September 2015 - Queens, NY Edition

H E A L T H Y

FREE

L I V I N G

H E A L T H Y

feel feel good good • • live live simply simply • • laugh laugh more more

P L A N E T

FREE

YOGA AS MEDICINE Research Proves Health Benefits

VEGAN AGELESS EYE Health ACTIVIST LIVING for DOGS Alexandra Paul Walks Her Talk

How to Stay Forever Young

10 Foods to Keep Canine Vision Sharp

September 2015 | Queens, NY Edition | NaturalQueensNY.com natural awakenings

September 2015

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A DV E RTO RI A 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 and 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 whole body.

Early Bird By:

in the Queens, NY magazine for healthy living and a healthy planet.

natural awakenings

September 2015

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letterfrompublisher Since I started the journey of becoming a Natural

contact us Publisher Nicole Avellina Editor Martin Miron Contributing Writer Sheila Julson Design & Production Chelsea Rose Cover Selection LT Bironas Printer Trumbull Printing Multi-Market Advertising 239-449-8309 Franchise Sales 239-530-1377 Natural Awakenings of Queens, NY P.O. Box 294, Islip Terrace, NY 11752 Phone: 631-870-0334 Fax: 631-822-2206 NaturalQueensNY.com NaturalQueensNY@aol.com Follow us on: Facebook.com/NaturalAwakeningsQueens and Twitter @NaturalQueens1

©2015 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.

Awakenings publisher, I have been blessed to meet some amazing people, passionate practitioners, inspiring teachers, heart-stoppingly good speakers and dedicated life and health coaches, as well as connect with some powerful groups and like-minded folks sharing a purpose and a cause. So often we continue on the treadmill of life, meet a goal and carry on to the next, not stopping to celebrate or evaluate—much less bask in the glory of—reaching the goal we had set and just met! What kind of craziness is that?

I was going to say “I” am fortunate enough, but I think if you’re reading this magazine and looking to improve the quality of your life in whatever area then really, we are all fortunate enough to have resources and people to guide, propel and motivate us to achieve some fantastical goals. (Don’t you love that word?

What are some of your fantastical goals?) Hopefully, those same people will encourage us to celebrate the milestones of our goals—setting them, acting on them, achieving them and becoming the person we strive to be by living a purposeful, goal-driven life in whatever way is meaningful to us.

What’s on your calendar that you’re looking forward to this month/year? How about next year or 2017? That was the question asked by local speaker and author Mark LeBlanc when I attended a meeting where he was the featured speaker. He explained that we should all have something to look forward to that is important enough to write on the calendar.

My heart is full of gratitude for the richness of my life.

Love and light,

Nicole Avelina, Publisher

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.

SUBSCRIPTIONS To sign up for a copy of our monthly digital magazine, email

NaturalQueensNY@aol.com Natural Awakenings is printed on recycled newsprint with soybased ink.

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contents 6 newsbriefs 8 healthbriefs 10 globalbriefs

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12 ecotip 12 actionalert 13 readersnapshot 14 business spotlight

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16 healingways 22 consciouseating 26 wisewords 28 healthykids 29 calendar

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3 1 resourceguide

advertising & submissions HOW TO ADVERTISE To advertise with Natural Awakenings or request a media kit, please contact us at 631-870-0334 or email NaturalQueensNY@aol.com.

Deadline for ads: the 10th of the month.

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS Email articles, news items and ideas to: NaturalQueensNY@aol.com.

Deadline for editorial: the 10th of the month.

CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS Email Calendar Events to: NaturalQueensNY@aol.com.

Deadline for calendar: the 10th of the month.

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.

NaturalQueensNY.com

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.

15 EYE HEALTH FOR DOGS 10 Foods to Keep Canine Vision Sharp

by Audi Donamor

16 CHOOSE HAPPINESS

Four Tips to Flip the Joy Switch

by Linda Joy

18 AGELESS BEING

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Staying Vibrant in Mind, Body and Spirit

by Kathleen Barnes

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22 SURF TO TURF

U.S. Farmed Seafood That’s Safe and Sustainable

by Judith Fertig

24 YOGA ENTERS THE

MEDICAL MAINSTREAM

Research Proves its Health Benefits

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by Meredith Montgomery

26 ALEXANDRA PAUL

ON VEGAN ACTIVISM

Her Kind Lifestyle Honors All Living Things

by Gerry Strauss

27 THE ADVENTURE

OF COUCHSURFING

Stay with Locals and Make New Friends

27

by Lisa Rosinky

28 WHOLE CHILD SPORTS Free Play Earns the Winning Score

by Luis Fernando Llosa

natural awakenings

September 2015

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newsbriefs Build a Career in Energy Healing

T

he Barbara Brennan School of Healing (BBSH) offers a four-year program of intense study for the unfolding of personal growth and cutting-edge healing techniques. The primary goal of BBSH graduates is to heal themselves first and learn advanced healing skills to help heal other individuals and humanity.

The Brennan Healing Science Practitioners Association provides free monthly guided meditations, video lectures, webinars, talk shows, interviews, channeling and published papers on healing and other topics. The works are created by BBSH associates and presented on their website for viewing.

Brennan Healing Science practitioners live and work across the U.S. and around the world as healers, authors, attorneys, teachers, therapists and artists in medicine and other professions they feel are most able to benefit from their talents and healing skills. They care about humanity. Those curious about the world of energy healing and would like to understand the extent of the skills of the associates, may join an email list to receive educational material and news of events.

Reach Your Target Market

Secure your ad spot!

Contact us for ad rates:

631-870-0334

NaturalQueensNY@aol.com

For more information, visit BarbaraBrennan.com, BrennanProfessionalHealers.org and Brennan Healing Science-USA on Facebook.

Natural Awakenings Family of Franchises Keeps Growing

N

atural Awakenings Publishing Corp. (NAPC) recently welcomed new publishers that completed a training program in early August at the corporate headquarters, in Naples, Florida. NAPC staff spent several days with the entrepreneurs launching a new Natural (L-R:) New Natural Awakenings edition in Philadelphia and renewing pubAwakenings publishers lication of the existing Southeast Louisiana magazine. for Philadelphia, PA and

Founded by Chief Executive Officer Sharon BruckSoutheast Louisiana man with a single edition in Naples in 1994, Natural Awakenings has grown to become one of the largest free, local, healthy living lifestyle publications in the world, serving approximately 4 million readers in 95 cities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

“Living a conscious lifestyle that supports our well-being and the sustainability of planet Earth has become more important than ever,” says Bruckman. “Our dedicated family of publishers, supported by loyal advertisers, connects readers with the resources they need to create a healthier, happy world that works for all living things.”

For a list of locations where Natural Awakenings is publishing or to learn more about franchise opportunities, call 239-530-1377 or visit NaturalAwakeningsMag.com.

See ad, page 21.

News to share?

Submit information online at NaturalQueensNY.com Submittal deadline is the 10th of the month.

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Free Yoga at Genesis Tree of Life Yoga New Location

M

itchell G. Proffman, DC, and Genesis Tree of Life Yoga Studio has moved to more modern facilities at 102-06 Metropolitan Avenue (71st Avenue), in Forest Hills, New York. To celebrate, he is offering a free yoga class to anyone that visits the new location for the first time through November. Former and new patients may also receive one free examination and chiropractic adjustment

His new digs include fellow practitioners in naturopathy, acupuncture and massage therapy.

Proffman says, “I created Yogapractic for back pain. This is the combination of chiropractic adjustments with some yoga poses to help speed up and maintain the healing process. This is a perfect alliance for my next phase of helping people heal from many of life’s challenging health issues.”

Proffman is a holistic chiropractor specializing in the care and prevention of disease with the use of all natural protocols, including nutrition, exercise, chiropractic adjustments and yoga. He also specializes in sleep and insomnia and is the author of Sleep Soundly: Natural Ways of Overcoming Insomnia, available on Amazon or at DeepSleepNaturally.com.

Easily accessible by mass transit.

For appointments, call 718-2689080 or visit ChiroHands.com.

breathe natural awakenings

September 2015

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healthbriefs

Yoga Boosts Brain Gray Matter

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esearch from the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center at Duke University Medical Center has found that a regular hatha yoga practice increases gray matter within the brain, reversing the loss found among those with chronic pain. The researchers tested seven hatha yoga meditation practitioners and seven non-practitioners. Each of the subjects underwent tests for depression, anxiety, moods and cognition levels, along with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans.

The scientists found that the brains of the yoga meditation practitioners contained significantly greater gray matter by volume in key brain regions, including the frontal, temporal and occipital cortices, plus the cerebellum and the hippocampus, compared to the non-yoga subjects.

The yoga meditation practitioners also had more gray area in the prefrontal cortex regions that are involved in decision-making, reward/consequence, control and coordination.

Support Groups Keep Artery Patients Mobile

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esearch published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has determined that when peripheral artery disease patients engage in behavioral support groups that encourage exercise, they realize increased mobility.

The researchers from Northwestern University followed 194 patients for a year, testing subjects at six months and again at 12 months. The patients were divided into two groups; one attended weekly intervention group meetings, while the control group attended weekly lectures.

After six months, the researchers found that only 6.3 percent of those that attended the support group meetings experienced mobility loss, compared to 26.5 percent of those that didn’t attend the meetings.

After one year, the support group attendees again showed positive results.

The control group had 18.5 percent loss in mobility, while only 5.2 percent of the support group attendees did.

Smog Increases Stroke Risk

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esearch from Germany has found that the high particulate numbers in smoggy areas increase the risk of stroke. The Heinz Nixdorf Recall study followed more than 4,400 people between the ages of 45 and 74 years old.

The researchers began the study in 2000. They compared stroke and heart attacks to air pollution particulate matter (PM) levels of PM10 (particle sizes of 10 micrometers or less) and PM2.5 (2.5 micrometers or less).

The study found that stroke incidence was more than two-and-a-half times higher among people with long-term exposure to PM10, while stroke incidence increased by more than three times among people with long-term exposure to PM2.5 smog.

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Chamomile Tea Helps Us Live Longer

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n a study of 1,677 Mexican-American men and women over the age of 65 from the Southwestern U.S., researchers have found that drinking chamomile tea decreases the risk of earlier mortality by an average of 29 percent.

Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch followed the study population for seven years.

Among those tested, 14 percent drank chamomile tea regularly. These were primarily women, and those women that drank chamomile tea experienced a 33 percent reduced mortality during the study period. The small group of men that drank the chamomile tea regularly did not register a significant difference in mortality.

Chamomile also has a long history of use in folk medicine and is primarily used to settle digestion and calm the mind. It is a leading natural herbal tea in many countries and contains no caffeine.

While various species may be used, chamomile tea is traditionally made by infusing the flowers of either German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) or Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) into hot water. In Spanish-speaking regions, chamomile tea is often referred to as manzanilla tea—consumed in Mexico and other Spanish cultures for centuries.

Daily Exercise Adds Five Years to Life

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esearch published this year in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has determined that just 30 minutes of exercise, six days a week, can result in a reduced risk of early death by 40 percent, regardless of the intensity of the exercise.

The researchers followed nearly 15,000 men born between 1923 and 1932.

The men’s exercise and sedentary levels were measured along with the number of deaths that occurred during two 12-year study periods. In the second 12-year period, the researchers followed almost 6,000 of the surviving men. The researchers compared those men that were sedentary with those that exercised either moderately or intensely and found that moderate to intense exercise increased their average lifespan by five years. This improvement was comparable to the difference between smoking and non-smoking, according to the researchers.

The data comes from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, in Oslo. The scientists’ finding confirms that public health practices for elderly men should include efforts to increase physical activity, along with efforts to reduce smoking.

Muscle-Building Supplements Linked to Testicular Cancer

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ew research published in the British Journal of Cancer has found that taking muscle-building supplements can increase the risk of testicular cancer by up to 65 percent. The study monitored 356 cancer patients and 513 control subjects, all from Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The case-control study was conducted by researchers from the Yale School of Public Health and the Harvard School of Public Health, and tested for testicular germ cell cancer.

About 90 percent of testicular cancers originate from germ cells.

The researchers found the subjects that used multiple musclebuilding supplements and those that began using the supplements when they were younger had the greatest risk of developing cancer.

Plants Absorb Second-Hand Smoke, Too

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onsmokers aren’t the only ones to suffer from passive smoking. New research from the Technical University of Braunschweig, in Germany, has determined that plants can also absorb nicotine from cigarette smoke, soil and pesticide sprays.

The data showed that many plants yield higher quantities of nicotine residues from periods when pesticides used contained nicotine. Plants that were mulched with tobacco leaves also absorbed nicotine into their leaves. “Tremendously elevated nicotine levels were detected after fumigation with cigarette smoke,” says Dirk Selmar, lead author of the study.

GREEN TEA, APPLES AND COCOA PROTECT AGAINST CANCER AND ARTERIAL PLAQUE

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esearch published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research has found a new mechanism that may provide the key to why some foods are particularly healthy. The researchers found that epigallocatechin gallates, a class of polyphenols contained in green tea, apples, cocoa and other herbs and foods, blocks vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF, which is implicated in the buildup of plaque in the arteries, as well as cancer growth. Blocking VEGF helps prevent angiogenesis—when tumors form new blood vessels that help them grow.

The researchers, from the Institute of Food Research, in Norwich, in the United Kingdom, tested the polyphenols, as well as human cells, in the laboratory. natural naturalawakenings awakenings

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globalbriefs News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefits all.

Breeze Please

A Third of U.S. Power May Be Wind by 2050 According to a new study by the U.S. Energy Department (Tinyurl.com/EnergyDepartmentWindReport), wind power could provide more than a third of the nation’s electricity in a few decades, while posting a net savings in energy costs. Undersecretary for Technology and Energy Lynn Orr, Ph.D., states, “With continued commitment, wind can be the cheapest, cleanest option in all 50 states by 2050.”

Wind power has tripled since 2000, and now supplies nearly 5 percent of the country’s electric power. The report says that it could dramatically reduce air pollution and go a long way toward meeting the country’s goals of slowing climate change.

Meanwhile, Spanish engineers have invented the Vortex Bladeless wind turbine, a hollow straw that sticks up 40 feet from the ground and vibrates when the wind passes through it. Instead of using a propeller, the Vortex takes advantage of an aerodynamic effect called vorticity. The result is a turbine that’s 50 percent less expensive than a bladed model and is nearly silent. It’s not as efficient as conventional turbines, but more of them can be placed in the same amount of space, for a net gain of 40 percent in efficiency. Plus, with no gears or moving parts, maintenance is much easier and they are safer for bats and birds.

Source: Wired

Bottomless Well

De-Salting Water Could Help Drought-Stricken Areas A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Jain Irrigation Systems has devised a method of turning brackish water into drinking water using renewable energy. This solar-powered machine is able to pull salt out of water and disinfect it with ultraviolet rays, making it suitable for both irrigation and drinking.

Electrodialysis works by passing a stream of water between two electrodes with opposite charges. Because the salt dissolved in water consists of positive and negative ions, the electrodes pull the ions out of the water, leaving fresher water at the center of the flow. A series of membranes separate the freshwater stream from increasingly salty ones.

The photovoltaic-powered electrodialysis reversal system recently won the top $140,000 Desal Prize from the U.S. Department of Interior. “This technology has the potential to bring agriculture to vast barren lands using brackish water,” says Richard Restuccia, Jain’s vice president of landscape solutions. The prize was developed to supply catalytic funding to capture and support innovative ideas and new technologies that could have a significant impact on resolving global water demand.

Among 13 desalination projects under consideration along the California coast, the Carlsbad Desalination Project will be the largest in the Western Hemisphere once it is completed in the fall.

Source: EcoWatch.com 10

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Embracing Invasives Rethinking the Balance of Nature

Environmental journalist Fred Pearce, author of the new book, The New Wild: Why Invasive Species Will Be Nature’s Salvation, traveled across six continents and ecosystems from remote Pacific islands to the United Kingdom and the Great Lakes to reveal some outdated scientific ideas about invasive species and the balance of nature.

Pearce argues that mainstream environmentalists are correct that we need a rewilding of the Earth, but they are wrong if they believe it can be achieved by reengineering ecosystems. He thinks that humans have changed the planet too much, and nature never goes backward. But a growing group of scientists is taking a fresh look at how species interact in the wild. According to these new ecologists, we should applaud the dynamism of alien species and the new ecosystems they create.

In an era of climate change and widespread ecological damage, it’s crucial that we find ways to help nature regenerate. Embracing this new ecology, Pearce proposes, is our best chance, maintaining, “To be an environmentalist in the 21st century means celebrating nature’s wildness and capacity for change.”

Source: Earthtalk.org

You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old. ~George Burns

Supreme Hope

Online Summer of Peace Program Continues

Designed by The Shift Network as “the largest virtual peace event on the planet,” a free, online threemonth global movement program, The Summer of Peace, continues through September 21. It promises to inspire participants by teaching ways to heal conflicts within oneself, in relationships and in the world using peace, instead of conflict, as the new baseline.

Featured thought leaders include Deepak Chopra, Ervin Laszlo, Grandmother Agnes Pilgrim, Karen Armstrong, Lisa Garr and Congressman Tim Ryan, plus messages from the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Jane Goodall. Programs include The Subtle Activism Summit: Inner Dimensions of Peace Building from September 8 to 10, and 11 Ways to Transform Your World from September 11 to 21, concluding on the United Nations International Day of Peace.

“You’ll discover more personal ease, joy and well-being with techniques to connect more profoundly to the deep peace within yourself and the latest in the science of compassion,” says Garr, host of The Aware Show and Being Aware and bestselling author of Becoming Aware. She also attests that participants will find the best practices for citizen engagement and conscious activism to help accelerate the shift to a world of peace.

Secular Socialization Today’s Young Adults Are the Least Religious Ever

Researchers led by San Diego State University Psychology Professor Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D., found that millennials are the least religious generation of the last six decades, and possibly in the nation’s history. They analyzed data from 11.2 million respondents from four nationally representative surveys of U.S. adolescents ages 13 to 18 taken between 1966 and 2014.

Results published in the journal PLOS One conclude that recent adolescents are less likely to say that religion is important in their lives, report less approval of religious organizations and find themselves feeling less spiritual and spending less time praying or meditating. “Unlike previous studies, ours is able to show that millennials’ lower religious involvement is due to cultural change, not to their being young and unsettled,” says Twenge, who is also the author of Generation Me. “Millennial adolescents are less religious than Boomers and GenXers were at the same ages,” she notes. “We also looked at younger ages than the previous studies. More of today’s adolescents are abandoning religion before they reach adulthood, with an increasing number not raised with religion at all.”

Source: San Diego State University

Fossil Free

China Tests Hydrogen-Powered Mass Transit China has started testing the world’s first hydrogen-powered tram. Although hydrogen fuel cells have been around for a while and are currently being used and tested in a variety of vehicles, including buses, the country is the first to master the technology for trams.

Hydrogen is extremely abundant and can be extracted from a variety of sources, both renewable and non-renewable. Hydrogenfuel cell vehicles produce zero emissions, only water. One tank lasts for about 60 miles and takes three minutes to refuel.

See the vehicle in action at Tinyurl.com/ChineseHydrogenTrain.

c

For more information or to register, visit SummerOfPeace.net. natural awakenings

September 2015

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ecotip

actionalert Happy Eco-Birthday!

DARK Act

Parties that Celebrate Life and the Planet

Protect Truth and Transparency in GMO Food Labeling

The most memorable birthday parties make us feel good, and going green makes them feel even better.

Youngsters Location matters. Consider a park or beach as a setting to promote exercise and time outdoors. Children’s museums and wildlife centers frequently host kids’ birthday parties. Other “experience parties”, as suggested at Tinyurl.com/GreenChildPartyTips, include pottery making, tie-dyeing organic T-shirts or touring a local fire station.

Forgo traditional trappings. Rather than using paper materials, consider decorating an old sheet as a festive tablecloth, utilize recycled computer or other repurposed paper to print custom placemats, and personalize cloth napkins found at estate sales or made from old clothes with guest names written with fabric pens for a unique and reusable party favor. Find details on these and other tips at Tinyurl. com/PBS-Green-Party-Ideas.

Sustainable gifts. PlanToys makes its toys from rubberwood, a sustainable byproduct of latex harvesting, and non-formaldehyde glues. For preteens, gift a subscription to the National Wildlife Federation’s Ranger Rick magazine or a birdhouse or bird feeder.

Make a maestro. Presenting a gift card for introductory music lessons can launch a young musician. A recent study by the National Association for Music Education notes that early exposure to music develops language, reading, math and memorization skills; improves hand-eye coordination; builds confidence and a sense of achievement; and promotes social interaction and teamwork when performing with others. Or, give tickets to introduce a child to classical, pops or jazz concert-going.

Adults Healthy drinks and eats. Serve or bring organic, locally made beer and wine and pure fruit juices. Have the party catered by a health food restaurant or store, or order organic takeout.

Do-good gifts. Antique and consignment shops are filled with items rich in culture and history. Museums, art centers and specialty gift shops offer fair trade creations handmade by overseas workers that all purchases assist.

Family ties. Work beforehand with a partner or family member of the birthday celebrant to showcase family photos at the party and spark sharing of nostalgic stories among guests.

NA Fun Fact: Natural Awakenings is published in 100 U.S.markets.

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On July 23, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of H.R. 1599, known by supporters as the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act and dubbed the “Deny Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act” by opponents.

The bill removes the requirement that foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMO) be labeled as such, preventing consumers from the right to know whether or not the foods they purchase contain potentially harmful ingredients. If it becomes law, H.R. 1599 will preempt state labeling requirements, including the pioneering Vermont GMO labeling law scheduled to take effect next year.

First, a companion bill will have to clear the Senate. No date is set yet for this and the time to let our senators know that we want to protect truth and transparency on food labels and encourage them to oppose the DARK Act starts now.

Make the people’s voice heard by contacting local state senators, call 202-224-3121 and visit Tinyurl.com/ ContactYourSenatorToday.

To advertise with us call: 631-870-0334

readersnapshot

Who’s a Natural Awakenings Reader?

Meet Brittany Blocker Life’s mission: To inspire people to live passionately, fully and freely.

Work: I’m a life coach who helps people get the love, success and life they desire and dream of.

Proudest achievements: My proudest achievement was when I made the decision be a life coach.

Favorite websites: My favorite websites are Naturallycurly.com and YouTube.com (I’ve learned so much on YouTube).

Most frequented healthy food restaurant: I just started eating at Red Pipe. They have great healthy options and a great place to do my work.

Favorite quote: “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” ~ Christopher Robin, in Winnie the Pooh.

How you invest in your community: I like to attend community events and support other local businesses.

Local causes supported: I like to attend fundraisers for YAI. They help adults with developmental disabilities.

What you are doing to be the change you want to see in the world: I am very thankful that my job helps me be the change I want to see. I believe in lifting people up so they can reach their dreams.

Favorite thing about Natural Awakenings: I love getting ideas on how to eat healthier foods.

Expectations for the future: My expectation for the future is that more people will be health conscious.

natural awakenings

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businessspotlight

Power Brain Education Maximizes Concentration and Memory

by Sheila Julson

P

ower Brain Education is a unique program that helps children and adults increase memory and focus. Manager and instructor Alina Pikula explains that often there are underlying issues that interrupt a child’s ability to focus, so the program consists of exercises such as forming mental pictures to bring the mind and body together to help focus.

“As I talk, the children close their eyes and draw pictures in their brains,” says Pikula. “This helps kids at school, because while their teacher is talking, kids only retain about 10 percent of what was said. But if they draw pictures it stays with them, and they can retrieve the picture.”

Pikula affirms that children often know the answers to a test, but anxiety can interrupt the ability to pull information from their brains. She teaches the children simple breathing techniques and finger exercises to calm themselves, thus improving focus.

While cognitive aspects are addressed, Pikula notes that social skills are just as important. Power Brain’s programs teach children to stop and think how their actions or words may affect others. Kids are also taught that it’s okay

to release tension through screaming or crying. “When there’s a bag of garbage in the kitchen, it smells bad. After the garbage is taken out, the smell will be gone,” says Pikula. “People also have to clean up their minds and let go.”

Power Brain Education has programs for ages 4 through 16 and specially designed teen programs. Summer camps and day camps are available, as well as weekly, two-hour classes and leadership programs.

Many adults that participate in the programs are parents seeking stress release and relaxation, says Pikula.

When parents of Power Brain children also participate in classes, the child makes faster progress, because those parents understand the process and can better help the child. They learn not to punish children by means such

as a time out, because that allows the child to stew, feel sorry for themselves and makes them angrier.

When explaining something to a child, Pikula recommends that parents make eye contact, touch the child’s shoulder or arm and ask if they understand. “It’s all simple and everything is there, we just forgot how to focus. This program returns us to simplicity,” she says. Pikula observes how senior citizens have found success using similar techniques. “So often, emotions take over and interrupt our focus,” she explains. “When people are emotional, they don’t remember things.”

Pikula cites the common “Where did I park my car?” dilemma as an example, “People head into a store excited, thinking about what they’re going to buy instead of taking time to take note of what’s around their car or see that they entered through the men’s department door and the car is parked nearby. Memory is often not the problem; it’s lack of focus.”

Power Brain Education is located at 43-01 Bell Blvd., 2nd fl., Bayside. For more information, call 718-224-1500 or visit PowerBrainEducation.com. See ad, page 17.

Boost Your Mood and Energy Levels!

One Serving Has the Equivalent Antioxidants of Four Servings of Fruits and Vegetables.

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naturalpet

EYE HEALTH FOR DOGS 10 Foods to Keep Canine Vision Sharp

by Audi Donamor

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ey colorful foods, packed with nutrients, protect against eye problems ranging from progressive retinal atrophy and uveitis to cataracts and glaucoma.

Here are 10 foods that are highly regarded in helping prevent and defend against vision problems. Their eye-worthy nutrients include anthocyanins, beta-carotene, carotenoids, glutathione, lycopene, omega-3 essential fatty acids, phytonutrients—and the special partnership of lutein and zeaxanthin, sometimes referred to as “sunscreen for the eyes”.

An easy way to serve these powerpacked foods is as a mash. Simply combine a few cups of fruits and vegetables in a food processor with a half-cup of filtered water and blend as a raw pet meal topper. For a cooked topper, chop the fruits and vegetables and place in a medium sized sauce pan with the filtered water and a couple tablespoons of first-pressed olive oil. Simmer gently, cool and serve. Maybe top it all off with a fish or egg.

Blueberries contain two eyehealthy carotenoids: lutein and zeaxanthin. They also deliver anthocyanins, eye-nourishing phytonutrients known to support night vision, according to a study published in the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology. University of Oklahoma research suggests that flavonoids like the rutin, resveratrol and quercetin in blueberries may help prevent retinal atrophy. Their selenium and

Cold-water fish such as salmon, tuna, cod, haddock and sardines are rich in omega-3s, especially EPA and DHA, which are widely known to be important to cellular health. DHA makes up 30 percent of the fatty acids that comprise the retina. The particularly high levels of omega-3s in sardines add further protection to retinal health, according to researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Eggs are rich in cysteine and sulphur, two components of glutathione. Cataract Health News reports that sulphur-containing compounds have been found to protect eyes from cataract formation. Egg yolks contain lutein, and a University of Massachusetts study has found that eating an egg a day raised levels of lutein and zeaxanthin in the blood; at the same time, blood serum lipids and lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations remained stable.

Garlic. Researchers at the University of Oregon suggest that sulphur-rich garlic is important for the production of glutathione, a protein that acts as an antioxidant for the eye’s lens, and can be instrumental in the prevention of some visual problems.

Kale is an excellent source of lutein and zeaxanthin. The American Optometric Association says these special antioxidants act like “internal sunglasses.” Add beta-carotene to the mix and kale serves as a preferred foil to oxidative stress.

Pumpkin’s orange color is a sure sign that it’s packed with carotenoids like beta-carotene, which help neutralize free radicals.

zinc components also support vision, according to a study from the National Eye Institute. Eating blueberries has even been associated with the reduction of eye fatigue, according to The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.

Broccoli’s anti-cancer benefits are well known, but it’s also recognized as one of the best vegetables for eye health. A good source of lutein and zeaxanthin, it’s also packed with beta-carotene. Don’t leave the leaves behind, because they contain even more beta-carotene than the stems and florets. Researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have found that broccoli and broccoli sprouts protect the retina from free radical damage, which may be due to a compound called sulphoraphane that boosts the body’s defense against free radicals.

Carrots come in 100 varieties, from deep purple and white to brilliant orange. Each is a storehouse of nutrient power, providing vitamin A, betacarotene, vitamins C, D, E and K, and riboflavin, niacin, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, iron, magnesium, manganese, sulphur, copper and iodine. The adage that Make vision carrots are good for the eyes is and diet part of true. They even contain lycopene and lutein, phytonutrients annual exams that protect from UVB radiation by a local vet. and free radical damage.

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Its lutein and zeaxanthin generally promote eye health and further protect against retinal degeneration.

Even pumpkin seeds carry several benefits, including omega-3s, zinc and phytosterols to enhance a dog’s immune response.

Sweet potatoes are loaded with both beta-carotene and anthocyanins, the latter high in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Tomatoes are famous for their lycopene, a carotenoid and phytonutrient found in red produce. This powerful antioxidant helps protect against sun damage and retinal degeneration and has been well documented as effective in cancer prevention. Processed tomato products contain higher levels of lycopene than the raw fruit.

Audi Donamor regularly contributes to Animal Wellness Magazine (AnimalWellnessMagazine.com), from which this was adapted and used with permission.

healingways

Choose Happiness Four Tips to Flip the Joy Switch

by Linda Joy

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recent Harris Interactive poll indicates that only one in three Americans are happy. Success, education and increases in annual household income create only marginally more happiness. So what will it take to go the distance?

Inspiration for a Woman’s Soul: Choosing Happiness endeavors to discover just that. Its collection of intimate stories from more than two dozen women reveals telling insights— most profoundly, that happiness is a choice that anyone can make, regardless of their history or circumstances.

Four tips from contributors to the book show how we all can rise up out of our troubles to the other side, shining.

Let Go of ‘Supposed To’

Family, friends and society exert pressure on us to achieve certain goals or impose their definition of success.

When our soul doesn’t fit the mold, exciting things can happen.

Happiness strategist Kristi Ling seemed to have it all: a high-powered job in Hollywood, significant income and the envy of all her friends—but her

success felt empty. She writes from her home in Los Angeles, “Each morning I’d get up thinking about who I needed to please, and then prepare myself to exist for another day. I looked and felt exhausted just about all the time. The worst part was that I thought I was doing everything right!”

After a middle-of-the-night epiphany, Ling left her job and set out to discover what her heart wanted. She began following a completely different life path as a coach and healer, in which success means manifesting joy.

Be Grateful Now

While we’re striving to change our life or wishing things could have been different, we often forget to pay attention to what we have right now.

Boni Lonnsburry, a conscious creation expert and founder/CEO of Inner Art, Inc., in Boulder, Colorado, writes about the morning she decided to choose happiness, despite the enormous challenges she was facing, including divorce, foreclosure, bankruptcy and possible homelessness. “I thought to myself, ‘Yes, my life could be better, but it also could be a hell of a lot worse. I’m healthy and smart—why, I even have some wisdom. Why am I focusing on how terrible everything is?’”

Using the power of her choice to be happy right now, Lonnsburry not only found joy amidst the adversity, but created love and success beyond her wildest dreams.

Let Love In

We all want to feel loved, but when we’re afraid of getting hurt, we put up barriers 16

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to protect ourselves, even against the love we want.

Certified Relationship Coach Stacey Martino, of Yardley, Pennsylvania, writes, “From the first day we met, I’d been waiting for [my boyfriend] Paul to end our relationship. I begged him for another chance—not for our relationship, but to be my authentic self—to figure out who I am and show up in our relationship as the real me.”

Fourteen years later, Martino and her boyfriend, now husband, are still exploring the depths of their love for one another. For them, the choice to be vulnerable was the gateway to happiness.

Look Inward Instead of to Others

If we can’t own our pain, how can we create our joy? Choosing happiness means taking full responsibility for our state of mind, with no excuses.

Lisa Marie Rosati, of Kings Park, New York, who today helps other women catalyze their own transformation, writes: “I didn’t want to accept what was going on inside [me], so I looked outside for a way to make things better. I depended on intimate relationships to complete me, and on friends and acquaintances for entertainment. My self-esteem floated on incoming compliments and I absolutely never wanted to spend a minute alone with my own thoughts, lest they erode whatever happiness I possessed at the moment. I was exhausted, frustrated and quite frankly, pissed off.”

It took a flash of insight to set Rosati free of her patterns of blame—and then realizing she could create her own fulfillment was all it took to catapult her into a place of empowerment. Look out, world!

As Los Angeles happiness expert and Positive Psychology Coach Lisa Cypers Kamen says, “Happiness is an inside job.” Joy, love and inspired living are ours for the taking—all we must do is choose.

Linda Joy is the heart of Inspired Living Publishing and Aspire magazine. Inspiration for a Woman’s Soul: Choosing Happiness is her third in a series of bestselling anthologies. Next up is Inspiration for a Woman’s Soul: Cultivating Joy. Learn more at InspiredLivingPublishing.com. natural awakenings

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AGELESS BEING Staying Vibrant in Mind, Body and Spirit

by Kathleen Barnes

Agelessness: Engaging in and experiencing life without fear of falling, failing or falling apart.

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n a nutshell, that’s the philosophy of visionary women’s health expert Dr. Christiane Northrup, of Yarmouth, Maine, as explored in her latest book, Goddesses Never Age.

“We’re long overdue for a paradigm shift about how we feel about growing older,” says Northrup. “You can change your future by adopting a new, ageless attitude that will help you flourish physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. We don’t have to buy into modern medicine’s promotion of the idea of the pathology of aging.”

One of Northrup’s primary admonitions: “Don’t tell anyone how old you are. Another birthday means nothing.”

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Maintain a Sound Mind

Our Western society fosters a belief system that we will become decrepit, frail

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and mentally feeble at a certain age.

“When my mother turned 50, her mailbox suddenly filled with ads for adult diapers, walkers and long-term care insurance,” Northrup quips. The point is well taken. Think vibrant, healthy, gorgeous and yes, sexy Sandra Bullock, Johnny Depp, Chris Rock and Brooke Shields—all 50 or older—as the targets of ads for Depend.

We’re living and working longer, and many of us are feeling, looking and staying young longer. So is 60 the new 40? Yes, say State University of New York at Stony Brook researchers, and further note that we’re generally leading longer and healthier lives.

Centenarians are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. In the 2010 census, 53,364 people had surpassed their 100th year, an increase

of 40 percent over the 1980 census, and more than 80 percent of them are women. The National Institute on Aging projects that this number could increase tenfold or more by 2050.

What we think of as “old” has changed. Many baby boomers refuse to buy into the mythology of aging, bristle at being called senior citizens and especially dislike being called elderly.

Their position is backed by science.

Stem cell biologist Bruce Lipton, Ph.D., author of Biology of Belief and currently a visiting professor at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic, in Auckland, is best known for promoting the concept that DNA can be changed by belief, for good or ill.

Lipton explains that we all have billions of stem cells designed to repair or replace damaged—and aging—tissues and organs. “[These cells] are profoundly influenced by our thoughts and perceptions about the environment,” Lipton explains. “Hence our beliefs about aging can either interfere with or enhance stem cell function, causing our physiological regeneration or decline.”

“Yes, we are destined to grow older, but decrepitude and what we call aging is an optional state,” Northrup adds.

“Our genes, nutrition and environment are under our control far more than we may have thought.” More, she says, “Words are powerful. Don’t talk yourself into believing your brain is turning to mush just because you are over 40.”

Take Control of the Body

“Manage the four horsemen of the aging apocalypse,” encourages nutrition and longevity expert Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., a Los Angeles board-certified nutritionist and author of The Most Effective Ways to Live Longer. He says the aging process, including disease, loss of physical or mental function and the general breakdown of systems, is caused by one or more of four factors: oxidative damage (literally rusty cells); inflammation; glycation (excess sugar, metabolic syndrome); and stress.

“Collectively, they damage cells and DNA, wear down organs and systems, deeply damage the vascular pathways that deliver blood and oxygen to the entire body, and even shrink brain size,” explains Bowden.

While it may seem like a tall order to make lifestyle changes that vanquish these four horsemen, Bowden says they can be broken into manageable elements by employing an arsenal of healthful weapons: whole foods, nutrients, stress-reduction techniques, exercise, detoxification and relationship improvement. “All of these actually do double duty, battling more than one of the four processes that can effectively shorten your life,” he reports, based on his 25 years of study.

Oxidative Damage

Consider what rust does to metal. That’s what free radical oxygen molecules do to cells. Over time, they damage them and cause aging from within.

“Oxidative damage plays a major role in virtually every degenerative disease of aging, from Alzheimer’s to cancer to heart disease and diabetes, even immune dysfunction,” says Bowden.

His recommended key to destroying free radicals is a diet rich in antioxidants, including lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and healthy fats, nuts, grassfed meats and organic dairy products.

Avoid environmental free radicals that show up in toxic chemicals by eating as much organic food as possible and avidly avoiding residues of the poisonous pesticides and herbicides sprayed on crops eaten by people and livestock.

Inflammation

Long-term inflammation is a silent killer because it operates beneath the radar, often unnoticed, damaging blood vessel walls. Like oxidative damage, inflammation is a factor in all the degenerative diseases associated with aging, says Bowden.

His suggestion: First, get a Creactive protein (CRP) test to determine the levels of inflammation in our body.

A CRP level over 3 milligrams/liter indicates a high risk of a heart attack. Antiinflammatory foods like onions, garlic, leafy greens, tomatoes, beans, nuts and seeds have all been widely scientifically proven to reduce chronic inflammation.

Glycation

This is the result of excessive sugar that glues itself to protein or fat molecules, leaving a sticky mess that creates advanced glycation end (AGE) products that damage all body systems and are

Compute Your Real Age Lifestyle choices can make our bodies older, or younger, than our number of orbits around the sun, according to Michael Roizen, a doctor of internal medicine and author of This is Your Do-Over: The 7 Secrets of Losing Weight, Living Longer, and Getting a Second Chance at the Life You Want. “Seventy percent of aging is in the simple things you do or don’t do,” he maintains.

Here are a few sobering examples: n An unresolved major life stressor, such as a divorce, being sued, the death of a close relative or other traumatic events, can add up to 32 years to chronological age. Managing the stress adds a relatively insignificant two years. n Swap out saturated fats (cheese and meat) for monounsaturated fats (olive oil, nuts and avocados). Subtract 2.5 years from chronological age. n Get up out of the chair every 15 minutes and also take a 10-minute walk every two hours. Subtract 2.1 years from chronological age. n Have close friends. Subtract 2.1 years from chronological age.

Take the Real Age test at ShareCare.com/RealAge. natural awakenings

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acknowledged culprits in the dreaded diseases associated with aging.

Bowden’s basic answer is to minimize intake of sugar and simple carbs; anything made with white flour or white rice. Also avoid fried dishes and any foods cooked at high temperatures that actually skip the glycation production in the body and deliver harmful AGEs directly from the food. He advises taking 1,000 mg of carnosine (available in health food stores) daily to prevent glycation.

Stress

The long-term effects of physical, mental or emotional stress are tremendously damaging to the human physiology.

Sustained exposure to the stress hormone cortisol can shrink parts of the brain, damage blood vessels, increase blood sugar levels, heart rate and blood pressure and contribute to chronic inflammation, according to wellestablished science recorded in the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Bowden warns, “Stress management is not a luxury.” In its many forms, including prayer, meditation and breathing exercises, it should be part of any agelessness program. Deep, restful sleep is as vital a component as ending toxic relationships, having a nurturing circle of friends and doing familiar, gentle exercise such as yoga or tai chi.

Overall, Bowden adds, “Rather than thinking of such endeavors as antiaging, I strive to embody the concept of age independence. I admire former Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, who resigned from the court when he reached age 90 because he wanted to play more tennis.”

Bowden recommends embracing the concept of “squaring the curve”, meaning that instead of anticipating and experiencing a long downhill slope of poor health leading to death, “I look at a long plateau of health, with a steep drop-off at the end.”

Wellness guru Dr. Michael Roizen, chair of the Cleveland Clinic’s Wellness Institute, contends that although our chronological age can’t be changed, “Your ‘real age’ [calculated from data he collected from 60 million people] is the result of a wide variety of factors that are within your control.

Dietary choices alone can make you 20

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13 years younger or older than your actual age.”

Roizen adds uncontrolled portion sizes, tobacco use and physical inactivity to the list of lifeshortening lifestyle options.

Align with Spirit

“If you don’t have some kind of spiritual foundation, literally, God help you,” says Northrup. “God isn’t confined to a book or a church, mosque or synagogue. Divinity is the creative loving, vital flow of life force that we’re all part of and connected to.

Our bodies are exquisite expressions meant to embody, not deny our spirits.”

Touch, pleasure and sex can be part of it, too. Individuals that have the most fulfilling sex lives live the longest, according to researchers conducting the University of California, Riverside’s Longevity Project. “Pleasure comes in infinite forms,” says Northrup. “It can mean the exquisite taste of a pear or the sound of an angelic symphony, the kiss of sun on skin, the laughter of a child, spending time with friends or creating a pastel landscape. When you experience pleasure, God comes through and you become aware of your divine nature.

You’ll find that joy comes in ways that are unique to you.”

Connection with the natural world is an essential element of agelessness, says Northrup. “The human body evolved to walk on the Earth, drinking its water, breathing its air and basking in its sunlight.” The bottom line is, “Agelessness is all about vitality. Taking all the right supplements and pills, or getting the right procedure isn’t the prescription for antiaging,” says this renowned physician.

“It’s ageless living that brings back a sense of vibrancy and youthfulness.”

We could live to be well over 100 years old and, as Northrup likes to paraphrase Abraham Hicks, of The Law of Attraction fame, “Wouldn’t you rather have your life end something like this: ‘Happy-healthy, happy-healthy, happy-healthy, dead.’ Isn’t that a lot better than suffering sickness, decrepitude and frailty for years?”

Kathleen Barnes is the author of numerous books on natural health, her latest being Food Is Medicine: 101 Prescriptions from the Garden. Connect at KathleenBarnes.com.

Age-Defying Exercise

by Kathleen Barnes

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pecially designed movements performed to music can dramatically improve memory, as well as slow the process of physical aging, according to Denise Medved, of Hendersonville, North Carolina, the founder of Ageless Grace.

Medved’s foundational physical and mental exercise classes involve 21 exercises that promote brain plasticity by activating all five functions of the brain: analytic, strategic, kinesthetic learning, memory/recall and creativity and imagination. Find videos of Ageless Grace exercises by searching YouTube, including this one: n While sitting in a chair (all exercises are taught in this position to develop core strength), make a circle with the right lower arm. n Add a triangular motion with the left foot. n Next, add a horizontal movement with the left hand. n Finally, do the entire series in reverse.

Classes are available in all 50 states and in 12 countries. To find a teacher nearby, visit AgelessGrace.com.

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SURF TO TURF U.S. Farmed Seafood That’s Safe and Sustainable

by Judith Fertig

Wild-caught fish from pure waters is the gold standard of seafood, but sustainable populations from healthy waters are shrinking. That’s one reason why fish farms are appearing in unusual places—barramundi flourish on a Nebraska cattle ranch, shrimp in chilly Massachusetts and inland tilapia in Southern California.

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ith the demand for seafood outpacing what can safely be harvested in the wild, half the seafood we eat comes from aquaculture, says Kathryn Sullivan, Ph.D., administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Yet, farmed seafood has a reputation for uneven quality and questionable farming practices. A primary reason is that much of what Americans buy comes from Asia, where aquaculture is less stringently managed. Meanwhile, domestic aquaculture provides only about 5 percent of the seafood consumed here, according to NOAA.

Safe Seafood Solutions

If we want to eat safer, sustainable, farmed seafood, there are two solutions. One is to purchase farmed fish raised in the U.S., says Sullivan. The agency’s FishWatch consumer informa22

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tion service assures: “If it’s harvested in the United States, it’s inherently sustainable as a result of the rigorous U.S. management process that ensures fisheries are continuously monitored, improved and sustainable.”

Whole Foods Markets have found that farming seafood (aquaculture) can provide a consistent, high-quality, year-round supply of healthy and delicious protein. Accordingly, “When it’s done right, aquaculture can be environmentally friendly and offer a crucial way to supplement wild-caught fish supplies. On the other hand, poor farming practices such as the overuse of chemicals and antibiotics and those that cause water pollution and other negative impacts on the environment are bad news.”

A second solution is to consult with a trusted fishmonger that has high standards for flavor, health, safety, sustainability and environmental concerns.

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The Green Fish Farmer

Chefs like Rick Moonen, who owns RM Seafood, in Las Vegas, are getting behind U.S. aquaculture farms that do it right, raising healthy, sustainable and delicious fish. Moonen recently became a brand ambassador for True North Salmon, a farm system that integrates the way nature keeps fish healthy and fresh. “They have a salmon farm near a mussel farm near a kelp farm, mimicking the way these three species interact in the wild,” says Moonen.

The best seafood farms take what geography and climate offer—ocean inlets, a natural spring and a natural depression in the land or indoor controlled freshwater tanks—and use clean feed.

With no antibiotics, non-GMO food (free of genetic modification) in the right ratio, good water quality and creative ways to use the effluent, they employ green farming practices to raise fish and shellfish that, in turn, are healthy to eat.

The Atlantic coasts of Maine and Canada are where families have been making their living from the sea for centuries, says Alan Craig, of Canada’s True North Salmon Company. “The fish are fed pellets made from all-natural, nonGMO sources with no dyes, chemicals or growth hormones added. Underwater cameras monitor the health of the fish to prevent overfeeding.”

True North Salmon follows a threebay system, similar to crop rotation on land. Each bay is designated for a particular age of fish: young salmon, market-ready fish and a fallow, or empty, bay, breaking the cycle of any naturally occurring diseases and parasites.

Robin Hills Farm, near Ann Arbor, Michigan, offers vegetable, meat, egg and fruit community supported agriculture, U-pick fruit and a pair of stocked farm ponds. Farm Manager Mitzi Koors explains that the ponds are a way to leverage natural resources, add another income stream and attract visitors.

“We first discovered a low-lying area that would become a beautiful pond with a little work,” Koors relates.

“We then expanded to two close ponds that don’t connect, to keep the older fish raised on at least six months of nonGMO organic feed separate from the newer fish. The ponds are spring fed, providing a great environment for trout.”

In northeastern Nebraska, five generations of the Garwood family have traditionally raised cattle and produced corn and tomatoes. To keep the farm thriving and sustainable, they have had to think outside the row crop. Today, they’re growing something new—barramundi, or Australian yellow perch. They built a warehouse that now holds 18, 10,000-gallon fish tanks full of growing fish. A Maryland company provides old-fashioned cow manure and leftover grain sorghum from area ethanol plants to create algae, naturally non-GMO, to use as biofuel and fish food. “People prefer to eat locally raised food, even if it’s fish in Nebraska,” says Scott Garwood.

The sophistication of closed containment systems like the Garwoods use means that chefs, too, can raise their own fish, besides growing their own herbs and vegetables. California Chef Adam Navidi, owner of the Oceans & Earth restaurant, in Yorba Linda, also runs nearby Future Foods Farms, encompassing 25 acres of herbs, lettuces, assorted vegetables and tank-raised tilapia. Baby greens, not GMO products, help feed the fish, while nitrates from the ammonia-rich fish waste fertilize the crops. The fish wastewater filters through the crops and returns to the fish tanks in an efficient, conservationdriven system that produces healthy, organic food.

“Someday, chefs will be known both by their recipes and the methods used to produce their food,” Navidi predicts.

Judith Fertig blogs at AlfrescoFoodAnd Lifestyle.blogspot.com from Overland Park, KS.

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. ~Mark Twain

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fitbody

Yoga Enters the Medical Mainstream Research Proves its Health Benefits

by Meredith Montgomery

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fter practicing internal medicine for 10 years in Boston, Dr. Timothy McCall became a full-time writer, exploring the health benefits of yoga. As the medical editor of Yoga Journal and the author of Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing, he says, “In the late 90s, the conveyor belt of patient care continued to speed up and I got frustrated. There was less time to form relationships with patients, which is essential to providing quality care without excessive tests and drugs.”

Initially, McCall found that most of the documented research on yoga was from India, and notes it was low in quality from a Western perspective (though it is now excellent). In the West, the first notable scientific yoga article was published in 1973 in The Lancet on combining yoga and biofeedback to manage hypertension. According to the International Journal of Yoga, the surge in yoga’s popularity here finally gained academic interest in 2007, and there are now more than 2,000

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yoga titles in the National Institutes of Health PubMed.gov database, with 200 added annually.

Initially, yoga teacher and economist Rajan Narayanan, Ph.D., founded the nonprofit Life in Yoga Foundation and Institute to offer free teacher training. Within a couple of years, the foundation’s focus shifted to integrating yoga into the mainstream healthcare system. “We realized that to make a real difference, we needed to teach doctors about yoga and its scientifically proven effects,” he says. Medical providers can earn credits to keep their licenses current by attending courses

by Life in Yoga, the only yoga institution independently certified by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.

Currently, even if physicians don’t practice yoga, it’s likely that many of their patients do. “You now see it everywhere from major medical centers to mainstream advertising,” says McCall, who notes an increase in doctors, nurses and therapists attending the Yoga as

Any physical exercise done with breath awareness Mounting Evidence becomes yoga; “Yoga may help prevent diseases across the board be- anything done cause the root cause of 70 to without the 90 percent of all disorders is stress,” says Narayanan. Yoga breath is just a increases the body’s ability to physical practice.

Medicine seminars he and his wife Eliana teach internationally and from their Simply Yoga Institute studio, in Summit, New Jersey.

therapy like there are for pharmaceuticals,” remarks Narayanan, and until yoga is funded by health insurance, it will be challenging to gain full acceptance in mainstream medicine.

Another barrier is certification standards. The International Association of Yoga Therapists (iayt. org) and the Council for Yoga Accreditation Intersuccessfully respond to stress national (cyai.org) are both by activating the parasympa- ~Rajan Narayaran beginning to offer certificathetic nervous system, which tions for therapy training slows the heart and lowers blood presprograms and therapists. Narayanan is sure. That in turn suppresses sympathetic hopeful that certification could lead to activity, reducing the amount of stress yoga being covered by insurance. hormones in the body.

Medical school curricula have

Studies collected on PubMed.gov started shifting to embrace complemendemonstrate that yoga has been found to tary approaches to wellness, with many help manage hypertension, osteoporosis, textbooks now including information body weight, physical fitness, anxiety, on mind/body therapies. The Principles depression, diabetes, reproductive and Practices of Yoga in Healthcare, cofunctions and pregnancy, among other edited by Sat Bir Khalsa, Lorenzo Cohen, issues. Studies at California’s PrevenMcCall and Shirley Telles and due out tive Medicine Research Institute have in 2016, is the first professional-level, tracked amelioration of heart disease. medical textbook on yoga therapy.

A growing body of research is validat “Yoga has been proven to treat ing yoga’s benefits for cancer patients, many conditions, yet yoga teachers including at the University of Texas M.D. don’t treat conditions, we treat individAnderson Cancer Center. A small study uals,” says McCall. “Yoga therapy is not at Norway’s University of Oslo suggests a one-size-fits-all prescription because that yoga even alters gene expression, different bodies and minds, with differindicating it may induce health benefits ent abilities and weaknesses, require on a molecular level. individualized approaches.”

While medical research is working Cultural Challenges to grant yoga more legitimacy among “For yoga to be effective, a regular doctors, policymakers and the public, practice must be implemented, which McCall says, “I believe these studies is challenging in a culture where are systematically underestimating people can’t sit for long without an how powerful yoga can be. Scielectronic device. It’s more than ence may tell us that it decreases just popping pills,” says Narayanan. systolic blood pressure and corti McCall says, “Even if people sol secretion and increases lung can commit to just a few mincapacity and serotonin levels, utes of yoga practice a day, if but that doesn’t begin to they keep it up the benefits capture the totality of what can be enormous.” yoga is.”

“There are no sales reps Meredith Montgomery, a telling doctors to use yoga registered yoga teacher, publishes Natural September is Awakenings of National Yoga Mobile/Baldwin, Month AL (Healthy LivingHealthy Planet.com).

When Yoga Can Help 4 Addictions 4 Anxiety spectrum disorders 4 Back pain 4 Cancer 4 Depression 4 Diabetes 4 Endocrine issues 4 Heart disease 4 Hypertension 4 Mental health conditions 4 Metabolic syndrome 4 Musculoskeletal and neuromuscular complaints 4 Neurological and immune disorders 4 Pregnancy issues 4 Premenstrual syndrome, perimenopausal symptoms 4 Respiratory issues 4 Weight management

Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art. ~Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

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wisewords

Alexandra Paul on Vegan Activism Her Kind Lifestyle Honors All Living Things

by Gerry Strauss

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How has activism forged your identity and inspired others?

photo by Denice Duff

t may seem odd that one of the most intensely dedicated public activists is also known for starring in one of TV’s most superficial shows of the 1990s, but Alexandra Paul overturns stereotypes.

Behind that signature Baywatch onepiece that kept David Hasselhoff on his toes beats the heart of a true soldier for animal rights and population stabilization. At 52 years young, she is extremely fit and knowledgeable about the vegan lifestyle that got her there.

What is your philosophy of life?

Be kind. Being kind is different from being nice. I spent my teens and 20s anxious to be nice, and all it gave me was a boatload of acquaintances and an inauthentic self. Nice aims to be popular. Kindness is about doing the right thing: justice, fairness, patience, respect.

Kindness is at the heart of why I’m a vegan, and why I’ve been arrested 16 times for civil disobedience supporting peace, equal rights and the environment. Being kind to myself inspires me to exercise and live healthfully.

JOIN US! How does your product, service or project support our local or global community?

Be a part of our special Working Together October Issue To advertise or participate in our next issue, call 631-870-0334 Queens, NY

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What drives your commitment to a vegan diet?

I became a vegetarian when I was 14, after reading Frances Moore Lappé’s Diet for a Small Planet, which taught me how eating meat was destructive to the planet. A couple of years later, I did a book report on Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation and learned the ethical reasons against eating animals. I stopped using cosmetics tested on animals when I was a teen and stopped wearing leather, wool and silk in my 20s. I finally gave up eating dairy in my late 40s, and I wish I’d done it earlier.

Together We Can Make A Difference

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I’ve been an activist since I was 7, when I wrote to President Nixon asking him to stop pollution. As a dedicated citizen, my mom boycotted companies that acted against her ethics. Growing up with such a role model, trying to make the world better came naturally.

Walking my talk is a challenge I face daily as I choose what to buy, what to eat and how to be, and I also think it is the most effective way to encourage change in others.

Although I did it to benefit animals, being vegan has enriched my life and changed the way I look at the world. The only way there will be enough food and water for Earth’s expected 10 billion people in 35 years is if humankind stops raising animals for food, so my veganism is helping the planet, as well as my own health.

Which other aspects of your diet and lifestyle do you credit for looking and feeling vital?

My husband Ian and I go to bed early and generally get up with the sun. I’ve never consumed coffee, soda or alcohol, only water and protein shakes. I believe being a vegetarian, and now a vegan, has given me tons of energy. I also prioritize making time for my workout routine, and that helps me feel good every day.

I didn’t always have this serenity with my lifestyle and health. For a dozen years, until my late 20s, I struggled with bulimia. Becoming vegan improved my relationship with food, aligning my diet with my values, and I have never been more at peace with myself.

Why do you enjoy working out?

For me, being active is fun—not only because I feel good moving my body, but because I am also outside with friends, reading on a stationary bike or listening to favorite podcasts while stretching.

Six days a week, I do an hour of cardio; either swimming or the stationary bike. Every other day I practice yoga for at least 45 minutes to ensure that my back stays pain-free. Once a week, I go hiking for two hours with friends, chatting the whole time, which all makes it worth getting up at 4:30 a.m. I walk whenever I’m on a conference call, either outside or at my tread desk, a simple treadmill under a standing desk; I’m walking on it when I’m reading or answering emails, too. It’s the best present I ever gave myself.

Like everyone, sometimes I don’t particularly feel like working out, but all these factors make it easier to start, and once I start, I’m always glad to be exercising.

Gerry Strauss is a freelance writer in Hamilton, NJ. Connect at GerryStrauss@aol.com.

inspiration

The Adventure of Couchsurfing

Stay with Locals and Make New Friends

by Lisa Rosinky

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people’s faith and trust in aniel Sperry, a “couchsurfer” one another and create in his late 50s, decided a meaningful connecfew years ago to quit his day tions across cultures. job and make a living by performing It’s easy to become cello music and reciting poetry in liva member by creating a ing rooms across the country. “I didn’t profile as a host and/ know it would become a catalyst for or a traveler, which bringing communities of local people includes verified together,” he says, identification. Guests but his first gig, a don’t need to reciprocate by “little shotgun shack” hosting or leaving gifts, alin Elko, Nevada, though lasting friendships became more than a are a common result. once in a lifetime experiHosts and guests are enence. Years later, his Elko host couraged to leave honest remains a close friend and hosts reviews for each other, a regular (and lucrative) stop on his cross-country tours.

As a traveler, offer which helps ensure ongoing safety and good

Not only does creating connections with strangers an ethnic meal, good behavior all around.

Meanwhile, nonmake us happier—as Unistory or how to say members also are versity of Chicago social scientists have proven—it leads hello in a different welcome to explore to fun travel stories. If we language. As a host, couchsurfing events in their city. Fun opportuchoose to see the world via be open to what nities to make new conthe decade-old organization at Couchsurfing.com, we guests can teach. nections include weekly language exchanges, might find ourselves sleepKeep a travel log skill swaps, outdoor ing on a sailboat in the Irish Sea; meeting backpackers and guestbook to activities and potlucks.

“For me, it’s by solar-powered light in a cave in Petra, Jordan; sharing record memories. undeniably about the community, the kind of a room with a pet bird that falls asleep listening to sappy love songs on the radio; person it tends to attract,” says Joseph Abrahamson, a couchsurfer in his midor jamming to old-time banjo and fiddle 20s. “A room full of couchsurfers is full tunes in a North Carolina kitchen. of stories and listening and sharing and

The global community of couchsurfers, now 10 million strong, consid- trust. It changes a person in a positive way… people that travel like this for ers strangers “friends you haven’t met long enough can no longer survive with yet.” They currently are hosting and closed minds.” organizing more than half-a-million events in more than 200,000 cities worldwide this year. The aim is to make Lisa Rosinky is a freelance writer travel easier and more affordable, build in Boston. natural awakenings

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Why are most American kids getting turned off by sports by the time they should be really leaping into it? ~Steve Biddulph, author, Raising Boys and Raising Girls

Whole Child Sports Free Play Earns the Winning Score

M

by Luis Fernando Llosa

any parents concerned that their children are getting engulfed by social media often turn to sports to spark physical activity. They scramble to sign their toddlers up for swimming and tennis lessons, T-ball and soccer practice, hoping these activities will teach their kids about motivation and leadership, while getting them off the couch and out the door.

They hope that sports will be a conduit for their kids to learn what it takes to strive, drive toward a goal and succeed in later life.

As a result, more than 40 million kids across America are engaged in organized play. But youth sports are not a panacea; while parental intentions are good, they sometimes don’t realize the potential for negative consequences.

Those that have studied the phenomenon believe that youth sports—which on the surface, appear to provide a perfect environment for children to learn life lessons and develop critical social and physical skills—might hamper our children’s healthy physical, social, psychic and creative development.

Too Much Too Soon

It seems that many young kids playing on teams today are over-coached by controlling, command-oriented adults. As Jenny Levy, head coach of the University of North Carolina’s 2013 NCAA champion women’s lacrosse team at Chapel Hill puts it, “Kids are kind of like overbred dogs, mimicking the drills we run in practice. They aren’t wired to think creatively.

They do what they know. What’s safe.”

This kind of behavior can start at an early age, when kids should be engaging in free play with minimal adult supervision in unstructured settings. Parenting expert Kim John Payne, author of Simplicity Parenting and The Soul of Discipline, says, “Parents are giving in to enormous societal pressure to push kids into high-performance sports settings several times a week. It’s an ‘arms race’ of sorts, with the clear victims being the kids themselves that are robbed of their childhoods.”

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play, including sports. An American Academy of Pediatrics study attests that free and unstructured play is healthy and essential for helping children reach important social, emotional and cognitive developmental milestones, plus managing stress and becoming resilient.

Payne observes, “In free play, children have to actively problem solve and take one another’s feelings into account if the play is to be successful. In sports, the social problem solving is largely extrinsic, facilitated by coaches, referees or parents. During a child’s formative stages, between the ages of 5 and 12, having the freedom to develop, create and innovate is critical.”

Creativity isn’t limited to only younger children. How sports are taught in this country at all levels, right up through college, often inhibits athletic creativity and problem solving—as Levy has noticed year after year in the freshmen players she trains—rather than fostering these attributes.

A Better Alternative

It’s crucial to consider the whole child, not just the budding athlete. To revive a child’s imagination and create better conditions for developing creativity, resiliency and flexibility, contemplate the option of taking a child out of organized youth sports for a while to provide the time, space and opportunity to rediscover childhood play and games. Then support them in re-entering organized athletics when they’re a bit older and more physically and emotionally ready.

Also, some kids that get heavily involved in highly structured youth sports too early may be prone to behavioral problems and serious physical injuries. The best thing a parent can do for a young child that is active and interested in sports is roll up their sleeves and join in unscripted backyard or playground family play. Kids thrive in the attention offered from mom or dad, regardless of parental athletic skill levels.

Also, organize play dates with other neighborhood kids of varying ages, because they love to learn from each other, including how to work out disagreements.

Once kids are socially, emotionally and physically ready, organized sports can be an amazing platform for fun-filled learning. Having already experienced healthy free play, a child will be ready for and thrive in a more focused, competitive, organized and structured play environment. Fortified by a creative foundation in earlier years, a youngster is better able to identify and express their own mind, body and spirit.

Luis Fernando Llosa is the co-author of Beyond Winning: Smart Parenting in a Toxic Sports Environment and co-founder of WholeChildSports.com. A writer, speaker and former Sports Illustrated reporter, he lives in New York City, where he coaches his five kids. For more information, visit LuisFernandoLlosa.com.

calendarofevents NOTE: All calendar events must be submitted via our website by the 10th of the month and must adhere to our guidelines. Visit NaturalQueensNY.com for guidelines and to submit entries. No phone calls, emails or faxes please.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 Yoga on the Beach – 8-9am. Join yoga instructor Helen Kilgallen from Elaine’s Dance School in this beginner Hatha Yoga class. Bring a mat, large towel, or blanket. Free. Rockaway Beach, off Shorefront Pkwy, Beach 108th St. (718) 318-4000.

Back to School Festival – Noon-3pm. Summer’s not over. Beat the stress of returning to school with an afternoon of fun activities including games, rides, craft projects, and free giveaways. Free. Alley Pond Park, 76th Avenue and Springfield Boulevard, Bayside. (718) 352-4793 ext. 302.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 Yoga in the Park – 10-11am. Participants should wear comfortable clothing and, for yoga, bring a mat or a towel. Kripalu Yoga is a system of Hatha Yoga that integrates body postures, breathing techniques, relaxation, and meditation. Taught by Monique Schubert and Yojaida Estrella, participants are encouraged to integrate their yoga practices with this very special waterfront environment of nature and art. Free. Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 Fresh Water Fishing – 1-3pm. Catch-and-release fishing is a great way to get outdoors and discover nature just a few blocks from home. Our experienced Rangers teach the ethics of fishing and the ecology of our waterways in every fishing program. Most fishing programs are first-come, first-served. Participation in a mandatory safety review led by a trained Ranger is required. All equipment is provided. Free. Kissena Park, 164th Street and Oak Avenue, Bayside. 718-352-1769.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 Queens County Fair – 11am-6pm. Don’t miss this traditional county fair with blue ribbon competitions in livestock, produce, home crafts, arts & crafts, and more.

The fair features pie eating- and corn husking-contests, pig races, hayrides, carnival rides, midway games, and kids’ entertainment by Big Apple Circus To-Go. Check out the ConEdison Ecology booth where you can adopt a worm for your home compost bin, get gardening & re-

cycling tips, and enjoy free crafts for kids. $9 Adults; $5 Children (12 and under). Queens County Farm Museum, 73-50 Little Neck Pkwy, Floral Park. 718-347-3276 Zumba, Belly Dance and Holistic Bazaar – 6-10pm.

Enjoy a stimulating and musical evening with Zumba and Belly Dancing from our experts at the gorgeous Reflections Studio. Make fun loving energetic friends and relax with the music. Later enjoy our holistic bazaar, some food and spiritual company. Free. Reflections Yoga, 227 East 24th St, New York, NY. Matchmyspirit Inc, Naini Nakagawa. 646-420-9990. See ad, page 7.

Nocturnal Wildlife – 8-9:30pm. New York City is home to an amazing abundance of wildlife. From falcons and salamanders, to deer and seals; wildlife viewing is a perfect activity for any age. Our Rangers will guide you to the best wildlife viewing spots in New York City. As the sun sets, parks continue to be alive with energy. Get set to learn about bats, raccoons, skunks and other common nocturnal animals. Free. Flushing Meadow Corona Park (Playground), Park Dr East and 73rd Ave Terrace, Corona. Urban Park Rangers, 718-352-1769.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 Basic Canoeing – 1-3pm. Few experiences compare with being on the open water in New York City. Our trained Urban Park Rangers will lead you on canoe adventures. Basic canoe programs are great for all skill levels. Most canoe programs are first-come, first-served. Participation in a mandatory safety review led by a trained Ranger is required. Children aged 8 and older are welcome. Free. Golden Pond In Crocheron Park, 35th avenue and Corbett Road, Bayside. Urban Park Rangers, 718-352-1769.

IT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER! Natural Awakenings’ healthy living, healthy planet lifestyle app has a new look and more features.

• Updated every month with new content • Search the healthy products in our National Directory • Find your local magazine • Read feature stories En Español • Sign up for Promotions and Newsletters • So much more!

• And it’s FREE!

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 Yogapractic for Healing – 2-3pm. Dr. Mitchell Proffman will be discussing and demonstrating how yoga and chiropractic together during an office visit can help with many types of back, neck, hip, and joint pains. The Yogapractic technique was created by Dr. Proffman and is one of the the best ways to cure many of life’s challenging and chronic problems, without harmful drugs and surgery. Free.

Genesis Tree of Life, 102-06 Metropolitan Ave. Forest Hills, 718-268-9080. See ad, page 23.

The body is your temple.

Keep it pure and clean for the soul to reside in.

Search “Natural Awakenings” and download

~B.K.S. Iyengar

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ongoingevents NOTE: All calendar events must be submitted via our website by the 10th of the month and must adhere to our guidelines. Visit NaturalQueensNY.com for guidelines and to submit entries. No phone calls, emails or faxes please.

monday Super Sculpt – 8:30am. Tone, tighten and strengthen the whole body, working all major muscles, arms, back, legs, hips, thighs, and abdominals, using different types of resistance. (rubber bands, body bars, & dumbbells). $10/class. Meadows Spa Fitness for Women, 61-19 190th St, Fresh Meadows, NY. 718740-5100. MeadowsSpaFitness.com.

tuesday Spin – 7:30pm. A challenging cardio workout, on a stationary cycle. Visualize and pedal as if experiencing various road conditions at varying intensities, as an instructor motivates and inspires you. Please call ahead to reserve a bike. $10/ class. Meadows Spa Fitness for Women, 61-19 190th St, Fresh Meadows, NY. 718-740-5100.

MeadowsSpaFitness.com.

wednesday Awesome Abs – 8:30am. 30 minutes of abdominal and waist crunching moves. Makes midsection muscles stronger and tighter and protects the back. $10/class. Meadows Spa Fitness for Women, 6119 190th St, Fresh Meadows, NY. 718-740-5100.

MeadowsSpaFitness.com.

Garden School Open House – 9am. No RSVP required. W are an independent college preparatory school in Jackson Heights, Queens. Garden School has been educating the whole child from Nursery to Grade 12 for 93 years. Private bus transportation, meal program and financial aid available to qualifying families. Come and see why Garden School is consistently named the # 1 independent school in Queens. 33-16 79th Street, Jackson Heights. Jim Gaines, JGaines@gardenschool.org.

GardenSchool.org 718-335-6363.

Kundalini Yoga – 10-11am. Kundalini focuses on awakening the kundalini energy through kriya (set asanas), meditation, pranayama and chanting. $10/first time, $18/ after. The Studio at 3Elements, 34-34 Bell Blvd, Bayside, NY. 718-428-6678.

TheStudioAt3Elements@gmail.com.

thursday Boot Camp – 9am. Stepping, running, jumping, rowing, lifting, and pulling. Interval training designed to push you a bit farther. Lose body fat, increase cardiovascular efficiency and increase strength. $10/class. Meadows Spa Fitness for Women, 61-19 190th St, Fresh Meadows, NY. 718740-5100. MeadowsSpaFitness.com.

Hatha Chakra Balance Yoga – 10-11am. This hatha yoga-style class focuses on the 7 energy centers of the body using asana and chants to increase energy, alignment and strength. $10/

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and herbs, eggs, seasonal fruit, cider, baked goods and fresh-caught fish. Cheese, pickled vegetables, grass fed beef, and wine pressed from locally grown grapes entice shoppers with culinary possibilities.

Free. Skillman Ave between 42nd & 43th Streets, Sunnyside. GrowNYC.com Yoga – 11:30am. Relax your mind and body through flowing poses and breathing. Promote better posture, flexibility, suppleness, and strength as peace and calm enter the body. $10/class. Meadows Spa Fitness for Women, 61-19 190th Street, Fresh Meadows, NY. 718-740-5100. MeadowsSpaFitness.com Healing Circle Meditation – 2-4pm. Intuitve messages, energy work, relaxation, music for the soul, an easy approach to meditation & solutions to bettering your life. $35. The Studio at 3Elements, 34-34 Bell Blvd, Bayside, NY. 718-428-6678.

TheStudioAt3Elements@gmail.com.

first time, $18/after. The Studio at 3Elements, 34-34 Bell Blvd, Bayside, NY. 718-428-6678.

TheStudioAt3Elements@gmail.com.

Kids Yoga – 3:15-4pm. Kids ages 4-6 learn the fundamentals of yoga and mindfulness through games and song. $10/first time, $18/after. The Studio at 3Elements, 34-34 Bell Blvd, Bayside, NY. 718-4286678. TheStudioAt3Elements@gmail.com.

Gentle Flow – 6:30-7:45pm. A soothing gentle class focuses on the exploration of basic yoga poses and how to connect to breath, alignment and mindfulness. $10/first time, $18 after. The Studio at 3Elements, 34-34 Bell Blvd, Bayside, NY. 718-4286678. TheStudioAt3Elements@gmail.com.

Yoga Flow – 8-9:15pm. A powerful flow designed to challenge you in mind and body, increase strength, awareness, flexiblity, breath and stamina. $10/first time, $18/ after. The Studio at 3Elements, 34-34 Bell Blvd, Bayside, NY. 718-428-6678.

TheStudioAt3Elements@gmail.com.

friday Cardio X-Training – 10am. High intensity, fat burning aerobic training which varies between kickboxing, latin dance, classic aerobics and step. $10/class. Meadows Spa Fitness for Women, 6119 190th St, Fresh Meadows, NY. 718-740-5100.

MeadowsSpaFitness.com.

sunday Yoga – 7:30am. Relax your mind and body through flowing poses and breathing. Promote better posture, flexibility, suppleness, and strength as peace and calm enter the body. $10/class. Meadows Spa Fitness for Women, 61-19 190th St, Fresh Meadows, NY. 718-740-5100. MeadowsSpaFitness.com.

Forest Hills Greenmarket – 8am–3pm. Located in front of the Forest Hills Post Office, this neighborhood Greenmarket boasts a variety of locally grown, fresh products. Throughout the season, the market will offer free cooking demonstrations, kids activities, and the opportunity to mingle with neighbors, all while getting to know the regional farmers who grow your food. Come back each week to learn about the healthful and flavorful benefits of eating what is fresh and in season. Free. South Side of Queens Blvd at 70th Ave, Forest Hills. GrowNYC.org.

Jackson Heights Green Market – 8am-2pm. Jackson Heights Greenmarket is the largest and busiest Greenmarket in Queens. Reflecting the culinary diversity of the neighborhood, the Jackson Heights market offers a broad selection of vegetables, fruit, eggs, fish, honey, chicken and specialty Mexican produce. Free. 34th Ave at 78th Street, Jackson Heights. GrowNYC.org.

classifieds

Stretch & Chat Yoga – 10-11am. Class begins with an open chat about spiritual concepts and philosophies, then include the concepts into a physical practice. $10/first time, $18/after. The Studio at 3Elements, 34-34 Bell Blvd, Bayside, NY. 718-4286678. TheStudioAt3Elements@gmail.com.

Fee for classifieds is a minimum charge of $25 for up to the first 25 words and $1 each additional word. To place an ad email NaturalQueensNY@aol.com

Holistic Pet Food Samples – 11am-7pm. It’s free tastingFriday. Come in for a sample of our best all natural, holistic pet foods and treats. Samples for both dogs and cats available. Free. The Healing Ivy, 14-17 College Point Blvd,College Point, NY. 718-321-3141. TheHealingIvy@gmail.com. See ad, page 16.

COLLEGE INTERNS WANTED - Natural Awakenings Magazine is looking for Journalism, English, and Internet Marketing majors to assist the publisher with the functions of the magazine each month. Flexible work schedule, must be organized take direction well and be coachable.

For college credit only. Nicole: 631-870-0334.

saturday Sunnyside Greenmarket – 8am-3pm. On hand are a fantastic selection of vegetables grown in the Black Dirt of Orange County, specialty Mexican produce

NaturalQueensNY.com

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED – Life Health and Fitness in Whitestone is looking for self-motivated individuals with a passion for fitness and helping others improve their lives. Inquires contact Shawn: 718-357-0300.

communityresourceguide Connecting you to the leaders in natural healthcare and green living in our community. To find out how you can be included in the Community Resource Guide, email NaturalQueensNY@aol.com to request our media kit.

AUTOMOTIVE TOWER FORD

124 S Middle Neck Rd, Great Neck, NY 516-466-6400 TowerFord.net Proud to be one of the premier dealerships in the area with a clear commitment to customer service. Offering a full lineup of hybrid and electric vehicles, as well as other eco-friendly cars and trucks. See ad, back cover.

FENG SHUI OPEN SPACES FENG SHUI

Ann Bingley Gallops New York Metro Area 646-382-3878 OpenSpacesFengShui.com Ann@OpenSpacesFengShui.com

Susan Thomas, LCSW-R, FT Bereavement Coordinator 1981 Marcus Ave, Ste C125 Lake Success, NY

Children meet in age-appropriate groups while their parent or guardian meets in an adult group at the same time. All the groups talk about the same theme during this time, thereby enhancing communication between family members in their time of grief and loss. These groups meet throughout the year from September through June, and families can enter the groups at any point in time.

CHIROPRACTIC HOLISTIC OASIS

Dr. Gayle A. Whittaker 70-20 Austin St, Ste 107, Forest Hills, NY 718-544-8282 HolisticChiropractor.com N.S.A. Practitioner. “Healing waves” release body tension, promoting new strategies for a healthy spine and nervous system.

Relieving back and neck pain is only the beginning. Bridge the interface between physical health and overall well-being. See ad, page 7.

MASSAGE ENVY SPA

38-3 Bell Blvd, Bayside NY 89-44 Metropolitan Ave, Rego Park, NY 718-279-3689 MassageEnvy.com Customized massages and facials that help relieve stress, decrease anxiety, increase energy and improve skin texture.

Professional massage therapists and estheticians will work to customize your session. See ad, page 13.

NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE DR. MARIZELLE ARCE

Feng shui transforms your space to enhance your life. If energy feels blocked or you want to promote change, feng shui has the answers.

BEREAVEMENT SERVICES THE CENTER FOR H.O.P.E., COHEN CHILDRENS MEDICAL CENTER

MASSAGE

HEALTH CLUB MEADOWS SPA FITNESS FOR WOMEN

61-19 190th St, Fresh Meadows, NY 718-740-5100 • MeadowsSpaFitness.com A fully private fitness facility only for women with the best in fitness equipment, classes, personal training and spa amenities. Plenty of free parking.

HOLISTIC DENTISTRY EDWARD J DEGEL, DDS

92-42 Queens Blvd., Rego Park, NY 718-429-6867 Holistic dentistry for the entire family. Initial exam and x-rays for $99. Safe removal of mercury fillings with oxygen and periodontal treatment with ozone and low level lasers. We also offer metal-free crowns and bridges.

Most insurance accepted.

INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE BLUEPRINT HEALING ARTS

Siranush K. Cholakian, MD, LAc 64-06 Fitchett St, Rego Park, NY 718-275-4460 • BlueprintHealingArts.com Siranush K. Cholakian, MD is one of three Board Certified Integrative Medical Doctors in New York State.

You will receive unique healing of your physical and mental conditions by gently blending Homeopathy, A c u p u n c t u r e , Ay u r v e d a , Aromatherapy, Nutrition, Shamanic Healing and Functional Medicine. See ad, page 11.

Offices in Bayside and Larchmont 917-282-5622 NYNaturoPath.com Naturopathic Medical School graduate specializing in a holistic approach to health and wellness.

Experienced in anxiety control, women’s health, digestion, detoxification and nutritional imbalances. Offering Thermography and Acoustic Cardiograph. See ad, page 4.

ONLINE SINGLES MATCH MY SPIRIT.COM Naini Nakagawa

Millions of members worldwide, looking for others to share their spiritual experiences. New singles are joining all the time, and many are making connections every day.Want to join in? Just create a simple profile, post up your photos and soon you’ll be networking with our incredible personals. Online personals couldn’t be easier. For real relationships and romance, MatchMySpirit is the perfect place to get started and find a match. See ad, page 7.

STEM CELL THERAPY AMERICAN STEM CELL CENTER Neil Raff, MD 160-40 78th Rd Fresh Meadows (Queens), NY 11366 718-544-1444 AmericanStemCellCenter.com

Your own stem cells may be used as the cutting edge treatment for neurological and autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular, stroke, spinal core injuries, orthopedic ailments & more. In a few hour in-office procedure, your own stem cells are collected, concentrated and injected into the areas of damage, stimulating the body’s natural repair. There is no danger of tissue rejection or allergic reaction. Call for a free 15 minute consult.

See ad, page 17.

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9/30/15.