Tag - health

5 Power foods for vitality and health this holiday season

One of the keys to maintaining good health and vitality is to pay attention to what we are eating.  This may seem like a challenge during a busy holiday season, so here is a quick guide of healthy choices that are quick and easy to add to the day. 1. Eat Berries.  Lots of them.  Berries are considered a super food.  For one thing they are loaded with antioxidants.  Antioxidants help keep free radicals under control.  What are free radicals? Free radicals are toxic byproducts of oxygen metabolism that can cause significant damage to living cells and tissues in a process called "oxidative stress.” Excessive amounts of free radicals can damage your cells. Antioxidants such as anthocyanins, ellagic acid and resveratrol  - found in blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries  can help neutralize these compounds.  Berries also contain fibre, which may help decrease your appetite (as well as binge eating)  2. Eat high fibre foods.  We know that dietary fibre is important.  It helps normalize bowel movements, and the key to elimination is a healthy bowel.  Choose foods high in fibre: Wholegrains, vegetables and fruit, beans and pulses. When rushed in the morning? Eat a high fibre cereal with a handful of berries.  3. Eat foods that fight inflammation.  For example increase your servings of green leafy vegetables, fatty fish like salmon, tuna and sardines. Use olive oil for your dressings.   4. Eat your broccoli.  Your bones are continuously changing — new bone is made and old bone is broken down. This green veggie packs vitamins A, C and K, which helps with bone health, as well as folate. Bones are the structure of our body, they protect organs, they anchor muscles and store calcium.  Folate is a B-vitamin that is naturally present in many foods. Your body needs folate to make DNA and other genetic material. Your body needs folate for your cells to divide. Broccoli contains sulforaphane,  which is thought to help stimulate the body's detoxifying enzymes. 5. Drink tea.  Is tea a food?  Tea is rich in a class of antioxidants called flavonoids  You can maximize the power of its flavonoids by drinking it freshly brewed. In order to preserve the flavonoids and drink your tea throughout the day just add some squeezed lemon or lime.  Flavonoids  reduce pain and inflammation.  Teas high in flavonoids are black, green and white tea.  If you are concerned with caffeine, then choose green or white tea.  Herbal teas are always a good choice, they are not high in flavonoids, yet they contain other beneficial antioxidants. Chamomile tea for example has antioxidants may help prevent complications from diabetes, like loss of vision and nerve and kidney damage, and stunt the growth of cancer cells. Bottom line when dining out or at Christmas parties - choose the fruit and veggie trays. Load up on as many different colours of fruits and vegetables as you can so that you have a variety of antioxidants. Meal planning?  Choose whole foods, fatty fishes, whole grains and include 3 vegetables per meal. The more colour you can find in a white winter season, the more healthy and energized you will feel.

Sound Healing- Celebration of Spirit, Return to Health

Sound has always been considered a direct link between humanity and the Divine. Every ancient culture has used sound in ceremonies of healing or celebration of spirit. Evidence of sound healing in early cultures is found in writings, drawings, sculpture and other architectural remnants and artifacts of the pasts of the Ancient Greeks, Chinese, East Indians, Tibetans, Egyptians, American Indians, Mayans, Aztecs, Polynesians and Aborigines to name a few. Music and sound as an art form was well developed by the Egyptians, Hindus, Chinese and the Japanese in their ancient cultures. In fact it has been discovered that by the time the Ancient Egyptians built the pyramids, it had organized choruses with as many as 12,000 voices and orchestras of 600 pieces. From the early greeks come some of the earliest scientific observations on sound and its true nature and effects. Sound and music was an intricate part of life and culture - it was impossible to separate it from scholarly subjects. All art, including music was an essential part of life and business, there was no separation of art from the sciences, from medicine. Medicine was considered an art. The belief of the Ancient Greeks was that Orpheus (the poet, musician, theologian and interpreter of the Gods) was the son of the Greek God Apollo who was not just the God of the Sun, put the God of music and Healing. Today most people are either unaware or simply ignore the significance and preponderance of sound within their lives. However this knowledge is important now more than ever as we become more and more a technological society in which we are constantly bombarded by extraneous sound and vibrations that affect our resonance without our even hearing the sound. In the Sound for Self Healing classes, the goal is to learn how to direct sound so that you can reharmonize your full body system and create states of health and wholeness which reverse and neutralize the disharmony and disease in the body.

What is Self Healing

What is self healing? It is generally considered that self healing is a phrase applied to the process of recovery that is motivated, initiated and directed by the self. The value of self healing lies in the ability of the individual to access health giving forces within the body as well as to make choices that lead to wellness and wholeness. It takes inner responsibility and motivation as well as information and knowledge. It takes a willingness to learn and grow. It takes a belief that one has the capacity to be well. The process of self healing can be accelerated with techniques of introspection such as meditation, journaling and art as well as active application of vibrational healing and sound. Through active application of sound, the following effects have been noticed:
  1. Stress reduction
  2. Reduction in muscle tension, which usually compliments stress reduction.
  3. Improved sleep, which allows the body to regenerate.
  4. Improvements in emotional conditions such as depression, anger or anxiety - leading to feelings of     being more centred, grounded and balanced.
  5. Improvement in mental clarity
Generally speaking, sound has a way of harmonizing the body to wholeness through the qualities of resonance and vibration. As with all techniques, trust is a key factor. Trust that the body knows how to heal itself and is constantly working on balancing itself. (sneezing, yawning are just a few examples) Trust that the body is communicating with you and telling you what it needs. (More rest? more movement? more water? more/less food?) Honour the body’s wisdom when it is communicating with you. Embrace gratitude as a way of life. Everyday thanking the body for it’s vitality. Focus on what it can do instead of lamenting what it can no longer do. Thank your body for growing stronger and stronger each day. Learn how to incorporate healing sounds for your body and participate in our wellness programs.

Soundtouch – Explore the Deeper Meaning of Acupuncture Points

Music making, whether it is singing, chanting, dancing, playing an instrument or attending musical events is a powerful transformative energy capable of healing the soul. Scientific research confirms that our body, brain, organs and cells vibrate in measurable frequencies. Music is a healing art. So how does one make music physical? In the search to answer this question, as well as looking at ways to improve bodily health and well being, the fascinating journey into Chinese Medicine became the medium for the application of sound via the acupuncture point system. Hence Soundtouch therapy was born. Acupuncture points are little vortices of energy that when blocked restrict the flow of energy through our physical being. Blocked energy creates disharmony which can lead to disease. It is appropriate to call acupuncture points, Energy Release Points. A Soundtouch therapy session is very experiential. Initial consultation and medical history determine the treatment plan. Specific sound frequencies are then applied to the body on the appropriate Energy Release Points and vibration begins to flow into the meridian pathway allowing the body to relax into a receptive healing state. In this state, healing begins as the whole body system communicates within itself. Sound has the ability to build bridges within our emotional, mental, spiritual and physical body that brings to our conscious selves the awareness necessary to walk the path to wholeness and health. Writing the book Spiritual Portraits of the Energy Release Points, became a natural extension of this healing modality. The purpose of this book is to bring forward the messages of each acupuncture point (Energy Release Point). In Classical Chinese Medicine, the power of healing is drawn not only from unblocking the energy of the point, but also in understanding the spirit of the point found within the name itself. Reading the message consciously connects one to the root of the issue. Isn’t it wonderful to know that our body holds the key to our own ability to become healthy? Spiritual Portraits of the Energy Release Points is a valuable resource for any bookshelf, not just an acupuncturist or for a patient of acupuncture. It can be used as an oracle, with random opening for the message that you need to start your day, or to deal with a problem that you have been wrestling with in your mind. Reading the message can bring balance and help reclaim your centre for a more joy filled life.  

Pendulums

Pendulums are a beautiful way to connect to your intuition and verify something that you already know. They can be made of crystals, beads or metals and wood. Generally speaking, they are made of a natural element. Pendulums made with crystals and tied with a master metal are generally a preferred choice as they hold vibration longer. If you are a beginner dowser, it is wise to find a pendulum made with either a citrine or kyanite crystal as these two gemstones do not require clearing or cleansing of any energies that they pick up. So now that you have your pendulum it is important to clear it, dedicate it and program it so that it responds to you. A beginner dowser will find a pendulum easier to work with if using a citrine or kyanite gemstone. Not only do these gemstone contain beautiful properties, they are also two stones which will never require clearing as they do not hold on to negative energies. If your pendulum is made of a different gemstone it is advisable to clear it before starting. Methods to clear gemstones are various: an easy way is to place your pendulum in a votive candle holder filled with sea salt and let it sit overnight or at least for a few hours. You can also make a saline solution with 2 tablespoons of salt and a half cup of water and let it sit in the solution for 15 minutes. You could also place your pendulum in a sunny window as well. Once you have cleared your pendulum, you are ready to dedicate it. It is very important to dedicate your pendulum, for one thing you will want to be connecting and working with a Being of the Highest Light.  The following invocation is an example of a dedication you can use:  "I dedicate this pendulum to the Light and only to the Light.  I ask that a Being of the Highest Light work through it always.  I dedicate this pendulum to the Truth and I ask that all the answers given be in the highest good of all." Then you can personalize your programming to what suits you. For example:  "I program this pendulum with love, health, integrity, joy etc...."  At the end, ask for Archangel Michael to seal in this programming with his flaming sword of Truth and the Platinum Ray. To learn more about pendulums and their uses, check out our classes.