| New! Alive & Well Holistic Center 9250 McGregor Blvd., suite 3
6 Week Yoga Nidra -iRest Course Sept. 2 thru Oct. 7
When: 6 Thursdays, 5:30-7pm. Sept. 2 thru Oct. 7. Costs: $125 for 6 week course, includes booklet and CD.
This course is for anyone seeking to reduce physical, emotional or mental stress. iRest gently guides you through body and breath awareness and an exploration of emotions, cognitions and joy. As iRest teaches awareness of and neutralizes the source of inner stress, it provides tools for achieving an inner calm that you integrate throughout all phases of your life. As inner tensions decrease, self-confidence and well-being increase, which remains with you as you go about your daily life. Space is
limited: Call the center at 239-226-WELL or visit
Alive and Well Holistic Center to register.
Spa Day at Sanibel Harbour Restore and Renew! September 18We all may be encountering a little more stress and anxiety these days. Come take care of yourself! Enjoy fitness classes, work out in the gym or indulge yourself with spa treatments in the morning. In the afternoon, you will be lead thru breath, body and energy awareness practices that will help lift the stresses of your daily life. Perfect for all levels of experience with yoga and meditation.********************************************** There was a great article in the News Press that gives practical advice on eating green: Nutrition Notes: When to buy organic produce
By Elaine Hastings · Special to news-press.com · June 22, 2010
It's National Fruits and Veggies Month! I'm still waiting on Hallmark to pick up on this, but somehow I think the greeting card industry is not going to share my enthusiasm when there's graduation and Father's Day at hand.
We should celebrate, though. Florida is a fertile source for many produce favorites and when our growing season is over, our neighbors to the north are still harvesting delicious fresh vegetables and fruits for us to enjoy.
We learn that ignorance is bliss, however, when we discover that celery can be coated in 67 pesticides. Yes, sorry, that tuna salad in the fridge is possibly dosing your family with chemicals designed to kill weeds and creepy crawly pests.
However, a new report by nonprofit public health advocates Environmental Working Group is a blessing to all of us who like to keep our produce drawers full and our doctor visits to a minimum. The report is the result of poring through thousands and thousands of USDA pesticide reports. This determined which fruits and veggies have the best and worst chemical residue.
Here's the good news. You can reduce your pesticide exposure by up to 80 percent simply by buying the organic version of the 12 worst offenders. This is an easy change which makes a major difference in your family's health risks. And you'll be hard-pressed to say it's an expensive change, when you factor the cost against the reward.
The U.S. government says ingesting low volumes of pesticide is not harmful. But several scientific studies have shown possible links between pesticides and cancer, nervous system problems, weakened immune systems and attention deficit disorder.
The "Dirty Dozen" produce list is compiled of 12 items that contain 47 to 67 pesticides per serving. Here, in no particular order, are the 12 fruits and veggies you should definitely consider buying in the organic version: apples, celery, domestic blueberries, imported grapes, lettuce, nectarines, peaches, potatoes, spinach/kale/collard greens, strawberries and sweet bell peppers. The report lumps all the dark leafy greens together, making them easier to remember.
You'll have to go to a little more effort to find organic versions of the risky 12, but you do have options. Mother Earth Natural Foods, Whole Foods, Fresh Market and The Sandy Butler carry many of these items in their organic section. Sweetbay and Publix also offer pesticide-free produce, so take note what's available in the store where you usually shop, or explore a new source. Punta Gorda's own Worden Farm has a subscription service for its organic produce; check out its website to see what's grown there.I also like to buy cage-free, organic eggs.
The report's news isn't all bad. Have a look at the fruits and veggies that are least likely to be covered in pesticides, but don't get these lists mixed up.The cleanest produce outside the organic section are logically deduced, to some degree: many have protective outer coverings that are inedible. They include asparagus, avocados, cabbage, cantaloupe, eggplant, grapefruit, kiwi, mango, onions, pineapple, sweet corn, sweet onions, sweet peas, sweet potatoes and watermelon.
You might want to tuck this column into your purse.
Green Market Saturdays, 8am to 12 noon at The Alliance for the Arts Support local growers by shopping at the new green market, every Saturday at The Alliance for the Arts. There is organic produce, bread, cheese and more. ***************************************************** Piperadea French vegetarian recipe from Kim Hurwitz3 bell peppers1/4 lb of onions2 lbs tomatoes3 eggsgarlic to tasteEspelette Pepper to tasteFinely chop and then gently brown the pepper and onions. Add the chopped tomatoes. Leave to simmer on a low heat. Add a tea spoon of sugar, a pinch of salt and Espelette Pepper to taste Whisk the eggs well, and add them in to the peppers, onions and tomatoes after they have simmered. You shouldn't see any sign of the eggs.Serve over pasta twists.
| | Learn to "Rest" the "I"
iRest is a practical adaptation of Yoga Nidra (loosely translated: sleep of the yogi) with one to one sessions. Not local? Not a problem! Skype has transformed how we learn and practice.
iRest, an acronym for Integrative Restoration, is a yoga experience that is truly available to EVERYONE. As a meditation practice grounded in sensing the body, iRest allows us to experience peace, joy and equanimity beyond the changing circumstances we may find ourselves in.
These techniques can be easily taught and incorporated into your daily life. Schedule a one on one session and experience the "I" resting yourself.
A Culture of Stress
These times of economic uncertainty and man-made as well as natural disasters have led us to a culture of stress. While there are no easy answers to the challenges we face, our understanding that we are not alone is crucial to well-being.
This is really the core of yoga teachings: there is no separation. What happens to one part affects the whole. And while there may be actions & responses called for, there is also an invitation to go within and realize this truth of our nature. When a deeper understanding arises, our actions and responses come out of love and compassion rather than fear and hate.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone, from the gulf fisherman to the BP execs, really knew that they weren't alone?
I think Pablo Neruda expresses the value of being still and recognizing this truth beautifully in the poem, "Keeping Quiet"
Keeping Quiet by Pablo Neruda. (trans. Alastair Reid.)
And now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still.
For once on the face of the earth let's not speak in any language, let's stop for one second, and not move our arms so much.
It would be an exotic moment without rush, without engines, we would all be together in a sudden strangeness.
Fisherman in the cold sea would not harm whales and the man gathering salt would not look at his hurt hands.
Those who prepare green wars, wars with gas, wars with fire, victory with no survivors, would put on clean clothes and walk about with their brothers in the shade, doing nothing.
What I want should not be confused with total inactivity. Life is what it is about, I want no truck with death.
If we were not so single-minded about keeping our lives moving, and for once could do nothing, perhaps a huge silence might interrupt this sadness of never understanding ourselves and of threatening ourselves with death.
Perhaps the earth can teach us as when everything seems dead and later proves to be alive.
Now I'll count up to twelve, and you keep quiet and I will go.
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