Client Special Offer Enjoy 15%OFF the regular rate for any “Thai Foot Reflexology”, “Thai Yoga Massage”, when visiting Sharon Brown-Horton as a first time client at the Alchemy & Elixir Health Group & Wellness Centre from now until Dec. 22, 2009.

Share the Love ~ the Holidays are just around the corner! With each Gift Certificate you purchase (from now until Dec. 22, 2009) for a 60-min.Thai Yoga Massage or a 60-min.Thai Foot Reflexology Massage at the regular rate, you will receive a Gift Certificate for a Complimentary 15-minute Thai Massage or Thai Foot Reflexology service that you can enjoy yourself (non-transferrable).

The more Gift Certificates you purchase, the more massage time you accumulate! Gift Certificates (purchased) are good for 1 year from the date of purchase and are transferrable, but non-refundable. Call Sharon Brown-Horton at 604.773.2645 to request your service or Gift Certificate.

Gift Certificates can be sent to you by courier (week-days) when purchasing with a credit card for an extra delivery charge. Offer good until December 22, 2009. Visa & Mastercard accepted.

 A sublimely healing oasis located in the heart of the West End. Our wellness centre offers a variety of holistic therapies for the attainment and maintenance of your optimal health and vitality. Our services educate, empower and support the health of the ‘whole’ person to achieve a state of balance and harmony within the mind, body and spirit.

We welcome you to the GRAND OPENING of our Vancouver Wellness Centre on Sunday, September 27, 2009 from 1-4 pm. Mark this date on your calender and drop by…

Come visit our open house, sample some of our herbal tea blends, mix and mingle with like-minded folk, meet our practitioners, check out our upcoming specials, seminars and events and register for our door prize draws!  

Sunday Open House Events

Open house from 1-4 pm

Interactive Workshops and Events!

1:15 - 1:45 pm ~ partake in our Intuitive Painting Class with our Art Therapist, Stephanie Harper, BA, DVATI, BCATR.

2:00 - 2:30 pm ~ attend our Thai Massage Demonstration with Sharon Brown Horton.

2:40 - 3:00 pm ~ Reflexology Demonstration with Sharon Brown Horton.

3:15 - 3:45 pm ~ Yoga with Martina Schneider, RYT.

All Afternoon

 1:00- 3:00 pm ~ Mini Massage and Shiatsu with Nancy Adham.

1:00 - 4:00 pm ~ Psychosomatic Energy Checks with Alycia Hall.

1:00 - 4:00 pm ~ Interact with our Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Sharon Green and receive information on her “Top 10 Healing Foods”

Chat with Business coach, Kiley Redhead and Medical Herbalist, Katolen Yardley.

Location: # 320-1026 Davie St, Vancouver BC, V6E 1M3 or call for more information: 604-683-2298

Website: Alchemy & Elixir Health Group

 ~ written by Martina Schneider, RYT Registered Yoga Teacher

How do you place yourself?

The benefits of Yoga are almost as endless as the amount of Yoga books, websites and articles that have been written about this ancient practice. When I started practicing Yoga, I simply enjoyed Yoga as a form of exercise that, unlike other types of excise I did in the past, did not leave me feeling exhausted; I also noticed that I slept better after I took a Yoga class; and I loved the poetic words my Yoga teacher used to help my busy mind relax. Since then I have asked more than good sleep of my practice. Through the practice of Anusara Yoga®, its set of Universal Principles of Alignment and life-affirming Tantric philosophy my body, mind and heart have become stronger, more sensitive and open. The ongoing refinement of my alignment on the mat has turned my physical practice into a mirror of my daily life where I have also become more aware of how and where I place myself in my work and relationships.

In this process the Tantric philosophy reminds me to constantly look into my heart so that through skillful actions and choices I am moving to an ever stronger, healthier and happier place in which I celebrate my own potential.

Connect with yourself and others

Yoga works in increments and this week, when I took a workshop and therapy training with John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga®, confirmed that some things change sooner than others. I had studied with him before and knew that I would feel ecstatic with new energy after the workshop, as if I had mysteriously reassembled my whole body. Throughout the workshop I practiced whole heartedly stretching my muscles, opening my joints and flowing with my breath. The Therapy Training was very hands-on. We poked and squeezed each other’s muscles, studied our skeletal structure and practiced the adjustments John Friend had demonstrated to alleviate lower back pain and shoulder discomfort; all the while giving each other feedback on our work and chatting about our Yogic experiences. As the workshop ended I indeed felt ecstatic with new energy, as if I had mysteriously reassembled my whole body. But this time something else had also shifted. As I was saying good-bye to all the people that I had got to know throughout the training, I realized that besides the new insights into Yoga Therapy I had also gained a whole lot of new friends with whom I would share the love and enthusiasm for the same thing in the future.

The kula

With every training, workshop or Yoga class I take I surround myself with like-minded people and connect with them. When we do partner work we support each other, and it is not only their physical strength and my trust in their support that helps me to get and stay in a Yoga pose; it is also their positive energy along with their trust in me to be able to get into the pose that boosts my confidence and well being. This positive energetic lift is one of the greatest benefits of Yoga and also one of the three landmarks of Anusara Yoga®. As we practice we are not only building our strength, we are also building a community, a kula, a tight community of the heart, in which we connect with and support everybody. As we uplift each other we look for the good in others and celebrate our vast potential that lies within everybody. Once we experience the fruits of this opening, we come to be truly ecstatic with fresh energy and we actually have fully reassembled our whole Selves.

About Martina

Martina Schneider, RYT -Registered Yoga Teacher. Martina started practicing Yoga in 2003 with the simple goal of improving her health and fitness. As her practice deepened she experienced an exhilarating transformation of her body and life which motivated her to make healthier choices in her day to day life and leave her job as a high school teacher to teach Yoga full-time. Martina is a registered Yoga teacher working towards the Anusara-inspired™ designation and is teaching Hatha and Vinyasa Yoga in various Yoga studios in Vancouver.

In her Yoga classes Martina focuses on refining alignment and explores the flow within the poses through long strong holds. Her classes are sequenced around an inspirational theme as well as opening, strengthening and releasing specific parts of the body. She believes that the greatest openings come about when we move deeper into the body. Martina teaches Yoga in a small group setting to allow for personal attention, modifications of poses, demonstrations and adjustments to ensure that everybody experiences the full benefits of their practice.

Four week Yoga session: Yoga for Beginners

Wednesday September 30th will be the first class of a series of four pre-registered Wednesday classes at Alchemy & Elixir Health Group in Vancouver.

Time: 7:15-8:15am Schedule: 4 Yoga classes

Cost: $ 65 (incl. GST) Early bird discount: $60 (incl. GST) Pre-register and pre pay by Sept. 10th!

Location: 320-1026 Davie St. Vancouver BC, V6E 1M3

 

Four week Yoga session: Sunrise Yoga Flow for all levels

Friday October 2nd will be the first class of a series of four pre-registered Friday morning private classes held at Alchemy & Elixir Health Group in Vancouver.

Time: 7:15-8:15am Schedule: 4 Yoga classes

Location: 320-1026 Davie St. Vancouver BC, V6E 1M3

Cost: After September 10 $ 65 (incl. GST) Early bird discount: $60 (incl. GST) if you pre-register and pre pay by Sept. 10th!

The details

• Payment: Mail cheque before the first class Email pre-registration is required, classes are non-refundable and cannot be re-scheduled
• Mats are provided
• Wear comfortable exercise clothes
• Maximum of 6 people in each class, preregistration required
• Classes start and finish on time, so please arrive 5 min prior to start
• To register for a Yoga session email: simplecityyoga@yahoo.com
• For more information visit Martina’s website: www.simplecityyoga.com

Written by Alycia Hall ~ I am working as a Life Coach at Alchemy & Elixir Health Group in Vancouver and have been able to use my intuitive and empathic abilities in a wonderful new way. During my time with clients I began to notice that much of our behaviour is very fear driven. Many intuitive clients have asked me how they can protect themselves from negative energy or other peoples “stuff”. For quite a while I too believed that I had to protect my sensitive self from the heavy and dense world but my perspective on that has since changed.

It is common to feel overwhelmed with the new awareness that comes from being so sensitive and empathic and quite often people want to protect themselves from ‘negative’ energy. Being empathic means having an opening heart and when the heart opens more fully ‘boundary’ issues can be felt. It is because our ’sense of self’, where we begin and end, becomes less distinct and we become oversensitive and raw to any energies around us. That can make it challenging to be in crowds because one feels everything so deeply. This happens until we get used to having a more expanded heart, full of love.

At some point though, the need to distinguish other peoples stuff from our own stuff becomes irrelevant. Why? Well, because there is no separation between any of us. We are all one. Sound too simple? That’s because it is.

Besides, if the emotion is in our own energy field then it is our own emotion as well. It may have been triggered by a situation or someone else, but it only awakened the pain that was already within us. So rather than trying to allocate whose is whose, we simply feel it. The emotion itself is not the problem, it is the story we attach to it that creates the drama. Emotion is just neutral energy - think of the word EMOTION (E- MOTION) = energy in motion. The quote from Shakespeare expresses that beautifully, “Nothing is good or bad, only thinking makes it so”. If one can allow the neutral energy of any emotion to flow through our being freely then we are experiencing true freedom and allowing Mother Nature to carry out her healing work.

Learning not to identify with our thoughts or emotions is the task here. Why would we do that? Simply because those emotions or feelings are not us, we are much more than that. It is like being an ocean and realizing that we are more than just the waves. When we feel a heavy or uncomfortable energy in ourselves we just feel it and it eventually passes. This is sometimes called witness consciousness, which is the art of learning how to observe life without judgment. As we develop witness consciousness we discover something much deeper in ourselves that is unaffected by emotions or thoughts. A daily meditation practice works well, AND being mindful through out the day is even better. Mindfulness can be practiced by being aware of breath, noticing what kind of thoughts are present in the mind or feeling the different sensations in the body…-all without judgement. There is a lot of great literature out there about mindfulness practice and how to cultivate it. By practicing mindfulness our hearts continue to open and expand along with our consciousness.

According to the Law of Attraction everything that has come into our awareness we are responsible for attracting. That includes the friend that calls all the time to talk about his or her problems, the issue with the co-worker or the neighbor that seems to know how to push our buttons. There is something in us that is attracting and creating those situations and more importantly- creating our reaction to them. What is the point of the Law of Attraction? I like to think that life is trying to help us out by bringing situations that challenge our victim mentality. The hope is that we choose ownership and responsibility rather than blaming, complaining and victimhood.

We are responsible for everything that happens in our life.

I know this is a radical statement but rather than blaming others for our drama and emotional reactions we can choose to look within and take responsibility for ourselves. Remember that focusing on our reaction is much more enlightening than only focusing the situation itself. Focusing here does not mean judging or analyzing, it simply means observing and witnessing. After a while we end up looking forward to emotional reactions since they provide us with opportunities for self discovery and realization.

Imagine how much better one feels when one doesn’t worry about how situations or other peoples energy affects us. It is as if we can then live fearlessly and are okay with whatever happens. Ahhhhhh…. finally we can let go and relax. My meditation teacher Kim Eng once told me an experience she had that has still stayed with me. She was in a restaurant and had overheard a couple having a disagreement; the woman was very emotional and reactive. Kim had started to feel the energy coming from this woman and noticed it was very heavy and intense. Kim explained that she felt the energy move through her and continued to breathe through it. After some time had passed all at once the heaviness lifted and she felt lighter and only moments later the women at the other table let out a big laugh and seemed completely free of negativity. Kim said, “As soon as I stopped trying to distinguish my stuff from other peoples stuff is when my growth really expanded”. I’ve never forgotten that.

A heart without borders… we are all one.

Alycia is a Life Coach practicing at Alchemy & Elixir Health Group… visit her website at: www.alyciahall.com or call our office to book an office appointment with her at 604-683-2298.

In every area of challenge and hardship, there exists an opportunity of equal and opposite proportion to experience huge gifts. Our ability to choose what it is we focus on is the key to the outcome we will experience. With financial uncertainty and shifts in the economy, leading to increased stress and anxiety in many, NOW appears to be the perfect time to focus on developing solid habits which serve our future -cultivating thoughts of health, vitality, abundance, generosity and gratitude.

There are habits for health, happiness, peace of mind and wealth. The key is to investigate and identify those very habits of individuals who have what it is we desire more of, then commit to integrating those routines and ways of being into our own life. If we want a greater state of health for ourselves, then a study of the habits of healthy, vital individuals will lead us closer to our goal. Taking action and incorporating those routines into our daily life will allow us to create a similar level of success.

We become healthy by learning of, reading about, and investigating HEALTH, not by studying and focusing on dis-ease. Focusing on dis-ease only leads to more of the same. Contemplate the physique of an olympic athlete with a strong body, toned body. What habits must these individuals practice daily to reap the benefits of their desired goal? With an olympic athlete focused on the end result -of winning a gold medal, perseverance becomes a daily practice, training is a commitment, there is no putting off of what should be done today. Extreme weather conditions, early mornings and short term inconveniences become secondary (even insignificant) to the strong commitment and desire to attain the goal at hand.

If one is suffering from a physical dis-ease or dis-comfort, then study the actions, habits, eating patterns and routines of an individual who exhibits a healthy state of be-ing (both the body and a healthy state of mind -optimistic & loving). If anxiety is becoming a growing concern, then contemplate, sit with and speak to individuals who are serene, loving and peaceful – to learn skills and mirror a healthier way of be-ing. The poise and serenity of individuals practicing daily meditation is noticeable. Persons who consciously cultivate gratitude and give thanks for those things which bring them joy, peace and contentment possess a pleasant, magnetic and contagious personality, there-in lies a key for learning.

Developing new ways of being, incorporating regular physical exercise into each day, changing ones eating habits, and modifying ones thought patterns are skills which do not happen overnight. Like developing any new habit, it takes time,  perseverance and a commitment to change which is stronger than the desire to remain the same. There is a benefit to every state of being, a benefit to change, and a benefit to staying the same. Every change also has its price, it is a personal decision to determine if the cost to change is greater than the cost to remain the same (which is more important) and then decide to pay the price and then commit to do the work to obtain the desired results.

Think back to childhood, learning to write was a learned habit, any new way of being can be considered a learned skill. Learning to write was at time a struggle when beginning to implement, repeat and practice daily the sound habits which months later led to an effortless flow of skilled penmanship ~writing is a skill which will serve us for the rest of our life.

 For those desiring financial stability, a focus on developing and practicing qualities which breed success, will win in the end. Hard work, perseverance, creating win-win situations and integrity do create more of the same.

It is up to each one of us to believe in our ability to make a difference.

“Opportunity may be found wherever one really looks for it and nowhere else.” - Napoleon Hill

 

Vegetarianism and macrobiotics have come to the forefront of healthy cuisine because they help strengthen the immune system and prevent disease. Develop a working knowledge of how easy it is to prepare delicious dishes that are health-supportive as well as restorative and discover how to easily incorporate them into our daily lifestyle. Since women today often have little time to balance cooking with their busy lifestyles; this class will include practical information and suggestions as well as handouts designed for all women. While cooking, Nadine will present an overview of the macrobiotic approach to women’s health problems and give you tips wherever you are in your lifecycle, whether that is fertility, menopause, PMS or pregnancy.

Date: Sunday March 22 10am - 3:30pm

Register: Please email angelle@nwcav.com

Cost: $ 149 + gst  -Confirmation and payment will be made at a later date.

Location: Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver

Bring: Chefs knife, paring knife, 2 tea towels, pastry scraper, comfortable shoes, hair elastic (long hair).

For a recent interview with Nadine (during her five continent tour with The Police, while cooking for Sting) visit Common Ground Magazine, May 2008.

Personal Nutritional Counseling with Nadine Barner, a Kushi graduate, an internationally renowned macrobiotic chef and health counselor from Los Angeles, California. Nadine’s extensive client list includes many actors and celebrities including Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna and Sting. Nadine will provide practical dietary and food recommendations based on macrobiotic theories and latest scientific evidence. As a macrobiotic chef and counselor Nadine will incorporate principles of food as medicine into the advice you will receive during your nutritional counselling session. Please go to Nadine’s website for full details and to book a private appointment. http://www.nadinebarner.com/

Canada’s Bill C-51

An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts

Proposed legislation brought forth to Parliament in April, 2008 could potentially have a major impact on natural health in Canada and restrict the choices Canadian people have when it comes to health products.

Highlights from the Urgent Member bulletin summarizing Bill C51 from the Canadian Health Food Association:

WHAT IS BILL C-51? THE FACTS

• FACT: Legislation tabled April 8, 2008 by the federal government that proposes amendments to the Food & Drugs Act

• FACT: Potential significant negative impact on the natural health products and foods industries. Currently, it does not affect the implementation or enforcement of the NHP (Natural Health Product) Regulations

• FACT: Proposes new increased enforcement powers, increased penalties to all sectors of the industry including retailers

• FACT: Redefines natural health products, cosmetics, medical devices and cells, tissues & organs as “therapeutic products”

• FACT: The current Bill does NOT remove products from your shelves

• FACT: We have to work together for change NOW; we need a SEPARATE Category for Natural Health Products

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

• A third category, as promised in the 1998 Standing Committee on Health’s Report, is critical at this time

• We want our products to stay on store shelves; we need to work together

• Bill C-51 pushes natural health products closer to the pharmaceutical model

• Potential for limited product availability due to increased powers for inspectors to enforce the regulations and achieve compliance

• Increased penalties for non-compliance; monetary penalties are the same whether you are a small retail operation or a large multi-national

• There are many potential negative issues around Bill C-51; we need a clear understanding of all the implications to our industry.

More information below from the Draft Discussion Paper - Legal Review [PDF - 72k] by Shawn Buckley, president of the NHPPA (Natural Health Products Protection Agency):

What the Act does: the Act gives broad power and responsibility to Health Canada inspectors to force “regulated persons” to take whatever measures the inspectors deem necessary to ensure safety. I am troubled by this due to the following scenario developing:

1) currently roughly 60% of natural health product license applications are failing. The majority of these license applications are for single ingredient products which are easier to license then multi-ingredient products. The percentage of failed license applications is expected to increase as more multi-ingredient product license applications are considered. My estimate is an overall failure rate of 70%. This means that over 60% of the natural health products on the market will fail the licensing process and will become illegal. At that point the manufacturer can willfully withdraw them from the market or Health Canada can take enforcement action;

2) the NHPD has been given more resources to process license applications which means that the majority of the products will become illegal sooner rather than later;

3) Health Canada is currently going to universities to recruit university graduates as inspectors because Health Canada anticipates an increased need for enforcement, and

4) Bill C-51 gives inspectors new powers to force products off of the market.

Concerned?     ~ Here is what you can do to take action!

• Read Bill C-51 or download the print-version PDF [344kb].
• Contact your Member of Parliament ASAP. Inform him/her that:
1. -you are opposed to Bill C-51;
2. - you want him/her to vote against Bill C-51; 
3. - you want your access to natural health products protected.
• Contact your Member of Parliament representative.
• Send handwritten letters of concern to all members of Parliament,
1. - your local MP;
2. - Prime Minister Stephen Harper;
3. - Tony Clement, Minister of Health.
• You can send your letters without postage to:(Name of person) > House of Commons > Ottawa, ON > K1A 0A6
• Best bet: send a stamped envelope with your comments to:
• Carmen DePape - Clerk of Standing Committee on Health 131 Queen Street Room 5-80. Fifth Floor Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
• Ask her to copy your letter to ALL MEMBERS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE. This means your letter goes to one hundred Members of Parliament!
• Review and print an excellent sample letter outlining the concerns of the current bill. Click here to download it in pdf form.
• Phone your MP and the Prime Minister’s Office to voice your concerns. Dial toll-free 1-866-599-4999 and ask to be transferred to any MPs office.
• The hours of this service are: Monday - Thursday, 8:30 - 6:00 pm Eastern standard time. Friday only, 8:30 - 5:00 pm Eastern Standard time.
• Stephen Harper’s phone numbers are (613) 992-4211 and (403) 253-7990. Tony Clement’s phone numbers are (613) 944-7740 and (705) 746-9053.

For more information…

• Trojan Horse Legislation Sponsored by Big Pharma: “Canadians need to wake up and see what type of Bills that the Harper Conservative government is trying to introduce and bring into law in Canada.”

• Canada’s C-51: Trojan Horse Legislation Sponsored by Big Pharma — Bill C-51 Unlawfully Suppresses Canadian Citizens’ Rights and Freedoms — Educate Yourself

 If successfully passed, Bill C-51 will:

• Remove democratic oversight, bypassing elected officials to vote in laws and allow bureaucrats to adopt laws from other countries without our consent.
• Remove 70% of Natural Health Products from Canadians and many others will be available by prescription only.
• Restrict research and development of safe natural alternatives in favor of high risk drugs.
• Punish Canadians with little or no opportunity for protection or recourse for simply speaking about or giving a natural product without the approval of government. More than 70% of people in Canada use a Natural Health Product. The new law goes so far as to warrant action against a person who would give another person an unapproved amount of garlic on the recommendation that it would improve that person’s health.
• It would become an offence not to follow the instructions of a Health Canada Inspector regardless of whether that direction creates a health risk. Natural Health Practitioners who are told to stop providing a treatment will be committing an offence if they continue to help their patients. Manufacturers of Natural Health Products will be committing an offence if they continue to provide products people rely upon for their health. In effect, Bill C-51 enables Inspectors without medical training to make health decisions; the scope of the definition of “sell” is expanded in a manner that will include single sales of compounded NHPs by natural health practitioners in a clinic environment.
• Fines for violations are increased by unprecedented factors of 500 and 1000 times. Directors and officers are made personally liable. Few in the NHP Community could survive a prosecution if Bill C-51 passes;
• Inspectors can seize private property for any reason, for any length of time, and without judicial oversight or pre-approval; Inspectors can destroy seized property without Court approval; Property owners are liable for seizure, transportation and destruction costs regardless of whether the seizure and destruction was justified.

It is your right to choose your health products and therapies — Stop government from enforcing U.S. law and other jurisdictions upon Canadians without consent — Stop C-51.

 For more information visit

Stop C-51: The Official Stop C-51 Website 

Natural Health Products Protection Association

 

For additional Sample Letters to the Minister of Health

-click here to download a sample letter in pdf form.

- for more sample letters and for a greater understanding about how new laws become passed, visit:

Canadian Health Food Association

 ~ written by Katolen Yardley, MNIMH, Medical Herbalist

• Snack on protein throughout the day. High protein foods can increase the sensation of “feeling full” and helps to curb those sugar cravings.

• Chew foods well before swallowing to bring out the natural sweetness of the food. Complex carbohydrates often taste sweeter when chewed.

• Integrate sweet tasting vegetables into your diet. Jerusalem artichokes, beets, sugar peas, carrots, winter squash and sweet potatoes can all be healthy sweet substitutes to manage cravings.

• Increase your water intake between meals to increase the sensation of feeling full. Sometimes feelings of hunger are actually misinterpreted for signals that the body is dehydrated.

• Consume at least 3 meals per day and do not skip meals. Begin each day with breakfast. Missing meals during the day can lead to overeating at night, and often the overeating of junk food. The body requires most of its fuel (calories) during the day to fuel physical activity and support mental capacities. Infrequent eating can lead to blood sugar fluctuations and sugar cravings.

• Snack throughout the day. Overeating at one meal leads to a sensation of bloating and fullness, then a feeling of emptiness a few hours later. Keeping food in your stomach throughout the day will create a slightly full sensation in your stomach, when slightly full one is less likely to overeat and crave sugar.

• Eat a piece of fruit, before indulging in a chocolate bar or sugary sweet. Fruit sugars do not affect blood sugar fluctuations like sucrose (white sugar) and the fiber content will help to fill you up.

• Introduce variety to your taste buds. Cultivate an appreciation for slightly bitter foods and cut down the amount of sugar and sweeteners used in baking. Over time ones taste buds will become accustomed to less sweet flavors.

• Substitute an alternative pleasure. The best way to break any habit, including a food craving, is to substitute a healthier option. If emotions trigger overeating or eating of sweets, then identify what conditions trigger your cravings, such as boredom, loneliness, anxiety, depression, and commit to other ways to perk yourself up. Try exercise, a hobby, music, or just close your eyes for a few minutes and visualize something that relaxes you before going back to your every day tasks.

• Weekend treats. If you mentally resists giving up certain foods, eventually you will eventually give in and fall back into past habits. Instead, just cut down on how frequently and how much you eat and explore substituting some alternatives, such as low fat sorbet and dried fruit. Eventually, as your body learns to identify the difference between super sweet foods and foods containing less sugar, you will begin to crave what’s good for you and many sweet foods will seem far too rich.

• When your taste buds need a sweet fix, try adding Stevia Leaf into a brewing herbal tea. Or alternatively Stevia can be purchased in a concentrate powder or liquid form and used in baking instead of sugar or artificial sweeteners. Stevia does not cause blood sugar fluctuations and it does not carry any of the health concerns that surround artificial sweeteners. For more information on artificial sweeteners click on the link!

At the dock, we catch our speedboat to head down the Amazon River; a freighter like tanker was also transporting people traveling to various villages… a very different kind of transportation, hammocks appeared to be the visible option for lying down, looped up and tied in the main foyer, perhaps enough hammocks for 30 passengers. I was as fascinated by the boat, the sleeping quarters and the passengers, as they are of me.   The Amazon River is muddy brown coloured, the strong smell of petrol and fish overpower my olfactory senses yet surprisingly, florescent bright pink dolphins also live in these waters and periodically show their bright colors framed against the grey backdrop.     

 

 

 

At the edge of the jungle, the lush green of the foliage, heat and out-of-control humidity introduce me to ‘just the beginning’ of the rich jungle life… butterflies, crazy looking bugs, papaya trees, huge mounds of bananas, monkeys, roosters, chickens and foreign insects sporting florescent red, black, bright yellow and indian red colours (with intricate ancient designs on their wings) whiz by.  Anthills and ant crossings, with some serious traffic congestion cross our path and huge brown mud-caked-like termite nests are spotted in the lush green tropical trees…              

My translator and guide explains that termites are known by the villagers to have insect repellent properties and individuals that reside in the jungle often gather the termites on their arms and rub the insects right in to their skin (apparently, I am told, the termites do not bite humans!). The locals also believe that eating termites is a good treatment for a sore throat. That is a traditional remedy that I will not be trying!

Lunch at the jungle lodge is simple yet delicious…cerviche, camu camu juice (a subtle pink juice, refreshing like our lemonade, but naturally sweet) fried plantains (maduro), steamed yucca, heart of palm (or palmito), rice and beans… a guitarist plays Spanish ballads and traditional Andean tunes…

The jungle is alive with sounds…nature’s orchestra…completely alive and pulsating to its own rhythm… I stop to think, if man believes he has dominance over nature, has mastered and can exert control over mother earth, then he should spend a night in the jungle!

The Life Force here is awesome, trees are known to slowly move their roots in the direction of moisture and shift their towering tree trunks towards the light and some particularly sensitive jungle plants actually recoil at the contact of a foreign human hand. Then there are the jungle sounds…chirping, cawing, trilling, cooing, a low pitched growling…an endless chatter of community. WOW! Man is but a tiny force (and small voice) compared to the majestic, pulsating life force and strength of voice found in the jungle.

We visit an animal reserve: anacondas, toucans, monkeys, rattlesnakes and alligators. I pick up a tiny alligator, about 2 feet long in length from head to toe…what a nice pet. : )

 

 

 

 I fall in love with a sloth (perhaps one of the slowest animal species in existence), a relatively uninspired-looking koala bear type, with huge friendly eyes and a permanent half grin on its face. Being a vegetarian, it becomes all too evident that the sloths only focus is on eating leaves, which it inhales with great speed compared to all other slow, plodding movements.     

After picking one up and petting her wiry, wig-like pelt, I set the sloth back down on the ground; taking advantage of  her getaway moment, she begins to move in very slow-motion, arms and legs branched out like a spiders….her half crawling motion is slower than a turtle. 

 

In India, cows are considered to be sacred be-ings and intelligent pets.

In the city of Agra, home of the Taj Mahal, cows are left to wander free, adding to the population of over 3 million… Casually meandering through the streets in pairs of 2 or 3, (reminding me of window shoppers!) or laying down in the road -calmly observing the chaos of traffic flowing around them. Are these communal cows I pondered? No, I was told! Cows are pets, they know their homes and return home at night where they are fed.

There is a cow in Varanasi that lives in a shop, he goes outside to pee, our guide proudly cited this example as another reason that cows are intelligent.

While in the narrow streets, a bull meandered up to our group and wanted to pass; with its horns it caringly and gently nudged a member of our group out of the way, so he could pass by….

What IF cows were intelligent?? I certainly have seen other ways of viewing reality, seen a side of things here that leaves me to wonder. When allowed to be beings, they ARE intelligent be-ings, as we permit, so they are. If we treat them like animals, so be it. Animals are saints, if we see this side in their nature. However it is the animal nature we most often choose to see.