Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The Anthem
The birds they sang
at the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don't dwell on what
has passed away
or what is yet to be.
Ah the wars they will
be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
bought and sold
and bought again
the dove is never free.
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in. We asked for signs
the signs were sent:
the birth betrayed
the marriage spent
Yeah the widowhood
of every government --
signs for all to see. I can't run no more
with that lawless crowd
while the killers in high places
say their prayers out loud.
But they've summoned, they've summoned up
a thundercloud
and they're going to hear from me. Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in. You can add up the parts
but you won't have the sum
You can strike up the march,
there is no drum
Every heart, every heart
to love will come
but like a refugee. Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in. Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
That's how the light gets in.
That's how the light gets in.
~Leonard Cohen
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Foresaken Fender
Rose and Libby as my witnesses, the heavens parted and brought another sweet little canine soul my way today for help. A woman perusing the outdoor lunch crowd at Whole Foods with this little angel, was begging someone to take the doggie she had "found". I looked into his eyes and knew I had to help him, but also knew instantly that this was his mommy, not just a lady who had "found" him on her doorstep, as she claimed. This woman knew too much about him, you could see the connection between them (poor Fender's heart was broken afterwards) and she hovered in the vicinity for way too long after handing him over. A quick trip to Austin Urban Vet Center for a microchip scan confirmed my suspicions.
Tootles!
Selena
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Meditation Mob: I Can Still Hear the OMs
Today was a glorious day! I was blessed enough to share a space on the Texas State Capital front lawn with hundreds of open and loving hearts today for an hour of silent meditation with Meditation Mob: Austin, followed by almost another hour of OMing on the lawn after the gong and inside the Capital rountunda. We ended our chanting in the rotunda by standing in a tightly knit circle, embracing one another with interlaced arms. Yes, complete strangers embracing one another while OMing and crying out in prayer, "shanti, shanti, shanti" (peace) in the state capital. While we were all embraced and chanting, I felt immense pressure on my chest and found it hard to take a full breath. I was surprised and wondered why I felt such heaviness come upon my heart, beyond emotional/spiritual to the point of physical manifestation. Tears began to flood my eyes and I opened myself to the power of our unified voice to the heavens for peace and unification. After the chanting finished for the day and our group began to hug and say goodbyes, I shared what I experienced with my dear friend Rose - with whom I shared the day - only to find out that she felt the exact same heaviness in her chest and shortness of breath. I'm curious as to whether or not anyone else in the group felt the same pressure, and heaviness on/in their heart. It was a bath of pure peace and love in the rotunda, unlike anything I've experienced in a long, long time. I'm only left to wonder if the heaviness in my chest was the weight of the world and it's collective sadness/unrest. Love & light to all! Namaste.
Monday, February 14, 2011
PatchworkPottery: Fabric Labels Tutorial
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Nutrigenomics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, searchNutrigenomics is the study of the effects of foods and food constituents on gene expression. It is about how our DNA is transcribed into mRNA and then to proteins and provides a basis for understanding the biological activity of food components. [1] Nutrigenomics has also been described by the influence of genetic variation on nutrition by correlating gene expression or single-nucleotide polymorphisms with a nutrient's absorption, metabolism, elimination or biological effects. By doing so, nutrigenomics aims to develop rational means to optimise nutrition, with respect to the subject's genotype.
By determining the mechanism of the effects of nutrients or the effects of a nutritional regime, nutrigenomics tries to define the causality|relationship between these specific nutrients and specific nutrient regimes (diets) on human health. Nutrigenomics has been associated with the idea of personalized nutrition based on genotype. While there is hope that nutrigenomics will ultimately enable such personalised dietary advice, it is a science still in its infancy and its contribution to public health over the next decade is thought to be major. [2]
Contents
[hide][edit] Definitions
. Nutrigenomics has been defined as the application of high-throughput genomic tools in nutrition research.It can also be seen as research to provide people with methods and tools who are looking for disease preventing and health promoting foods that match their lifestyles, cultures and genetics. .
The term "high throughput tools" in nutrigenomics refers to genetic tools that enable literally millions of genetic screening tests to be conducted at a single time. When such high throughput screening is applied in nutrition research, it allows the examination of how nutrients affect the thousands of genes present in the human genome. Nutrigenomics involves the characterization of gene products and the physiological function and interactions of these products. This includes how nutrients impact on the production and action of specific gene products and how these proteins in turn affect the response to nutrients.
[edit] Background and preventive health
Throughout the 20th century, nutritional science focused on finding vitamins and minerals, defining their use and preventing the deficiency diseases that they caused. As the nutrition related health problems of the developed world shifted to overnutrition, obesity and type two diabetes, the focus of modern medicine and of nutritional science changed accordingly.
In order to address the increasing incidence of these diet-related-diseases, the role of diet and nutrition has been and continues to be extensively studied. To prevent the development of disease, nutrition research is investigating how nutrition can optimize and maintain cellular, tissue, organ and whole body homeostasis. This requires understanding how nutrients act at the molecular level. This involves a multitude of nutrient-related interactions at the gene, protein and metabolic levels. As a result, nutrition research has shifted from epidemiology and physiology to molecular biology and genetics[2] and nutrigenomics was born.
The emergence and development of nutrigenomics has been possible due to powerful developments in genetic research. Inter-individual differences in genetics, or genetic variability, which have an effect on metabolism and on phenotypes were recognized early in nutrition research, and such phenotypes were described. With the progress in genetics, biochemical disorders with a high nutritional relevance were linked to a genetic origin. Genetic disorders which cause pathological effects were described. Such genetic disorders include the polymorphism in the gene for the hormone Leptin which results in gross obesity. Other gene polymorphisms were described with consequences for human nutrition. The folate metabolism is a good example, where a common polymorphism exists for the gene that encodes the methylene-tetrahydro-folate reductase (MTHFR).
It was realized however, that there are possibly thousands of other gene polymorphisms which may result in minor deviations in nutritional biochemistry, where only marginal or additive effects would result from these deviations. The tools to study the physiological impact were not available at the time and are only now becoming available enabling the development of nutrigenomics. Such tools include those that measure the transcriptome - DNA microarray, Exon array, Tiling arrays, single nucleotide polymorphism arrays and genotyping. Tools that measure the proteome are less developed. These include methods based on gel electrophoresis, chromatography and mass spectrometry. Finally the tools that measure the metabolome are also less developed and include methods based on nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and mass spectrometry often in combination with gas and liquid chromatography.
[edit] Rationale and aims of nutrigenomics
In nutrigenomics, nutrients are seen as signals that tell a specific cell in the body about the diet. The nutrients are detected by a sensor system in the cell. Such a sensory system works like sensory ecology whereby the cell obtains information through the signal, the nutrient, about its environment, which is the diet. The sensory system that interprets information from nutrients about the dietary environment include transcription factors together with many additional proteins. Once the nutrient interacts with such a sensory system, it changes gene, protein expression and metabolite production in accordance with the level of nutrient it senses. As a result, different diets should elicit different patterns of gene and protein expression and metabolite production. Nutrigenomics seeks to describe the patterns of these effects which have been referred to as dietary signatures. Such dietary signatures are examined in specific cells, tissues and organisms and in this way the manner by which nutrition influences homeostasis is investigated. Genes which are affected by differing levels of nutrients need first to be identified and then their regulation is studied. Differences in this regulation as a result of differences in genes between individuals are also studied. [2]
It is hoped that by building up knowledge in this area, nutrigenomics will promote an increased understanding of how nutrition influences metabolic pathways and homeostatic control, which will then be used to prevent the development of chronic diet related diseases such as obesity and type two diabetes. Part of the approach of nutrigenomics involves finding markers of the early phase of diet related diseases; this is the phase at which intervention with nutrition can return the patient to health. As nutrigenomics seeks to understand the effect of different genetic predispositions in the development of such diseases, once a marker has been found and measured in an individual, the extent to which they are susceptible to the development of that disease will be quantified and personalized dietary recommendation can be given for that person.
The aims of nutrigenomics also includes being able to demonstrate the effect of bioactive food compounds on health and the effect of health foods on health, which should lead to the development of functional foods that will keep people healthy according to their individual needs.
Nutrigenomics is a rapidly emerging science still in its beginning stages. It is uncertain whether the tools to study protein expression and metabolite production have been developed to the point as to enable efficient and reliable measurements. Also once such research has been achieved, it will need to be integrated together in order to produce results and dietary recommendations. All of these technologies are still in the process of development.
[edit] References
[edit] Articles
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- Shoji, M., et al, Positive association of endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene polymorphism with hypertension in northern Japan. Life Sci 66, 2557-2562 (2000)
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- Christensen, B., et al, Genetic polymorphisms in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase and methionine synthase, folate levels in red blood cells, and risk of neural tube defects. Am J Med Genet 84, 151-157 (1999)
- Chen, J, et al, A methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase polymorphism and the risk of colorectal cancer. Cancer Res 56, 4862-4864 (1996)
- Jacques, P.F., et al, Relation between folate status, a common mutation in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, and plasma homocysteine concentrations. Circulation 93, 7-9 (1996)
- Ma, J., et al, Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase polymorphism, dietary interactions, and risk of colorectal cancer. Cancer Res 57, 1098-1102 (1997)
- Martinez de Villarreal, L.E., et al, Folate levels and N(5),N(10)-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase genotype (MTHFR) in mothers of offspring with neural tube defects: a case-control study. Arch Med Res 32, 277-282 (2001)
- Slattery, M.L., et al, Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, diet, and risk of colon cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 8, 513-518 (1999)
- Brown, S., et al. Interaction between the APOC3 gene promoter polymorphisms, saturated fat intake and plasma lipoproteins. Atherosclerosis. 170: 307-313, 2003.
- Fisher, R., et al. Common variation in the lipoprotein lipase gene effects on plasma lipids and risk of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis. 135: 145-159, 1997.
- Guzik, T., et al. Relationship between the G894T (Glu298Asp variant) in endothelial nitric oxide synthase and nitric oxide-mediated endothelial function in human atherosclerosis. American Journal of Medical Genetics. 100: 130-137, 2001.
- Wallace, A., et al. Variants in the cholesterol ester transfer protein and lipoprotein lipase genes are predictors of plasma cholesterol response to dietary change. Atherosclerosis. 152: 327-336, 2000
"Genes associated with antioxidant function and detoxification: MnSOD, SOD3, GSTM1, GSTT1, GSTP1:"
- Ambrosone, C.B., et al, Manganese superoxide dismutase 9MsSOD) genetic polymorphisms, dietary antioxidants, and risk of breast cancer. Cancer Res 59(3), 602-606 (1999)
- Hirvonen, A, et al, Association between manganese superoxide dismutase (MsSOD) gene polymorphism and breast cancer risk. Carcinogenesis 5(22), 827-829 (2001)
- Kimura, K.Y., et al, Genetic association of manganese superoxide dismutase with exudative age-related macular degeneration. Am J Ophthalmol 130(6), 769-73 (2000)
- Stoehlmacher, J., et al, A genetic polymorphism of manganese superoxide dismutase (9MnSOD) predicts for risk of colorectal cancer in young individuals. Annals of Oncology 11(Suppl 4), 59 (2000)
- Wang, X.L., et al, Plasma extracellular cuperoxide dismutase levels in an Australian population with coronary artery disease. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 18, 1915-1921 (1998)
- Purdie, D., et al, Dietary antioxidants, manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), and risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. Proc. American Assoc. for Cancer Res. 43, 4227 (2002)
- Cotton, S.C., et al, Glutathione S-transferase polymorphisms and colorectal cancer: a HuGE review. Am J Epidemiol 151(1), 7-32 (2000)
- Lampe, J.W., et al, Modulation of human glutathione S-transferases by botanically defined vegetable diets. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 8, 787-93
- Lin, H.J., et al, Glutathione transferase GSTT1, broccoli, and prevalence of colorectal adenomas. Pharmacogenetics 12, 175-179
- Mitrunen, K.N., et al, Glutathione S-transferase M1, M3, P1, and T1 genetic polymorphisms and susceptibility to breast cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 10(3), 229-36 (2001)
- Pool-Zobul, B, et al, Mechanisms by which vegetable consumption reduces genetic damage in humans. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 7, 891-99 (1998)
- Rock, C.L., et al, Nutrition genetics and risks of cancer. Annu Rev Public Health 21, 47-64 (2000)
- Steinkellner, H., et al, Effects of crusiferous vegetables and their constituents on drug metabolizing enzymes involved in the bioactivation of DNA-reactive dietary carcinogens. Mutation Research, 480-481,285-297 (2001)
- Ambrosone, C., et al. Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) genetic polymorphisms, dietary antioxidants, and risk of breast cancer. Cancer Research. 59(3): 602-606, 1999.
- Chistyakov, D. A., et al. Polymorphisms in the Mn-SOD and EC-SOD genes and their relationship to diabetic neuropathy in type 1 diabetes mellitus. BMC Medical Genetics. 2(1): 4, 2001.
- Parke, D.V. “Antioxidants and disease prevention: mechanisms of action”. Antioxidants in Human Health. CABI Publishing, 1999.
- Gaudet, M., et al. Diet, GSTM1, and GSTT1 and head and neck cancer. Carcinogenesis. 25(5): 735-740, 2003
- Lampe, J.W., et al. Modulation of human glutathione S-transferases by botanically defined vegetable diets. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers Preview. 9(8):787-793, 2000.
- Verhoeff, B., et al. The effect of a common methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase mutation on levels of homocysteine, folate, vitamin B12 and on the risk of premature atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis. 141(1): 161-166, 1998
- Change, A., et al. The effect of 677 C T and 1298 A C mutations on plasma homocysteine and 5,10- methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase activity in healthy subjects. British Journal of Nutrition. 83(6): 593-596, 2000.
- Jacques, P., et al. Relation between folate status, a common mutation in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, and plasma homocysteine concentrations. Circulation. 93(1): 7-9, 1996.
- Miller M., and Mohrenweiser, H. Genetic variability in susceptibility and response to toxicants. Toxicology Letters. 120(1-3): 269-280, 2001.
- Cosma, G., et al. Relationship between genotype and function of the human CYP1A1 gene. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. 40(2-3): 309-316, 1993.
- Bosron, W. and Ting-Kai, L. Genetic polymorphism of human liver alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenases, and their relationship to alcohol metabolism and alcoholism. Hepatology. 6(3):502 - 510, 1986.
- Takeshita, T. and Morimoto, K. Accumulation of hemoglobin-associated acetaldehyde with habitual alcohol drinking in the atypical ALDH2 genotype. Alcohol Clinical and Experimental Research. 24(1): 1-7, 2000
"Genes associated with bone structure: VDR, COL1A1, IL6, TNFα:"
- Chen, H.Y., et al, Relation of vitamin D receptor FokI start codon polymorphism to bone mineral density and occurrence of osteoporosis in postmenopausal woman in Taiwan. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scan 81, 93-98 (2002)
- Dennison, E.M., at al, Birthweight, vitamin D receptor genotype and the programming of osteoporosis. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 15, 211-219 (2001)
- Eastell, R. and Lambert, H., Diet and healthy bones., Calcif Tissue Int 70, 400-404 (2002)
- Ferrari, S., et al, Bone mineral mass and calcium and phosphate metabolism in young men: relationships with vitamin D receptor allelic polymorphisms. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 84, 2043-2048 (1999)
- Ferrari. S.L., Osteoporosis, vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms and response to diet. World Rev Nutr Diet 89, 83-92 (2001)
- Garnero, P., et al, Association between a functional interleukin-6 gene polymorphism and peak bone mineral density and postmenopausal bone loss in women: the ofely study. Bone 31, 43-50 (2002)
- Gong, G., et al, The association of bone mineral density with vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms. Osteoporos Int 9, 55-64 (1999)
- Lorentzon, M., et al, Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism is related to bone density, circulating osteocalcin, and parathyroid hormone in healthy adolescent girls. J Bone Miner Metab 19, 302-307
- MacDonald, H.M., et al, COL1A1 Sp1 polymorphism predicts perimenopausal and early postmenopausal spinal bone loss. J Bone Miner Res 16, 1634-1641 (2001)
- Mann, V., et al, A COL1A1 Sp1 binding site polymorphism predisposes to osteoporotic fracture by affecting bone density and quality. J Clin Invest 107, 899-907 (2001)
- Prentice, A., The relative contribution of diet and genotype to bone development. Proc Nutr Soc 60, 45-52 (2001)
- Ralston, S.H., Genetic control of susceptibility to osteoporosis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 87, 2460-2466 (2002)
- Grant, S., et al. Reduced bone density and osteoporosis associated with a polymorphic Sp1 binding site in the collagen type 1 alpha 1 gene. Nature Genetics. 14: 203-205, 1996.
- Ortlepp, J., et al. The vitamin D receptor gene variant and physical activity predicts fasting glucose levels in healthy young men. Diabetic Medicine. 20: 451-454, 2003.
- Uitterlinden, A., et al. Interaction between the vitamin D receptor gene and collagen type 1alpha1 gene susceptibility for fracture. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. 16: 379-385, 2001
"Genes associated with inflammatory response: TNF, IL-6:"
- Abraham, L.J., et al, Impact of the -308 TNF promoter polymorphism on the transcriptional regulation of the TNF gene: relevance to disease. J Leukoc Biol 66, 552-566 (1999)
- Chung, H.Y., et al, The inflammation hypothesis of aging: molecular modulation by calorie restriction. Ann NY Acad Sci 928, 327-335 (2001)
- Grimble, R.F., Nutritional modulation of immune function. Proc Nutr Soc 60, 389-397 (2001)
- Nakajima, T., et al, Allelic variants in the interleukin-6 gene and essential hypertension in Japanese women. Genes Immun 1, 115-119 (1999)
- Terry, C.F., et al, Cooperative influence of genetic polymorphisms on interleukin 6 transcriptional regulation. J Biol Chem 275, 18138-18144 (2000)
- Vickers, M.A., et al, Genotype at a promoter polymorphism of the interleukin-6 gene is associated with baseline levels of plasma C-reactive protein. Cardiovasc Res 53, 1029-1034 (2002)
- Ferrari, S., et al. Two promoter polymorphisms regulating interleukin-6 gene expression are associated with circulating levels of C-reactive protein and markers of bone resorption in postmenopausal women. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 88: 255-259, 2003.
- Grimble R., et al. The ability of fish oil to suppress tumor necrosis factor alpha production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in healthy men is associated with polymorphisms in genes that influence tumor necrosis factor alpha production. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 76(2): 454-459, 2002.
- Terry, c., et al. Cooperative influence of genetic polymorphisms on interleukin 6 transcriptional regulation. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 275: 18138-18144, 2000.
- Vendrell, J., et al. A polymorphism in the promoter of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene (-308) is associated with coronary heart disease in type 2 diabetic patients. Atherosclerosis. 167: 257-264, 2003.
- Witte, J.S., et al, Relation between tumour necrosis factor polymorphism TNFalpha-308 and risk of asthma. Eur J Hum Genet 10, 82-85 (2002)
"Genes associated with glucose balance: VDR, PPARg2, ACE, TNF:"
- Chiu, K.C., et al, The vitamin D receptor polymorphism in the translation initiation codon is a risk factor for insulin resistance in glucose tolerant Caucasians. BMC Med Genet 2,2 (2001)
- Dalziel, B., et al, Association of the TNF-alpha -308G/A promoter polymorphism with insulin resistance in obesity. Obes Res 10, 401-407 (2002)
- Deeb, S.S., et al, A Pro12Ala substitution in PPARgamma2 associated with decreased receptor activity, lower body mass index and improved insulin sensitivity. Nat Genet 20, 284-287 (1998)
- Dengel, D.R., et al, Exercise-induced changes in insulin action are associated with ACE gene polymorphisms in older adults. Physiol Genomics 11, 73-80 (2002)
- Kadowaki, T., et al, The role PPARgamma in high-fat diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance. J Diabetes Complications 16, 41-45 (2002)
- Nicaud, V., et al, The TNF alpha/G-308A polymorphism influences insulin sensitivity in offspring of patients with coronary heart disease: the European Atherosclerosis Research Study II. Atherosclerosis 161, 317-325 (2002)
- Paolisso, G., et al, ACE gene polymorphism and insulin action in older subjects and healthy centenarians. J Am Geriatr Soc 49, 610-614 (2001)
- Li, S., et al. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma2 gene polymorphism (Pro12Ala) beneficially influences insulin resistance and its tracking from childhood to adulthood: the Bogalusa Heart Study. Diabetes. 52: 1265-1269, 2003.
- Ostgren, C., et al. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gammaPro12Ala polymorphism and the association with blood pressure in type 2 diabetes: Skaraborg hypertension and diabetes project. Journal of Hypertension. 21: 1657-1662, 2003.
- Paolisso, G., et al. ACE gene polymorphism and insulin action in older subjects and healthy centenarians. Journal of American Geriatric Society. 49: 610-614, 2001.
- Perticone, F., et al. Relationship between angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism and insulin resistance in never-treated hypertensive patients. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 86: 172-178, 2001
[edit] See also
- Diet (nutrition)
- Nutriomics
- Nutritional gatekeeper
- Nutritional genomics
- Orthomolecular medicine
- Public Health Genomics
[edit] External links
- Center for Nutritional Genomics, University of California, Davis multi-disciplinary research in nutritional genomics
- NuGO - the European Nutrigenomics Organisation
- The New Zealand Nutrigenomics Collaboration
- ISNN - International Society of Nutrigenetics/Nutrigenomics #
- Nutrigenomics: The role of genetics in weight loss
- "Genetic Variation and Dietary Response" from World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics, Vol. 80
- "Gene SNP DNA Analysis" Recommends a personalized nutritional program based on genetic variations and a lifestyle questionnaire
- "nutraMetrix® Gene SNP™ Nutrition & Fitness Kit" Recommends a personalized nutritional program based on genetic variations and a lifestyle questionnaire under the care of a medical professional
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrigenomics"
Alternative Health All Stars
Three all-stars of alternative medicine reveal their unique approaches to how we think about health - from diet to hormones, and the way we care for...
I loved this episode of Dr. OZ! I'm so glad to see nutrition, and mind-body based medicine getting some much needed spot light.
Monday, January 24, 2011
MC Yogi - Shanti (Peace Out)
This song has been keeping me marvelously mellow and flowing since Friday evening when I first heard it played in a Vinyasa + Kundalini donation class I attended at Yoga Yoga.
Recipe for bliss:
1.) Turn on this song
2.) Sit in easy pose (Sukhasana)
3.) Take some cleansing breaths, relax the body and ground down into the earth
3.) Put your hand in Lotus Mudra (Padma Mudra)
*After five minutes of uninterrupted bliss, rinse and repeat as often as necessary.
PS: It doesn't appear that this video is the complete song. You can find it here on Amazon.com or through iTunes for a mere $0.99.
"You nourish the body, and then the body fixes it" -FOODMATTERS®
Far from a piece that simply spends endless amounts of time railing again big pharma, this documentary hits several key points and provides examples of nutritional therapy that have long been proven to aid in some of society's most chronic and debilitating ailments. Long a proponent of nutritional therapy myself, I was glad to see a documentary that supported whole nutrition and also provided me with tidbits of info I hadn't yet heard of (Niacin for depression? Intravenous Vitamin C therapy to treat cancer? amazing!).
No matter your standpoint regarding the drug industry, the major point that this film makes is hard to dispute: chronic illness in our society is directly linked to our mineral and vitamin deficient diets, and thus we should let food be our medicine, and medicine our food, just as Hippocrates said long ago.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
2012 World Choir Games in Cincinnati
This is freaking awwwwwwsome and I absolutely cannot wait! Some of you are aware that I was a music major in college (my principle instrument was voice, secondary was cello), so you understand my enthusiasm with regards to the prospect of The World Choir Games coming to Cincinnati. my home town. Choral music was near and dear to my heart long before I went off to college and joined my first traveling choir, The Evangelistic Singers, and has remained there well after my last choral performance some ten years ago. Speaking of my old choir, I need to contact my old music friends and see if they'd like to join me for this awesome event in 2012. I know, I'm not even back in Cincinnati yet, but a girl can dream. :-)
There are some really great things happening in Cincinnati in the next year or two; I only hope that I can have a part in some of those great things to come. Hold on for the ride of your life...
Friday, January 14, 2011
For the Love of Sugar Scrubs...Ahhhh!
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I finally decided to get off of my tookus today and try my hand at making a homemade sugar scrub. I didn't figure that it would be too complicated (and it wasn't), but my desire to mix up a batch for myself was born out of that icky, dragging, worn out and dull feeling that's all too common when dealing with a nasty cold. I'll be honest; it's been a couple of days since I've seen the inside of a shower, so I wanted to make today's showering experience as pleasant and beneficial as possible.
So, since I did this on a whim today, I simply used what I had on hand. I decided not to use any of the essential oils I have in my closet for two reasons 1.) They weren't my preferred fragrances for a body scrub 2.) They might be irritating to my skin. So, I went down to the kitchen and looked around. I had several bottles of pure vanilla extract. Yeah, I could use that, but I'm not really a vanilla kind of gal (sometimes the smell of vanilla nauseates me as well), and I wasn't too keen on smelling like baked goods - at least not today. Almond extract? No. Butter flavor? No. Cherry extract? Yes! It was also important for me to use things that would be food grade since my sweet dog Belle ravenously consumes anything that even resembles food if she gets the chance. I lost a dollop or two of the sugar, EVOO & cherry mix while blending and she gulped it up without hesitation, just as I had suspected she would.
Now, it would have delighted me more if I still had my jar of maraschino cherries in the fridge so that I could have just poured a bit of juice from there, but all I had was the imitation cherry extract stuff, which I figured was better than my other options of smelling like nuts or cupcakes. Sure, I could have left out my quest for a fragrance all together, but since I was using the ever so pungent EVOO I thought a nice pleasant fragrance of some sort would help mellow it out a bit.
You can find the article that inspired me, complete with recipes, here.
- Cane Sugar - 3/4 cup (I have several bags of organic, unbleached cane sugar, but I've read several places that organic cane sugar is *not* recommended for body scrubs. Not sure why, so I'll research that more later)
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil- 3 to 4 Tablespoons
- Fair Trade Shea Butter & Neem Oil Body Wash (3 half pumps after everything else was incorporated)
- Cherry Extract - About a tablespoon
I save a lot of glass containers and happened to have a cute little one from some apples slices Wesley purchased a couple of years back. It was the perfect size for my little concoction! I filled the container 3/4 of the way with the cane sugar and then poured the EVOO on top in what I guess to be about 3-4 tablespoon size increments (letting settle a bit in between tablespoons) until I felt that most of the sugar was moist with EVOO. I folded the sugar and oil and added the cherry extract so that I could incorporate it along the way. After those three items were mixed to my satisfaction, I decided to add a bit of body wash to give it some sudsing action and the nice smooth texture that I was looking for. After letting the body wash soak down for a minute or two, I gave it one final sitr. Voilà!
Ciao my little kittehs! Until we meet again...
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Yoga = Heroin | elephant journal
IBM's Watson supercomputer destroys all humans in Jeopardy practice round (video!) -- Engadget
Oddly enough, I find myself rooting for Watson! Go Watson go!
Yes!!! Double Dream Hands!
Who wants to join me to practice? Can we flash mob this shit? Hells yeah!
Captivating! Photo by Vivian Maier
The moment that I saw this photo displayed on the blog that is posting much of her work, I knew I had to have it. Oh how I would love to have this photo enlarged so that I could hang it on my wall. It's simply brilliant and touching!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills
For Christmas, my mother purchased a copy of this book for my brother and I. For the last few years my mother, brother and I have shared in conversations about getting back to a traditional means of living wherein we would be able to sustain ourselves with very little reliance on the outside world. It isn't that we wish to disconnect from others, but to create a place where people can escape from this fast and furious society and remember the basics. It's a dream that, fortunately, my immediate family shares. We often verbalize our visions of buying a large parcel of land and how all of our family build on and work the land. It would be hard work, we know that for sure, but there's something to be said for the serenity that comes with being self-sufficient. I want my children to know what it feels like to run through the forest and the fields, to pick their own food from the vine and to have the satisfaction of knowing that they can accommodate all of their needs with the works of their very own hands.
Someday, I hope to make that dream become a reality. I have no idea where the land will be or how many family members and friends will join me on a journey of sweet self sufficiency. I do know, however, that it will be a glorious day and that even if I don't make it to this mystical place I envision anytime soon, my dreams of this paradise will bring me peace along my journey.
Namaste