It's a date. Saturday Night, you & me and some rawllygood times!

Yes it's True.  Vitality Yoga Lifestyle & Boutique is opening it's doors for a wonderful roll of rawllygood times.  So keep your head high, your eyes open, and your heart full anticipation for the goodness that will soon come to you.  Check it out, pass it on, and come out!

Quote of the Day

"Your have the ability to choose which way you want to go.  You have to believe great things are going to happen in your life.  Do everything you can- prepare, pray and achieve- to make it happen".-

Benjamin Carson

The best gift ever!!!! on the road less travelled & Happy Valentines Day!

As a mother of 3, I sing my song and dance my dance, in hopes that my journey may inspire and have an effect on my children and the choices they will make in their lives.  But truth is we just don't know.  We, or should I say, I don't know what really trickles down.  I know some things do. I know it in how I  see them making their choices, and the questions they ask me, particularly with foods, health, honouring your truth, and walking lightly on this planet yet leaving an imprint of your soul along the way.  But with the world moving ever so fast, with the constant pull between community and friends, and home lifestyles, or just simple being 10, 8, and 4 and almost 40. There is a difference in how we see the world.  There is a difference in how we engage with the world.  Yet there can also be a lot of similarities, a lot of support and companionship along the road less travelled.


A few days ago I received the best gift ever!, I was joyfully asked for a favourite green juice! my specialty of course!

I must admit, I felt such honour, warmth in my heart and  joy when my middle son Theo, after finishing his homework, asked me: mom! can you make me my favourite juice? to what I replied, which one? my favourite GREEN juice, of course!  well well…. yaaaaaaa

Of course I can! and then more voices echoed in the back .. me toooo!….. me toooo!

I am often making them, often offering them…. sometimes my fresh juices are greeted with joy, sometimes with ahhh!, sometimes with not now.. sometimes with no way!… so it was such a gift to receive the asking of what I think is one of the most important tools for health and longevity in today's world….. green juice!

Sometimes the road less travelled is a lonely road, an awkward road, a different road.. but as the world becomes one, as we open our doors of perception, and the doors to our hearts, we see there are many walking beside us, quietly gathered, moving towards an awakening in consciousness.

Our generation is opening the door to higher levels of health and awareness of spirit.. frankly we got tired of feeling sick and reached out for other possibilities where life is radiant, where life bursts our hearts open into the magnitude and alchemy of this universe.  It is our job, more so our duty, to raise our kids with the empowered awareness that health is our innate state of being, that what we put in equals the state of our health - physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, that we are here to grow, to nourish, to be of service, to be in alignment with our own dharma, and our own purpose.  It is our duty to kindle the light within and allow them to shine bright.

So as I give back gift to such honours… and because today is Valentines Day, along with a mighty green homemade juice… we are feeling the love of raw cacao in our hearts…. there are many good, and great ways to celebrate love, raw cacao chocolate is one of my favourites.

Raw Cacao comes from the Theobroma Cacao tree…. (something my Theo can't get over!)… It is referred to as 'food of the Gods'.  It is magic and alchemy.  It is a powerful way to get goodness into us.    It is healing medicine and can be used as a tool to get herbs, medicinal mushrooms, roots, & super foods into the best tasting way one can only offer the Gods that live within us!  So lets roll the drum and scroll down the benefits of this mighty nut:

• It is high in antioxidants, helping us deal with free-radicals and stress.
• It is high in magnesium, which supports the heart, increases brainpower, relaxes menstrual cramping and muscles, increases flexibility, helps build strong bones, and increases alkalinity. note- our bodies need magnesium in order to absorb calcium.
• Contains high levels of Iron, Chromium, Manganese, Zinc, copper, Vitamin C
• Raw Cacao contains essential Omega 6- Fatty Acids. (note- in cooked & processed Cacao these become rancid)
• And on and on…

So here is a easy basic recipe for Raw Cacao Theobroma Magic, I am giving you a basic recipe, where your inspiration can take into great goodness heights….

1 cup of Raw Cacao Butter,  cut into small chunks.
1 cup of Raw Cacao powder
1 tsp of Maca powder
2-4 TBPS of raw honey, maple syrup, or Xylotol
pinch of salt (what? - yes, salt makes sweet food taste sweeter.)


In a pot, on LOW heat, melt the Cacao Butter.  Once melted, take off the stove.  Add raw cacao powder, macs, sweetener of choice, salt.  Mix it up.

Have your chocolate moulds ready, pour chocolate into moulds, freeze for 30 min. and enjoy!

This chocolate is best kept in the freezer until serving, it literally melts in your mouth with goodness!

You can add any superfood to this recipe, substitute maca for spiruina, chlorella, etc.  Add bee pollen, add goji berries… your imagination is the limit.

Enjoy & Happy Valentines…
May you lead your life always in joy & love.

Naty
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"Where there is love there is life."- Mahatma Gandhi

Receiving the gifts of Alignment. What do Juice Fasting and Meditation have to do with each other?

As the door into new and magical sacred lands open up, I find myself spontaneously Juice Fasting to cleanse, to rebuild, to tap into my own sacredness, to stay deeply connected, to allow new insights into my consciousness and ground my feet deep beneath the Earth as I go along for the ride, to deeply nourish myself in times of transition and to tap into the essence of my nourishment. I am on day 6, but this time I am doing a Liquid fast, not just a Juice fast in that I am including smoothies, nut milks and raw soups into my fast. It just feels so right.  Fasting is a way to align ourselves with our true self.  It is a way to increase our Prana, our life-force.  It is a way to connect more deeply, to allow the silence within to become the humming vibration that guides my being.  I also mediate for longer when I fast.  They seem to go together, and they seem to enhance in synergy the positive effects they both have on the body, mind, emotions and spirit.  I am not sure how long this fast will last, I am deeply listening.

Fasting is considered a detoxification tool along our journey, but as we detoxify and let go of what we no longer need in many and all levels of our existence, we also create room for rebuilding our new selfs.  As we fast we allow our bodies to balance and realign themselves with our natural rhythms.  In the Science of Ayurveda these rhythms are of ultimate importance in our journey to balance and optimal health.  These rhythms govern every process in our bodies.  Think about it for a second, the beating of our hearts has its own rhythm, our breathing has its own rhythm.  From the rhythm of each and every cell process, to the patterns and rhythms of our days, rhythm is everywhere, inside and out!

In Ayurveda, the more we are in alignment with our own bodily rhythms and with the rhythms of the Macrocosm, the more we will experience radiant optimal health.  It reads so easy, doesn't it?, yet its a process to do, to stay in tune with your self and the rhythms that surround us as to stay open for the gifts of alignment to shine in.

As 2014 moves along, and we find ourselves, day in and day out, in our routines and daily habits, doing something like a Juice or Liquid Fast, breaks the rhythm of routines & habits, for better or for worse, it breaks down the wall of delusion, it allows our soul to shine a mirror to our ego, it allows us to think and question, allows us to quiet our self, our minds, our hearts, and our bodies so we can then establish new or re-establish old rhyhtms that serve us better.  Think of it as a breathing break in the midst of climbing to the summit.

The best time to start a Juice or Liquid Fast is when your body is asking you for it! Either we will be in alignment and know that it is right, or we will be spinning out of control, emotionally, physically, spiritually and suddenly something happens that points us in the direction of taking time to restore.  A good idea when fasting is to also align ourselves with the rhyhtms and cycles found in Nature.  Many civilizations prior to us, practiced fasting in alignment with the Full & New Moons, as well as, at the time of Seasonal Change.  The energy is different at these times, and the veils between the physical and the sacred become more palpable.  Aligning ourselves with these energies or change in the energies,with the intention of Alignment of Self has magical synergistic effects on every aspect of our being.

The meditation practice is a great support tool when Fasting because it allows us to be a 'witness' to ourselves and find more compassion and self-love in our process of letting go.  Meditation also restores our nervous system, something that the process of fasting and what we 'release' can sometimes challenge.  It provides the space for Sacredness and for the unseen to become seen.
 
As tomorrow's Full Moon approaches I invite you to dust-off your juicer and juice it up! I invite you to sit in meditation just for 5 minutes at the beginning or at the end of your day or both if you can!!! I invite you to participate in the 7th Annual "Winter Feast for the Soul", a free 40 day commitment to the personal practice of stillness.

It's been two years since I did my fist 40 day Juice Fast and the 'Winter Feast for the Soul'.  Since then I have found new depths in my meditation practice and the stillness within, in my awareness, in my understanding of energetics, in my relationship with food, with life, with love and with Spirit.

Juice it up and bring it on! Align yourself with the forces of the Universe and keep your heart open to receive the gifts!

n.
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Juice it up and bring it on - check this recipe!

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"The real skill is to raise the sails and to catch the power of the wind as it passes by."- Thomas Berry

In the cusp of change.. i got the 'pep' talk, and sat down to read my words...

A few days after I wrote my 'Open heart letter about Chellation Therapy', my husband sat me down for the familiar 'pep' talk... man ... I dislike 'pep' talks... necessary at times, I would have to agree, doesn't mean I have to like them... all though I know he is right...

Do you ever have a dream that you can almost taste? Do you ever have a vision of your future self with such clarity you just can't wait? It's just so exciting, so juicy, so fabulous! The time is now, right? But what if now is not quite ready. What if the healing journey needs a little more time, what if kids are still a bit too young, what if there is just too much going on for me to materialize what I see? then, for me, frustration sets in, then the famous 'pep' talk comes back, then I sit at the computer to read my own words to remind me that the right time will come and that really I am at the right place for myself right now. Yes, I am much better, and the vibrancy that I see in my dreams and visions will lead the way to the opening of my heart to guide your heart. The day that I see, will come and the 'pep' talk will transform itself.. (or so I wish :)).

In the meantime... an email from my dear friend and mentor, Caroline Dupont, and the synchronicity of what I had been thinking of sharing with you brings me to the power of herbs and elixirs to REMINERALIZE our bodies... yeap. There is a lot of Remineralization to be done, and many ways to go about it!

Elixirs and Tea Infusions are a fantastic way to gather the essence of the life force of herbs to remineralize ourselves. I have make them and use them as tea, as 'water' to be added to any raw soups, smoothies, elixirs! I sincerely have felt a difference since I started incorporating them into my daily routine. Now there are just so many herbs to use, and so many ways to use them... the key is to soak the herbs in boiled water overnight to "infuse" the water with their powers. The ratio of herbs to boiled water really depends on your body and constitution. For most people, a cup of dried herbs to 4 cups of water seem to be right. For me, well oh well, about a handful of dried herbs per 4 cups of hot water seems to be right. So play with it, and find your ratio and your healing balance.

Tea infusions are also a great way to get to know your herbs. To get you out there, where the wild things are and gather your own, dehydrate them or leave them to naturally dry. So get out there!


TEA INFUSION RECIPE:

1 cup of dried herbs (or a handful)
4 cups of hot water (boiled)
a 1 liter glass jar with a lid or a cheese cloth (Method #1)
or a glass pot with a lid (Method #2)

METHOD #1: place the herbs in the glass jar, pour the hot water, gently move the jar to submerge the dried herbs. If you can place the jar by the window to absorb the moon rays, place a quartz crystal beside it, and why not, use your HADO writing on the jar to maximize it's healing power... I am all about synergy. Dried blossoms are best when infused for a minimum of 2 hrs. Dried herbs are best when infused for a minimum of 4 hrs. Dried roots are best when infused for a minimum of 8 hrs. So to make life simple, make your mix, place it in the jar and let it infuse overnight :).

METHOD #2: place the barks/roots in a glass pot, along with the water and let it gently simmer covered for 20 minutes. Turn off the stove, then let the barks/roots infuse the water overnight. I use this method when I use barks for the infusions. The active ingredients in some of the barks seem to need a more active simmering to be released. (But that really depends on whose words you read.). So use whichever method resonates with you.


TEA INFUSION 

Palo d'Arco (Taheebo tea)/ Cat's Claw/ Horsetail/ Goji berries/ Chaga/ Reishi mushroom

Some of you are familiar with them, some of you are reading these for the first time. Don't worry, they will soon be familiar words in your dictionary too. You are most likely to be able to find them all at your local health food store or online.

Palo d'Arco comes from the inner bark of the Taheebo tree in the South American rainforest. In some places it is known as Taheebo tea. It is known to have powerful antifungal properties and it strengthens the body's immune system. It is known to relieve infections, reduce inflammation, promote digestion, flush toxins from the body, and protects the body against cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.

Cat's Claw (Una de Gato) is used traditionally in Peruvian medicine. It is a strong antiviral which works  in synergy with Palo d'Arco to boost the immune system. It is known to aid with digestive issues, and to have powerful anti cancerous and anti-tumor properties.

Horsetail is high in silica, which is vital to the health of hair, skin, and nails. It helps build calcium in the body.

Goji berries is a sweet dark colored fruit. It is a superfood known for its high antioxidant content and its longevity promoting properties, they are believed to protect the liver and the kidneys.

Chaga is a medicinal mushroom that grows in the birch trees in the forest. It is believed to be a strong immunity builder in the our body and to have strong anti-cancerous properties as well. ** If using method #2, add the Chaga after you have turned the stove off, to infuse the water overnight.

Reishi is another medicinal mushroom that builds the body's immunity, has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties, is considered in chinese medicine to benefit the liver and heart organs. ** If using method #2, add the Chaga after you have turned the stove off, to infuse the water overnight.

I am currently using a 5 mushroom Blend from Wild Rose, that includes Red Reishi, Cordyceps Mycella, Maitake, Chaga, Coriolus. You can add it to your infusion or simply add the powder to your drink, smoothie, or soup.

So brew them up and drink it up! Make a tea using the above herbs and then use the tea infusion as your 'water base' in everything from a smoothie to a raw soup, to your drinking water for the day. Your body will thank you.

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"Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves- slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future." - Thich Nat Hahn.

Now that I have ripped my heart open, let's RE MINERALIZE IT!

JUICE IT UP! JUICE IT UP! JUICE IT UP!!

So, now that I have given you my open heart... let's juice it up!

One of the most important things we can do for ourselves is to RE MINERALIZE as we heal... and simply just to RE MINERALIZE every day through juicing and eating foods that contain high amount of minerals..

Most of us today are mineral deficient. Even when we eat organic foods, they don't always have the minerals that we need for vibrant health. So where do we find these precious friends, you say?

Juicing is a must.. juicing concentrates the amounts of the minerals present in foods and because it is a liquid, they are easily absorbed by our systems without much loss. Most minerals are lost in the process of cooking our food, so adding fresh raw foods daily to our diet, will also increase the RE MINERALIZATION process. And last but not least, eating fresh sprouts, both with green leafs and with the tails (just at the beginning of the process).

And when you combine them all... well think of giving your body some much needed SUPER POWERS!

Fresh pressed raw vegetable green juices that include sprouts... is like having a green blood transfusion first thing in the morning that will have your cells tickle and dance for the rest of the day!

A very easy green juice that I like to start my days with is what I call the

GREEN MORNING SPARKLE

1 whole cucumber, washed and cut
6 celery ribs
1 or 2 green apples
handful of sunflower sprouts
1 inch piece of ginger

Juice it all up by alternating the ingredients so that your juicer runs smoothly..

Juice it up and consciously and slowly drink it up!

If you don't  have access to sprouts, keep things simple and juice the rest of the veggies.. it's still all superpower goodness!





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"Many people put more time into the maintenance of their cars than into their own body! Buy yourself organic vegetables and eat them. Invest in yourself. ... You can ask yourself , “What have I consumed today that will build high integrity blood , bone, brain and body tissue? What have I done today that will add another day to my life?” Annie Padden and David Jubb

LifeFood Recipe Book North Atlantic Books