everything is nature nature is everything
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Inner•Vore
Featured: Inner•Vore Creator:
Pages 1-11, 17
Erin Bodashefsky connecting nature to everything and everything to nature. Creating common grounds for collaborating. Humans inspiring other humans, embrace it. Connect: innervorerin@gmail.com
Lettuce Change Creators:
Pages 12-14
Karlie and Natasha Educate, inspire and empower you to take your health into your own hands through holistic living. www.lettucechange.com
Maple Shade Emporium Creator:
Pages 15-16
Rebecca Shirley Has a passion for taking a holistic approach to life- embracing the mind, body and spirit. She believes in peaceful, mindful parenting,
natural living and sustainability.
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Forest
Walks
“forest bathing” Bathe the mind and body in green space
If you had the choice of walking in the forest o r walking through the suburbs and along the sides of those jam packed roads with roaring machines passing by with a gust of wind, would you choose the latter? For some who had never even considered the forest, I most definitely understand, though I would now like to open their minds up to the idea. I am continuously warned to “watch out for homeless people (or animals)” or “be careful of ticks”. I let the comments coming from my family slide over my head as I carry on towards my happy place.
Only now am I realizing the benefits of all this time in the forest. This habit I’ve created for myself occurred quite naturally due to growing up right near the forest. I realized that I would use the forest as a tool to deal with whatever it was tickling my mind at the time. Stressed? Nah, the forest can kick that. Uninspired?? PCH, the forest is full of art. Need a project? There are tons growing throughout the forest. Especially with the four seasons in Ontario, there is always something new growing. Now that I am older I get it. The forest is healing and powerful, even the Japanese say so; the term “shinrin-‐yoku” or “forest bathing” was developed there.
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FOREST BATHING ”shinrin-‐yoku” in Japanese Japanese scientist Dr. Yoshifumi Miyazaki of Chiba University conducted a small study in the beautiful forests of Yakushima. It was a test of shinrin-‐yoku. Miyazaki reported that a level of physical activity (40 minutes of walking) in the cedar forest equivalent to that done indoors in a laboratory was associated with improved mood and feelings of vigor. He also found lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol in subjects after forest walks compared with those who took laboratory walks
BAREFOOT W ALKING Something you feel strange about doing (at first), yet so satisfied during and after. I first tried it out when my shoes started to hurt me halfway through a forest walk some years ago. I decided I would hide my shoes behind the tree and get them on my way back. As a forest walking person I feel I’ve developed an easiness about my ways, of trusting the ground beneath each bare foot step. It is a naked feeling that liberates you from the inside out. Your body awareness is heightened.
MEDICINAL HERBS The most recent years of my life I have been using the forest as an experimental and educational ground. I used to just see plants everywhere, now I see medicine. The further I delve into medicinal plants of Southern Ontario, the higher my interest peeks in wanting to share the way of natural living.
For the month of September a wild-‐crafting friend Linda Rose of
Purple Aster
Black River Gatehouse guided others and I around my local forest. We identified two hands worth of herbs: • St. John’s Wort : *repairs myelin layer around
nervous system (add fresh bruised flowers to olive oil in a glass container to age in sun for 10 days. Use as a cream on sores/wounds) • Plantain : *relieves intestinal pain of ulcers, excessive menstrual flow and inflamed intestines (use seeds in a tea). • “Self-‐Heal” : sore throat, upset stomach, IBS. • Dandelion : *diuretics, cleansing, blood purifier and rich in Vitamin A, B, C, and G (eat as a salad before leafs get too big and bitter). • Goldenrods : *promotes perspiration and good for repeated colds (use flower and leaves for tea, use leaves in place of tarragon when cooking). • Aster : nosebleeds, headache and congestion.
• Horsetail : *good for eyes and skin due to
silica amount. Diuretic in heart dropsy. • Raspberry : *reliefs menstruation pain (use leaves and stems as tea). • Red Clover : *good for inflamed throat and soothing to the nerves (use blossoms and leaves as tea); * cited “Indian Herbalogy of North America” by Alma Hutchens
St. John’s Wort
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Pieces of pine brought back on your dangling hair of knowledge.
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Scratches of tales on your adventure legs, striped naked while feeling a warm glow. Â
Make sense with all our senses.
Come back to the land Come back to the land
“When I stand on this land I remember who I am” … - Linda Rose,
Black River Gatehouse
No amount of education can teach me what nature has. When I was nineteen years old I decided I wanted to go camping with a bunch of strangers, on an unknown territory doing unforeseen things. This territory soon turned into my most desirable place. A place where you can health your inner calm back to life and achieve natural highs like never felt before. If you have ever spent copious amounts of time in a secluded forest you too could feel what I felt. I felt the desire to simplify my life before it got to complex. My thoughts regained clarity of my definition of life and maintaining basic happiness...
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Camping in forests inspiring basic happiness.
Basics of being Basic
One must feel the satisfaction of simplicity to receive outer happiness. Simple has a different meaning to each individual. If your lifestyle has a tendency to elevate to supreme
levels of happiness, it can just as rightly experience the complete opposite. It may start with simple exercises of thought; “I could carry on my days amazing schedule by adding on another exhilarating event, therefore topping it off with a shiny cherry, or I could simply go home and be quite at ease with what I have just accomplished with my day (and my self).” The act of simplifying. Turning your life into a mirrored reflection of the direction of where you want to flow can very well be done. It takes little action in small doses. You have all the time in the world to retrain your self in a newfound direction. The biggest step was realizing your dissatisfaction with where your choices had led you. Start off with something like; choosing to go for a walk in the forest instead of surrounding yourself by toxic environments (maybe your friends conversations bring you down or your family does not have any conversations that offer you support). The forest can be used as a tool for positive circulatory thought. Envision your self walking away all of your worries and the adaptive plants offering there wisdom. Witnessing the change of season with your own change of thought.
Guide & Dance •
basic living & basic happiness.
Allow your life to represent you. This means anything from your daily habits, circle of
friends, hobbies, jobs, wisdom, etc. Be clear as light. They are ever changing and rearranging
there service within your life, so as long as you are putting out a clear order of the life you want to live you should be served just that. The little things are actually quite big. Cut out all the habits that are embedded into your day that are numbing your beliefs. This can be things like the products you are consuming, the foods you are purchasing, the games you are playing, the transportation you are driving, the jobs you are working, etc. In determining the direction you want to go your actions will slowly re-align to meet that. Quality over quantity is something that needs to be embedded into our ever-wanting minds. Community connections. Everyone feels best when they have a purpose. If you can find your place within a community of people who are all growing towards a similar goal you can create a support system that doesn’t require you to feel you are living in a “survival of the fittest” mode. The feelings of fear will diminish, your confidence will heighten and your ability to grow as an individual furthers. This can allow you to become less dependent on “bettering” your life in successful growth, exploiting your belief system due to the need to want that pat on the back. Rather, being happy with living in a simple harmonious community and the equality we each have to offer.
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Botanic of the Month: Helichrysum • •
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Helichrysum (Helichrysum italicum) is known for its restorative properties and provides excellent support to the skin, liver, and nervous system. Helichrysum also provides a defense against harmful free radicals, making it a vital ingredient in several Young Living blends. Medical Properties: Anticoagulant, anesthetic, antispasmodic, antiviral, liver protectant/detoxifier/stimulant, chelates chemicals and toxins, regenerates nerves, reduces pain, pancreatic stimulant. USES: Herpes virus, hypertension, blood clots, liver disorders, circulatory disorders, skin conditions (eczema, psoriasis scar tissue, varicose veins). Fragrant Influence: Uplifting to the subconscious Application: (1) Apply 2-4 drops on location, temple, forehead, back of neck, or outside of ear, (2) apply on chakras and/or Vita Flex points, (3) inhale directly, (4) diffuse, or (5) take as a dietary supplement.
Member # 1219044 www.youngliving.com
2 teaspoons coconut oil 1 medium onion, chopped 5 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger 2 lbs. red beets, trimmed and scrubbed 3 - 5 cups vegetable broth (choose amount based on consistency)
1 1/2 15 oz. cans of full coconut milk (1/2 of the second can use as a garnish) 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 3 tablespoons of fresh dill
•Preheat a soup pot over medium-low heat with coconut oil, sauté the onion until translucent. Add the ginger and garlic for an extra minute. Add the beets and sauté for another 5 minutes.
•Add veggie broth, and a 15 oz. can of coconut milk, cover the pot and simmer until the beets are tender, approximately 40 minutes. Season with lemon juice and salt.
•At this point you can leave the soup as is, or you can choose to puree with a blender or an immersion. •Serve soup garnished with a tablespoon of the coconut cream and sprinkle with fresh dill.
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TRY THIS:
After eating this soup, over the next couple days check to see if your bowel movements turn red. Note the time you eat the soup and then monitor your movements for the appearance of red or pink coloring. The time between when you ingested the food to the time it first appears in your movement and stops appearing in your bowel transit time range. Your bowel transit time is how many hours it takes our food to travel from our mouth, into our digestive tract and then eliminated from our body. The average person consuming the Standard American Diet averages a transit time of 60 to 100 hours. A healthy transit time should be approximately 20 to 40 hours.
Why does bowel transit time matter? It’s common to hear that people won't eliminate for up to three or more days. So, what makes this a topic of concern? Well, this literally means that if you haven’t pooped in three days, you would have up to nine meals in your digestive system, rotting, putrefying and being reabsorbed into the body, causing autointoxication. Autointoxication is a major cause of disease and the medical definition of this word is to “self-poison resulting from the absorption of waste products of metabolism, decomposed intestinal matter, or other toxins produced within the body.” EEEEEK!
What can we do to speed up the transit? well let’s start with more fiber! The recommended amount of daily fiber is approximately 40 grams and the average North American gets approximately 4-8 grams per day! The definition of fiber is the indigestible part of fruits, vegetables, seeds, whole grains and herbs. Fiber and fiber rich foods are natural regulators and an effective clean-up crew removing toxins, buildup, congestion, unneeded fats, and sugar from the body. This in turn reduces inflammation, a primary contributor to chronic illness. Consuming more fiber through healthy food choices, you can improve the health of your entire body, from your brain to your bowels.
TRY THIS: After eating this soup, over the course of the day, check to see if your urine turns pink. If it does change colour this is a good indication that you have low
stomach acid. Why does stomach acid matter?
Stomach acid is vital for many different functions within the body, such as digestion and the assimilation of B12, protein, iron and zinc. Low stomach acid can create an imbalance of healthy gut flora, which in turn can lower the immune system. It can also cause heartburn, indigestion, bloating and belching. Most importantly it can also cause leaky gut, which in turn causes allergies. If you suffer from any of these symptoms, fortunately for you it can be reversed.
What can I do to increase my stomach acid? Contact Lettuce Change and together we can get to the root cause of these symptoms and help you heal your low stomach acid, naturally, so you can get back to feeling fabulous.
Lettuce Change is here to educate, inspire, and empower you to take your health into your own hands through holistic living. Sisters Karlie and Natasha are certified Nutritional Practitioner, graduates from Institute of Holistic Nutrition. www.lettucechange.com
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F•F•F
Fabulous Fermented Foods ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Written by Rebecca Shirley
I stumbled onto the world of ferments when my youngest son had a host of digestive issues as a baby. After working with numerous naturopaths and doing countless hours of research, I was able to learn a mountain of information in a very short period of time about the traditional “superfood” of ferments. Traditionally fermented foods such as Sauerkraut, pickles, yogurt and the like are fairly well known, however the process of store bought fermentation greatly differs from the time honoured traditional sense. Traditional fermentation had been a dying art for some time thanks to the industrialization of the food industry, but it is now making quite the comeback in all sorts of health circles and lifestyles as some of the healthiest (and tastiest) foods on the planet. Fermentation is an ancient food preservation technique that uses the biology of good bacterias, yeasts and molds to prepare and preserve delicious foods. It creates exquisite preserves, but the real magic behind ferments is in the Probiotics they contain. Probiotics – that word sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Probiotics are the good bacterias that inhabit our body. Why are they important? Over 80% of our immune system is found in the gut. Yes, you read that right, over 80%. Believe it or not, more and more people are now coming to the realization that the root of one’s health is in fact in the gut and digestive tract. Countless naturopaths, nutritionists and even conventional Doctors alike are learning that not only physical, but even mental illness can be traced back to gut health. We maintain an incredible symbiotic relationship with the trillions of microbes in our body! We all have a balance of good AND bad bacterias, yeasts and molds in our guts. The key to optimal health is to have more of the beneficial bacterias then the pathogens. Unfortunately, this can be a difficult task this day and age with the bombardment of antibiotics, denatured foods, environmental toxins, prescription drugs, vaccinations, genetically modified foods, fluoride and chlorine in our water … I could go on. But the key is to understand we must heal our guts and continue to maintain proper balance with Probiotics to maintain optimal health. Fermented foods are essential in achieving and maintaining optimal gut health due to the high probiotic content they contain. Did I mention they are de-li-cious?! Ferments are paired beautifully with almost any
Fermented foods aid in digestion, as the active bacterias and probiotics actually predigest your food for you! Fermentation actually increases the flavour, enzymes and preserves the vitamin content in your foods. Fermentation is an easy and very inexpensive way to preserve foods and make them as nutrient dense as possible. Turn any vegetable into a “superfood” once it’s been fermented. Did I mention they are de-li-cious?! Ferments are paired beautifully with almost any meal. Add them to soups, as a side dish, heck, my kids will even eat bowlfuls of Sauerkraut just on their own! Water kefir and kombucha are both delicious, mineral-rich, fermented beverage that can be sweetened with fruit. Ok, so now you want to run out and buy some ferments, right? A word of caution, don’t be fooled by some of the store bought products. Most companies will pasteurize their product (killing all the beneficial microbes). Also, since the fermentation process can be quite unpredictable based on temperature, length of ferment and seasonality of the vegetables, companies can also add flavour enhancers, colorants or unnatural preservatives to make their product more uniform – yuck! My best suggestion, look into learning to make ferments yourself. That’s how I started. It’s quite easy and as I said, inexpensive. The other option is to find local, reputable fermenting artists that do their own raw, organic ferments. They can be few and far between, but they are out there. There’s many fermentation articles and tutorials online as well as workshops that are taught locally. This article is not meant to treat, diagnose or cure any illnesses of course, it’s simply encourage you to explore the benefits of fermented foods. You owe it to yourself and your family to learn more about these amazing super foods. Looking to learn more about ferments? Check out my facebook page at Maple Shade Emporium . With Love and an grateful heart,
Rebecca
Rebecca is a mother of two who has a passion for taking a holistic approach to life -‐ embracing the mind, body and spirit. She believes in peaceful, mindful parenting, natural living and sustainability. She adores sharing her knowledge and experience to help encourage and empower others.
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SUNDRIED• TOMATO • PESTO
Ingredients: •3/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds •3/4 cup sundried tomato (soak •2 garlic cloves •handful of fresh basil •1/2 tsp. pepper •1/2 lemon juice •1 1/4 cups olive oil
in water to soften, keep water)
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In the food processor or blender, put all ingredients in except olive oil. Process or blend until well combined, add some water left over from the soaking tomatoes to help movement.
2.
Slowly add olive oil as the processor or blender is running on low. This allows you to control the consistency of your pesto. By adding the oil last it also stops it from getting too heated up.
3.
Serve with vegetables as a dip, use as a salad dressing, put on your fresh pasta or grain salad.