you said about it's not about grading ourselves. And sometimes, you know, you might go to practice mindfulness and go, oh, I didn't do that right. Or, oh, I got distracted. And to remember, that's OK. That's part of the process. Don't use this to build more stress on yourself. Use it to allow yourself the space to observe without judgment, letting go of stories, so that you can have the most benefit from it. And it's not-- again, I'm going to say this not to challenge you, but I want you to remember, this is not easy. What this is about is that you have an opportunity to check in with yourself and find ways to live your best life. And that's what living with a chronic condition is. And when I have the experts I have on here talking about a chronic condition blueprint and them being experts, and a lot of times the audience, we want you to just think about ways that resonate with you and that can help you. And not everything is going to apply, but I want to tell you, a lot of it will. And that's what's important today in regards to being aware and being awake and just being present. I mean, seriously, just being present. And I want to encourage everybody to look at that and think to yourself, oh, how could I do that today in a more cohesive way? And that's what's important. I mean, that's what you're looking for. So, Simone, you and I will visit again because I don't think we're done. Simone has other things that she can share, but I wanted her to start with what she just was spending a year getting certified in because it's the top of a new year. And when-- well, any time of the year. But at the top of a new year, we're all looking for ways to live our best life, and especially those of us with chronic illness. And this also applies, right, Simone, to the caregivers, the family members, the loved ones, the partners, right? Because-- Absolutely. We're all on our unique journey. Each of us are on our own unique journey. We all can apply it in a different way, finding what works for you. It also applies because you have to understand that being mindful can open up so many doors, and you're going to choose what doors that was going to be. You're going to choose how you're going to-- it's being mindful at a doctor's appointment. It's listening in a different way than you were yesterday, last year. And having that opportunity to both of us is really important. It's changed our lives, and so therefore, being able to share it with you guys, to me, is really, really important. So I hope that we've given you some ideas. Again, Michelle Weston, and we will see you on Chronic Condition Blueprints again, covering how to live your best life living with a chronic condition. Simone, I love you. Have a great day, and we'll continue because she's a force of nature, and I'm glad to have her in my pool of friends and also of experts and share her jewels with you guys. Thank you, guys. Have a good day. Thank you, Michelle. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Beyond the Diagnosis. If something we talked about today resonated with you, if you're craving deeper understanding, better support, we just want to know you're not alone on this journey. Make sure to subscribe to my free substack at michelleweston.substack.com. That's where I share personal insights, expert takeaways, and extra resources to help you stay informed, empowered, and one step closer to the clarity you deserve. And if you found this episode helpful, leave a review or share it with someone who needs to hear it. Your voice helps this message go further. Until next time, keep asking questions, keep trusting yourself, and keep going beyond the diagnosis.