2016-09 Natural Awakenings of Greater Hartford

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SOIL SISTERS

Women Farmers Come of Age

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September 2016 | Greater Hartford County Edition | September www.NAHRT.com 1 natural awakenings 2016

Fall Trainings are now open for enrollment Fall Trainings at are Bloom nowYoga openFitness for enr S

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natural awakenings

September 2016

3

letterfrompublisher

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love September for many reasons. The temps become milder, the rush of vacations are behind us and kids are back to school. It is easier to catch our breath as we begin the transition to fall. Another great thing about September is the local, fresh food still being harvested from farms here in Connecticut.

The produce at our local farmers’ markets or from the neighborhood farm carts just tastes better than what we can get at our local grocer! Some of my summer and fall favorites are strawberries, raspberries and peaches. But I also love zucchini, cucumbers, squash, kale and fresh peppers equally!

contact us Publisher Shawn Cole Publisher@NAHRT.com

We’re very fortunate that we still have so many local farms and farmers’ markets near us. This month’s issue is dedicated to farmers all over the county and the delicious and nutritious food they produce. There are many local resources that can teach you about growing or preparing your own healthy food. This month, we’re featuring the Institute of Sustainable Nutrition with a special article, “Kitchen Medicine”. Check it out for ancient food knowledge that still works today along with a bonus recipe.

Managing Editor Debbie Marconi Editor@NAHRT.com Editorial and Design Alison Chabonais Gina Croteau Stephen Gray Blancet Steve Hagewood Erica Mills Julie Peterson Linda Sechrist Kathy Zygmont

Fall is also a time of year that many of us seek to restore ourselves; it is also a wonderful time of year to consider a healing retreat. Check out “Make Time for Downtime” by local holistic experts Dr. Ayelet Connell-Giametteo and Kristen Werblow. They explore how retreats can be just what the doctor ordered to restore your energy, de-stress or discover the motivation to make big changes in your life.

Advertising and Marketing 860-507-6392 Ads@NAHRT.com

However you spend your September, I wish you a wonderful month and look forward to seeing you with the fall colors in October.

Customer Service Hotlines Phone: 860-507-6392 Fax: 860-357-6034 Website: www.NAHRT.com

Naturally yours,

© 2016 by Natural Awakenings. All rights reserved.

Although some parts of this publication may be reproduced and reprinted, we require that prior permission be obtained in writing.

Natural Awakenings is a free publication distributed locally and is supported by our advertisers. It is available in selected stores, health and education centers, healing centers, public libraries and wherever free publications are generally seen. Please call to find a location near you or if you would like copies placed at your business.

We do not necessarily endorse the views expressed in the articles and advertisements, nor are we responsible for the products and services advertised.

We welcome your ideas, articles and feedback.

Natural Awakenings is printed on recycled newsprint with soybased ink.

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Hartford County Edition

I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day. ~Vincent Van Gogh

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contents 10 fitbody

Natural Awakenings is your guide to a healthier, more balanced life. In each issue readers find cutting-edge information on natural health, nutrition, fitness, personal growth, green living, creative expression and the products and services that support a healthy lifestyle.

12 healingways

10 ZEN GOLF

6 newsbriefs

10

18 consciouseating

12

Master the Mind to Master the Game

by Aimee Hughes

20 greenliving 22 wisewords

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24 naturalpet

26 inspiration 26 calendar 29 classifieds

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30 resourceguide

advertising & submissions HOW TO ADVERTISE To advertise with Natural Awakenings please contact our sales team: Ads@NAHRT.com or 860-507-6392 Our Fax is 860-357-6034 Due dates for ads: the 12th of the month prior to publication

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS Submit articles, news items and ideas to Editor@NAHRT.com or call 860-986-6073 Due dates for editorial: the 5th of the month prior to publication

CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS Submit ALL Calendar Events on our website at www.NAHRT.com.

Due dates for the calendar: the 10th of the month prior to publication.

REGIONAL MARKETS Advertise your products or services in multiple markets! Natural Awakenings Publishing Corp. is a growing franchised family of locally owned magazines serving communities since 1994. To place your ad in other markets call 239-449-8309. For franchising opportunities call 239-530-1377 or visit NaturalAwakeningsMag.com

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12 MAKE TIME

FOR DOWNTIME

Chilling Out Revives Body and Soul

by Kristen Werblow and Ayelet Connell

14 REAL NEWS

THAT MATTERS

Independent Media Tell Us the Truth

by Linda Sechrist

17 KITCHEN MEDICINE

Modern Health

14 22

with Ancient Roots

18 LOCAVORE LINGO

What All the Food Labels Really Mean

by Judith Fertig

20 SOIL SISTERS

Female Farmers Come of Age

by Lisa Kivirist

22 LIZA HUBER ON

HEALTHY MEALS AND HAPPY KIDS

24

Start with Homemade, Organic Baby Food

by Gerry Strauss

24 HANDLE WILD THINGS WITH CARE

How to Help Injured Animals

by Sandra Murphy

natural awakenings

September 2016

5

newsbriefs Yoga Teacher Training in Middletown

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onnecticut Yoga Center of Middletown has two upcoming 200-hour Teacher Training sessions. One begins on September 18 and the other on September 21.

According to owner and training director, Erika Halford, “The training schedule is designed to fit your busy life and honor time with your family. Our curriculum exceeds Yoga Alliance standards and will fully prepare you for your future as a teacher, or a deeper student.”

Erika Halford

There are several reasons to consider enrolling in yoga teacher training.

Align and Refine: No matter how long someone has been practicing, there is always space to refine alignment. Through other’s experiences and the study of asana, students learn new ways to do things.

Camaraderie: Classmates become like a tribe, cultivating meaningful relationships.

Be Better at Everything: Students learn skills such as leading a group, speaking concisely and remaining grounded. These things can be useful in other jobs and relationships.

Yoga teacher training is a considerable commitment of time and money to be taken seriously, but the payoff is immeasurable.

Tuition is $2,300 when paid in full by 9/11 and $2,500 after. CT Yoga Center is located at 91 Beverly Heights in Middletown. Register today by calling Erika at 860-986-2017. Online registration will be open soon. For more information, visit CTYogaCenter.com or call 860-986-2017.

Medicare Accepted

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Hartford County Edition

www.NAHRT.com

New Chiropractor at ProNatural Physicians Group

D

r. Marla Colburn has joined the practice at ProNatural Physicians Group to provide chiropractic care.

Colburn, who sees Dr. Marla Colburn all patients regardless of age and specializes in maternal health and pediatrics, utilizes multiple types of safe and gentle techniques in order to treat conditions effectively.

She often utilizes several techniques in one visit. Each patient is treated as an individual and receives a personalized plan tailored to their specific needs and conditions.

Colburn provides a gentle yet effective way of addressing specific conditions, focusing not on force but appropriate technique. In addition, she continues to work with patients after their pain is alleviated to advise them on how they can take preventive care measures into their own hands.

Colburn received her doctorate from the University of Bridgeport and her Diplomate in Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics through the International Chiropractic Association, which is a three-year program focusing on pediatrics and maternal health.

Dr. Colburn accepts insurance and is accepting new patients. Call ProNatural Physicians Group at 860-829-0707 to schedule an appointment. Or visit ProNaturalPhysicians.com for more details. ProNatural Physicians is a oneof-its-kind integrative medical practice easily accessible in central Connecticut at 120 Webster Square Rd, Berlin. See ad on page 23.

ChildLight Yoga Teacher Training

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hildLight Yoga® holds a nationally recognized weekend teacher training at Imagine Studio. The training is designed to provide yoga teachers, educators, therapists and parents with the tools and knowledge needed to share the gifts of yoga with children of all ages.

Basic Training will be held September 24 and 25. ChildLight Yoga for Teens and Adults with Special Needs will be October 14 through 16. Babies and Toddler Training is November 11 to 13. Each training is $395.

Imagine Studio is a Creative Arts Studio located at 97 South St, West Hartford.

860-490-6299. ImagineStudioCT.com.

ChildLightYoga.com.

200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Begins September

B

loom Yoga Fitness Studios announces a 200-Hour Yoga Alliance Approved Teacher Training begins September 9 and has only space for a few more students remaining. This comprehensive training will deepen all aspects of each participant’s yoga practice, allowing each to discover and foster the teacher within.

The training will focus on Vinyasa Flow yoga, providing students with the ability to intuitively adapt sequences for all levels of practitioners along with learning yogic principles, asana, alignment and practical teaching skills. In addition, skillful, intelligent assists will be taught to safely support the growth of each student.

Bloom Yoga Fitness Studios, 92 N Summit St, Southington. BloomYogaFitness. com. 860-620-4530. See ad on page 2.

What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens. ~Ellen Glasgow

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natural awakenings

September 2016

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newsbriefs Gemstone Therapy Practitioner Releases New Book

Herbal Intensive Certification Announced

A

ccepting Destiny is the true account of Isabelle Morton’s life-and-death journey, and how she found her purpose in bringing forth a sophisticated natural healing modality called Gemstone Therapy.

Today, Morton is an author, speaker, and Master Gemstone Therapy Practitioner with a business. But in 2002, heart failure led to a near-death experience for Morton. She barely survived. It took a heart transplant to save her life.

The experience also reawakened her destiny: To bring information about the power of therapeutic gemstones to the world. Healing gemstones had been her passion for years, but after the heart transplant, she was finally courageous enough to fulfill her destiny. She Isabelle Morton started GEMFormulas, her business, in 2009, which distributes gemstone sphere jewelry, aura sprays infused with healing gemstone energies, and provides remote gemstone therapy sessions.

Morton’s latest book is meant to leave readers feeling inspired to accept their destinies and encouraged to meet life’s challenges with grace.

The information and inspiration in this book can bring new vitality to your own healing journey--and to your life. For more information on the book visit IsabelleMorton.com and for information about Gemstone Therapy, visit GemFormulas.com. See ad on page 13.

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Studio 3 Salon

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Exclusively Certified Organic Salon From our hair products to our cleaning products 8

Hartford County Edition

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T

he Institute Of Sustainable Nutrition (TIOSN) will offer a 10-month herbal intensive that will start participants on the road to becoming a family and community herbalist.

Starting September 17, classes will take place one Friday a month from 6-9 p.m. at the Holcomb Farm. Three-hour outdoor learning sessions will be held as the weather allows on one Saturday in the fall and one in the spring.

Class participants will build an apothecary along with the herbal knowledge to use it. They will study hands-on medicine making each month along with other traditions, including herb samples, wild plant foraging and gardening wisdom. The course will utilize herbalist Rosemary Gladstar’s 10-module study book. Successful completion of the course will earn participants a certification from both TIOSN and Rosemary Gladstar.

Alison Birks and Joan Palmer will instruct the class with possible guest appearances throughout the program.

The cost is $2,300. There will be a $300 deposit required to hold a spot, with the remainder due at the start of the program. These fees are nonrefundable.

To apply or for more information, visit TIOSN.com, email Info@TIOSN.com or call 860-764-9070. Holcomb Farm is located at 113 Simsbury Rd in West Granby. See ad on page XX.

Enhanced Center for Yoga in Collinsville

T

he Yoga Center of Collinsville (YCC) has leased new space at 10 Front Street in the center of Collinsville for their growing studio. In operation continuously since 1997, YCC has become a staple of the Farmington Valley yoga community and continues to grow as more people discover the health benefits that regular movement, breathing and meditation offer.

In early September, all classes and services will be relocated to a newly remodeled center located on the third floor of the building currently occupied by YCC.

“Our wonderful students and teachers gave me the confidence to create this new space. We love our current space but there are limits to what we can do there. The new space provides a more cohesive center for our expanded offerings,” says Shawn Cole, owner of YCC since 2010.

The move brings with it improvements that students have requested over the years. Some of these include larger yoga rooms with wood flooring and views of Sweetheart Mountain and the historic village of Collinsville. An additional room makes space for new services such as private yoga, therapeutic massage and Thai yoga massage. The room can also be used by small groups for meetings or meditation. Another room now supports new class types, including the new Barre class starting in September. The studio rooms are located in one, self-contained suite to reduce noise and interruptions during classes.

“We’re so happy to remain in this wonderful historic building in the center of Collinsville along the gorgeous Farmington River and rail trail. We invite you to join us with our new student special—30 days of unlimited classes for $50—and learn about everything we offer,” says Cole.

For more information, visit YogaCenterCollinsville.com or call 860-693-9642. Yoga Center of Collinsville is located at 10 Front St, Collinsville. See ad on page 3 and 21.

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched—they must be felt with the heart. ~Helen Keller

natural awakenings

September 2016

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fitbody

ZEN GOLF Master the Mind to Master the Game

by Aimee Hughes

“

I

remember the moment I had what I call my ‘golf game epiphany,’” recalls Steve Hughes, a passionate golfer from Richmond, Missouri. “I realized that my main obstacles were in my head, and from that day on, my golf game changed.”

In any athletic or fitness endeavor, the pursuit of excellence unfolds

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Hartford County Edition

an array of challenges. While golf presents some of the toughest hurdles to improvement, any links enthusiast can better their game by acquiring a champion’s mindset. Applying a few Zen techniques and disciplines adapted from the Buddhist tradition of mindful awareness—which teaches that the mind is everything—can

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work wonders.

Zen Golf master and performance psychologist Joe Parent, Ph.D., of Ojai, California, advises: “The key is finding a way to let the ‘thinking’ mind do all the preliminaries to physical performance—selecting a target, judging the lie, gauging weather influences, etc.—and then letting our ‘intuitive’ mind take over, enabling our body to make a swing that’s free from second-guessing ourselves.” He calls the optimal playing mentality, “Not too tight, not too loose.” It’s the sweet spot that allows us to perform via our best self. Some key techniques prepare us to find and reside in this just-right Goldilocks place of being not too hot and not too cold.

Developing mental fortitude takes us even further than we can imagine. Mastery is born from discipline, focused attention and a deep core desire to adopt habits and behaviors that will upgrade our mindset.

Author of Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game, Parent teaches his students to enter a state that he calls “trusting versus trying.” He teaches a “one stroke at a time” approach, which emphasizes awareness of being in the present moment, as many contemplative spiritual traditions do.

When the golfer is deeply engaged in the present moment with just the right level of emotional intensity, free of distractions and worries about future swings, they become integrated with what’s taking place on the course in the here and now to the point of total absorption.

In yoga, pranayama, or breathing techniques, are employed to promote relaxation in the mind and body. The Zen approach to golf uses breath work to allow body and mind to make the most fluid and powerful golf swing possible for the player.

“The single factor that sets apart the top performers in any athletic discipline from the rest of us is their state of mind,” says Craig Perkins, a yoga master and founder of the Yandara Yoga Institute, in Baja California, Mexico. “From all my years of yo-

gic study, there’s one teaching that always sticks with me: If we want to master our game, whether it’s golf, yoga or chess, we must first and foremost master our mind.” Practitioners maintain that, meditation can take our mental game to its optimal level and Perkins believes, “Meditation is the number one practice for cultivating self-trust.”

Positive visualization, which can be supported by meditation, is another method champion golfers leverage to improve their performance levels.

Parent teaches his students, “Establish a clear image in your mind’s eye, and the body will follow.” Repeating this technique with every shot helps the golfer cultivate the habit of positive visualization by seeing the results.

Physical prowess is of little consequence if our mental game is off.

Under the intense pressure of a golf match, execution suffers when performance anxiety isn’t kept under control. While many golfers have what it takes to succeed—the requisite native ability, experience, technique and talent—mental hang-ups can cause them to call it a day. Detrimental habits can undermine our self-confidence, as well as our score. The solution lies in pinpointing what’s behind them and applying pertinent Zen techniques to either gradually alleviate or winningly work with them.

Hughes, who makes his home overlooking the greens of Shirkey Golf Course, says, “It’s about getting out of your own way. When you’re at one with the game as it presents itself, you know your game will be much better than when your mind is racing off to work issues, family dramas and all the other usual life stuff. When I learned how to establish myself in this present moment awareness, not only did my golf game change for the better, so did the rest of my life.”

Aimee Hughes, a freelance writer in Kansas City, MO, is a doctor of naturopathy on the faculty of the Yandara Yoga Institute. Connect at ChezAimee@gmail.com.

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FREE WORKSHOP FOR PSYCHOTHERAPISTS AND ENERGY HEALERS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016, 6:00 pm

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE HFI’s Approach to Healing the Wounds of Childhood HFI presents FREE workshops on a sampling of topics explored in our Professional Training Program in Body-Centered Psychotherapy.

Call or email to reserve your free seat: (860) 236-6009 info@hartfordfamilyinstitute.com Hartford Family Institute • 17 South Highland Street • W. Hartford, CT 06119

natural awakenings

September 2016

11

healingways

surround ourselves with like-minded people and a community that we feel comfortable in. This can lead to making lifelong friends and connections, especially when the retreat aligns with our interests. For many of us, it may feel like we need to get away from our normal routines to be able to break habits and “jump start” our lives.

What type of retreat is right? The first place to start when choosing a retreat is to consider what topics interests us. Obviously our schedules and availabilities need to be taken into account.

Try not to restrict based on location; sometimes traveling away from home aids us getting out of our day-to-day routines.

Make Time for Downtime

Going on a retreat is the ultimate in self-care, whether it is to relax, decompress or to learn and grow.

by Kristen Werblow and Dr. Ayelet Connell-Giammatteo

As humans, we tend to live and function in self-perpetuating—and sometimes vicious—cycles. It can feel challenging to break habits. Retreats are usually for the purpose of inspiring and motivating us to live our best lives and providing us with the tools and information on how to do that.

It’s an opportunity to clean our slates.

We all need motivation in life; it can come in many different forms. Sometimes the greatest motivation is time away to reflect on our current lives. For some, taking the time for ourselves, away from home, in a community of like-minded people sharing common interests, may be the only way to really get inspired.

Retreats Revive Body and Soul

I

n this new-age world that we live in, retreats are widely available. Some are very interactive while others are more classroom-style or lecture-based retreats. We can choose to go primarily for relaxation and serenity or to further develop a skill. Some retreats are at an all-inclusive place and can run over multiple days; some are at a place that

we can venture in and out as it suits us.

But what most have in common is that they provide us with an opportunity to take a break from our everyday routines.

Going on a retreat is the ultimate in self-care, whether it is to relax, decompress or to learn and grow.

Generally, when we go on a retreat, we

Well done is better than well said. ~Benjamin Franklin

Kristen Werblow, MA, is a life coach and the founder of Balanced Living Now in Berlin. Dr. Ayelet ConnellGiammatteo, is a natural health expert and founder of Integrative Wellness & Physical Therapy in Bloomfield. Connect with them at SuperHappyYou.com.

See ads on page 6, 18 and 20.

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Hartford County Edition

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localexpert Five Essential Keys to Having it All

K

risten Werblow, life coach, and Dr. Ayelet Connell, natural Kristen Werblow, life health coach, and Dr. Ayelet expert, will Connell-Giammatteo present a retreat that focuses on the Five Essential Keys to Having it All in Life. Connell, owner of Integrative Wellness and Physical Therapy in Bloomfield, and Werblow, owner of Balanced Living Now life coaching, are collaborating for the first time to offer a retreat focused on the power of belief and intuition, and how to shift from a toxic lifestyle to one that offers health and vitality.

The retreat is designed to guide participants in finding clarity in life.

Participants learn how to identify the limiting beliefs that are holding them back and how to transform their diet and lifestyle to feel revitalized and energetic. The retreat is perfect for people that feel tired, exhausted or stuck in their life or career or wish for a greater sense of purpose. During the retreat, students will create a step-by-step action plan to achieve success in life.

The Five Essential Keys to Having it All in Liferetreat is on October 22 from 9am-5pm at Guest House Retreat & Conference Center in Chester. A gourmet lunch is included. To register visit SuperHappyYou.com.

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Thirty years ago, before many mergers and acquisitions, 50 corporations owned nearly all of American media.

Today’s infotainment and rhetoric, misrepresented as news, is leading millions to conclude that these colossal powers do not exist to objectively report the truth.

REAL NEWS THAT MATTERS

Mainstream Media’s True Colors

Independent Media Tell Us the Truth

by Linda Sechrist

I

n virtually all aspects of life, we are influenced consciously or subconsciously by mainstream media messages. Today, six media giants—Comcast, The Walt Disney Company, Twenty-First Century Fox, Time Warner, Viacom and DirecTV—control the vast majority of what we watch on TV and in movies,

listen to on the radio and read in books, newspapers and magazines. According to Ben Bagdikian, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of The New Media Monopoly, this handful of conglomerates form a cartel that wields enough influence to affect U.S. politics and define social values.

Although a recent Gallup Poll reflects Americans’ lack of trust in mainstream media’s reporting of news fully, fairly and accurately, fair reporting was what HarperCollins, a prominent publisher, expected upon the 2016 release of New York City holistic psychiatrist Dr. Kelly Brogan’s A Mind of Your Own: The Truth About Depression and How Women Can Heal Their Bodies to Reclaim Their Lives. They were shocked when the book was boycotted.

“The New York Times, Dr. Oz and Good Morning America refused to schedule author interviews or write book reviews. There wasn’t a whisper anywhere on mainstream media about my evidenced-based book on how women can holistically recover from depression without a single prescription. HarperCollins was baffled. I was their first credentialed author who spoke out against pharmaceuticals,” says Brogan.

So Brogan turned to independent

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outlets, including print, online and social media, her own website, newsletter lists and word-of-mouth. Her work soon broke through into three of the top bestselling book lists: USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and The New York Times. That example serves as clear proof of the importance and power of independent media to furnish the public helpful and in-depth information on wide-ranging topics that mainstream broadcast media typically only cover in 30- to 60-second blurbs or not at all.

Dr. Mark Hyman, chair of the Institute of Functional Medicine and director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, learned Brogan’s lesson early on. “Independent media have been crucial in disseminating my life’s work. Given the misinformation being spread by regular news and government channels about weight and health, we deserve to hear the truth about what’s in our food, toxins in our environment and how we can truly heal our bodies,” says Hyman, a nine-time bestselling author.

We in America are the best entertained and least informed society in the world. ~Neil Postman, media theorist and educator and hosted by Justine Willis Toms, has featured many of the world’s most respected wisdom keepers.

“Guests exclaim how refreshing it is to speak in-depth and at length.

Mainstream, commercially based media consistently present sound bites on how things are breaking down and not working, without opening thought to constructive visions for a future that benefits all life and the planet,” says Toms.

“Independent media have broken away from dependence on the moneyed interests holding tight reins on the news and information they publish. Because we’re listener-supported, public radio is

free to explore a wide range of timely and timeless topics,” he says.

Leaning away from one-sided views gives independent media space to expand people’s perspectives and positive expectations for the future. The seven-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Christian Science Monitor international news organization was established in Boston over a century ago to till human thought and thereby improve human lives via an uplifted journalistic standard. “Its quiet insistence for human rights and against tyranny; for generosity and against selfishness; for intelligence, charity, courage, integrity and most of all, for progress and hope—surely that

Independent Voices

Today’s independent media landscape shifts at warp speed. With 24/7 Internet access to websites, both groundbreaking journalism and grassroots perspectives appear in original articles and blogs. Outlets include independent online radio, TV shows, newspapers, filmmakers and “citizen journalists” armed with smart phones instantly transmitting images and updates via YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. From a growing recognition that such media play a vital role in shaping a more informed and engaged citizenry, more attention is again being paid to the need for real news that matters. Breaking the reign of junk food news generators is the mission of ProjectCensored.org, a media research program at California’s Sonoma State University.

Billions of dollars are spent annually on webinars, podcasts and e-books exploring health and healing, self-help, spiritual enlightenment and creativity, indicating a reading audience with a hunger for deeper wisdom. Since 1973, New Dimensions Radio, co-founded

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September 2016

15

has helped,” remarks John Yemma, current columnist and former editor.

“We work to uncover where progress is occurring, even though headlines proclaim the contrary. There are always two sides to a story,” says Susan Hackney, a senior director with the Monitor, which consistently resists the sensational in favor of the meaningful.

Magazines such as Natural Awakenings, Mother Jones, The Optimist and Yes! are likewise stirring up conversations on meaningful issues via larger perspectives with a focus on tangible solutions. They address such areas as the damaging health and environmental effects of genetically engineered food, championed by Jeffrey Smith, founder of the Institute for Responsible Technology.

“Europe could kick genetically modified ingredients (GMO) out of their food supply because their mainstream media covered the health dangers, while U.S. mainstream media ignored them and kept Americans in the dark.

Independent media in the U.S. enable democracy and consumer-inspired

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transformations of all kinds. Knowledge has organizing power,” advises Smith.

Success Stories

With Fran Korten at its helm, the adfree, subscription-supported, nonprofit Yes! is helping to reframe our biggest issues. “Mainstream media, dependent upon advertisers that would have us believe that we can buy happiness, celebrate stories of the rich and powerful, leaving everyone else feeling small and powerless. Independents can help resist such ways of seeing the world, help people see a different path to success and happiness and perceive themselves as change agents. Together, we share engaging stories of how people are carving out new ways of living that hold the hope of a world more in balance with the living Earth and where everyone’s inherent worth and dignity are recognized,” says Korten.

Allan Savory, founder of the Savory Institute and originator of a holistic land management systems approach to recover and preserve sustainable resources, underscores the need for change leaders and independent thinkers. “As we ponder who they might be, we realize it’s not those that discover new, counterintuitive insights, but those that spread the knowledge. The groundbreakers are pioneers like writers, poets, artists, speakers and social networkers. After 50 years of trying to understand the intense institutional resistance to and ridiculing of my work of managing complexity in a simple manner, holistic management is now quickly spreading globally. This is only due to social networking, independent writers and my TED talk that went viral,” observes Savory.

Laurie McCammon, change leader and author of Enough! How to Liberate Yourself and Remake the World with Just One Word, contracted with independent publisher Red Wheel Weiser to get her message out. “It’s been building awareness of forbidden knowledge—that we each have unrealized potential to affect reality by changing our thoughts. We can nurture a shift in global culture away from an existing way of life that has bred fear, lack and a belief in scarcity,”

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explains McCammon.

She suggests that to preview a new vision of, “I am enough and have enough,” and, “We are enough and have enough,” we should look to the fertile fringes; small communities of intentional and conscious people actively reinventing society. “Look at what independent media are reporting on; as well as their unprecedented use of new terms such as organic, wellness, sustainability, permaculture, transition town, sharing economy, social responsibility, biomimicry and the butterfly effect,” says McCammon.

The existing worldview, with all of its core assumptions and rules, aims to restrain awakening individual and collective consciousness. McCammon observes, “As long as the ‘old story’ was told repeatedly by mainstream media with conviction, it could command our attention and make us doubt our inner story. Trusting that the outer world had our own best interests in mind meant that there was no need to turn within.

This is changing. Thanks to farseeing, courageous and strong enough independent media, there’s been an overturning to a more wholesome story of mind-body-spirit, abundance, innovation, collaboration and cooperation.”

Mainstream and independent media coexist like two sides of a coin.

Mainstream media’s talking heads tell us how to act and think while independent media invite us to engage, educate and think for ourselves, dig deeper and take action. Without independent media, we would know little about the benefits of the ever-evolving grassroots movement of holistic, alternative, complementary, integrative and functional medicine. Nor would we know the truth about climate change; the health advantages of plant-based diets and community gardens; food deserts and nutrition-related illnesses; the prevalence of environmental toxins; signs of spiritual progress; alternative education; and the benefits of eco-villages to people and the planet.

Linda Sechrist is a senior staff writer for Natural Awakenings. Connect at ItsAllAboutWe.com.

Kitchen Medicine

T

Modern Health with Ancient Roots

here is so much change, color, flavor and medicine growing this time of year. From our local wild foods to the farms and gardens, we are rich in delicious medicine!

The salad greens, sautéing greens, asparagus, rhubarb, strawberries, wood sorrel, sheep sorrel, purselane, wild spinach, walking onions, parsley, cilantro, dill, mint, thyme, oregano, tarragon, savory, sage and of course the beloved garlic scapes, are all in full swing. By the time this publication is out there will be even more summer foods available.

When we look at the vitamins, minerals and higher order compounds in our local food we realize it truly is our best medicaine. Seasonal eating means eating what is available in our surrounding communities in order to take advantage of the plant medicine at its peak.

Summer is the time to build our health and energy back up to it’s full potential in order to work and play hard. The fall is the time to harvest and eat warm root vegetables and herbs that tend to strengthen the digestive and respiratory systems just in time to help prepare us for the winter’s onset of colds and flu. Winter comes and we crave heavier, fattier foods to get us through the winter cold and dark. Spring comes with those first bitter greens helping to stimulate the liver and digestion to ease us back into the warm abundance of summer. It’s a beautiful and well-orchestrated seasonal dance if we are paying attention.

Traditional cultures that rely on plant medicine as their primary source of healing understand this connection and use local food and herbs to make teas, tonics, brews, syrups and delicious remedies. These are wonderful and powerful recipes that have been handed down through generations to keep communities alive and healthy. These time-tested formulas that come to this country with first generation immigrants are frequently forgotten by the time the second generation has been melded into our western society.

There is however a resurgence in the U.S. to remember these old ways and to put a fresh spin on it. People are learning what we like to call “Kitchen Medicine,” the use of food and herbs to prevent or lessen what ails you. We use honey infused with herbs (wild or garden-raised) to make tea, broths with herbs, mushrooms and vegetables, elderberry elixir, spicy

garden herbs and peppers, all to create/recreate great tasting kitchen medicine.

One of the remedies we have fallen in love with this year is the switchel. A switchel is a drink that is both tart and sweet.

These drinks were given to those who needed more than water to stay hydrated and continue a day of hard physical work. See the recipe in the sidebar for the hibiscus mint switchel that we developed at TIOSN.

Making food and herbs our medicine is one of the most powerful things we can do to for our health care. Finding local sources for our food or learning to grow some of your own better assures peak flavor and potency.

Ask your elders if they remember any of these old remedies and write them down. These are fascinating and valuable pieces of our health history. The time has come to learn these remedies again to ensure that they are not lost to future generations.

For information on how you can learn about more kitchen medicine, foraging, culinary skills, sustainable gardening and seasonal nutrition, visit The Institute Of Sustainable Nutrition at TIOSN.com or call 860-764-9070. See ad on page 23.

Hibiscus Mint Switchel Recipe Makes one quart of hibiscus, mint tea.

About the Ingrediants Hibiscus is a beautiful flower that makes a deliciously refreshing ruby red tea. It is a cooling plant that is high in vitamin C, minerals and antioxidants. The flower is quite astringent and helps to tighten mucus membranes. In 2008, the American Heart Association published a report documenting that hibiscus tea lowers blood pressure in pre and mildly hypertensive adults.

Mint adds delicious flavor, minerals and antioxidants to the tea. It is known to help relieve cramping in the digestive system and to help with alertness.

Apple cider vinegar adds electrolytes, great for those who have been sweating due to work or play. It also helps to stimulate gastric juices, aiding in digestion.

Honey is antimicrobial and mineral rich. Local honey has the added benefit of being made from local plants, which helps folks cope with seasonal allergies.

How to Make It 1 heaping Tablespoon dried hibiscus flowers 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves 1 quart water Bring water to a boil. Pour the hot water over the hibiscus

and mint leaves, cover and steep for 1/2 hour.

Pour 1 cup of tea through a strainer into a glass and add 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 Tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon lime juice Stir to dissolve honey.

Refrigerate for several hours, serve cold.

Recipe provided by The Institute of Sustainable Nutrition.

TIOSN.com. See ad on page 23. natural awakenings

September 2016

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consciouseating

Locavore Lingo What All the Food Labels Really Mean

by Judith Fertig

L

ocally grown foods are more likely to have been bred for flavor and nutrition than durability and a long shelf life, says Emily Akins, outreach director for the Kansas City Food Circle, a cooperative that links residents with farmers that grow and raise organic and free-range food. An

added benefit is getting to know the farmer and being able to ask the questions—and receive the answers—that are important to us.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that local food sales totaled $12 billion in 2014, up from $5 billion in 2008. They continue to grow.

Organic or Certified Organic

Consumers want to know the difference between organics and certified organics.

Today’s number of U.S. certified organic operations has jumped nearly 300 percent since 2002 to more than 21,700.

Although a certified organic designation might be the preferred index of how foods are grown and raised, it is not always possible for certain foods in some climates. Sometimes there’s a tradeoff in buying organic foods in the carbon footprint of its transport to market.

According to the Sweetwater Organic Community Farm, in Tampa, Florida, “Organic refers to a specific method of growing and processing foods, and is defined as produce grown, packaged and stored without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or irradiation.”

To be considered certified organic under the Code of Federal Regulations 7 CFR Part 205, products must meet these standards: n No harmful chemicals have been applied to the land for at least three years. n Farmers and processors are inspected annually by a certifying agency. n Farmers and processors must keep detailed records of practices. n Farmers are required to maintain a written organic management plan.

Certified Humane

When we buy local cheese, poultry or meat at the farmers’ market, we sometimes see a certified humane notice. One such producer is Baetje Farms, outside St. Louis, Missouri. Their highly regarded goat cheeses offer traceability via a lot number, so buyers can know exactly which milking the cheese came from.

In factory farming, which often involves penning or caging animals that never go outdoors, “certified humane” means that this producer meets Humane Farm Animal Care standards: n Fed a nutritious diet without antibiotics or hormones. n Provided proper shelter with resting areas and sufficient space. n Animals have the ability to behave naturally.

Veronica Baetje says her farm’s goats receive organic mineral supplements and locally grown alfalfa hay in addition to

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pasture grass every day. She adds, “They are free to choose what they prefer to do, whether skip and run up a hill, lie under the shade of a tree, soak up some sunshine or play with their herd mates.”

Wild Food

At times, farmers’ markets will offer foraged foods from the wild or wild game. Sources are listed online at EatWild.com. “Few of us will go back to foraging in the wild, but we can learn to forage in our supermarkets, farmers’ markets and from local farmers to select the most nutritious and delicious foods available,” says founder Jo Robinson, in Vashon, Washington.

For example, Dave and Sue Whittlesey, at High Wire Ranch, in Hotchkiss, Colorado, raise bison (buffalo) and elk that they sell both through local stores and at the Aspen Saturday Market. The wild game is 100 percent pasture-fed, non-GMO (no genetically modified feed), gluten-free and not given hormones or any antibiotics unless the animal is sick.

Trusted Sources

The land, climate and growing season dictate the best natural farming practices for each area, often described along with their products on farm and farmers’ market websites.

Wisconsin’s Dane County Farmers’ Market, in Madison, provides detailed descriptions of farm products and agricultural practices so customers can make informed choices. Sometimes, the type of farm makes a difference. “We are intentionally human scale,” says Virginia Goeke, of Sylvan Meadows Farm, in Viroqua, Wisconsin.

“We choose to husband our land to promote harmony and synergy. We are creating a sustainable farm ecosystem where herbal meadows, prairies, heirloom gardens, orchards, woodlands, and rare breeds of livestock and wildlife flourish.”

Sometimes, we’d just like someone else to do the food curating for us. The Kansas City Food Circle requires member farmers to take a pledge to follow certain agricultural practices. “When you buy food from our members, you can rely on the co-op’s pledge that it’s been certified naturally grown or that the farmer has USDA Organic certification,” says Akins.

Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative,

the joint effort of 100 small-scale family farms providing fresh, organic, seasonal produce, in Leola, Pennsylvania, gives similar assurances.

The USDA reports that 160,000 farmers nationwide are currently selling to their local markets via farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture

organizations, restaurants, groceries and institutions, generating health, social, economic and environmental benefits for local communities. It keeps growing because we keep asking questions.

Judith Fertig blogs at AlfrescoFood AndLifestyle.blogspot.com.

Healthy Foods Lexicon Heritage breeds—Ancestral breeds of poultry and livestock that often take longer to reach market weight, but have more flavor.

Foraged—Native foods gathered from the wild, rather than cultivated. Examples: wild mushrooms, fiddlehead ferns, mulberries, native pecans, black walnuts and native persimmons.

Free range—Poultry raised outdoors where they are free to range over natural vegetation.

Grass-fed—Beef or milk cows fed on grass. The benefit is leaner, betterflavored meat and more omega-3s, plus fuller flavors in milk, butter and other dairy products.

Heirloom—Older, non-hybrid varieties of produce, including fruit trees, herbs and vegetables.

Local—Grown or raised within a three-hour driving radius of the consumer’s purchase site.

Pastured—Livestock raised on pastures instead of factory farms.

Traceability—Precise tracking by a farmer that informs the consumer of which chicken hatched a specific clutch of eggs, which farm grew a cantaloupe and which mill boiled down and bottled the sorghum syrup.

Wild-caught—Fish that live and are caught in open lakes, streams or oceans.

For more current agricultural, market and trade terms, visit LexiconOfSustainability.com.

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September 2016

19

greenliving

SOIL SISTERS

Female Farmers Come of Age

by Lisa Kivirist

M

ore women are becoming farmers, bringing with them a passion for producing organic and sustainably raised fare and transforming America’s food system.

The U.S. Census of Agriculture reports

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that their numbers rose by more than 20 percent between 2002 and 2012, to 288,264.

Historic Roots

“Women have played an integral

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role in farming for centuries, but in the last 100 years they’ve started to self-organize and be recognized for their important work,” says University of California garden historian Rose Hayden-Smith, Ph.D., author of Sowing the Seeds of Victory: American Gardening Programs of World War I and editor of the UC Food Observer. “During that war, the Women’s Land Army of America, a female-led initiative, recruited nearly 20,000 mostly middle-class urban and suburban women to enter the agricultural sector as wage laborers at farms, dairies and canneries, often in rural areas, where farmers urgently needed help while the male labor force was off fighting.”

Women also helped feed Americans during the Victory Garden era of World War II. “It’s also estimated that more than 40 percent of fruits and vegetables consumed on the American home front then were grown in school, home, community and workplace gardens,” says Hayden-Smith, possibly resulting in America’s highest period of produce consumption ever.

When the commercial organic industry launched in the 1990s, women organized to provide overlooked and undervalued perspectives. The wakeup call for Denise O’Brien, an organic vegetable farmer and owner of Rolling Hills Acres, near Atlantic, Iowa, came during the farm economic crisis of the preceding decade. Although still considered “just” farm wives, “It was the women on the farms that had foreseen where things were heading, because they often kept the accounting books, though nobody took their voices seriously,” O’Brien recalls.

This launched O’Brien’s agriculture activism: balancing farming, raising children and serving as a national advocate and spokeswoman for women in agriculture in an ecological and just food system. In 1997, she launched the Women, Food and Ag Network to collectively advocate for a stronger voice.

“Throughout history, women in agriculture have been relegated to providing assistance, rather than making decisions,” O’Brien explains. “It’s up to us as women to collaboratively support each other while challenging the system.”

Cultivating Change

For her 50th birthday, Paula Foreman gave her life a new chapter. She launched her midlife “second act” in 2007 with Encore Farm, a name that serves as a rallying mantra for her peers. “The name is a tribute declaring that fresh starts and new beginnings can happen at any age,” explains Foreman, now an urban farmer in St. Paul, Minnesota. Embodying this business moxie, she chose to specialize, producing one thing very well: organic dried beans.

Relinda Walker, of Walker Organic Farms, outside Savannah, Georgia, represents a cadre of “boomerang” farmers; women that return to the land to continue a family farm with a commitment to organics. Like many farm kids, after college, Walker left to pursue a corporate career in the city. Then the 9/11 terror attack shifted her priorities. “All roads led me to coming back home and growing food,” she says. Launched in 2005, Walker’s farm was one of southern Georgia’s first organic operations, yielding specialty varieties like rainbow carrots in vivid shades of purple, orange and red.

Future Femme Power

Young women in their 20s and 30s are adding energy, diversity, vibrancy and fresh outlooks to the female farming movement. Lindsey Morris Carpenter runs Grassroots Farm, in Monroe, Wisconsin, a diversified operation of certified organic vegetables and pastured livestock, in partnership with her mother, Gail Carpenter.

“A crucial key to farming happiness is being a good neighbor,” she shares. “I call around when I see livestock and pets outside of fences; maintain my fences; share my garlic and potato seed; and always invite neighbors to parties and events, even though they may not attend. Even if others’ personal lifestyle and farming philosophies are radical opposites, we still have our physical location and appreciation of nature in common, and that’s big.”

“The women farmer movement is just a toddler,” sums up O’Brien. “We’ve come a long way, but we’re not there yet, especially with representation on the national leadership platform.” It’s easy to support female growers at local farmers’ markets. Cultivating change can be rewarding—and tasty.

Lisa Kivirist is the author of the new book Soil Sisters: A Toolkit for Women Farmers and a senior fellow at the University of Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture.

Her family runs the energy-independent Inn Serendipity Farm and B&B, in southwestern Wisconsin.

Stand Up Paddle Yoga

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September 2016

21

wisewords

How do homemade organics and packaged organics differ?

Liza Huber and her four children

Liza Huber on Healthy Meals and Happy Kids Start with Homemade, Organic Baby Food

by Gerry Strauss

F

or many actresses, landing a role on the hit show Passions would be a career highlight. For Liza Huber, daughter of soap opera icon Susan Lucci, a successful acting career was one step en route to her calling as a mother, public speaker and entrepreneur. Her inspiration was to launch Sage Spoonfuls (SageSpoonfuls.com) to make it easier for parents to make homemade, organic food for their little ones. It’s all about enabling parents to provide a legacy of health, all wrapped up in love.

How did becoming a parent boost your relationship with organic foods and health?

I was raised on a diet of mostly fresh, homemade, food and knew it was something I wanted for my own children. At that point, I knew the basics; that it was healthier and tasted better than store-bought baby food. The more I learned, the more I became fascinated 22

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by how switching to an organic diet positively affects our health.

Why is it vital to introduce organic food during a youngster’s early development?

America’s food supply is loaded with more chemicals and GMOs [genetically modified organisms] than ever before. I believe, as many others do, that the rapid rise of food allergies in children is a direct result. Many chemical pesticides and artificial flavors and colors are known to contain carcinogens, suspected hormone disruptors and neurotoxins. It is widely believed that even small doses of these common pesticides can have lasting negative effects on a child’s health. I believe that teaching our kids about the importance of fresh, organic food and the potential dangers of a conventionally processed diet helps set the stage for a lifetime of healthy choices.

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Store-bought baby food, organic or not, is processed to have a long shelf life of up to two years. So much of the nutrient content is lost during processing that most manufacturers artificially add it back in, but aren’t obligated to inform consumers. The added nutrients are synthetic and aren’t absorbed by the body the same way as naturally occurring nutrients.

The taste, color and aroma of commercial baby food isn’t as appealing. By feeding your baby a steady tasty diet of fresh, homemade, organic baby food, you greatly reduce the risk they’ll grow into a picky eater. Plus, making your own baby food is three to five times less expensive than what is store-bought.

Homemade food has a far smaller impact on the environment compared with commercial manufacturing, transportation and packaging. By the time a baby turns 1, they will have eaten from nearly 700 jars or pouches of storebought baby food that generally end up in landfills, because little is recycled.

Which favorite foods do you love to make for your babies and why?

I focus on whole foods. Great first foods include bananas, apples, butternut squash, pears, avocados, peas and sweet potatoes. Once a baby has successfully tried a couple of these, start mixing them together. Banana and avocado, apple and butternut squash, and peas and sweet potato are good combos. They’re loaded with nutrients and antioxidants, easy to make and yummy. Avocados’ healthy fat is also essential to brain development.

What key lessons learned from your mother have you carried forward with your young family?

Two lessons really stick with me: “Stay open and leave room for life to surprise you,” and “You can have it all… just not all at the same time.” In my teens and 20s, I was a meticulous planner, disappointed if things didn’t go exactly as I

wanted. Amazing things happened after taking Mom’s advice to leave myself open to wonder.

Growing up, I saw my mom have an amazing career, yet also be a fantastic wife and mother. Her secret, and now mine, is to prioritize and focus on one thing at a time, whether it’s work, kids or my husband. This way, everything in your life gets 100 percent of your attention some of the time, rather than trying to do everything at the same time, which rarely works.

What’s the best gift a mother can give her child?

There’s nothing more important to a child’s overall health and well-being than being raised in a loving, warm environment where they feel safe, loved and important. My deep love for my children guides every decision I make for them. A mother’s intuition is a superpower.

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September 2016

23

The best outcome for injured animals is rescue, rehabilitation and return to the wild.

naturalpet

Other Unexpected Encounters

HANDLE WILD THINGS WITH CARE How to Help Injured Animals

by Sandra Murphy

W

hen encountering a bird or animal that appears to be abandoned, take only minimal steps to help. “People mean well but a lot of rescues we see, didn’t need help,” says Lacy Campbell, wildlife care center operations manager for the Audubon Society of Portland, Oregon. Make sure the animal is away from traffic or predators, and then call a local wildlife rehabilitator before taking further action, especially if the animal is injured.

Vulnerable Little Ones

Baby squirrels can fall out of the nest.

“Leave him at the base of the tree,” says Jennifer Keats Curtis, author of the children’s book Squirrel Rescue. “Mom will rebuild the nest before coming to get her baby. If it’s cold, put it in a box with a towel. Once squirrels have been treated as a pet, they can’t be released.”

Tiny, not-yet-feathered nestlings should be returned home; it’s a myth that human scent poses a problem. If the nest is out of reach or can’t be located, make one with a box and soft cloth. Put it in the tree, so the parents can resume feeding.

Leave the area so as not to frighten them.

“After young robins, scrub jays, crows and owls leave the nest, they typically spend up to a week on the ground before they can fly,” says Campbell. “At night, the parents will escort the fully feathered fledglings to safety beneath a bush.”

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In parks, ducks and geese may nest away from the water. Mama will lead her babies to the pond, even across busy streets. If it’s safe, stop the car to halt traffic, act as their crossing guard, and then resume driving.

A box turtle operates on innate GPS. “It lives in an area the size of a football field,” explains Curtis. “It will go onward, no matter how many times people try to redirect it. If injured by a car or lawn mower, the shell can be mended by a rehab center.”

Bunnies eat at dusk and dawn. Inbetween, the nest may look abandoned.

“Wild baby rabbits are difficult to keep alive if injured,” says Curtis. “At sundown, see if mom returns; if not, they need a wildlife rehab expert.”

A lone, young raccoon is either old enough to climb a tree by itself or the mother will carry it. If we feed a raccoon, it will become a beggar. Opossums are dramatic actors. When cornered, they hiss and fall over and play dead in a comalike state for up to four hours. Check back later. If a mother possum has been killed by a car, call a rehab official to check her pouch for potential babies.

“If you find a young deer fawn or moose calf, leave it. The mother comes back several times each day to nurse,” advises Amanda Nicholson, director of outreach for the Wildlife Center of Virginia, in Waynesboro. “Its coloring helps it remain undetected by predators.”

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“Don’t feed wild animals or leave out food or accessible comestible trash. Bobcats, wolves, bears and coyotes will avoid people unless food is involved,” cautions Jennifer Place, program associate for Born Free USA, a nonprofit in Washington, D.C. “Wild animals protect their space, food and young, so stay on marked trails when hiking and never turn your back on them.”

For unexpected meetings, stay calm.

“Make sure there’s an escape route for the animal,” says Place. “With foxes or coyotes, throw sticks or small rocks, but don’t hit the animal. Make yourself look large and yell.” With snakes, sidestep away slowly for more than six feet before walking in the other direction. Bears require a different response. “Speak in a low voice so the bear realizes you are not prey.

Never climb a tree,” says Place. “Bears know the terrain, can run faster than a horse and can climb trees, too. Sidestep away, remaining carefully upright, calm and unthreatening. If the bear moves toward you, keep talking until he moves away. Running kicks in its prey drive.”

Yellowstone Park regulations require visitors to stay 25 yards away from most wildlife and 100 yards away from bears and wolves. Selfie photos with animals can result in injury or death for humans and animals through carelessness; safety depends on good judgement, respect

and common sense.

Friends of wildlife know beforehand how to contact local rehabilitators if there’s an emergency, observe before taking action, and protect pets. “Always leash dogs when going into the yard at night and keep cats indoors,” says Place. “Peaceful co-existence allows for the safety of both people and animals, domestic and wild.”

Connect with freelance writer Sandra Murphy at StLouisFreelanceWriter@ mindspring.com.

A DV E RTORIA L

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The Hidden Deficiency Having the proper amount of iodine in our system at all times is critical to overall health, yet the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds that iodine deficiency is increasing drastically in light of an increasingly anemic national diet of unpronounceable additives and secret, unlabeled ingredients. This deficit now affects nearly three-quarters of the population.

Causes of Iodine Deficiency

Radiation

Almost everyone is routinely exposed to iodine-depleting radiation

Low-Sodium Diets

Overuse of zero-nutrient salt substitutes in foods leads to iodine depletion

Iodized Table Salt

Iodized salt may slowly lose its iodine content by exposure to air

Bromine

A toxic chemical found in baked goods overrides iodine's ability to aid thyroid

Iodine-Depleted Soil Poor farming techniques have led to declined levels of iodine in soil

A Growing Epidemic Symptoms range from extreme fatigue and weight gain to depression, carpal tunnel syndrome, high blood pressure, fibrocystic breasts and skin and hair problems. This lack of essential iodine can also cause infertility, joint pain, heart disease and stroke. Low iodine levels also have been associated with breast and thyroid cancers; and in children, intellectual disability, deafness, attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and impaired growth, according to studies by Boston University and the French National Academy of Medicine.

What to Do The easy solution is taking the right kind of iodine in the right dosage to rebalance thyroid function and restore health to the 25 natural awakenings September 2016 whole body.

inspiration

Signs That You’ve Found Your Calling

by Lissa Rankin

Y

ou may think you’ve identified your calling, questioned it, become disillusioned, left it and then come back to it in a different form. The following clues let you know you’re on the right track.

You realize you’ve been training for this since birth. Even the gritty things, the disappointments, regrets and screwups have all been preparation. Major life disruptions and failures were all just teaching essential lessons so that you can become who you’re called to be.

You sense ease. In the face of obstacles—such as doors of suspected opportunity that are shut tight or relentless struggles impeding a course you thought was right—it can be hard to tell if your commitment is just being tested or you’ve veered off course. Such hurdles can be part of the growth process cultivating your “inner hero” necessary for the journey. Trust the sense of movement towards ease, which likely will include supportive synchronicities.

Your health may improve. Cravings for unhealthy foods will lessen and you’ll feel more energetic. Old aches and pains might disappear; even chronic illness can fade when you’re focused on your life purpose.

You feel strangely peaceful, despite reasons to be anxious. Your soul longs to express what you’re on Earth to express, and when you finally rise into alignment with your calling, your soul does a happy dance. Even if everything else seems to be falling apart and others consider you crazy, you’ll be centered in peace, relieved that you finally know what you’re called to do.

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Hartford County Edition

The universe rolls out the red carpet. When called to do what is needed for the highest good of all beings, the universe bends over backwards to hand you whatever you need.

No request is too small. Unexpected money flows in and other resources appear just as you’re ready to give up.

You’ll know you’re on track, even if it is not quite clear what you’re on track to do.

People find you. Few can fulfill a calling alone. Most of us need a tribe to lift us up as we do brave, scary, world-changing things. When you’re aligned with your life purpose, the right people, including magicwielding mentors, will find you at the right time, if only you’re courageous enough to be vulnerable about what you’re being called to do.

Dr. Lissa Rankin, founder of the Whole Health Medicine Institute, is the author of Mind Over Medicine, The Fear Cure and The Anatomy of a Calling (TheAnatomyOfACalling.com).

www.NAHRT.com

calendar ofevents NOTE: All Calendar events must be received by the 10th of the month prior to publication and adhere to our guidelines. Submit ALL entries at www.NAHRT.com

markyourcalendar IMPROVE YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM AND AVOID DISEASE FIRST THURSDAY Each Month 6-7:30pm

Learn what causes poor health and how to change your lifestyle and avoid illnesses from the common cold to life threatening disease.

Free Alternative Health, Inc 625 New Park Ave, West Hartford Register: 413-569-1155

markyourcalendar FULL MOON SUP YOGA SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 7:30-9pm Take your practice out of the studio and off your mat...onto the water and under the moon. Some flow, many of the same poses, but a whole new experience. $55 Collinsville Canoe & Kayak 41 Bridge St, Collinsville Register: YogaCenterCollinsville.com or 860-693-9642

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 Satsang Meditation Literature Study – 6:157:45pm. $15 drop-in per class or 6-wk series $10 per class with preregistration. Vital Life Center, 100 W Main St, Plainville. 860-479-0466.

Raising Healthy Families Workshop – 6:307:30pm. Learn how healthy childhoods can prevent chronic diseases. Understand the dangerous effects of medications for children and adults. Examine nutrients vs. anti-nutrients to build health not illness. Free. TFC Health Foods, 230 Farmington Ave, Farmington. RSVP: 860-269-3228.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16

Making Tinctures for Self Care – 6-7pm. Learn hands on how to extract the medicinal properties from herbs to better your overall well being. Visit our website to register. Culteavo Tea Shop, 29 Mill St, Unionville. 860-470-5121.

5 Animal Frolics Qigong Part 1 – The Crane – 1-4pm. Open the gates of the spine and major meridians of the body with this 1800-year-old exercise.

Spirit Matters at Ravenwood, 199 W Center St, Manchester. $45. To register by 9/14: 860-742-5892.

markyourcalendar WEEKLY TAI CHI CLASSES

CHEN STYLE WITH STAN BAKER

TUESDAYS

5-6:30pm 645 Farmington Ave, Hartford

FRIDAYS

5-6:30pm 45 So. Main St #90, West Hartford $15 860-836-1068 AcupunctureStanBaker.com

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 Gluten Free Afternoon Tea – 3-4:30pm. Enjoy a leisurely afternoon of baked goods, sandwiches, soups, salads, pastries all GF paired with one our gourmet teas. $30. Culteavo Tea Shop, 29 Mill St, Unionville. 860-470-5121.

markyourcalendar REIKI CERTIFICATION CLASSES Instructor: Patricia Overton, B.A., M.A, Member: RMA, IARP REIKI I & II SEPTEMBER 17-18 9am-5pm • Tuition: $250

markyourcalendar 5 ANIMAL FROLICS QIGONG PARTS 1 & 2 - CRANE & BEAR WEDNESDAYS

Beginning September 7 11am-12:15pm Come play with these 2 complimentary exercises from ancient China. Open the gates of the spine and major meridians of the body, strengthen kidneys, bones and liver. $88 BreatheMoreYoga 68 Hartford Tpke, Tolland Register by 9/5: 860-742-5892

markyourcalendar YOGA TEACHER TRAINING Information Session THURSDAYS 4-6pm

Learn what it takes to teach yoga with a one on one meet and greet with studio owner and teacher training director, Erika Halford.

Free CT Yoga Center 91 Beverly Heights, Middletown RSVP: 860-986-2017 CTYogaCenter.com

ADVANCED REIKI OCTOBER 1

markyourcalendar HOLISTIC MOM’S NETWORK Zentangle Workshop SEPTEMBER 20 6:30-9pm

Join this monthly meeting for a relaxed, fun community of like-minded. This month, we learn the art of Zentangle from a certified Zentangle instructor. $3.50 / material fee Noah Webster Library 20 South Main St, West Hartford 585-260-7916

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 Emotions and Essential Oils Workshop – 6-7pm.

Find out how essential oils interact chemically in your body. Learn how smell is one of the fastest ways to affect mood naturally and cost-effectively.

Free. TFC Health Foods, 230 Farmington Ave, Farmington. RSVP, Christine: 917-488-5788.

9am-6pm • Tuition: $175

markyourcalendar

Learn this extraordinary non-invasive healing technique used in hundreds of hospitals across the U.S. May be used on self or others. Dr. Oz’s “favorite alternative treatment” (11-23-12.)

HYPNOSIS CERTIFICATION COURSE 100-hour Course with Lisa Zaccheo, MA, BCH, BCI OCTOBER 22-29

Oure Healing Garden • Hebron Register: 860-617-2140 OureGarden.com

markyourcalendar YOGA TEACHER TRAINING 200-Hour Yoga Alliance Certified SEPTEMBER 18 AND 21 2 Sessions Beginning

Deepen your yoga practice or prepare to teach others. Enjoy a flexible schedule, the camaraderie of group learning and learn essential skills for all aspects of life.

Open doors to a better future. Not just something different, something that makes a difference. “This course exceeded my expectations! Truly life changing.” – Margaret.

Early Bird: $2,289 by 8/15 Regular: $2,489 by 9/15 Mind Matters Hypnosis Center, LLC Branford Call to see if you qualify: 860-693-6448 Info: MindMattersHypnosis.com

$2,300/Full payment by 9/11 $2,500/After CT Yoga Center 91 Beverly Heights, Middletown Register: 860-986-2017 CTYogaCenter.com

Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you respond to it. ~Lou Holtz natural awakenings

September 2016

27

ongoingevents sunday Astrology with Pat Peabody – Afternoons by appointment. See website for details. $35. Center for Progressive Therapies, 192 Hartford Rd, Manchester. 860-989-1238.

Restorative Yoga - All Levels – 9:30-10:45am.

A luxurious class with passive postures done over props for a meditative practice allowing you to surrender layers of deeply held tension. Perfect for beginner and advanced yogis. $50 for 30 days, unlimited classes new students. Yoga Center of Collinsville, 10 Front St, Collinsville. 860-693-9642.

Create Financial Freedom with Healthy Products – 4-5pm. Learn how to build a business and create financial freedom for you by distributing natural Aloe Vera nutritional supplements to help others be healthy. Free. Bristol (call for address). RSVP: 860-372-8171.

Qigong - All Levels – 5:30-6:30pm. Deep breathing and flowing movements derived from ancient Chinese healing exercises for increased balance, flexibility, muscle and bone strength, immune function, decreased pain and stiffness. $17 drop-in. Yoga Center of Collinsville, 10 Front St, Collinsville.

860-693-9642.

monday Yoga on the Bridge – 7-8am. Start your day waking up and stretching with the summer sun on the lovely Flower Bridge. Bring mat and water. In studio for inclement weather. $20 drop in or class pass/ membership. Journey of Yoga, 730 Hopmeadow St, Simsbury. 860-680-1482.

Sanctuary Power Flow – 9-10am. Our signature, power vinyasa (flow) class in a heated room. Baptiste influenced, it’s strong and challenging, a meditation in motion. No pre-registration required. $18 drop-in. 163 Albany Tpke, Ste 400, Canton.

SanctuaryPowerYoga.com.

Complete Strength Class – 9:30-10:30am. Total Strength classes are the #1 priority to burn calories and build lean muscle to boost your metabolism for the long-term. $20. YES Fitness, 292 Spielman Hwy, Burlington. 860-673-4293.

Kundalini Yoga – 9:30-11am. Free. Windham Recovery Community Center, 713 Main St, Willimantic. 860-423-7088 or 860-423-9843 for more info.

motor equipment like tunnels and balance beams, dress up and art projects. Donation of canned good. Imagine Studio, 97 South St, West Hartford.

ImagineStudioCT.com.

Gentle + Restorative Yoga – 10:30-11:45am. Gently held postures for joint health and nurturing. Great for any experience level. $50 for 30 days, unlimited classes/new students. Yoga Center of Collinsville, 10 Front St, Collinsville. 860-693-9642.

Meditate Through the Madness – 6pm. Hosted by Torin Lee. Learn to manage the stress of life through mediation. $10. Oneida Holistic Health Center, 16 West Rd, Marlborough. To register: 860-467-6518.

Tong Ren Healing Class – 7-8pm. Dr. Ming Wu leads this class focusing on internally healing the body’s energy system by using the collective unconscious. Wu Healing Center, 45 S Main St, West Hartford. To register: 860-606-0578.

Vinyasa Yoga For Everyone – 7-8:15pm. Classic yoga postures in flowing sequence linked by breath. Learn breathing techniques that keep you invigorated and calm in your daily life. $50 for 30 days, unlimited classes/new students. Yoga Center of Collinsville, 10 Front St, Collinsville. 860-693-9642.

tuesday Chair Massage – Treat yourself to a relaxing break.

You decide how long. $1/minute. Oneida Holistic Health Center, 16 West Rd, Marlborough. Walk-ins welcome or call for an appointment: 860-467-6518.

Express Vinyasa Yoga – 6-7am. Touches on all the essentials of the core standing, balancing, and seated postures. Build strength, heat and focus moving through sun salutations linked with breath and clarity. Some yoga experience recommended. $50 for 30 days, unlimited classes/new students. Yoga Center of Collinsville, 10 Front St, Collinsville.

860-693-9642.

Tai Chi for Kids (Ages 6-12) – 4-4:45pm. Learning the Chinese art of Tai Chi is a great way for children to relax, have fun and strengthen body and mind.

Wu Healing Center, 45 S Main St, West Hartford.

To register: 860-606-0578.

Time Saver Supper Recipe Demo at ShopRite of West Hartford – 4-6pm. Tasty, extremely quick and nutritious meal on the table in a hurry. Sample one of our many awesome fresh meal kit box recipes with the dietitian. ShopRite of West Hartford, 46 Kane St. Register: 860-233-1713.

Sanctuary Open Flow – 9:30-10:30am. Our signature, power vinyasa (flow) class in a heated room. Baptiste influenced, it’s strong and challenging, a meditation in motion. No pre-registration required. $18 drop-in. Sanctuary Power Yoga, 23 Franklin St, Torrington. SanctuaryPowerYoga.com.

Open Play! For Ages 10 Months to 5 Years – 10-11:15am. Join open play in our creative arts studio. Non-instructional play will include gross

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Consortium of Unicorns – 6-7pm. This unique empowerment group will support you while you focus on reconnecting with yourself. Learn what true self worth, self-love looks and feels like. $20. The Beyond Center, 281 Hartford Tpke, Ste 5G, Vernon.

860-899-4700.

Tai Chi with Dr. Ming Wu – 6-7pm. Learn from a Tai Chi master who has studied the art of Tai Chi for more than 40 years. Wu Healing Center, 45 S Main St, West Hartford. To register: 860-606-0578.

Turbo Kick Boxing with Mary – 7:15-8:15pm.

Extreme aerobic workout is fun and will get you in shape. Great music. Tuesdays are for beginners and Thursdays are advanced classes. $5. Center for Progressive Therapies, 192 Hartford Rd, Manchester. 860-883-9664.

Meditation as a Way of Living with Tom Dest – 7:30-8:45pm. Promoting access to intention from deep inside and heart to heart communication - soft live music. Contemplation on our eternal nature and keys to peace. $15. Center for Progressive Therapies, 192 Hartford Rd, Manchester. 413-822-8486.

Yoga Basics with Jessica – 7:30-8:45pm. $15 dropin per class or 6-wk series beginning 10/4 $13.17 per class with preregistration. Vital Life Center, 100 W Main St, Plainville. 860-479-0466.

wednesday

Coffee with Coach – 7am. Early morning session facilitated by Torin Lee, Life Coach. Learn ways to handle stress, navigate change and make each day count. $10. Oneida Holistic Health Center, 16 West Rd, Marlborough. To register: 860-467-6518.

Gentle Yoga – 10:30-11:45am. Gently held postures for joint health and nurturing. $50 for 30 days, unlimited classes/new students. Yoga Center of Collinsville, 10 Front St, Collinsville. 860-693-9642.

Emei Wujigong Qigong Group Practice – 12-1pm.

Come experience a qigong form for rebalancing and strengthening body, mind and spirit. All abilities welcome. All Thursdays except the 1st of the month, 6:30-7:30pm. $5, 1st class free. Holistic Therapies Classroom, 15 S Elm St, Wallingford.

Info: EmeiQigongChan.com.

Metabolic ZT – 4:30-5:30pm. Our version of a cardio workout. Monitored by individual heart rate, burn calories, get your metabolism revving, and give you the cardiovascular benefits you are looking for. $20. YES Fitness, 292 Spielman Hwy, Burlington.

860-673-4293.

Sanctuary Foundations Flow – 7-8pm. A slower, gentler flow that still incorporates many of the poses from our signature power class. No pre-registration required. $18 drop-in. 23 Franklin St, Torrington.

SanctuaryPowerYoga.com.

thursday Complete Strength Class – 5:30-6:30am. Total Strength classes are the #1 priority to burn calories and build lean muscle to boost your metabolism for the long-term. $20. YES Fitness, 292 Spielman Hwy, Burlington. 860-673-4293.

Move and Groove - Conscious Conditioning with Sandy Byrne – 8:45-10am. Fusing the expertise of conditioning athletes with yogic consciousness, this fun, energetic class will jump-start your metabolism and get your body feeling strong and supple. $16 drop-in, class cards available. River Rock Yoga, 274 Silas Deane Hwy, Wethersfield. 860-757-3339.

Bump Day – 10am-6pm. 60-minute prenatal massage or reflexology by Colleen Dumas, LMT and certified in prenatal care. Refreshments, raffle. $40. Oneida Holistic Health Center, 16 West Rd, Marlborough. For an appointment: 860-467-6518.

Stroller Yoga – 10:30-11:30am. Gather with other parents for a power walk along Iron Horse Boulevard followed by gentle yoga poses on beautiful Drake Hill Flower Bridge. Children ages 2 and under. $20 drop in or class pass/membership.

Journey of Yoga, 730 Hopmeadow St, Simsbury.

860-680-1482.

Belly Dance Classes with Elisheva – 6-7pm. Learn the ancient art of belly dance in this beginner class.

All levels and abilities warmly welcomed. $17.

Spotlight Dance, Art & Wellness, 45 S Main St, Unionville. Register: 860-967-9424.

Blended Style Yoga Classes – 6-7:15pm. Our many styles meet you where you are. Gentle sound allows tuning and awakening improving life and self. Also every weekday. See our website. $5 or $8. Center for Progressive Therapies, 192 Hartford Rd, Manchester. 860-649-9600.

Tai Chi & Meditation – 6-7pm. Instruction is focused on empowering Chi and enhancing health and healing of the mind, body and spirit. Wu Healing Center, 45 S Main St, West Hartford. To register: 860-606-0578.

Qigong Group Healing and Silent Meditation – 6:30-8pm. 1st Thursday of the month. All levels of health addressed. No experience necessary. Fee: donation. Holistic Therapies Classroom, 15 South Elm St, Wallingford. Contact Pat for more info if this is 1st attendance: 203-500-6492.

saturday Harvest Market & CSA at ShopRite of West Hartford! – 7am-12pm. Support your CT farmers and save some money by becoming a member of our CSA. Pick up your produce baskets anytime during the week. ShopRite of West Hartford, 46 Kane St. Register: 860-233-1713.

Morning Express Vinyasa Yoga – 7:45-8:45am.

Touches on all the essentials of the core standing, balancing, and seated postures. Build strength, heat and focus moving through sun salutations linked with breath and clarity. $50 for 30 days unlimited classes (new students). Yoga Center of Collinsville, 10 Front St, Collinsville. 860-693-9642.

Tai Chi and Qi Gong – 8-9am. Dr. Ming Wu is a Tai Chi and Qi Gong Master who has dedicated his life to teaching others how to live healing and healthy lives. Wu Healing Center, 45 S Main St, West Hartford. To register: 860-606-0578.

~Maya Angelou

Cat Adoption Open House – 10am-4pm. Protectors of Animals. 144 Main St, East Hartford.

POAinc.org.

Natural Weight Loss Seminar – 10am-12pm.

Learn how tasty and vitamin-packed Aloe Vera drinks and supplements help you to lose and manage weight for a healthy, active life. Free. Bristol (call for address). RSVP: 860-372-8171.

Belly Dance – 10:45am-12pm. Connect spirit and body through a sensual movement workout. Fusing yoga-based warm ups, belly dance techniques, and a cool-down meditation. Beginners and drop-ins welcome. $50 for 30 days, unlimited classes/new students. Yoga Center of Collinsville, 10 Front St, Collinsville. 860-693-9642.

Vinyasa Yoga For Everyone – 7-8:15pm. Classic yoga postures in flowing sequence linked by breath.

Learn breathing techniques that keep you invigorated and calm in your daily life. $50 for 30 days, unlimited classes/new students. Yoga Center of Collinsville, 10 Front St, Collinsville. 860-693-9642.

Core Focused Yoga – 11-11:45am. Explore how your back and front bodies support each other to create length and strength. Will help relieve low back discomfort. $20. Yoga Born, 1735 Ellington Rd, South Windsor. 860-432-5678.

classifieds

Chair Massage – Treat yourself to a relaxing break.

You decide how long. $1 per minute. Oneida Holistic Health Center, 16 West Rd, Marlborough. Walk-ins welcome or call for an appointment: 860-467-6518.

in someone’s cloud.

Sanctuary Power Flow – 9-10am. Our signature, power vinyasa (flow) class in a heated room. Baptiste influenced, it’s strong and challenging, a meditation in motion. No pre-registration required. $18 drop-in. 163 Albany Tpke, Ste 400, Canton.

SanctuaryPowerYoga.com.

Sound Bath Session – 6:30-8:30pm. 3rd Thursday of the month. Enjoy a monthly group sound bath with Karen Fox, Sister of Sound. Let singing bowls, bells, drums, chimes bathe you in angelic healing vibrations. $20 advance, $25 at door. Oneida Holistic Health Center, 16 West Rd, Marlborough.

860-467-6518.

friday

Try to be a rainbow

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natural awakenings

September 2016

29

communityresourceguide Connecting you to the leaders in natural healthcare and green living in our community. Create your Community Resource Guide Listing online at www.NAHRT.com.

ACUPUNCTURE

FERTILITY / WOMEN’S HEALTH

ACUPUNCTURE OF GREATER HARTFORD

Stan Baker, L.Ac., Dipl.Ac. 645 Farmington Ave, Hartford 06105 860-836-1068 AcupunctureStanBaker.com

LOTUS CENTER, LLC

45 East Main St., Avon 860-987-3823 LotusCenter-LLC.com

INTEGRATIVE WELLNESS & PHYSICAL THERAPY

FLOATATION THERAPY

34 Jerome Ave., Suite 305 Bloomfield, 06002 860-519-1916 Info@IntegrativeWellnessAndPT.com

A HEALING TRAIL WELLNESS CENTER

Dr. Chung-Quiros provides acupuncture and Mei Zen Cosmetic Acupuncture to rejuvenate the face, creating a more youthful appearance while addressing overall health for the whole body. See ads on pages 6, 18 and 20.

EDUCATION

500 Burlington Rd., Harwinton 860-485-0405 Massage4CT.com Reduce stress andCall relieve pain in 860-519-1916 to schedule your FREE our private float rooms with private consultation changing area, shower and center! float at our wellness bath. Also offering extensive therapeutic and sports massage, hypnotherapy, reiki and more. See ad on page See ad on page 14.

HARTFORD FAMILY INSTITUTE

Center for Psychotherapy and Healing Arts 17 South Highland St., West Hartford, 06119 203-236-6009 HartfordFamilyInstitute.com

HAIR CARE STUDIO 3 SALON

350 Silas Deane Hwy., Wethersfield, 06109 860-518-4674 Studio3-Salon.com A full-service salon offering certified organic colors and perm processes that provide the ultimate coverage with no corrosive hair damage while improving the work environment by eliminating hazardous fumes. See ad on page 8.

A cutting edge Psycho-therapy & Training Center since 1969. Treatment includes in-depth body emotional work, energy healing, shamanic spiritual healing, illness & trauma work. Training also offered for psychotherapists & healers. See ad on page 11.

EDUCATION THE GRADUATE INSTITUTE (TGI)

Accredited, non-profit graduate school offering holistic programs in contemporary and emerging fields.

203-874-4252 Learn.edu TGI offers holistic master’s degrees and certificate programs for adult learners. Programs include Integrative Health and Healing, Ecotherapy and Cultural Sustainability, Writing and Oral Tradition, Organizational Leadership, Integrative Health Coaching and Patient Navigation, and more. See ad on page 9.

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Hartford County Edition

GEMSTONE THERAPY INSTITUTE

Your path to better health!

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