Natural Awakenings Magazine Greater Pittsburgh Edition December 2020 by naturalawakeningsswpa

E R F

HEALTHY

LIVING

HEALTHY

PLANET

GIVE THE GIFT

OF FESTIVE EDIBLES

THE HEALING POWER OF

SINGING

HOMETOWN BENEFITS OF

THE BUY LOCAL MOVEMENT

MATT KAHN on

Transforming the Planet with Love

WRITING A NEW

WORLD STORY

THAT HEALS US AND THE PLANET

December 2020 | Pittsburgh, PA Edition | naturalawakeningsswpa.com December 2020

HEALTHY LIVING HEALTHY PLANET

PITTSBURGH, PA EDITION Publisher Michelle Dalnoky Editor Martin Miron Calendar Editor Sara Peterson Ad Designer Zina Cochran Design & Production C. Michele Rose Sales & Marketing Michelle Dalnoky Lisa Doyle

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letter from publisher

Joy

This has been a challenging year. Our resilience has been tested and our capability to be thoughtful about our community has been summoned. We know more troubles lie ahead, but I think we should use this season to focus on the joy. No matter what form your celebration of joy takes or how it has had to be modified, take in the joy as it is. If you are having a hard time seeing the joy, try to make some. I’m excited to give thanks for our abundance and celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah, but I’m also more and more interested in incorporating indigenous wisdom and celebrations of joy into my life. For me, this means celebrating nature and learning to love, respect and really be a part of it. It takes a lot of shedding to change my way of thinking, but hopefully we have all been doing some of that lately. We all need to get to the root of things, and nature is certainly intertwined in it all. We need to take care and be aware of our own immune system and the immune system of our planet. If our planet isn’t healthy, neither can be the species living upon it, and that includes humans. The best of American Native culture respects nature above all. Aspects of nature are symbolic and multifunctional in the Native American universe, making them valuable and pervasive in everything they practice and cultivate. Nature itself is intertwined with the society’s beliefs regarding spirituality, so both act as coredefining components of their understanding and way of life. This year, I look forward to incorporating the winter solstice into my joyous celebrations. Winter can seem like a dark and difficult time, but the day after the sun begins to shine longer certainly is an excellent cause for celebration. This year, it falls on December 21, which seems like a great time to celebrate the path to spring and renewal. There will surely be celebrations around to attend, but even just a special feast and acknowledgement of this turning point with some gesture large or small that nurtures our planet will suffice. Perhaps make a commitment to recycle or compost, or plant a tree indoors for spring planting outside. You could even have a grand ceremony or celebration, or maybe just put out some food for the wild birds or animals. There is a lot of information on winter solstice online and it’s really interesting reading, learning how different indigenous cultures celebrate it. In the process, you will enhance your general knowledge of those cultures and even find more ways to bring joy into your own life. No matter what our belief system is, nature is beautiful and always worth celebrating!

Michelle Dalnoky, RN, BA, Publisher

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Contents 8 412 FOOD RESCUE

Nonprofit Combats Food Waste

9 PAY WHERE WE PLAY

Boosting the Hometown Economy

10 THE GIFT OF YUM Homemade Treats Spark Holiday Cheer

14 SING TO HEAL

Using the Voice to Uplift Mind and Body

16 A NEW STORY FOR THE WORLD

Re-Visioning the Script for a Healthier Society and Planet

20 MATT KAHN

on Transforming the Planet With Love

22 REINVENT THE

HOLIDAYS

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More Meaning, Less Stuff

24 HOLIDAY TREATS FOR PETS

Homemade Recipes They Will Love

DEPARTMENTS 4 news briefs 6 health briefs 8 nonprofit spotlight 9 green living 10 conscious eating 14 healing ways

20 22 24 26 29 31

wise words healthy kids natural pet calendar resource guide classifieds

December 2020

news briefs

Mindful Product and Activities at Coterie

oterie is the home of Calli Tony, a holistic health coach and certified personal trainer, offering a variety of holistic health and wellness services and products. â&#x20AC;&#x153;January 9 will be our kick-off class of the embodiment practice Soul Flow. That day we will also be open for retail and will host Stacey McBeth for Kundalini. We will be open for a pop-up juice bar, live music, massage and reiki. We will end the evening with a cacao ceremony and a New Moon Ritual,â&#x20AC;? says Tony. Events will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. January 16 is a day retreat from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. full of holistic healing, embodiment and manifestation magic. Coterie services range from mindful movement to embodiment practices, mindset coaching and more. They also offer yoga, new moon rituals, healing collectives, energy healing, business coaching, intuitive nutrition guidance and intuitive oracle card readings. Products include crystal and herbal healing, handmade jewelry by women-owned businesses, energy protection products, self-love and heart-opening products, and a wide variety of chakra healing products. There is also a special fall and winter section to get through the chillier months. For more information, call 724-562-0682, email Calli@callitonycpt. com or visit callitonycpt.com. See ad, page 8.

Protect Skin from Winter Weather

hayah Naturals, a small, family-owned skin care business with a passion for pure, clean living, has opened a new online store at ChayahNaturals. com for customers seeking clean, natural, organic skin care alternatives. All products are made in the USA with certified organic, all natural, non-GMO ingredients and completely free of toxins. Chayah Naturals body butters are made with a skin-nourishing blend of cold pressed oils, raw shea butter and soothing essential oils. The Classic Organic Body Butter is sweet, with a light vanilla-citrus scent. The Lavender Organic Body Butter is soothing with a calming, lavender scent. All of them will keep skin hydrated and soft through the winter season. For more information email Info@ChayahNaturals.com. See ad, page 8.

News to share? Email details to: Publisher@NaturalAwakeningsSWPA.com Submittal deadline is the 10th of the month.

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December 2020

Retain Muscle Mass with Vitamin C

health briefs

Eat Cruciferous Veggies for Cleaner Blood Vessels

“Bulking up” evokes images of bodybuilders and possible steroid use, but new research shows that older people that simply eat lots of vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables have greater skeletal muscle mass than those that don’t eat these foods. Researchers from the UK’s University of East Anglia collected data from more than 13,000 people between 42 and 82 years old and reported in The Journal of Nutrition that the highest amounts of vitamin C correlated with the greatest estimated skeletal muscle mass—an important finding, as people older than 50 typically lose half a percent of muscle fat each year, leading to frailty and a lower quality of life. Sixty percent of men in the study and 50 percent of women were not getting enough vitamin C from food or supplements. “We’re not talking about people needing megadoses. Eating a citrus fruit such as an orange each day and having a vegetable side to a meal will be sufficient for most people,” says study co-author Richard Hayhoe.

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Pile on the broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage. In a study of 684 older Australian women published in the British Journal of Nutrition, researchers found those that ate more than 45 grams of cruciferous vegetables a day—about onequarter cup of steamed broccoli or one-half cup of raw cabbage—were 46 percent less likely to have calcium buildup in the aorta, the main vessel carrying blood from the heart into the body. Fatty calcium deposits in the aorta are a key marker of vascular disease linked to heart attacks and strokes. “One particular constituent found abundantly in cruciferous vegetables is vitamin K, which may be involved in inhibiting the calcification process that occurs in our blood vessels,” says lead author Lauren Blekkenhorst, of Edith Cowan University, in Perth.

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Nap Less for Heart Health

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For normal nighttime sleepers, taking a midday snooze for more than one hour may hurt cardiovascular health, reports a surprising new study from Guangzhou Medical University, in China. After analyzing 20 studies of 313,651 people, researchers found those people that napped longer than 60 minutes after sleeping more than six hours at night had a 30 percent greater risk of death from any cause and a 34 percent higher risk of heart disease. However, for people sleeping less than six hours at night, naps of 30 to 45 minutes “might improve heart health,” says study author Zhe Pan. Napping, long thought to be healthy, is under increasing scrutiny, with some research linking it to high blood pressure, diabetes and poor overall physical health. A 2019 Swiss study, published in Heart, of 3,500 people concluded that napping once or twice a week reduces heart disease risk by 48 percent, but benefits decline with more frequent naps, perhaps because ongoing sleepiness can point to underlying health disorders.

Aquarian Age Beckons by Leza Vivio

t is said that the biggest crisis that we face is one of mental health, and just like that, our lives have changed. We took for granted the impact that our sense of well-being had to do with being a part of our communities, but didn’t understand the impact of losing our ability to participate. The problem goes deeper than whether or not we can go to a concert, movie or restaurant. We didn’t realize the importance of sharing space and connecting with real, human people, and how those interactions truly feed our soul. As the pain of disconnection is felt and translated as a rise in anxieties and depression, our vulnerabilities are being exposed. From time to time, the African spiritual tradition of ubuntu will surface in our social media, and it is easy to understand why people are sharing it. Our concept of ubuntu was put forth by South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was fueled by hope for a reconciliation and forgiveness among his countrymen. He defines Ubuntu as, “I participate, I share,” and states, “We believe that a person is a person through other persons, that my humanity is caught up, bound up, inextricably, with yours. When I dehumanize you, I inexorably dehumanize myself. The solitary human being is a contradiction in terms. Therefore, you seek to work for the common good because your humanity comes into its own in community in belonging.” Many of us believe that we are at the dawn of a golden age, and that we have entered into the Age of Aquarius. This Aquarian Age boasts values of love, brotherhood, unity and integrity—move toward holism and understanding. Edgar Cayce, a well-known American clairvoyant, said we were moving toward a new age and proposed that this new age would bring forth global unity as it would become apparent that each nation and their citizens are part of an interconnected world. On April 4, as we all sat in the throes of a collective time-out, there was a call for a mass meditation, and people throughout the world responded to the call. The capacity for focused and shared human intention is unbelievable, and we are hungry for it, but we are also dependent on it. We are at a pivotal point in our humanity. We come together or we fall apart. Lesa Vivio is the owner of Sacred. Centered. You. For more information, visit SacredCenteredYou.com. See ad, page 13. December 2020

nonprofit spotlight

412 Food Rescue Nonprofit Combats Food Waste by Martin Miron

12 Food Rescue is celebrating their fifth anniversary of addressing the disconnect between food waste, food insecurity and environmental sustainability. They believe that good food belongs to people, not landfills, and their mission is to prevent perfectly good food from entering the waste stream and redirect it to nonprofits that serve those that are food insecure. Leah Lizarondo co-founded 412 Food Rescue in 2015 with Gisele Fetterman. Lizarondo states, “When I began working in food rescue five years ago, one in eight Americans were regularly going hungry. During the pandemic, that number has risen to one in five At the same time, millions of pounds of perfectly good food are being wasted, contributing to landfills and greenhouse gas emissions. Food Rescue Hero’s innovative distribution model successfully bridges the last mile to positively impact food insecurity and eradicate food waste. Since 2015, the Food Rescue Hero platform has facilitated the recovery of more than 28 million pounds of food from going to waste via tech that mobilizes over 18,000 drivers in seven cities. Called Food Rescue Heroes, these volunteers comprise the world’s largest on-demand volunteer food transport network, with a 99 percent service level. Over the next 10 years, we plan to directly respond to SDG’s Target 12.3 goal to halve per capita food waste by 2030 by scaling to 100 cities.” The organization welcomes new volunteers to join the largest volunteer driver network in the world by registering on Food Rescue Hero app (iOS and Android). The UglyCSA program, a holistic approach to food waste and saves previously unsellable produce from local farmers. For more information, visit 412FoodRescue.org.

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Image Courtesy of Josh Pridgen

green living

PAY WHERE WE PLAY

Boosting the Hometown Economy by Sandra Yeyati

message we hear throughout the year, but especially during the holidays, is, “Buy local.” The idea is to purchase from locally owned and operated businesses. Facing competition from big chains like Walmart or internet companies like Amazon, they need our support. But it’s not just a nice thing to do; consumers that buy local help build robust hometown economies with a long list of impressive benefits. “About three dozen studies have found that two to four times more money stays in the economy for every dollar spent in a locally owned business rather than a nonlocal one,” says economist Michael Shuman, author of The Small-Mart Revolution, Put Your Money Where Your Life Is and The Local Economy Solution. “What’s more, the community enjoys a multiplier effect, generating two to four times more job opportunities, two to four times more income and two to four times greater tax collections. If your interest is in reducing poverty and raising social equality, locally owned businesses are your ticket to doing so.” According to Shuman, cities that rely on just one or two large companies to drive their economies are far less self-reliant and less resilient than towns that support a diversified base of smaller, locally owned businesses. “The more you have control over your economy, the less likely you’re going to be hurt if one big company splits for Mexico,” he explains.

Cities that have many thriving local businesses enjoy other benefits, too. “We know from political science studies that they have higher rates of voting participation and volunteering,” Shuman says. “Sociology studies show lower crime and greater degrees of social organization and civil society. Health studies reveal that local business communities replace a lot of unhealthy, imported food with healthier, fresher, less-packaged food that lowers rates of diabetes and obesity. Unique local businesses attract tourists. And because they shorten the lines of distribution and supply, we know they bring down carbon footprint.” Phoenix business leader Kimber Lanning, who opened a record store in 1987 and an art gallery in 1999, has witnessed firsthand the transformative power of local commerce. “Doing business with people we know heightens our connection to place, and when we care about place, we’re more likely to vote, volunteer and give charitably.” In 2003, Lanning founded the nonprofit Local First Arizona (LFA) to help local businesses thrive and eventually eliminate city, state and federal subsidies that multinational companies were receiving. “Big chains move in, claiming they’re going to drive so much sales tax revenue that the city should pay them to be there,” she explains. “Cabela’s [the outfitter chain] got a $68 million subsidy from Glendale to open one retail location. These sweetheart deals extract money out of the community that could have been spent on parks, libraries and fire departments, but instead goes to shareholders living elsewhere.” Responding to political pressure by LFA and others, Arizona passed a law banning these subsidies five years ago—a major victory—leveling the playing field for smaller businesses, according to Lanning. As the author of 13 destination guidebooks, Florida-based travel journalist Karen T. Bartlett helps people discover the often-hidden flavors and experiences unique to their own region, meeting neighbors and supporting the local economy along the way. “From kayak adventures and foodie tours to community theater productions and galleries featuring local artists, fun and meaningful ways to enjoy the distinctive offerings of home abound,” she says. “Think local first,” Lanning says. “Spend your money with people you know in your community—from haircuts to oil changes. Use a local pharmacy. Go to the farmers’ market and move your money to community banks and credit unions.” “For people to get excited about the purchase of a five-dollar hammer and not pay attention to where they have their mortgage is utterly irrational. Rank [in] order your business expenditures, which starts with your home, then probably goes to your car and then health care, and think about ways of localizing those things, rather than every grocery item,” Shuman advises. “Usually, you find cheaper, better-quality goods and services, or at the very least, comparable options,” he says, adding that even if a purchase is slightly more expensive or a bit less convenient, favoring the neighborhood vendor is always going to benefit the local economy. Sandra Yeyati, J.D., is a professional writer. Reach her at SandraYeyati@gmail.com. December 2020

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conscious eating

The Gift of Yum Homemade Treats Spark Holiday Cheer by April Thompson

ift-givers seeking memorable presents while avoiding holiday shopping stress need look no further than the kitchen. Edible homemade gifts make special, welcome treats, help slow down the shopping frenzy of the season and increase creativity in the kitchen. While 79 percent of recipients return some holiday gifts every year, food and handmade items rank in the top 10 treasured gifts, according to Survey Monkey research.

Mackenzie Burgess, a Fort Collins, Colorado, dietitian and recipe developer at Cheerful Choices, encourages holiday gift-givers to think beyond the Christmas cookie. One of her go-to holiday gifts, a lentil and brown rice dry soup mix, features colorful dry ingredients layered in a Mason jar and the recipe attached with a pretty ribbon. “This shelf-stable dry soup mix is the perfect, plant-based meal to make on a chilly night, and makes for a unique, affordable and thoughtful gift,” says Burgess, adding that the Mason jars can be repurposed. For a sweet but healthy treat, Burgess offers freezer-friendly energy bites, which can be made in large quantities in advance and frozen or refrigerated, then popped into jars at gift time. These gluten-free, vegan treats can be made with common pantry items, including a base of oats, nut butter and a sweetener like honey or agave, as well as “fixings” such as shredded coconut, dried cranberries or goji berries, chopped nuts, or chia or flax seeds to boost the flavor and nutrition. Natural food coloring can also be added to foster a more festive look. To give a gift a “wow” factor, blogger Shelley Fulton, in Hudson, Ohio, recommends making a themed basket that may include a mix of homemade and purchased items. “You can take your signature spice rub or that homemade soup mix everyone raves about and expand into a gift basket with other products

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that support the theme, like barbecue tools for the spice rub or a kettle with cute soup bowls and a new ladle for the soup mix,” says Fulton, the creator of Two Healthy Kitchens. For the dog lovers on a holiday list, Fulton suggests making homemade sweet potato dog biscuits, which can be bundled in a dog bed with other canine comforts. Stephanie Hafferty, author of The Creative Kitchen: Seasonal Plant Based Recipes for Meals, Drinks, Garden and Self Care, suggests handcrafted items like infused vinegars, herb salts, herbal tea blends or spice mixes for foodies on the holiday gift list. Infused concoctions can be easily made by steeping a light vinegar like champagne or cider with rosemary, thyme or other perennial herbs, along with a spiraled citrus peel, for two weeks before gifting. “Infused vinegars look so lovely and go with so many winter dishes. They also have the advantage of being antiviral and having the shelf life of a few years,” says Hafferty. Herb-infused olive oils make another gorgeous foodie gift, but Hafferty warns of botulism risk if the herbs are not completely dried beforehand and fully submerged in the oil. “Make this one closer to the time you plan to give it and include instructions to use within a few weeks,” recommends the Somerset, England, author. Unusual spice mixes are another favorite gift of Hafferty’s, which can encourage home cooks to get creative. “Ras el Hanout is a versatile Moroccan spice blend that elevates dishes to another dimension. You can upcycle an old tin and decorate it with images of Moroccan tiles and add a homemade booklet with recipe ideas,” she says. For a hostess gift that will be eaten immediately, Fulton loves making fruit kabob bouquets, made festive by using red and green fruits like strawberries and kiwi cut into holiday-themed shapes like stars and bells. “This is a fun one to make with kiddos,” adds the blogger. If concerned about preparing food items for someone due to COVID-19, Fulton suggests assembling a countertop herb garden or a handmade book of

favorite recipes, with a promise to cook together soon. The spirit that goes into holiday giftmaking matters as much as the end product. Making thoughtful presents for loved ones is a great time to reflect upon our blessings, especially those that have blessed our lives this year. Connect with Washington, D.C., freelance writer April Thompson at AprilWrites.com.

Holiday Gift-Giving Recipes Lentil Brown Rice Soup yield: 6 servings

If presenting the soup mix as a gift, layer dry ingredients in a Mason jar and print recipe to attach to the jar. 1 cup green or brown lentils ½ cup uncooked brown rice ½ cup green split peas 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning 1 Tbsp dried parsley 1 Tbsp garlic powder ½ tsp ground black pepper 2 large vegetable bouillon cubes (1 cube should be equivalent to 1 Tbsp of granulated bouillon) 8 cups water Optional: 1 medium yellow onion, diced 1 Tbsp canola oil 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, no salt added Optional: Sauté onion in oil in a large stock pot over high heat for 3 minutes. Add can of diced tomatoes. Add dry soup ingredients and 8 cups of water to the same large stock pot (unless starting with this step). Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes, covered with a lid. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve with crusty bread and parmesan cheese, if desired. Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 4 months. Recipe from Mackenzie Burgess, Cheerful Choices.

Natural Awakenings recommends using organic, non-GMO (genetically modified) and non-bromated ingredients whenever possible. December 2020

Christmas Cocoa Crunch Bark

Energy Bites

yield: 30 pieces

These energy bites are the perfect snack to grab and go. They’re completely customizable and take 5 minutes or less to make. It’s easy to create festive, colored bites for the holidays. Simply add onequarter cup of oats into a bowl with 15-30 drops of food coloring and give it a stir. Then, simply roll your finished balls in the food-colored oats.

½ cup 100% cocoa powder, unsweetened ½ cup coconut oil, melted 2 Tbsp raw quinoa 2 Tbsp maple syrup ¼ tsp stevia ¼ cup dried cranberries ¼ cup pistachios, roughly chopped 2 Tbsp candied orange, diced in small pieces ½ tsp pink Himalayan salt 2 Tbsp white chocolate, melted (optional)

Pour mixture onto a plate or sheet pan lined with parchment paper or wax paper. Sprinkle pistachios, dried cranberries, candied oranges and salt over the melted

Freeze for 1 hour. Break into pieces and enjoy. Store leftovers in freezer for up to 3 months. Recipe from Mackenzie Burgess, Cheerful Choices.

Ras el Hanout Spice Mix

½ cup nut or seed butter (peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, sun butter) 1 Tbsp liquid (plant-based milk, dairy milk, water, coconut oil) 2-3 Tbsp honey or maple syrup

This is lovely sprinkled onto roasting vegetables or added to falafel mixes, soups, stews and tagines. 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp fennel seeds 2 tsp cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick, ground 1 tsp smoked paprika or red pepper flakes 1 tsp black peppercorns 1 tsp cayenne (optional for spicier version) 5 star anise ½ tsp ground cloves Seeds from 10 cardamom pods 1 tsp dried rose petals Dry roast the cumin, coriander, peppercorns, fennel and star anise in a cast-iron 12

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photo by Stephanie Hafferty

In a small bowl, mix together cocoa powder and melted coconut oil. Stir in toasted quinoa, maple syrup and stevia.

chocolate mixture. Drizzle white chocolate over the top and use a toothpick to create swirl effect if desired.

1 cup rolled oats or quick oats ½ cup add-ins (dried fruit, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, chia seeds, ground flaxseed, chopped nuts or a mixture)

Add oats, add-ins, nut or seed butter, and liquid to a large bowl. Stir to combine. Mixture should be slightly sticky, but still crumbly. Add in honey or maple syrup, 1 tablespoon at a time, to reach desired sweetness. Stir until mixture starts to come together in a sticky ball. If the mixture is still too dry, add in 1-2 more tablespoons of liquid. skillet until lightly toasted. This takes a minute or two and smells gorgeous. Cool and mix with the other ingredients, grinding in a pestle and mortar or spice blender until the mixture resembles a fine powder. Store in a glass-lidded container. This spicy mix is good for up to six months.

Place bowl in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to chill, then roll mixture into balls using hands.

Recipe courtesy of Stephanie Hafferty.

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Store in the fridge until ready to eat or pack into a jar for a gift. Store any leftovers in fridge for up to 1 week or the freezer for up to 3 months.

photo by Stephanie Hafferty

Toast raw quinoa over medium-high heat until slightly browned and nutty aroma.

photo by Mackenzie Burgess, RDN

yield: 12 large bites or 24 small bites

VE THIS O L E U R T FIND

December 2020

bodies. Singing, especially repetitive singing where we can start to regulate a breath cycle and elongate it, gets us deeply oxygenated,” says Daisy Press, a professional singer and vocal teacher in New York City. There’s no right or wrong way to reap the benefits of music. A few years into her professional career, Press took a group lesson with a North Indian raga teacher and experienced a deep inner shift. “I was allowed to enjoy the feeling of singing that one note and my mind turned off. I felt the intonation itself in my body—in waves, shapes and colors. Intonation itself became a real living energy that felt essentially good, restorative and healing.” Lea Longo, a Montreal-based meditation mindfulness coach and musician, concurs. “Singing has been my way to relax, not only my mind, but my body, as well. It uses the breath, a vital tool for health. It’s my go-to place to feel better. I just sing when I need a boost, and it works for me.”

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healing ways

Resonance, Mantra and Humming

SING TO HEAL

Using the Voice to Uplift Mind and Body by Marlaina Donato

ccording to growing research, singing along to a favorite musical or joining a local choir can be good for our health. From college students to patients with Parkinson’s disease, everyone can benefit, regardless of talent. Singing naturally fosters endorphins, amps up immunity levels and lowers the stress hormone cortisol. A study by the UK University of East Anglia published in 2017 in The BMJ’s Medical Humanities shows that group singing—along with the positivity of social interaction—supports and improves mental health in people with depression and anxiety. Singing for the Brain, a program created by The Alzheimer’s Society, has been shown to improve memory, mood and the ability to socialize for people with dementia. “I feel singing can be significant to mental well-being and healing from an injury or cancer, while in recovery from substance abuse, or to help cope with trauma. Additional benefits may include pain management,” says Tamera Anderson-Hanna, a licensed mental health counselor and the owner of Wellness, Therapy & Yoga, in Miami.

Breathing into Self-Expression

“When we sing, we dive straight into a conscious bodily experience that brings us into immediate connection with our 14

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“The voice can be considered a healing tool for the fact that it is directly related to resonance in the body,” explains Longo. “We can think of our voice as a tuning fork to ‘tune’ ourselves and use it as a way to heal internally through the vibrations and sounds we produce.” Using sound is a subtle energy therapy that can help heal emotional or physical distress, he says Mantra, the recitation of specific words or traditionally sacred chants, is not a religion, but simply a method to quell mental chatter. “Mantras are vibrational tools that can be practiced by any faith or spiritual practice.” In her work, Anderson-Hanna makes the mantra personal. “I often teach individuals how to create their own mantra and how to challenge their thinking using positive affirmations. The mantra I teach is most often a personal reflection of ‘I am’ statements they can aspire to, versus negative or defeating thoughts.” Humming, another way to open the voice for healing, is the least intimidating for many people, but packs a powerful punch. “Out of all the many healing sounds I’ve worked with, I find that humming is the most effective because it is so inclusive—everyone can hum. Physiologically, humming reduces heart rate, respiration and blood pressure. Many different beneficial hormones and chemicals are released, including endorphins, oxytocin, melatonin and nitric oxide,” says Jonathan Goldman, co-author of The Humming Effect and director of the Sound Healers Association, in Boulder, Colorado. “The importance of nitric oxide is coming more into light since it is a vasodilator and has anti-viral qualities.” In addition, humming stimulates the vagus nerve, which reduces inflammation and enhances immunity. Whether we sing children to sleep at night or learn to sing jazz, using our voices can be good medicine. Goldman reminds us, “There are so many different ways that sound can positively shift and change us.” Marlaina Donato is a recording artist and author. Connect at AutumnEmbersMusic.com.

December 2020

A New Story for the World

Re-Visioning the Script for a Healthier Society and Planet by Linda Sechrist

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he most familiar form of human activity and the most natural way to describe what happens in our lives is through telling stories. Toddlers listen to stories that have contained the same archetypal characters acting out similar plots for millennia. In literature, folktales and myths all over the world, stories serve the purpose of providing life instructions and answering humanity’s fundamental questions about the nature of existence, such as who we are, where we came from, the definition of our purpose and the nature of our reality.

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In the 1980s, author and cultural historian Thomas Berry declared that humanity needed a new story that is less destructive and dysfunctional. Berry filled lecture halls, telling attendees, “We are in trouble now because we don’t have a good story. The old story, the account of how the world came to be and how we fit into it, isn’t functioning properly. What once sustained us, shaped our emotional attitude, provided us with life purpose, energized action, consecrated suffering, integrated knowledge and guided education is no longer serving humanity.” As we are discovering globally through hard experience, the old stories of rugged individualism and conquering and dominating the natural world have run their course with grim results. In the last four decades, fragments of a new story have been slowly emerging. Because it isn’t deemed worthy of mainstream media, the public is left in the dark about new, life-instructing stories capable of altering human civilization in positive ways. Were these story fragments woven together in an anthology, chapters on climate, economy, religion, environment, science, politics, medicine, education, conscious evolution and community would constitute a useful account of ideas and concepts capable of bringing about a brighter future for humanity and the planet. These possibilities would surely capture readers’ imaginations.

New Climate Story In Climate: A New Story, writer and activist Charles Eisenstein suggests that we need a new story that makes possible the

New Science Story Evolution biologist Elisabet Sahtouris’ stories about science shine a light on the broader perspective of life and science gained from studying multiple worldviews. A scholar of ancient sciences, Sahtouris reminds us that the original purpose of science was to find guidance for human affairs by studying nature. During a recent conversation with Ubiquity University founder Jim Garrison in the online Humanity Rising’s Global Solutions Summit, she says, “We have acted in opposition and made ecology subservient to our economy, using ecology as a set of resources for human economics. When we make our economy fit into nature’s economy, which we call ecology, we’ll have ecosophy, the ‘wisdom of the Earth itself ’ that occurs when a man knows how to listen with love.” Sahtouris teaches corporations about ecosophy’s new view of a conscious universe and a living Earth in which we are co-creators. This, she believes, takes humans out of fatalistic victimhood so that we can become consciously active agents of our destiny. Lifting the fog of our

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more beautiful world our hearts know is achievable. The story, which he believes is attainable, calls for people, governments and organizations to embrace a partnership paradigm to protect, restore, regenerate and repair damages to our planet’s natural world, which we call the environment. Using indigenous wisdom, organizations such as the Pachamama Alliance and Bioneers are helping individuals worldwide to recognize that humanity is here to be in service to life. Creating the right conditions for revitalizing life is the opposite of our collective story that views the natural world only as a resource. Eisenstein’s ideas for regenerative agriculture match those described in environmentalist Paul Hawken’s Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming. In October, Drawdown Georgia became the first state-centered effort to crowd-solve for climate change, with solutions tailored to Georgia’s unique natural, economic and social resources.

self-image as consumers of stuff gives humans the rights and responsibilities to live out our full co-creative humanity.

A Global Commons Sharing Solutions Through the daily sharing of stories with keynote speakers and panel discussions, Garrison increases the momentum of the Humanity Rising movement, which includes Ubiquity University students, program participants and more than 400 organizations that come together as a “global commons” to take counsel and share what they are developing for their own networks. Humanity Rising was launched to try to leverage the crisis of the coronavirus pandemic into an opportunity for human renewal and increase our resilience to future challenges. This new form of real-life competency education delivered in TED Talk-style presentations, moderated dialogues, working groups, blogs, ongoing conversations, group discussions and other interactions provides participants a wide scope of possibilities and activities for working together for global solutions.

Economics Story If British economist Kate Raworth writes a follow-up to her bestselling book Donut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist, she’ll certainly add a case study of her consulting work in Amsterdam, where her donut model is now embraced as the starting point for public policy decisions. Amsterdam is the world’s first city to make a commitment to Raworth’s concepts: “Out with the global attachment to economic growth and laws of supply and demand, and in with … what it means for countries, cities and people to thrive in balance with the planet,” as reported in The Guardian. The simple central premise of Raworth’s alternative to growth economics is that the goal of economic activity should be to meet the core needs of all within the means of the planet.

Interconnectedness Author Robert Atkinson’s contribution to the new story is his understanding of the underlying unity in all religions and all humanity, expressed throughout his book The December 2020

Story of Our Time: From Duality to Interconnectedness to Oneness. “Nature is an embodiment of the divine, and the whole Earth is sacred. Its vast resources are our common heritage entrusted to us,” he says. “Humanity is one family. Having passed through the stage of childhood, humanity is now struggling to leave behind its adolescent ways while taking on new patterns of thought and action in approaching its maturity. Accepting the oneness of humanity as a biological fact, a social necessity and a spiritual reality will lead us further along our journey toward lasting peace.” Atkinson believes global harmony is inevitable when we exercise our obligation to independently investigate reality and stop blindly and uncritically following various traditions, movements and opinions. He says, “I consider this as one of the main sources of world conflict.”

Undivided Wholeness In a world engulfed by fragmentation, the film Infinite Potential: The Life & Ideas of David Bohm is a healing balm with the potential to overturn our ideas about the world and ourselves. “The core work of David Bohm, considered one of the most significant theoretical physicists of the 20th century, is our essential interconnectedness and undivided wholeness from which we get a sense of our own interconnectivity,” says producer and director Paul Howard. “This realization makes it logical to start taking better care of ourselves, each other and planet Earth.”

Howard notes, “David was interested in the nature of thought and consciousness. Realizing that he wanted to develop full expression of his interests, he explored wider domains and investigated different worldviews with sages, philosophers and spiritual leaders such as the Dalai Lama, who called David his ‘science guru’. A lifelong concern with social and political change led him to develop the Bohm Dialogue, a form of communication aiming to break through our collective modes of habitual thought. He also spent time with indigenous people, searching for a new form of language in which to express his ideas in a more process-oriented way.”

Indigenous Wisdom While the early church developed and grew in numbers by assimilating the wisdom of the world about it, including paganism, it neglected to assimilate the intuitive ways in that indigenous people knew the natural world, how it functioned and how intimately they were integrated with it. Tribes around the globe have ancient extinction stories that foretold the crises we are collectively experiencing, as well as potential outcomes and possible solutions. In Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change, Sherri Mitchell (Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset) tells the story of the Mohawk Seventh Generation Prophecy. “The Onkwehonwe, or real people, rise up and demand their wisdom and way of life be respected and that the natural way of the Earth and way of life be fully restored. Teachings on the indigenous way of life are being sought after, and all that remains is that we work together to restore the Earth to a state of balance and good health,” she says.

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Medicine and Community

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Thousands of people are gathering in online intentional communities associated with personal growth, healing and spiritual awakening. Jennifer Phelps, M.D., owner and director of Phelps MD Integrative Medicine, in Redding, Connecticut, practices mind-body medicine and is a faculty member of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, in Washington, D.C. A trained facilitator of small groups, she has been teaching trauma and stress healing via Zoom calls during the pandemic. Initially, Phelps was concerned about how the levels of intimacy, trust and vulnerability necessary for individuals to develop a sense of cohesiveness and bonding could be formed via computer screens. By using the center’s model of self-care, selfawareness and mutual support that has its roots in indigenous culture, she felt her concern dissipate as group members began to bond quickly. “Our guidelines call for no cross-talking and no interrupting. Confidentiality is sacred. I’m a facilitator and a participant, which most models don’t allow,” says Phelps. She speculates that the success of online bonding might be due to participants feeling safer in their homes with a little extra anonymity, noting, “Not being face-to-face seems to allow people to share more freely. These weird times are creating a commonality and a sense of community connection.”

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Conscious Choice Leah Lamb, a sacred storyteller in Topanga, California, defines her role as a seer far beyond the present moment. In Lamb’s online classes with her storytelling community, she loves sharing quotes by other storytellers such as Rebecca Solnit, “We think we tell stories; but stories often tell us … Too often stories saddle us, and they ride us and whip us onward and tell us what to do and we do it without questioning. The task of learning to be free is to learn to hear them; to question them, to pause and hear silence, to name them and then become a storyteller of your own story.” “In our role of storyteller, we can’t be without understanding that we tell stories about how we are in the world as much as stories tell us how to be in world. Identify and notice your stories, then understand how they are running you, so you can consciously choose your place in them,” advises Lamb, who encourages her students to discover the genius of their own calling. These are only some chapters in the new story that calls for each of us to be aware of the stories we live by, as well as those we tell ourselves and others. It also begs us to ask what is our role in the new story.

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Linda Sechrist is a senior staff writer for Natural Awakenings. Connect at LindaSechrist.com. December 2020

wise words

healers, we learn to find complete alignment with spirit no matter how the world ebbs and flows.

Matt Kahn on Transforming the Planet With Love by Sandra Yeyati

uthor of bestsellers Whatever Arises, Love That and The Universe Always Has a Plan, as well as The Healing Mantra Card Deck, Matt Kahn is a spiritual teacher and empathic healer with a global audience, guiding seekers through in-person events and popular YouTube videos.

What are mantras and how do we use them? They’re a declaration of our deepest wisdom, highest ideals and most authentic aspirations that we sound into existence as a way of asking the universe for help to embody our next highest level of consciousness. It’s an intention of the person I’m going to become and a request of healing energy from the universe, saying, “Please help me become more of what I declare through my words.” A mantra uses the sound of our voice as vibrational medicine to bring what’s within us out into the open for the purpose of not only transforming our personal circumstances, but improving the quality of the world. When you say a mantra, it’s embedded in your subconscious mind, which is like a new piece of clothing in your closet. A bunch of other clothes may push it to the background, but the moment you need to wear that article of clothing, it’s going to stick out of the closet and get your attention.

What mantra is resonating for 2021? No matter what, love always makes it right in the end. If you know that everything is made right by an infinitely wise, loving source, it relaxes you into being open to the journey and allowing yourself to be as aligned as possible to whatever life brings. 20

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What lessons can we learn from turbulent times? A big lesson is that desire is not a requirement for happiness. The things that most people desire for comfort or stability have been displaced, whether we’re talking about COVID-19 or the wildfires, for example. But happiness is how content and whole we are with ourselves; the constant needing of things pulls us out of happiness. Perhaps we can discover that just being who we were born to be is what we’ve always desired. No matter how dark the world seems or how insurmountable the odds appear, this is part of a grand transformation of the planet. We love ourselves to remain safe throughout each step along the way, and we offer kindness, compassion and forgiveness to anyone around us, knowing that anyone acting out of character is just acting from a level of unprocessed pain. We love ourselves as a way of uplifting the planet, and we bless others as a way of helping to further the evolution of humanity. As we learn to be inner light workers and

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What’s the difference between our personal spiritual journeys and what you call ascension? Ascension is when a certain percentage of the world starts to awaken in consciousness. It’s not just a few awake beings scattered across the globe in a fast-driven, goal-oriented society. It’s a world waking up to its true nature on a collective level. On an individual journey, we’re healing our wounds, seeing through limiting beliefs, forgiving those who mistreated us and daring to treat ourselves better so that we can become active participants in the community of evolving beings we are creating. Giving brings us together. Each of us has something unique to contribute through the gift of diversity; together, we accomplish more than we ever could individually. The individual spiritual path helps clear distractions and awaken your most infinite power, and then you bring that together in community for this potluck of generosity we each get to experience and share.

What is your advice for political protestors in today’s America? Gandhi would say, “Be about what you’re for, not what you’re against.” When we protest, we’re saying that something isn’t fair and relying on publicly elected officials to do something about it. I think the gathering together of beings can transform from what isn’t fair to what all of our talents and efforts can do together to create solutions. How can we solve this on a communal level? What can we do to peacefully and consciously use all the power within us to create positive, tangible change so we can start living in the world that we envision? It’s an invitation to quantum-leap out of the identification of problems and into the cultivation of solutions. Sandra Yeyati, J.D., is a professional writer. Reach her at SandraYeyati@gmail.com.

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sation with children about buying less stuff and avoiding waste,” she adds. “They may have their own ideas about how to reduce waste and relish the challenge of thinking about what they really want.”

healthy kids

REINVENT THE HOLIDAYS

Getting Creative For Evan Porter, of Milton, Georgia, a parenting writer at DadFixesEverything.com, “Less clutter and fewer gifts are something we’ve been working toward anyway.” This year, he and his wife plan to drastically pare down their kids’ gifts, possibly using this formula: “Something to read, something to wear, something you want and something you need.” Instead of presents under a tree, Dawna Campbell, of Bigfork, Montana, founder of ThetaHeartHealing.com, will give her kids an unplugged (and coronavirus-compliant) nature retreat where they can investigate the natural environment, work with animals and journal about how to make the world a better place.

More Meaning, Less Stuff

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by Ronica O’Hara

ike many parents, Alicia Hough, a corporate wellness expert in New York, used to go overboard plying her kids with gifts at Christmas. “I was always busy with work, which is why I thought that buying my children the latest or most trending toy in the market will make up for the time I’ve lost,” she recalls. “As kids, they indeed get excited with material gifts, but that joy is just temporary, and that’s what I realized throughout this pandemic. In the end, it’s the relationship with people you value that matters, and not these material things or celebrations.” Hough, who considers the pandemic a turning point, is not alone. In this turbulent year, holiday celebrations will likely be smaller, quieter and less opulent for many families. Yet the crisis has also set the stage for families “to create a holiday that is more in keeping with their values, finding deeper connection and meaning with less rushing around and spending less money,” says Laura Markham, a clinical psychologist and author of Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids. Besides passing up traveling and parties for cozy pajama times, many families are seriously rethinking their gift-giving habits. Although presents are a beloved part of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa celebrations, many families have come to wonder how the shopping and spending has gotten so out of hand. According to Investopedia, in 2019, the average American spent $942 on holiday gifts, a figure that has steadily mounted in the last decade to total $1 trillion. An estimated $16 billion worth of those gifts are unappreciated and tossed aside, reports Moneyish. This pandemic season offers “a chance to reset expectations if festive gift-giving has become excessive in recent years,” says Beth Kempton, author of Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy. “Perhaps most important is to have a conver-

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Gentle Self-Care for Parents It’s been a long, hard year for many parents, and working to make the holidays special for the children may add another layer of stress and anxiety. That’s why it’s key to acknowledge any sadness one is experiencing. “Feelings of melancholy are a reality for many people over the holidays, and this year it is likely to affect more of us than usual, given how so many of us have lost someone or something this year,” says Beth Kempton, author of Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy. “It is vital to acknowledge these feelings and accommodate them, whilst also making space for joy. This comes down to talking about it, letting people know what you need or asking what they need and being prepared for the emotions to rise to the surface in the middle of things.” She suggests “putting some slack in your schedule, taking extra care of your health, reaching out for support and giving yourself permission to do things differently this year.”

For parents that want to embrace creativity, low costs and sustainability this holiday season, Kempton suggests the following gift-giving ideas:  Build anticipation with a treasure hunt or by opening presents over a period of time.  Incorporate a sense of wonderment with a wooden magic set or a storybook written by either or both parents that stars the child.  Surprise the children by transforming a room in the house into a winter wonderland or turning the garden shed into Santa’s grotto.  Offer a parent’s time, skills and attention in the form of promissory notes or a small token that indicates a future shared experience, such as a jar of homemade marshmallows tied with a label promising a family camping trip.  Give children items that they can use or eat that are handmade by the parents.  Invoke a sense of nostalgia that prompts family storytelling, such as a jigsaw that summons memories of putting

together a puzzle with a grandfather 50 years ago.  Celebrate environmental stewardship by planting and growing a Christmas tree or Hanukkah bush. Even gift wrapping can become a fun and eco-smart family game by challenging everyone to creatively repurpose everything from old maps and fabrics to magazines and paper bags, perhaps decorated with artwork and nature finds. If every American family wrapped just three presents in reused materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields, estimates the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However they are wrapped, gifts demonstrate in these unprecedented times that deep joy comes not from acquiring new stuff, but from caring for and giving to each other—especially our children. “In the end, the most precious gift parents can give their children this holiday is their attention, infused with a little bit of festive magic,” says Kempton. Ronica O’Hara, a Denver-based health writer, can be reached at OHaraRonica@gmail.com.

Instilling the Giving Spirit in Kids

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hildren love getting gifts, but they also love the feeling of giving them, and the holidays are an optimal time to encourage this natural human impulse. Giving helps build their empathy and compassion muscles, which in turn makes for happier, more fulfilled lives, studies show. Bridging the hug gap. With grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and family friends less likely to be sitting around the table this year, having kids open those presents when the loved ones are on the other side of the Zoom or FaceTime screen can help ease the pain of the time apart. Or children can put together a love package for them that includes drawings and notes to be opened on the other end of a livestream virtual gathering.

Care for the community. “So many families have been devastated by COVID-19 and fires this year. And many of us have become aware of the cost of institutional racism to families of color,” says psychologist Laura Markham, author of Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids. “Why not discuss and decide on a family gift to make the world a better place? You could decide how much you would normally have spent on presents and give some portion of that away to help people who are struggling or support a cause that is important to you.” Simple steps like giving neighbors homemade cookies or candies tied with ribbons can also do much to lift holiday spirits. With her kids, Beth Kempton, author of Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy, makes up a batch of mince pie to share. “We might be wearing masks, along with Santa hats, and leaving the holiday treats on doorsteps instead of going in our neighbors’ homes this year, but we can still share holiday cheer,” she says. Alexandra Fung, CEO of the parent networking site UpParent.com, says her family in Chicago will provide gift boxes for families in need through their church or a local nonprofit and may work together to make blankets for traumatized and ill children using patterns supplied by the nonprofit Project Linus. We are the world. Another approach is to give children a small sum to donate, perhaps $10 or $20, and encourage them to find a cause they care about in town or by researching online—from putting money in a Salvation Army Christmas kettle to saving rainforest animals. Or encourage them to find a humanitarian or environmental project to focus on over the holidays. At UpParent.com, kids can find 11 ways to help others around the world without leaving the house, like turning old jeans into shoes to help Ugandan children fight parasites or helping to track animals in the wild. The National Environmental Education Foundation at NeefUSA.org lists dozens of at-home projects for kids, such as doing a home-energy audit, creating a compost pile and helping to identify wildlife caught on camera for a digital database. December 2020

natural pet

Beware of These Troublemakers

HOLIDAY TREATS FOR PETS

 Caﬀeinated products. Gary Richter, a holistic veterinarian in Oakland, California, and author of The Ultimate Pet Health Guide, suggests keeping caffeinated drinks and food away from pets. Caffeine contains stimulants called methylxanthines, and pets are much more sensitive to the effects of these substances than humans are. Ingesting even a small amount can make dogs vulnerable to caffeine poisoning, which can cause hyperactivity, panting, elevated heart rate, tremors, seizures and collapse. Seek immediate veterinary care for treatment if these symptoms develop in a dog.

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by Tonya Wilhelm

ooking for our pets is a great way to ensure they are eating wholesome, nutritional foods. It’s also a fun way to customize a pet treat recipe to meet specific dietary needs. These three festive holiday treats will have a dog woofing for more and a cat purring for seconds. Choose organic, locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. Pumpkins and apples are always at the top of the culinary list for holiday treats. Not only are these two foods safe for pets, they offer health benefits. Both are packed with fiber, which helps dogs feel fuller. It’s also good for digestive and colon health and can yield firmer stool. For the kitty friends, that fiber also helps move hairballs along. In addition, apples contain phytonutrients and flavonoids like quercetin, which are helpful in treating allergies. The chia seeds in this pet pie not only help firm up the pie, but are packed with nutrients that naturally boost energy. Chia seeds are high in omega-3 fatty acids and are a great source of antioxidants. They also contain minerals, fiber, calcium, protein and vitamins A, B, D and E. Cinnamon and ginger are wonderful spices to use in pet holiday treats. Both of these warming spices improve digestion and soothe the stomach lining. Select Ceylon cinnamon, not cassia cinnamon, because the latter contains higher amounts of coumarin, which can harm the liver and increase the risk of cancer. Ginger may act as a blood thinner, so don’t use it if a dog is going to have surgery or is pregnant. It may also lower blood pressure and blood sugar, so if a dog has heart issues or diabetes, talk to a vet. When in doubt, leave it out. 24

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 Artificial sweeteners. San Diego veterinarian Madison Rose says artificial sweeteners such as xylitol can cause a massive insulin release, leading to acute and profound hypoglycemia, or low-blood sugar, and hypokalemia, or low potassium levels. Marked by lethargy, ataxia, collapse, twitching or seizures, ingestion requires immediate veterinary care.  Raw, yeasty bread dough. This will expand when ingested, potentially causing a deadly twisting of the stomach.  Raisins and grapes. Common in holiday recipes, in large quantities, these can cause kidney failure in dogs.  Nutmeg. A toxin for pets.  Cooked bones. Not only are these choking hazards, they can pose a serious threat to the digestive tract.

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Homemade Recipes They Will Love

Pumpkin Apple Pie yield: depends on siZe oF molds

1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin 2 apples 5 eggs 1 cup goat’s milk 2 Tbsp chia seeds 1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon 1 tsp ginger Remove and discard the apple core and seeds. Place all ingredients in a mixer and blend. Then set it aside for 10 minutes to allow the chia seeds to begin to expand.

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Preheat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into preferred baking dishes, either for a large pie or small, bite-sized muffins. Bake approximately 15 minutes for small muffins or 40-60 minutes for a full-sized pie. Allow the pie to fully cool and set up before slicing and serving. Serve as a special treat to pets. Portion the remaining pie into serving sizes and freeze for later.

Eggnog for Pets Raw eggs can be a healthy addition to any fresh pet diet, assuming the animal doesn’t have an egg allergy. Cow’s milk isn’t the healthiest option for dogs and cats because they don’t tolerate its high level of alpha-s1-casein protein. Goat’s milk is a healthier option because it contains extremely low to no amounts of this protein, allowing better absorption of the nutrients. 4 eggs 2 cups goat’s milk 1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon Blend all the ingredients. Either place a few tablespoons in the pet’s dish as a special treat or drizzle over the food. Alternatively, place a silicone ice cube mold on a cookie sheet for support. The smaller the cavities, the better. Take the remaining eggnog, pour into the molds and place in the freezer. Once frozen, pop out the treats and store them in a glass container in the freezer. Try serving one frozen treat to each pet every few days.

Turkey Meatballs Making treats for cats can be tricky. The best bet is to head to the meat department. Even the most finicky of kitties will gobble up this healthy treat. 1 lb ground turkey 2 eggs ½ Tbsp dried peppermint Preheat oven to 350° F. Mix all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl until well-blended. Form into tablespoon balls using your hand or scooper and place on a lined or ceramic cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes until meatballs are set (they will be extra eggy). Carefully remove and place on a cooling rack. Serve as a special treat. Place treats in a glass container and refrigerate for up to three days or freeze until ready to serve. Thaw completely before serving. Tonya Wilhelm is a professional dog trainer, spreading the word about positive methods of preventing and managing behavioral issues with a holistic approach. For more information, visit RaisingYourPetsNaturally.com.

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CONNECT WITH OUR READERS THREE-MONTH EDITORIAL CALENDAR & MARKETING PLANNER

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December 2020

calendar of events NOTE: Events were accurate at the time the magazine went to press – please call ahead to check for date or time changes. All calendar events must be received by the 10th of the month and adhere to our guidelines. Review submissions guidelines at NaturalAwakeningsSWPA.com or email Publisher@NaturalAwakeningsSWPA.com for more information.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2 How to TAP for Well-Being – 7-10pm. With Sanna Carapellotti, MS, Cht. A workshop for applying Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Learn step-by-step how to increase your immunity by 130% in one week. Studio limit 10, also on ZOOM. $45. Onsite (limit 10) and online Zoom. Hosted by Himalayan Institute of Pittsburgh. Preregister: HipYoga.org.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3 River Birch Café Gives Back: Appalachian Prison Book Project – 1-5pm. Collecting paperback books in good condition for the Appalachian Prison Book Project. Donation items also needed. 48 Donley St, Morgantown, WV. 304-554-2205. Info@RiverBirchCafe.com. Info/Amazon Wish List/Drop Off: AppalachianPrisonBookProject.org/ get-involved/donate/donate-books.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4 Pranic Yoga Rhythm – 6-7pm. Hosted by OMBody. Join Amy Rhodes for a rhythmic gentle flow yoga set to the beat of living drumming by Jon Miller. All levels. $20. 194 Dance Ln, Uniontown. 724-320-9386.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5 Annual Holiday Open House – Dec 5-6. 10am5pm, Sat; 11am-5pm, Sun. Hosted by Eloquence Antiques & Artisans. Grab your friends and family for the annual open house, a celebration of the season. Enjoy the nostalgia of old times and browse more than 100 antique dealers and artisans to find unique gifts like stained glass, architectural salvage, stoneware, old chippy furniture, and more. Enjoy sweet treats, shopping and a visit from Santa. 1795 Mileground Rd, Morgantown, WV. Winter Artist’s Market – Dec 5- 19. 10am-5pm. Pop-up market on the front lawn of the Scaife building to help bring one-of-a-kind handmade gifts to loved ones. Warm refreshments and local vendors and artists. Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media, 1047 Shady Ave. 412-361-0873.

BVAHS Craft and Dip – 2-5pm. Hosted by The Olde Red Door Studio. Join to paint a red truck with a Christmas tree in the back. Proceeds benefit Belle Vernon HS student trip to the Galapagos islands. $40/person. 474 Morgantown St, Uniontown. 724-317-9759. New Moon Ritual – 6-7pm. Hosted by Calli Tony, CPT. Begin with a manifestation meditation and move into creating a vision board. $25. 201 East Fairview Ave, RM 211, Connellsville. 724-562-0682.

Art Jam Online Exhibition – 6pm-1am. By Diverse Medium: The Art of John shook, and The Sleeping Octopus Events. Featuring the works of several artists – captioned images with info, pricing, and links. Trying to generate sales for these artists in these trying times. 724-797-1517. Info@ SleepingOctopus.com.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10 The Crossing Bridges Summit: Examining Black Women’s Health – 3-4pm. Penn State Greater Allegheny. Last of four-part series on the search for solutions to systemic racism Watch live at Watch. psu.edu/crossingbridges as panelists focus on socioeconomic and environmental perspectives influencing Black women’s health. Penn State Greater Allegheny, 4000 University Drive, McKeesport. 412-675-9000. psuga@psu.edu. Right TurnClyde at The People’s Gas Holiday Market – 5-9pm. Hosted by Right TurnClyde, Pittsburgh’s Best Acoustic Rock TRIO, at Market Square. Join Right TurnClyde for their fourth year rocking Market Square with a ton of holiday music. 210 Forbes Ave.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11 Songbird Artistry Pop-Up at CJ – Dec 11-13. 10am-3pm. Hosted by Construction Junction and Songbird Artistry. A mother and daughters artistry group selling jewelry, mosaics, screen printed apparel and vintage finds. 214 N. Lexington St. 412339-9450. Cjreuse.org. Nature Crawl – 7-9pm. See the museum in a new light! Relax and learn with museum experts including paleontologist and principal dinosaur researcher Matt Lamanna, vertebrate paleontology collection assistant Joe Sawchak, and new head of invertebrate zoology Ainsley Seago. Compete in a scavenger hunt everyone can win, and join a flashlight tour of Art of the Diorama. $25/nonmembers, $20/members. 18 and up only. Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 4400 Forbes Ave. 412-622-3131. Bring a mask. Tickets: Carnegiemnh.org/event/nature-crawl/.

A Dinner with Fungi’s: Art, Wellness and Fungi – 5-8pm. By The Sleeping Octopus Events and TJ Jackson. Five-course mushroom-centric dinner to benefit the Mushroom Project Coloring Book and future projects. The books showcase illustrations by John shook based on photos by TJ Jackson. Vegan option available. Menu: Info@sleepingoctopus. com. Limit 35 guests. Tickets: $85/person at Eventbrite. 1300 Wood St, Wilkinsburg. 724-797-1517.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12

Pittsburgh, PA

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13

MONDAY, DECEMBER 14

Take-Home Ornament Kits – 11:30am-1:30pm. Hosted by Union Project. Get ready to trim your tree like never before! Learn to slab build and glaze your way to your very own ornaments – all in your own home. The ornament kit includes written instruction and a prerecorded video to walk you through multiple techniques for you to explore. Once your ornaments have been fired in the kiln, you’ll have one-of-a-kind creations to give away or keep. $30. Tickets: unionproject.org/event/take-home-ornament-kits. Info: 412-363-4550. Info@unionproject.com.

ing, and links. Trying to generate sales for these artists in these trying times. 724-797-1517. Info@ SleepingOctopus.com.

Annual Pittsburgh Scarf Bomb – All day. Hosted by Scarf Bombardiers. Join to tie scarves to fences, poles, etc, for people to take. Art Jam Online Exhibition – 6pm-1am. By Diverse Medium: The Art of John shook, and The Sleeping Octopus Events. Featuring the works of several artists – captioned images with info, pric-

NaturalAwakeningsSWPA.com

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15 River Birch Café Gives Back: RDVIC – Collecting the entire month of December for the Rape & Domestic Violence Information Center, RDVIC provides emergency shelter, counseling, support groups, advocacy, community education, and volunteer opportunities, whose services are confidential and free of charge. Hosted by RDVIC and River Birch Café. 304-554-2205. Info@RiverBirchCafe. com. Info: rdvic.org/.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18 Guiding Light: An Empath Assembly – 7-8:30pm. Hosted by Sacred Centered You and Visions Reiki and Soul Spa. Monthly assembly to share space. Now more than ever, we need the support of an understanding spiritual community. Their mission is to set aside this time to come together with like-minded individuals and share. $5-$10/donations. Visions Reiki and Soul Spa, 206 Alexander Ave, Strabane. 724-745-1785.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19 Super Science Saturday: Holidays Around the World – Noon-4pm. Sponsored by PA Cyber Charter Schools, TribLive, and Tender Care Learning Centers. Celebrate the holidays, play festive games from around the world, and learn about cultural traditions with museum artifacts. Hosted by Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Tickets: $12-$20. 4400 Forbes Ave. Tickets: Carnegiemnh.org/buy-tickets/. Cord Cutting and Heart Opening Ceremony – 3:30-4:30pm. Hosted by Calli Tony, CPT. Release that which no longer serves you, open your heart and body to welcome things anew, heal what needs healing and release to the universe. $33. 201 E Fairview Ave, RM 211, Connellsville. 724-562-0682.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20 Unleash Your Flow State with Hoop Dance – 6:307pm. Hosted by Shanti & Sunshine Wellness and Calli Tony, CPT. Thirty-minute demo. Limited to four participants. Hoops provided. Explore what it feels like to enter a flow state by unlocking new moves in new ways to uplifting music. 724-562-0682. Sensory Friendly Saturday: Holidays Around the World – 8:30-10:30am. Sponsored by PA Cyber Charter School and TribLive, hosted by Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Families with members who easily experience sensory overload are invited to experience a quieter more controlled environment. Play festive games from around the world. Learn cultural traditions with museum artifacts. $9.95/nonmembers, members/ free. 4400 Forbes Ave. 412-622-3131.

ongoing

sitting or standing next to a chair. Emphasis on meditative practices. Wear comfortable clothing. 386 Spruce Street, Morgantown, West Virginia. 304-292-3359.

sunday

Yoga – 10-11:30am. With Nancy Micheals. A series designed to focus on specific areas of the body to strengthen and stretch muscles. Classes will help participants build strength, balance the body’s system, increase body awareness, and increase energy while learning specific postures. CDC guidelines observed. YWCA Westmoreland County, 424 N Main St, Greensburg. 724-834-9390. Info@ywcawestmoreland.org. ywcawestmoreland. org/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/YWCA-Fall2020-Classes-and-Workshop-Insert.pdf.

Heartfulness Meditation – 11am-noon. 1st Sun. Hosted by Heartfulness Pittsburgh. Age 15+. Guided relaxation and meditation for ages 15 and up. Learn the basics of heartfulness and how it can benefit you. Be casual. Free. Winchester Thurston Lower School in Shadyside, Rm 202. Info: Heartfulness.org. Thai Cooking Classes – Thru Mar 1. 1-2:30pm or 3-4:30pm. 2nd & 4th Sun. Hosted by Thai Me Up. Get hands-on instruction, learn new skills and be inspired. Home-style Thai cooking classes are run by Chef Piyo and Chef Wasana. $45/person. 118 S 23rd St, Pittsburgh. 412-488-8893. Tickets/menu: Clover.com/online-ordering/thai-me-up-pittsburgh. Sunday’s Restorative Rejuvenation – 5-6:30pm. 3rd Sun. Hosted by Morgantown Power Yoga. All levels welcome. Learn to use breath, props, and focused awareness to decrease stress and anxiety in the body and the mind. Compliment your power yoga practice with restorative rejuvenation. $25. 235 Spruce St, Morgantown. WV. Tickets: Clients.MindBodyOnline.com.

monday Teen Workshop – Thru Dec 7. 4-5pm. Hosted by WashPAOutdoors. Discover outdoor spaces with free programs by local instructors. Join outside for an hour each Monday to discuss a new topic, explore, and take a hike. Washington Park, Log Cabin Dr, Washington, PA. WashpaOutdoors.wixsite.com/ washpa. 724-678-3823 or vviscardi@whs.org. Yoga for Wellbeing – 5:30-6:30pm. Wellbeing Solutions hosts in-person (limit 4) or online to harmonize body, mind, spirit, and breath with your dedication to attendance. Colleen Harshbarger, ERYT-500 and MS in Exercise Science Biomechanics, provides alignment-based instruction. All levels. $8. 304-508-2398. Wellbeingwv.com. Monday Mindfulness Meditation – Thru Dec. 6-7:30pm. Hosted by The Millvale House and Back to the Earth Healing Center. Url for zoom provided each week. Weekly discussion and meditation. Non-denominational, open to anyone of any faith, practice or path. $5/donation. 412-821-2265. TheMillvaleHouse@gmail.com. African Dance Class – 6:30-7:30pm. Online class hosted by Hayti Heritage Center and St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation Inc, Durham, NC. Energetic and culturally rich dance exploration taught by seasoned dance professionals Toni Hall and Ivy Burch. Tickets: $5 at Eventbrite. 919-683-1709. Info: hayti.org.

tuesday Lawrenceville Farmers’ Market – Extended Season – Thru Dec 17. 3-6pm. The market is extended by seven-weeks. Come shop in a safe, open-air environment with many of your favorite vendors. Arsenal Park, 250 40th St. Lunited.org. 412-802-7220. Tween Workshop – Thru Dec 8. 4-5pm. Hosted by WashPAOutdoors. Discover outdoor spaces with free programs by local instructors. Join for an hour outside each Tuesday to work on a project or take

a hike in the woods. Washington Park, Log Cabin Dr, Washington, PA. WashpaOutdoors.wixsite.com/ washpa. 724-678-3823. Core Yoga Flow with Karen – Thru Dec. 6:307:30pm. Hosted by Gritstone Climbing and Fitness, LLC. Strengthen your core, improve your flexibility, and enhance your balance for climbing. This class is geared to help improve your body tension on the wall and your posture off the wall. 1901 Eljadid St, Morgantown, WV. 304-241-4187. Info@ClimbGritstone.com. Online Yoga – 6:30-7:30pm. Hosted by WVU Collegiate Recovery. All skill-levels welcome. A password is required, but anyone can join! Free. Email olivia.pape@mail.wvu.edu to get the code. Guided Meditation with Reiki – Thru Dec 22. 7-7:50pm. 3rd Tue. Hosted by Salt of the Earth. Guided meditation begins with gentle relaxation leading to deep inner awareness and peace. $18. Tickets: Clients.MindBodyOnline.com. Once registered you will receive an email link. Click the link five minutes prior to start. 724-260-0472. LisaMascara@gmail.com. The Salty Core – 7-8pm. 4th Tue. Hosted by Salt of the Earth and Valleybrook Pilates & Fitness. Pilates in the Cave to lengthen and expand muscles for a leaner, stronger you. Incorporate breath, stretch, and strengthening. Open to all levels. 504 Valley Brook Rd, McMurray, PA. Tickets: SaltOfTheEarthpgh.com.

Wellbeing Solutions Webinars – 2nd & 4th Thur. Noon-1pm. Self-Care as Healthcare with BoardCertified Health and Wellness Coach and Yoga teacher Colleen Harshbarger and Natalie Geary, MD and Ayurveda Therapist. COVID rate: $25 1st (trial class); $40/thereafter. 4-pack: $150; 8-pack: $280. 12-pack: $399 includes one-year Wellness Inventory subscription ($49.95 value). On-demand times for groups. 304-508-2398. Info/register: Wellbingwv. com/webinars. Restorative Yoga Nidra – Thru Dec. 7-8pm. 2nd Thur. Hosted by Salt of the Earth. Restorative yoga in the salt cave. Nidra, known as yogic sleep, is meant to induce total physical, mental and emotional relaxation. Bring a mat. 504 Valley Brook Rd, McMurray. 724-260-0472. Lisa@SaltOfTheEarthpgh. com. Tickets: Clients.MindBodyOnline.com.

saturday Loving Myself First: Personal Development Series – Thru April. 10-11am. 2nd Sat. Hosted by Visions 2020, LLC. Learn real life principles to improve and maximize your personal and professional life. Free online event. Register at Eventbrite. 412-376-2110. Season’s Greetings Saturdays – Thru Dec.19. 10am-4pm. Visit the National Aviary, write and mail letters to Santa with the North Pole-approved mailbox, and craft a paper ornament. Included with price of admission. $15-$18. 700 Arch St. 412-323-7235.

wednesday Yoga for Wellbeing – 8:30-9:30am. Wellbeing Solutions hosts in-person (limit 4) or online to harmonize body, mind, spirit, and breath with your dedication to attendance. Colleen Harshbarger, ERYT-500 and MS in Exercise Science Biomechanics, provides alignment-based instruction. All levels. $8. 304-508-2398. Wellbeingwv.com. Listen to Black Women: What’s it like to be a Black Woman in Pittsburgh? – 6:30-8pm. Online event hosted by Black Women’s Policy Agenda. Join for a virtual community conversation. Free. 412-245-6771. Register: Eventbrite. BlackWomensPolicyAgenda.org.

thursday Yoga Classes – 9:30-10:30am. 1st & 2nd Thurs. Hosted by Spruce Street United Methodist Church. All ages and abilities with variations to accommodate health and movement issues, with students

Live simply and share time, energy and material resources with those who are in need. ~Thich Nhat Hanh December 2020

Pittsburgh, PA

NaturalAwakeningsSWPA.com NaturalAwakeningsSWPA.com

community resource guide Connecting you to the leaders in natural health care and green living in our Pittsburgh community. To find out how you can be included in the Community Resource Guide, email Publisher@NaturalAwakeningsSWPA.com to request our media kit.

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE ALTERNATIVE REMEDIES

305 Jefferson Ave, Moundsville, WV 304-506-3585 Dr.Carol@Remedies.com AlternativeRemediesOnline.com Dr. Carol offers a personalized holistic approach to your health concerns through nutrition, supplements, exercise, cellular spa treatments, homeopathy and self-help classes. Twenty years of experience in naturally supporting the body, her specialties are digestive health, women and children, and gluten-free living. Health memberships and video conferencing available.

AROMATHERAPY WELL OILED

Melissa Robb, BSW, JD, CA, RPII Certified Aromatherapist, Reiki II Practitioner 1414 Potomac Ave, Dormont 412-531-6457 • GetWellOiled.com Be your own best wellness advocate. Melissa can help you learn about essential oils, answer questions about CBD or help you along your spiritual path. Holistic We l l n e s s S h o p p r o v i d i n g accessible, affordable, and safe products plus workshops for optimal health and wellness: mind-body-spirit. High-quality aromatherapy oils and accessories, CBD and spiritual workshops. See calendar for classes.

BIOLOGIC DENTISTRY JANET LAZARUS – BIOLOGIC DENTIST Dr Janet Lazarus, DMD, NMD Mail: 4313 Walnut St, Ste 178 Office: Olympia Shopping Ctr Arcade, McKeesport • 412-754-2020 Dr.Lazlo@hotmail.com

D r. L a z a r u s p r a c t i c e s compassionate biologic dentistry by looking at the whole body to offer preventative care and health maintenance. She offers compatibility testing on dental material, safe mercury removal, extraction and a host of other treatments including ozone therapy. She has been practicing for 28 years. See ad, page 4.

CHIROPRACTIC APPALACHIA CHIROPRACTIC & WELLNESS, PC

Travis D Horne, DC • Gi Ming ‘‘Lili’’ Chan, ND 20120 Route 19, Ste 202, Cranberry Twp, PA 724-553-5312 AppalachiaChiropractic.com Best of natural medicine – combining both chiropractic and naturopathic care. We provide integrative and individualized care to the community where patients feel heard and truly cared for. We offer manipulation, sports medicine, nutrition, herbal, homeopathy and hydrotherapy.

PANTHER FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE AND CHIROPRACTIC

Dr Danielle Marra, DC Murrysville • Greensburg 724-387-1014 • PittsburghHealthPro.com Dr. Danielle Marra has nearly 20 years’ experience helping patients regain their health through conservative and holistic approaches utilizing functional medicine, chiropractic, diet modifications, and nutritional support. The practice provides advanced lab testing, allergy relief, spinal decompression, CDL physicals, massage therapy, thermography and more. Their philosophy is treating the root of your symptoms, naturally. See ad, page 7.

FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE PANTHER FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE AND CHIROPRACTIC

Dr. Danielle Mara, DC Murrysville • Greensburg 724-387-1014 • PittsburghHealthPro.com Dr. Danielle Mara has nearly 20 years’ experience helping patients regain their health through conservative and holistic approaches utilizing functional medicine, chiropractic, diet modifications and nutritional support. Plus advanced lab testing, allergy relief, spinal decompression, CDL physicals, massage therapy, thermography and more. Their philosophy is treating the root of your symptoms, naturally. See ad, page 7.

We stand together to fight racism, injustice, brutality and backlash. To the black members of our community: we see you, we support you and we stand by you.

As connected as we are with technology, it’s also removed us from having to have human connection, made it more convenient to not be intimate. ~Sandra Bullock December 2020

HEALTH COACH COTERIE

Calli Tony, CPT 201 E Fairview Ave, Rm 211, Connellsville, PA 724-562-0682 • CalliTonycpt.com Calli Tony is a mother, spiritual entrepreneur and a holistic health and transformational coach. She is the creator of HYPE and podcast host. Her mission is to serve, empower and educate through holistic healing. She works with women who want to create a massive shift in their life! See ad, page 8.

SHE’S MY HEALTH COACH

D’Anna V. Kromer 1195 W Laurel Cir, Mount Pleasant, PA 724-331-3365 • ShesMyHealthCoach.com Certified health wellness coach and registered yoga teacher assisting individuals with habit change. Providing support, a c c o u n t a b i l i t y, a n d t o t a l t r a n sf o r m a t i o n a l p r o g r a m s addressing most pressing health issues like sugar cravings, energy and mood swings, stress, inflammation, emotional eating, chronic dieting, weight loss, diabetes, and sleep hygiene. Plus, offering private yoga instruction.

HEALTH FOOD THE KEFIR CHICKS

Connellsville, PA TheKefirChicks.com TheKefirChicks@gmail.com Facebook.com/TheKefirChicks

Your Market is Our Readers. Let Us Introduce You to Them!

Kathy and Haley, The Kefir Chicks, are two chicks on a mission to bring awareness to everyone about whole foods and gut health through whole, probiotic-packed food medicine – water kefir. See ad, page 5.

HERBALISM BASIC EARTH ESSENTIALS

Michael Lausterer P.O. Box 6, Richeyville, PA 724-426-4579 • BasicEarthEssentials.com Getting back to our natural roots is the foundational philosophy that drives and inspires Basic Earth Essentials; using the purest botanicals of the earth to create handcrafted, superb blends of the finest quality. Products for pets, personal care, and inspirational settings. Custom products available. See ad, page 19.

Pittsburgh, PA

HERBS OLD THYME HERB SHOP, LLC Lisa Cunningham Old-Fashioned Family Herbalist 308 Liberty St, Perryopolis, PA 724-736-2400

Nothing fancy, just hundreds of organic bulk medicinal herbs at your beck and call. Heal yourself and help others. In service and gratitude always. No Facebook, no website, no social media. Not enough thyme! Just you and I and your blessed healing herbs.

NATURAL BEAUTY PRODUCTS CHAYAH NATURALS, LLC 724-610-6171 Info@ChayahNaturals.com ChayahNaturals.com

Organic, non-GMO, toxin free, skin nourishing body butters hydrate and restore moisture to dry skin. Made in the USA. See ad, page 8.

NAPTURAL BEAUTY SUPPLY 724-307-8487 NapturalBeautySupply.com

Naptural Beauty Supply was created to end the stigma around natural hair by empowering men and women to love themselves naturally. We do this by instilling confidence in our community and increasing convenience by having the tools and services in one place, such as hair and body butters, beard care and apparel. We are beauty supply with naturals in mind! See ad, page 7.

NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE APPALACHIA CHIROPRACTIC & WELLNESS, PC

Travis D Horne, DC • Gi Ming ‘‘Lili’’ Chan, ND 20120 Route 19, Ste 202, Cranberry Twp, PA 724-553-5312 • AppalachiaChiropractic.com Best of natural medicine – combining both chiropractic and naturopathic care. We provide integrative and individualized care to the community where patients feel heard and truly cared for. We offer manipulation, sports medicine, nutrition, herbal, homeopathy and hydrotherapy.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~The Dalai Lama

NaturalAwakeningsSWPA.com

SPIRITUAL

LEARN AND GROW WITH SARA JO

THE PRAYER WARRIOR AND HEALER

Sara Remington, Consulting SaraRemington13@gmail.com 724-208-4977

Healing children, adults and pets through Divine Intervention practices. Specializing in: customized written prayer requests and crystal grids; assisting empathic and sensitive children; Akashic (past-life record) readings; energy clearing for self, home, property and workplace.

Family wellness coaching through holistic nutrition, transformational life coaching, and mindfulness-based practices. Teacher, parent educator, and mind body and wellness practitioner. Schedule a one on one 10-week coaching program on intuitive eating. Available to hold workshops on mindfulness for kids, nutrition and intuitive eating.

ThePrayerWarriorAndHealer.com ThePrayerWarriorAndHealer@gmail.com

URBAN FARMING GROW PITTSBURGH

Raqueeb Bey, Garden Resource Coordinator 6587 Hamilton Ave, Ste 2W, Pittsburgh 412-362-4769 ext 215 Raqueeb@GrowPittsburgh.org GrowPittsburgh.org Grow Pittsburgh is an urban, agriculture nonprofit that teaches people how to grow food. They envision the day when everyone grows and eats fresh, local and healthy food. Get involved. Take a tour, become a member, learn, volunteer! Visit their website for workshops and events.

VIBRATIONAL MEDICINE SACRED, CENTERED, YOU, LLC 412-258-0766 SacredCenteredYou.com

Offering individual and group experiences that promote healing through self-discovery and personal acceptance. Special focus on sound healing, life coaching, qigong, and vibrational medicine. See ad, page 13.

WELLNESS

SALT OF THE EARTH

Himalayan Salt Cave and Chakra Boutique 504 Valley Brook Rd, McMurray 724-260-0472 • SaltOfTheEarthpgh.com Salt of the Earth offers the ancient healing benefits of salt; serene, therapeutic, and exquisitely built with 16 tons of authentic Himalayan salt. Sessions are 45 minutes. Group events: guided meditation, yoga, sound healing, and pilates. Personal services in the cave: reiki, massage, cellular healing, Akashic Records, mediumship and spirit guide channeling. Known to heal respiratory and skin issues, the organically dispersed salt is naturally detoxifying, reduces inflammation, cleanses the respiratory system and improves sleep. See ad, page 5.

WINER WELLNESS CENTER 2419 Baldwick Rd, Pittsburgh 412-922-9355 • DrWiner.com

Holistic Wellness Center with practitioners for chiropractic, nutritional consultation, allergy elimination and muscle therapy. Workers’ compensation and accident insurance claims. Fully stocked all-natural supplement store.

YOGA AND MEDITATION THE HIMALAYAN INSTITUTE OF PITTSBURGH

360 CAFÉ LLC

300 Beverly Rd, Pittsburgh 412-344-7434 • HipYoga.org

360 Café LLC is an alternative health and wellness business with the goal of helping others to heal from the inside out while taking a holistic approach to healing by offering distance reiki, and crystal healing sessions to help our consumers restore physical and emotional balance. See ad, page 10.

The Himalayan Institute of Pittsburgh is committed to creating and supporting programs for wellness in body, mind and spirit. Their purpose is to promote personal peace and global unity. Offering a daily schedule of yoga and meditation classes and healing services including massage, reiki and Ayurvedic health consultations. They are a leader in education, providing authentic yoga and Ayurveda certification programs.

Tyleda Worou Pittsburgh 724-374-8089 • 360CafeLLC.com

The need for connection and community is primal, as fundamental as the need for air, water and food. ~Dean Ornish

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OPPORTUNITIES ADVERTISE HERE – Are you: hiring, renting property/oﬃce space, selling products, offering services, or in need of volunteers? Advertise your personal/business needs in Natural Awakenings classified ad section. To place an ad, email Publisher@NaturalAwakeningsSWPA.com. ADVERTISING SALES – Natural Awakenings magazine is looking for experienced advertising salespeople covering the Greater Pittsburgh area, SW Pennsylvania and Morgantown WV to help others grow their natural health & wellness and sustainable living or green businesses. Commission-based. Full- or part-time. Paying 25% commission. Unlimited potential income. Be a part of something magical! Send resume to Michelle: Publisher@ NaturalAwakeningsSWPA.com. START A CAREER YOU CAN BE PASSIONATE ABOUT – Publish your own Natural Awakenings magazine. Home-based business, complete with comprehensive training and support system. New franchises are available or purchase a magazine that is currently publishing. Call 239-530-1377 or visit NaturalAwakeningsmag.com/MyMagazine.

Natural Awakenings Client Testimonial I have been advertising since the beginning of Natural Awakenings and I have to say. that it has been a great choice! I have gotten a lot of new patients from her magazine. The covers are always colorful and fun! Michelle has been very helpful and she is always available when I need to talk to her. I would highly recommend this magazine if you are considering advertising. ~Dr Janet Lazarus

December 2020

Natural Awakenings Magazine Greater Pittsburgh Edition December 2020

Articles inside

SING TO HEAL

MATT KAHN

PAY WHERE WE PLAY

THE GIFT OF YUM

412 FOOD RESCUE