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Beautiful Places Healthy Food

North Berkeley: throwback mode still…

A weekend last month … Post Sunday morning yoga has led to me rambling down memory lane … Not so many yoga studios back then so just doing Hatha yoga at University Ave YMCA … no music, no frills. So happy with so little to nothing … bare bone class … I wonder if that’s changed also …
sm_IMG_6258 Can you believe I used to live here on the first floor 3BR shared with 2 other roommates way back when? Not this nice of a paint-job back then – everything around the neighborhood has transformed into this upscale hip, almost chic, “gourmet ghetto” … I lamented ever leaving this place …it’s just so convenient with Cheese Board around the corner and … brings back memories. Spent some of the best times of my life here … (notice it appears to be all fond foods related?)

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sm_IMG_6228 Love their simple healthy food …(almost) just like home:)

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Can’t believe either that this very hip new cafe has replaced what used to be a very sort of run down vegetarian Chinese restaurant that was across the street from where I lived … it is a very weird feeling to revisit where you spent your young and hopelessly idealistic days … The flagship Pete’s Coffee is still at the corner on Walnut Square and …
sm_IMG_6236 OMG – Juice Bar Collective – I love this place… it hasn’t changed … still a hole in the wall – so relieved… it’s pretty much the same.
sm_IMG_6329 Yes, still the same menu – Polenta with black beans and salsa (rather than cheese for vegans) … yummy – tastes still the same, yes:) What a relief.

These and only these books were showcased at Mission Heirloom Garden Cafe … puzzled. Isn’t Paleo diet about eating like the Paleos did – which included meat for the hunting tribes but not for non-hunting tribes. I feel more connected to my ancestors who ate no four-legged mammals and supplemented the vegetables and grains with fresh seafood from the ocean that surrounds that beautiful home country. (I am sorry about the whales … ignorance leads one to do stupid things – I recall eating some whale … it was in the elementary school lunch program menu … ahhhhgh I am sorry, I didn’t know better and each student was required to finish everything served. Yet, there’s also a belief that as long as you eat what’s served with gratitude for the life sacrificed before you, lovingly prepared, all food is nourishing, becoming part of your flesh, the divinity within honored… )

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Paleo Code? Can you take the meat out? Can this be plant based? And speaking of ancestors, different race/groups relative to their land, the climate they are placed in, may have a very different food culture. Wonder if this code takes that into consideration… i.e., about diversity. I recall deep fried grass hoppers in Thailand (did not eat them but heaps of them at street vendors…) so … wonder.

Here’s an excerpt from Nipponia to that point:

“Any history of food in Japan has to include the many centuries when eating the meat of four-legged animals was forbidden. The first law prohibiting meat eating was issued in the year 675, a little more than 100 years after the arrival of Buddhism.
In the 7th and 8th centuries, when a new emperor came to the throne he would issue an Imperial edict forbidding meat consumption. This was because, according to Buddhist belief, killing animals is wrong. The fact that these edicts were issued from time to time indicates that some found it hard to give up eating meat. But by around the 10th century just about everyone had stopped eating it.
In China and the Korean peninsula, the Buddhist clergy were not allowed to eat meat or fish, but in Japan even ordinary people did not eat meat. This was partly because of Buddhism, and partly because even the indigenous religion, Shinto, considered that eating the flesh of animals was unclean.
But the rule extended only to meat from mammals, not seafood. Whales are mammals, but the common folk thought of them as big fish and there was no prohibition against killing and eating them. Wild birds were also eaten. There was a belief that chickens and roosters were messengers working for the Shinto gods, and their meat and eggs were not eaten until the 15th century.
The indigenous Ainu of Hokkaido in northern Japan depended considerably on food from wild birds, animals and plants, and deer and bear meat was an important part of their diet. In the far south, the Ryukyu Kingdom in the Okinawan islands was in a different jurisdiction and prohibitions against meat eating did not apply. People there raised pigs, goats and other animals and ate their meat. In mountainous areas on the main islands of Japan, people who made their living fishing the mountain streams would hunt wild mammals for their fur and medicinal properties, and eat the meat of what they caught. And others, hoping to cure some illness or build up their strength, might practice kusuri-gui (eating medicinal flesh of wild animals). But in spite of all this, animals were not raised for meat, and for many centuries meat consumption in Japan was remarkably low.
Like their neighbors in China and the Korean peninsula, the Japanese did not drink the milk of domestic animals, and the manufacture of dairy products did not occur until much later. It is no wonder, then, that preparing fish for the table developed into a fine art.”

Categories
Beautiful Rituals Healthy Activities Healthy Living Yoga

A gift for EVERYONE… this practice.

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Okay … I’m late.
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Very late…
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The weekend was so compressed, I really needed to take my own class tonight (the shuttle does not come; long lines everywhere; unplanned hike in the hills of Saratoga on an empty stomach; mad rush to get to a place …) drama, drama, drama … Luckily, as an eternal student of yoga, I have a toolbox to not let the drama hijack my intentions. In a way, because of that need to take my own class I felt, ironically, I was so much more able to empathize with the students who showed up. I really saw them with tender eyes …we were on the same boat, floating down the same river, on the same journey.
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I had meant to read a passage on the New Moon vis-a-vis “us” but … time went by so fast (no worries – sharing at the end of this post), I cannot understand why there’s not enough time to do all intended as I have so much more to offer but then, that’s what it’s about. To know that there is actually more than enough time to do all – there is enough time. We have to stop replaying this feeling of “not enough” nagging at us. We create the scarcity sometimes – There’s not enough money; there’s not enough to share; there’s not enough energy; and, the most common, there’s not enough time … on and on with feelings of deprivation to the point of believing even this – I am not enough. That fear begins to take over sometimes – fear that perhaps it’s not the time or the money but maybe … I am not enough? Really? Make a shift in that mindset of scarcity … There’s enough. There is ENOUGH. In fact, we have so much, that’s more than enough. We have plenty. We are swimming in abundance – There is “abundance” if you tap into it. Time really is a weird concept – and we have enough. we are enough. You are enough. I am enough.

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I like to approach a group class for all-levels as just that – for everyone … For special needs, I rather customize and gear the class to serve that particular group’s specific needs but of course all are welcome. In a general group class (unlike say, specifically directed to students suffering from cancer or autoimmune disease such as MS or chronic fatigue … then, the practice lead would be more keenly nuanced and delicate), I have to assume that each student is listening to their own body and I too am there to help modify and bring comfort. If Yin yoga is about training and dealing with discomforts to have breakthroughs; Restorative yoga is about … Bliss – How can I find Bliss – in a yoga pose, really letting go. It’s also part a meditation practice if you so choose it to be.

In a general group class, then, Restorative Yoga class as the name “restorative” suggests, is for (1) the healthy and the vibrant to use the practice as preventative measure to maintain that health and ideally, have even more of a surge to attain “optimal” health; (2) and on the opposite end of the spectrum, for the suffering, to find healing and restoration… a renewal through acceptance and receptivity for better things to come; (3) and everyone in-between to find their balance and the inborn natural vibe … that harmonious rhythm, the riff you strum within. In other words, as Judith illuminates:

Restorative Yoga is for Everyone !

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– New Moon tonight so plant your “seeds” of intentions … wherever you direct your desires to, wherever you direct your energy to, the seeds will germinate and flower… yes, they blossom…
There are different kinds of lunar salutations (just as there are different variety of sun salutations) and the one practiced tonight is not actually the one that I practice at home – that’s a secret – haha – no I will share one of these days – but more resembles this one so thought to do together. It’s the more familiar if you are used to doing sun salutations during the day… Here’s my coverage of it from a previous post… Click Here.

It’s best not to exercise 2-4 hours prior to bedtime especially on a New & Full Moon evenings not that yoga is supposed to be just an exercise. So don’t let Chandra Namaskar to be energizing … instead, let it be soothing and dreamy …kind of like you are one with the air, the ether …wafting like the scent that surrounds you. Delicious deep sleep is the most anti-aging, anti-inflammatory elixir that can remedy so much… I bid “Good night” & wish all sentient beings “Sweet Dreams”… Here I share an affirmation good for the whole week post-new moon as we are still in that phase. Namaste.

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Categories
Healthy Activities Healthy Living

CPR Certification

I hope I never ran into such a situation requiring me to do this but …it’s good to know just in case.

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Certified as of last Monday – a crash course so wonder if I would remember anything under pressure when every second counts – SO seems like the most important thing is to just stay cool – so yoga breathing techniques would definitely be an asset:) but really – just take few deep breaths to center yourself before you dive in. To bring someone back to life would be such a pressure, but according to this teacher, there’s nothing to fear as there’s nothing to lose other than to help as the person is actually already “dead” and whatever we do can only be a plus. If we are unable to revive the heart, we are not to blame and there’s what’s called “good Samaritan” law which protects us from any liability allowing anyone to come to aid. This law reduces our fear of “what if I screw up and get blamed for this death?” that could prevent anyone from stepping in.

We were so in awe of this captain of fire fighters and a paramedic – so brave facing such trauma on regular basis as we listened to him retell some white knuckles heart palpitating stories. How does one do it? So thankful for these brave souls, warriors among us …He doesn’t know he’s a yogi but he is… He’s a Karma Yogi. (another key point shared by him – to not have to suffer from PTDS, it’s best to seek help, to talk it out rather than suppress the symptoms. To always seek support and company of others is the key to keep PTDS at bay … there’s yoga to serve – Click HERE.

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Taking it sllooooowwww
turtlepose (from “Yoga Anatomy” by Leslie Kaminoff)

or hop over like a rabbit
rabbitpose(from yogabycandace.com)

While I am doing my 500 hrs.(very slow pace of a turtle… umm, is there a pose called ‘turtle’? yes, yes, there is, your back is the “shell”:) and bunny like the ‘rabbit’ pose …) and continuing education with yoga, I am studying Ayurveda for self-care… to complement the Japanese medicine box:) In a way, I am a bit discouraged that yoga seems to be treated as no different from say, pilates or some other form of exercise/fitness – it’s the best designed method for mind-body wholesome wellness is how I see it. At the same time, to deepen my understanding, debating if I should formally pursue Physical Therapy or Oriental Medicine (acupuncture/herbs) as my second, okay, third, career… I wish I had the time, energy and resource to do all three but… to go deeper, one must choose.

This is fascinating !

Not all acupuncture is the same as with yoga …

I do recall that in the old days in Japan, this was a profession mostly reserved for the blind – even just couple of decades ago, it would have been unthinkable for the seeing and well educated population to pursue such studies … as it was mostly thought to be a profession reserved for the vision impaired- in which it was felt that the vision impaired had a compensatory superior sensitivity to touch – thus, the use of touch was an integral part. How times changed and it’s no longer a profession for the vision impaired – and more regular people are re-evaluating and returning to the traditional alternative medicine as an effective compliment and supplement to Western medicine. The good thing about these traditional non-invasive healing models is that there’s no side effects – which is a huge plus. It is thought in some circles that Reiki also seems to draw from that tradition – relying on touch … soft light touch is so soothing compared to the heavy handed and more aggressive approach. Your aura remains intact … undisturbed as the touch is not an aggressive invasion of your personal space and the aura you emit.

Let’s take good care of our heart so that need for CPR diminish and … our aura brightens. Each of us emit an unique aura because such energy field envelopes each human being, just like this veil, this sheath, a connective tissue called the pericardium envelopes our hearts. (Did not know that ” the heart is enclosed within a protective triple walled bag of connective tissue”?- Yes, indeed, physically it’s wrapped in 3-fold sheaths like an amazing present that’s so well gift-wrapped!) It’s layer upon layer that we peel to get to the heart of the matter.

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